Race Coverage

A Lot on the Line...

Monday, 15 September 2014 07:10

Fall Classic Duathlon - Last weekend's races promised to have a profound effect on the MMA nomination process, and they did just that. At the 9th annual FCD on Saturday at Lake Elmo Park Reserve, a locale that seems to have been designed with run-bike-run in mind, at least five athletes were in a position to strengthen their chances to receive award nominations. Nate Hoffman (photo), Joe Johnson, Jenn Scudiero and Jas Carlson were already receiving DOY consideration, and it appeared that one of them would be selected to join the three other nominees that had been selected earlier. (Offical DOY nominees will be announced on MTN later this week.) Additionally, Hank Larsen, 73, needed an effort that approximated the divisional CR he set at the Oakdale Du in May to, perhaps, garner his third career Grand Master of the Year nomination.

So, who would nail down the final DOY nomination?

For Nate to be the one, he had to win the men's race in an impressive time. For Johnson, he had to win and his margin over Nate had to be convincing. Jenn needed a victory and her time needed to be in the 1:10-1:11 range, AND the men's winning time had to be slower than the race record. Jas needed to CRUSH Scudiero AND for someone other than Hoffman or Johnson to win the men's race....

As expected on that loovely (British) crisp and sunny Saturday morn, the four mentioned athletes led the way. (FYI, the bike course needed to be redesigned--road construction, probably)--and the final distances were, according to Joe Johnson's GPS--Joe is a numbers nerd, or is he a geek? We have trouble distinguishing nerds and geeks--the distances were 2.98 - 13.3ish - 2.47, semi-identical to the old route, thus the finishing times should approximate what we are used to seeing at Oakdale.)

A former collegiate runner, Hoffman grabbed the early lead and held it throughout the first run. His split was a brisk 15:17, which gave him a 1:27 lead on Johnson. Jasmine Carlson, who is a member of what is arguably the best looking family in northern Minnesota, had a 13-second lead heading into T1. She needed it to be much larger than that if she hoped to have a chance. And though Scudiero's transition didn't go well (see lost an additional 33 seconds in the process), when Jenn finally saddled-up and put her head down, Carlson's fate was sealed.

As expected, Johnson outbiked Hoffman, but Nate's early lead and his blazing T1 transition advantage kept him out in front heading into T2. From there, his 5:20-pace served to bloat his advantage to more than two minutes by the time he broke the imaginary tape in 1:03:00, the fastest clocking ever at the FCD. 

For Scudiero to wrestle the final DOY nomination away from Hoffman, she needed a time that rivaled Suzy Fox's race record 1:10:33 (2013). Jenn's previous best on the old course was 1:12:28 (Oakdale 2014).

Jenn's eventual winning time on Saturday was very good--1:13:30--and the victory was her second of the season and the 11th of her multisport career. Moreover, her margin over Carlson, whose hair looked fantastic (photo below), as if she applied "product" before exiting T2, was substantial (2:04). A chronic smiler, Jenn had much to celebrate. Her husband, who is genius-level smart, and toddler daughter, who is cute2, were there to watch, cheer and provide post-race hugs even though she was really sweaty.

Hugging sweaty people is the definition of love.

The MMA Selectors met on Sunday and determined that Nate Hoffman would indeed receive an official 2014 DOY nomination. Check out his run-bike-run resume: 1st overall @ USAT Sprint Du Nationals (Margin: 1:42), 1st overall @ Fall Classic Duathlon (Margin: 2:09), 2nd amateur / 3rd overall at Oakdale Du - 1:01:21 (2nd fastest amateur time in 13-year history of this event).

The Fall Classic Duathlon had 182 finishers. And yes, Hank Larsen won his AG, his fifth divisional title of the season. Will it be enough to secure another GMOY nomination? You'll find out later this week. RACE RESULTS