Race Coverage
Notes From Last Weekend....
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Monday, 12 June 2017 19:10
LIBERTY TRIATHLON - It is hard to imagine a more difficult day for racing. Last Saturday had it all: Heat, Humidity & Wind. Especially wind, which made for the toughest swimming conditions that we've seen here in Minnesota in years, if not decades. In both the thirteen-year-old half IM, and its older (14) silbling Olympic, "performance" goals were tossed out, and "survival" was the new theme. Get to the finish line somehow, then give yourself a well-earned pat on the back for doing so.
Here's some race notes:
- Unsurprisingly, the women's half winner was KORTNEY HAAG in 5:05, a full half hour off her Liberty CR. "This is the hardest race I've done in at least the last five years, maybe ever," she said after crossing the finish line. The win was the 18th of her tri career, and the eighth time she has won at the 70.3 distance.
- DAVID HOLDEN became a three-time Liberty Olympic champion, outracing JOSH BLANKENHEIM for the title.
- The women's Olympic winner was 2016 MOY nominee ANDREA MYERS. Six of the Top 10 women were over 40, and three--JULIA WESIBECKER (2nd - 2016 MOY nominee), CHRISTEL KIPPENHAN (6th) and TRACY SERREYN (10th) were 50-plussers. Cool beans.
- MIDEAST REGIONAL DUATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS - On Sunday, BRIAN SAMES won his third race in four starts this season at the Batavia Olympic Triathlon in Illinois. The perennial Team Minnesota member's margin of victory was almost twenty-two minutes! New Minnesotan TORI NUGENT, who hangs out with Brian a lot, was also successful in Batavia. The event she won was the MidEast Sprint Du champs.
- TRINONA NOTES - Ruth Brennan Morrey's 2:13:36 was a pro record at Trinona and the 2nd fastest women's time ever. The win was the 18th of RBM's career.
- The women's Olympic winner was GABY BUNTEN, who managed to hold off Ruth until T2. Her amateur win was #7 in her career. She has won both of the races she has done so far in 2017, both by corpulent margins.
- MTN congratulates bird guy LANCE LEO, 43 (photo R), who crushed the Trinona Sprint masters record with his 54:49, which was only five seconds slower than the winner's clocking.
- Here's a new name to keep in mind: REBECCA GUSMER (photo L). The Rochester-based triathlete won the women's sprint race, her outstanding time of 1:02:26 was the 4th fastest ever by a women in the nine-year history of the race. Becca is originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin. She ran at UM, where she was an academic all-american.
TOP PHOTO - Summer Wood. Notice the wind-bent foliage.
