Race Coverage

"The Run is Where it all Fell Apart"....

Thursday, 03 July 2025 00:10

By Craig Schroeder

Fairmont race recap - This is my second year doing this event, it is a nice early year event about 2 hours south of the twin cities and a late enough start time with checkin closing at 8 that you could make a day trip out of it. I like it as they also have a kids triathlon the evening before, this year it got canceled due to forecasted heat however.

The morning of the race you knew it was going to be a hot one walking outside. Getting to the race and getting setup was easy. The staff do a great job of checking everyone in with 4 tables setup to get your bib, swag bag, timing chip and to fill out a little card that they read off of for the finish line. Being a smaller sized event you have plenty of time to talk to fellow athletes and get ready for the day. Transition and check in is located at Gomsrud park in a nice grassy area with plenty of parking...

The swim is a short out, around a marker and back for about 400 yards, I think the run to transition adds another 150 yards. They did a good job of clearing sticks as well as putting mats down over the asphalt. Onto the bike you knew it was going to be interesting with the heat already climbing and the forecasted 20 mph winds coming from the south already blowing. The roads are open to traffic but they are back roads with low traffic so you do not see many cars and the turns are monitored and controlled well. I found that, like last year, the wind on the longer out was hard. Turning the corner the wind blasts into you and you feel like you’re riding up hill for about 4 miles. Best part of it always is making that 180 and having the wind blast you back the other direction. The roads are fairly smooth and well kept and the team had swept out the corners to make it as safe as possible.

The run is where it all fell apart for me with how the heat was spiking. If this was an end of summer event it wouldn’t be as bad but my body just isn’t used to the heat this early on yet. The staff knew this would be an issue so they expanded the water stations from one to five and added multiple sprinkler and hose spray locations. The run itself is partial trail/sidewalk with some residential streets. I ended up getting passed around mile 2 of the 5k after having some feelings of cramps coming on as well as feeling the heat. Knowing the fight for the top 3 was not even close to an option but a top 10 was nice to get again with second in my AG. Look forward to coming back down with the kid next year and enjoying a family weekend.  RESULTS