Race Coverage
Birth of a Classic...
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Tuesday, 26 July 2011 03:30
(All great photos displayed herein were provided by photo paragons, Paul Phillips and gimpy Kerry Yndestad)
TwinCities Tri Coverage - Paul's and Kerry's photos are stunning. Not just visually arresting, but transportative, as well! Okay, transportative is not a real word, but you know what we're going for here. We're sure that if 30 Rock's Tina Fey were shown those digital photo albums, she doubtlessly would have wanted, as we totally did, to "go to there."
PLEASE check out at the photos on OptumHealth Performance's and TCTri Director Kris Swarthout's Facebook pages (Paul's competitiveimage.us SHOTS and Kerry's YndeCam.com PICS) and let us know if you, like us, were sorry you weren't at this Instant Classic event last Sunday. Reading the FB comments will only intensify the pangs.
Coach Kris was positively giddy after the event. Though his babbling was unintelligible, obviously adulterated by endorphins and 151-Mojitos, his drift was clear. The future of the TwinCities Triathlon is supernova-ishly bright. What 300-or-so athletes enjoyed a few days ago, many thousands will enjoy the years to come. A four-figure field should be expected in 2012. By 2013, triathletes from all over the country will be clamoring to get in....
Yup. America's next great urban triathlon was born last Sunday. Congratulations Coach Kris and your committee and crew. Your vision came to fruition and your hard work and your faith in the face of community skepticism paid off Big 
Time.
Hey, before we talk about the race itself, let's share some of the commentary we stole from OptumHealth Performance's and Coach Kris' Facebook pages.
- Excellent race, making every effort to be back next year. - Ryan David Reeson
- nice race guys, well done! great bike course and i actually felt like a fast swimmer!!! - Mark Ambrosen
- absolutely loved the bike course. Haven't had that much fun on a bike since I got my first road bike. - Andrea Badgely (photo R)
- had a great race today - big thanks to the organizers and volunteers! It's been 8 yrs since I've done a tri, and this event gave me a really fun return to the sport :-) - Andrea Badgely
- Wonderfully staffed event, thank you!- Theresa Klaman
- I expect nothing but greatness from u Starbuck! Sounds like a great time was had by all! - Charley Roemhild (ED. Apparently, Kris has a nickname.)
- Great venue, Kris! Especially loved that swim - PR for me (and everyone else!). - Catherine Lee
- Awesome race Kris! - Brock Eastlund
- Super Proud of you Kris. Kudos. - Frank Blackstock (ED. Frank is Kris' Boss.)
- Yes! Super fun race - can't wait for next year - Ohio Street climb was epic! - Kortney Wade Haag
- Another great event...Thanks for all you do to make these happen... - Jon Rathbun
- Had a blast buzzing about in the golf cart. Gave me a chance to to see the level of detail and complexity of race planning. You were always calm and directive in all situations.Well done! - Tim Walton
- Amazing race, it's going to be an annual tradition for the Haag Family. - Derek Haag
Now for the actual race stuff.
A glance at the Olympic results tell us that Patrick Parish had to run down Devon Palmer in order to win. His run split was almost four minutes faster than DP's, and his final MOV (margin of victory) was 1:09. Devon's substantial lead going into T2 was due to his signature humungoid bike split, a 57:56! Crazy, on a route with several insane climbs.
Palmer's lock on 2nd wasn't secure until the finish line was in sight. Just eight seconds back when he crossed was Matt Payne, who's podium effort here mark a satisfying return to racing after a month off. He was busy during that period changing and burping and talking Rock n Roll with his newborn son, Mikey. He was also busying fetching stuff for his post-partum-y wife, who was even busier than he was with their new son.
The win was the 17th of Patrick Parish's four-year-old multi career.
The men's field was impressive. In addition to the podiumers, only studly dudes were allowed to join the Top 10 Club.
Really?
Heck, yeah. Check out the four-through-tenners: Illinois pro Ryan Guiliano (4th), Steve Sander (5th), Josh Blankenheim (6th - photo below), Brett Lovaas (7th), John Heinlein (8th), Kyle Serreyn (9th) and Brendon O'Flanagan (10th).
The women's field featured a plethora of Stud-Muffins, starting with Cathy Yndestad (2:08:31), who picked her 49th career victory AND placed herself squarely in the hunt for yet another Minnesota Triathlete of the Year award. (She already owns four of 'em!).
Taking 2nd was Becky Youngberg (2:10:12), also a former TOY winner (2004) and apparent shoo-in for a nomination next Fall. Coming off a remarkable three-race (Lake Waconia, Timberman and Heart of the Lakes) win streak, Becky relied on a strong swim-run combo to keep herself in front on Bronze Medalist Kortney Haag, who, like CY, turned in a monster bike split on Sunday.
Others displaying true Studly-Muffinosity included Lindsey Marshall (4th), 17-year-old Greta Danielson (5th!), who's effort here may have given her an edge in the Junior of the Year race, Cindy Blackstock (6th), Steph Alcivar (7th), Stephanie Solfelt (8th), Dawn Keller (9th) and Sara Zimmermann-White (10th).
The TCTri has to be the fastest tough-ass race in our region. If it weren't for the downhill swim, the Top Guys may not have cracked the 2-hour mark, or if so, not by much. And the fastest girls would not have bettered the 2:15 mark, or if so, not by much.
Hey, let's not forget the TCSTri (Twin Cities Sprint), which was won, albeit by a miniscule margin (three seconds), by 2010 Master of the Year nominee Scott "I'm-Gonna-Concentrate-on-ultra-running-this-year-and-probably-won't-do-any-tris" Penticoff.
Glad you changed your mind, Scotty. And congrats on a great win.
"Need-for-speed" guys Jesse Nelson and Matt Priess, who love the sprint course races and excel at them, took 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Nipigon, Ontario's Kayla Kjellman, 19, outperformed fellow podiumites Cathy Lee, which totally got our attention, and Brenda Trok, to claim the women's sprint crown.
