Race Coverage
Jellyfish, Vinegar & Shoulda Couldas....
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Friday, 22 November 2024 00:10
By Tim Brown
2024 Ironman World Championship Race Report - We arrived 6 days before the race in order to acclimate to the heat and time change. It seemed to me that the local community was much more appreciative and welcoming than my experience in 2019. The Covid, non-race years hit this tourist community very hard. I have to say the atmosphere among fellow racers was rather chilly. There was lots of pre-ride/run traffic on the course leading up to race day but everyone seemed to be all business. Not much Minnesota nice practiced here, or perhaps, just a lot of nerves in play. There was a definite sense of excitement in the air.
RACE DAY
Walked by the pre-race interview stage on my way to transition where the pros were in the spotlight sharing thoughts and predictions. Met Bob ("Breakfast with Bob") Babbitt on the way to transition. Bob is a super nice and gracious guy. Our conversation was a welcome diversion from the race morning jitters....
Remaining Optimistic...
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Monday, 23 September 2024 00:10
By Shyanne McGregor
IRONMAN 70.3 MICHIGAN RACE RECAP: This was my second PRO race.
I went into this race with the goal of executing swim, bike and run to the best of my ability. I didn’t meet my pace/power goals. It wasn’t my best day but not my worst.
Swim: Me and another girl had to stop at one turn buoy not sure where the next buoy was. Then I pulled ahead of a couple girls and was swimming by myself for the majority of the swim. After going under the second arch, I mistakenly sighted the wrong thing and veered way left, later corrected by a kayak. Lesson learned, study the course and sighting points better.
Bike: It was a fast and beautiful course! I was a little worried at the first 20-30 minutes because my legs felt tired. I thought it might be a day of struggling though, but they eventually started feeling better. There was some frustration with 5-6 miles to go when a group of 6 men cut off me and another pro female. There was no way to advance without slotting in and getting a penalty so we had to hang back. Power was about what I’ve been doing but I had a goal of pushing more. 9th fasted pro bike isn’t too bad! ....
"I Did Everything I Could With the Cards I was Dealt"...
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Friday, 20 September 2024 00:10
By Micah Warning
Ironman 70.3 Michigan recap - Place 14/ 1600 ( amateur) if you want to include the pros I placed 49th. Was this top 3? No, but I’m not walking away with my tail tucked.
Going into this race I sadly wasn’t 100% on Wednesday. I had to cut my running workout short due to some extreme muscle soreness in my left hamstring when I was already experiencing the same tightness/ pain in my right.
I wasn’t going to drop from this race so going into it I knew this race was gonna hurt more than usual.
Swim: 27:35
So 1:26 per 100, which is a pr for me! When I came out of the water it was the best I have ever felt. I definitely held myself back for sure. But it was my second time at this distance so I can’t beat myself up too much! ...
"...What My Body Allowed Me to Do"...
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Tuesday, 17 September 2024 00:10
By Brandon Lee
Square. Lake 70.3 Race Report - I must admit, I had a ton of anxiety about this race. I kept checking the low temp all week and it looked like it was going to be in the low 40s, and it was. I hate being cold. More than anything. This was new territory for me, getting out of the swim and getting on the bike at 42 degrees, would be a new experience....
Sean & Vanessa....
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Tuesday, 10 September 2024 00:10
SQUARE LAKE SPRINT COVERAGE - On Saturday, SEAN COOLEY and KADIE HOKANSON were runaway winners at the Square Lake 70.3. Sunday's Sprint race was just the opposite. Only 13-seconds separated the top two men, and the positions would likely have been reversed if the run course were a half-mile longer.
Thirty ticks was all that came between the top two women on this scenic and challenging .5 -18.5 - 5K course.
Last year's runner-up and this year's pre-race favorite, SEAN PICKLE, 19, enjoyed a two-minute lead out of the water and after the bike, but four-time Square Lake Sprint podium finisher STEVE STENZEL picked up some seconds coming out of T2 and proceeded to take 30-seconds-per mile bites out of Pickle's lead, but he needed a little more real estate to overtake the two-time Junior of the Year nominee.
The W was Pickle's fourth of the 2024 season.
CR for Sean. PR for Kadie...
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Sunday, 08 September 2024 00:10
Photo - Men's Top 3 - Soren Schwendeman (4:30:02), Sean Cooley (4:10:53) and Brandon Lee (4:18:13)
SQUARE LAKE 70.3 - In 2019, JOSH MORK won the Square Lake Half in course record time: 4:11:39. That performance earned him a Performance of the Year nomination. SEAN COOLEY kicked of his tri season, which he balances with his running and cycling seasons, with a 4:07 5th place finish at Ironman. 70.3 Des Moines. He followed that up with a 4:14 2nd place effort under brutal conditions (heat and wind) at Chisago. Earlier this week he decided to take on the Square Lake Half, our state's most challenging long course event, a race he won in 2023 in 4:23. His result placed him in the Performance and Triathlete of the Year conversations. Leading from the get-go he time-trialed his way to a new course record 4:10:53.
Wait a minute! Didn't Wisconsin's PATRICK ALLAIRE's 4:10:59 in 2020 steal the CR from Mork? Nope. The swim was shortened to a half-mile that year.
And while Sean's performance can be called a runaway, let's not discount BRANDON LEE's 2nd-placing 4:18:13, a Masters Record, and whch lowered his 70.3 personal best by more than five minutes. Lee appears to be a shoo-in for a Master of the Year nomination....
