Race Coverage

By Matt Wellens (dulthnewstribune.com)

Duluth's Josh Blankenheim has often been the top men's amateur racer at the Brewhouse Triathlon, only to finish behind a professional racer of two.

Such was the case a year ago when Blankenheim finished second to Island Lake course-record holder David Thompson.

This year, the 37-year-old Blankenheim found himself all alone out in front Sunday with no one — amateur or professional — in sight to win the 31st edition of the Brewhouse Triathlon at Island Lake Reservoir....

Blankenheim made the 1.5-kilometer swim to and from the beach at the Island Lake Recreation Area, the 40K bike ride down Rice Lake, Emerson, Fish Lake and Taft roads and the 10K run north along Rice Lake Road in 2 hours, 23 seconds to beat runner-up Jame Croteau, 21, of La Crosse, Wis. by just under two minutes.

Elaine Nelson, 38, of Duluth (photo) was the top female finisher with a time of 2:12:32. She beat second-place Kayla Kjellman, 25, of Thunder Bay by just over six and a half minutes for her third Brewhouse title.

"Wins are always special," Blankenheim said. "I was happy to swim strong and stay up near the front and have a good, strong bike to put some distance between the rest of the guys. I had a decent lead on the run so I was comfortable with that. It felt pretty good."

Blankenheim finished the course last year in 1:58:09 — just over four minutes off Thompson's course record — doing the swim in 20:15, the bike in 1:00:21 and run in 36:04. This year, he did the swim in 21:18, the bike in 59:19 and run in 38:14.  READ MORE