Race Coverage
Diane's Back! And Other Liberty Half Stuff...
-
Monday, 10 June 2013 04:20
(Nicole Heininger Facebook Photo - We've never posted a shot of Nicole before, so we thought it would be cool to do so here. She rocked a 6th place finish in 4:57:13 at Liberty last Saturday. FYI, Ms. H placed 2nd last month at Cinco Du Mayo Long Course.)
Liberty Half VIII - Columbia Height's head-banger, Matt Payne, won his 2nd career half IM (to go with 2nds at Chisago, New Orleans 70.3 and Soma) last Saturday at Liberty VIII, staged at beautiful Lake Rebecca Park Reserve. His time--4:07:39--was both a course and race record and was made even more remarkable by the fact that he was bonking like a banshee over the last third of the run. His great clocking, only 1:47 off his PR, was due largely to an ungodly bike split (4:09), one that gave him a 12-minute cushion in T2 on eventual runner-up / 2009 Liberty winner Jon Balabuck of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Known for his running prowess, Jon, who has a lovely wife and two above-average kids, managed to make up all but 3:39 of that lead. His final time was a noteworthy 4:11:18....
The final men's podium spot went to Winnipeg's Patrick Peacock, the head coach of Manitoba's Tribalistic Tri Team and former Canadian National Amateur Champion (2007). His time at Lake Rebecca was an impressive 4:12:06. Age 39, but turning 40 later this year, Patrick would, according to USAT, which sanctioned and officiated the race, be considered the new Masters course record holder. We've never liked that age-up stuff, though we understand its value when selecting national teams, so, for those who like to give the masters CR to guys and gals who were actually 40 when he or she set it, we can consider Woodbury's chiseled Scotty Penticoff (4th overall in an awesome PR - 4:17:26) the new MR holder.
St. Paul's laid-back Brendon O'Flanagan also PRed, finishing 5th in 4:19:08. An "animal," albeit a laid-back one, BO also raced on Sunday, placing 2nd at the Manitou Sprint Duathlon (cancelled swim). Gosh, that had to hurt!
When Lino Lake's Diane Hankee crossed the finish line in 4:40:19, she pumped her Canadian fist (she's originally from Saskatchewan) and uttered, "I'm back." She would have 12:49 to savor her victory and new PR before Farmington's ever-smileful Julie Hull, 41, claimed 2nd in a new masters record, 4:53:09. Jules was followed by 53-year-old phenom, Jan Guenther (4:53:45), who has won four halves and two full IMs since turning 40.
Hankee's best season was 2010, when she won five races and reached the podium a total of 14 times. Her next two seasons, by comparison, were solid but inconsistent. This year, though, is off to a great start with a 8th place / 1st 35-39W in 4:42:45 at Texas 70.3, followed by her PR-victory at Liberty. The win was the 16th of her multisport career.
Places four and five were well-earned by Pillager's Sara Carlson (4:54:44), who lopped 20-minutes off her previous best at the distance, and former Minnesota Master of the Year nominee, Julia Weisbecker (4:56:54) of Mendota Heights. (Sara has children, one of whom is very cute despite being dentally challenged. Photo R) An unprecedented six women managed to crack the five hour mark. Likewise, five guys bettered 4:20. That's a first for this eight-year-old half IM.
Seven divisional bests were set on Saturday:
- 00-19M - Michael Burgdorf, (Buffalo, MN) - 4:59:09 (Old Mark - Scott Meyer - 5:23:00 - 2008*) - Michael can eat an entire punkin pie - photo R.)
- 40-44M - Scotty Penticoff, 43 (Woodbury, MN) - 4:17:26 (Old Mark - Sean Kaneski - 4:28:35 - 2012)
- 45-49W - Julie Hull (Farmington) - 4:53:08 (Old Mark - Angie Schmidt - 4:54:29 - 2012)
- 45-49W - Julia Weisbecker (Mendota Heights) - 4:56:54 (Old Mark - Sue Abrahamson - 5:07:43 - 2009*)
- 50-54M - Jeff Gilmer (Delano, MN) - 4:49:45 (Old Mark - Jeff Gilmer - 4:55:19 - 2012)
- 50-54W - Jan Guenther (Mound) - 4:53:45 (Old Mark - Jan Guenther - 4:57:08 - 2011*)
- 65-69M - David Asp (Red Wing, MN) - 5:29:07 (Old Mark - Jack Daugherty - 5:59:39 - 2006*)
* Lake Independence course.
