Race Coverage
Lots of Awesome to Go Around...
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Tuesday, 30 July 2013 01:10
(Life Time - Minneapolis Photo - Heather Lendway and a guy's arm and another guy with a blue cap who is totally checking her out.)
Chisago Sprint VIII - Of all the shorter course "companion" events in Minnesota, the Chisago Sprint is clearly the most competitive of the bunch. This is saying a lot, as the sprint course races at Buffalo, Waseca and Minneman, to name a few, draw talented fields.
This year's sprint had, like the half, a longer bike route. Advertised originally as having a 22-mile bike leg, this year's middle portion was closer to 23 miles.
As in 2012, a pair of cool-guy-Midwestern-pros--Devon Palmer and Tom Gerlach--went off the front early and duked it out the rest of the way. Palmer prevailed last year. On Sunday it was Gerlach's turn...
to take the Top Spot.
The first amateur male to finish was master star Thaddeus Ingersoll, who is racing better than ever these days. It was great to watch him chalk up his first career win. This performance certainly rivaled his 2nd place overall effort at Chicago Elite in 2011. 
Thad was a late registrant, thus it appeared that Dennis Dane had actually won with men's amateur title, with 2012 amateur champ Kyle Serreyn placing second. But Thad was in the last wave of the day, thus his position was not known until results were posted.
The only Minnesota woman to have beaten Heather Lendway this year was former US AOY Cathy Yndestad. Cathy didn't race at Chisago and Heather, who outdistanced the strong women's field in the swim and bike, posted the 6th victory of her youthful career. Her margin over ever-smiley runner-up Claire Bootsma was 1:51.
One has to wonder whether eventual bronze medalist Suzy Fox might have challenged for the win, had she not A. raced at Racine 70.3 the previous weekend, B. raced and won the day before at Shell Lake, and C. hadn't been suffering from, no kidding, a case of "Walking Pneumonia" (see diagram). We're glad she didn't have "Laying Down Pneumonia." That stuff will knock you on your ass.
Placing 4th for the women, though it isn't posted as such in the printed results (a wave start adjustment deal), was tan soccer star Olivia Bagnall. Olivia set a women's course record at Chaska the previous weekend. That was her first triathlon! Her fourth at Chisago against some our region's fastest girls is totally awesome. She needs only one more fast effort this season in order to secure a Rookie of the Year nomination. We expect that to happen.
Top Master Thad Ingersoll's female counterpart was Julia Weisbecker, 47, who placed 6th in her gender's overall standings. Another awesome effort for the former collegiate (Dartmouth, no less!) tennis player. Julia appears to be a shoo-in for a Master of the Year nomination.
