Race Coverage

Cookies, Cartwheels & a T-Rex...

Monday, 23 August 2021 00:10

By Doobie Kurus

Women of all ages came out for the inaugural 4WOMEN Tri at beautiful Lake Ann in Chan last Sunday, including Heidi Schrad of Eden Prairie, who carried her daughter across the finish line. Over 100 women registered for the event, including a field of nearly 50 in the mini-sprint distance alone.

Bette Rowley, of Burnsville, was the overall winner, with a time of 1:03:47. The youngest competitor was 10 year old, Sabrina Shrestha, who did a cartwheel before coming across the finish line.

On the other end of the age spectrum was Judy "the T-Rex" Rykken, who at age 83, opted to forgo any sort of floor tumbling move and just use the classic "jog" across the timing mat, where the crowd erupted in cheers! Although that may have been for the custom treats from the Cookie Cart, a non-profit that teaches jobs skills for inner city youth by making AWESOME cookies. ...

The weather was AWESOME too! (Thank you Joyce Kurus!) 

ED. As Doobie mentioned, the sprint race was won by Bette Rowley, whose 2021 tri resume boasts two wins and a 7th. Her closest competitor was 54-year-old Glenda Adams. Formerly of Texas (and Colorado), Adams now resides in Madison, Wisconsin. In her first appearance in a Minnesota multisport race she had also placed 2nd overall. That race was the 2013 Apple Duathlon, where she finished just 1:14 behind Suzy Fox, who was one of our country's top female duathletes back then.

Third place was earned by Kristen Nordberg,  a Top 10 finisher at Hopkins Royal in 2019.  RESULTS