Race Coverage

Back-And-Forth Battling...

Tuesday, 24 May 2011 03:00

(Photo - Claire Bootsma appears to be looking for a contact lens.)

Rain, Rain Go Away....

By Darin Wieneke

Gear West Du Coverage - Is it going to rain the entire weekend? About 400 participants of the Gear West Duathlon must have been asking themselves this question as they stared out their windows on Saturday as the thunder cracked and the rain fell harder. Fortunately for these participants and Minnesota multisport fans, the answer was "No." The 19th edition of the Gear West Duathlon was able to sneak in between severe weather fronts and take place under mostly partly cloudy skies (and even see a few peaks of sunshine) on Sunday....

The Gear West Duathlon annually features one of the most competitive amateur fields of the Minnesota multisport season, and this year's edition did not disappoint. As mentioned in his Wednesday race preview, the start list was stacked with talent. The women's race featured, among others, Julie Hall, Sarah Mercer, Suzie Finger, Claire Bootsma, Michelle Andres, Kortney Haag, and Diane Hankee. The men's race featured a near endless number of males with the talent to podium, including Devon Palmer, Dan Arlandson, Brooks Grossinger, Daniel Hedgecock, Chad Millner, Patrick Parish, and Matthew Payne.

The women's race featured a dramatic back-and-forth battle between Claire Bootsma and Michelle Andres. Claire led after the initial 5K run by a margin of 49 seconds. Michelle showcased her cycling prowess by reeling in Claire on the 28K bike course and taking a lead of over 40 seconds heading into the final 4k run. That gap proved too much, especially under the extremely soggy running conditions, even for the fleet-footed Claire, and Michelle took the top podium spot by a margin of 22 seconds. Suzie Finger, Kortney Haag, and Julie Hall rounded out the top 5 female finishers.

The men's race also featured an exciting battle between the top two finishers as Patrick Parish and Daniel Hedgecock went head-to-head during the majority of the race, with Patrick entering T2 just seconds ahead of Daniel. Daniel was able to distance himself in the final 4K and pick up the victory by a margin of 44 seconds. Matthew Payne, Chad Millner and Brooks Grossinger rounded out the top 5 male finishers.

There were also some great age group races, including the men's 50-54 age group contest between the ageless duo of Tony Schiller (photo) and Charlie Roach. Tony crossed the finish line first on Sunday with a time of 1:17:30, which also placed him 11th overall! Way to go Tony! RESULTS