Race Coverage

"Why Are We Doing This?"...& Liberty Vid...

Thursday, 13 June 2013 01:10

(Photo - 2013 Manitou Du women's winner Christel Kippenhan.)

By Stephen Bullard

Manitou Race Report - Steady rain, cool temps, and gusty winds greeted some reluctant triathletes and they announced that they would cancel the swim and turn the whole affair into a run/bike/run duathlon.

It was one of those days when you wonder "why an I doing this?" and the modest field took the announcement in stride. The only thing that might make this day a bit more miserable was the thought of jumping in a cold lake and the cancellation of the swim gave the athletes more options on what to wear....

The Manitou Triathlon has been around since 1991 and its existence was in jeopardy this year until Randy Fulton of Front Runner events, a former RD of the event, stepped in to take over after OptumHealth withdrew from event management. The late announcement undoubtedly hurt signups as many had already committed to going south to Trinona. The weather also chased away many and the field was pared down to a hardy 76 individuals and nine teams.

Kevin O'Connor (photo R) is is no stranger to the event. At 42 he stated he has been doing Manitou half his life having done the first one when he was only 21. Kevin ability to race well on this course is only matched by his ability to cook up hot dogs after the event with the Gear West Grill. Taking away the swim was not going to hurt his chances despite having raced the day before and winning the Liberty Olympic.. Kevin races this course well and has done this event more than anyone and he seems to excel in the sprints. After coming in 2nd on the opening 2 mile run he hammered out a impressive bike split in steady rain and gusting winds dispelling the myth that disk wheels are dangerous in high winds. By the time he racked his bike in T2 he had already put enough time into Brendon O'Flanagan to make the final 5K a firm paced victory lap to cross in 1:03:55.

For the women, 48 year old Christel Kippenhan demonstrated more masters power with a balanced effort highlighted by an impressive bike split to distance herself easily from eventual runner up Leann Larsen.

For those that showed it was enough to come out and give the course your best shot in less than ideal conditions. On a day when it was much easier to just roll over everyone who raced left with a nice endorphin buzz and a belly full of hot dogs. RACE RESULTS

ED. Stephen won the 55-59M category. He extends his gratitude to Dave Dow and Lincoln Murdoch for not showing up.

COOL BEANS DEPARTMENT: Check out Ananda Bate's PR effort at Liberty Half: