Race Coverage
Bears, Bees & Bonking....
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Thursday, 19 January 2023 00:10
By Peter Wikman
Chisago Lakes 70.3 Race Report - Yesterday (last Sunday actually) was my 3rd time competing in the Chisago Lakes half-ironman, and it was just as exciting and challenging as always. Transition was buzzing as people filed in to get their gear set up and catch up with friends and teammates they haven’t seen in a while. Chisago is one of the few local races that gives people prescribed transition slots, which may have accounted for some people sleeping-in a little, as there was still a sizeable check-in line with only 20 minutes to go until transition close. Once 7:00 rolled around however, everyone seemed to have figured it out as there was a beach full of people ready to face the challenges of what would turn out to be a humid and windy day.
The swim started right on time and had the usual chaos that wave swim starts do. We spent the first 700 yards into the wind, which meant extra hydration in the form of lake water. The way back however was extremely pleasant as things opened up and we were able to catch a bit of a wave back in. I came out of the water 3 spots down and feeling pretty happy about my swim overall. Transition 1 was smooth (other than the right sleeve of my brand-new wetsuit almost ripping off when I tried to take my arm out) and after about 2 min I was on my bike....
Sibling Rivalry...
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Monday, 16 January 2023 00:10
GREEN LAKE SPRINT TRIATHLON - MORGAN BELL, 19, has a voracious racing appetite. She has raced in seven regional tris this year, never missing the overall women's Top 10, and her last three efforts have landed her on the podium. She's worked hard and paid her dues.
Last weekend at Green Lake Sprint, she recorded her first adult tri win.
Her sister MACY, 17, also has raced seven times, cracking the Top 10 on all but one occasion. Closing the time gap between herself and her older sister is how she marks her improvement, and she came closer than ever before at Green Lake. Typically the finish line crowd has to wait a minute-or-two after Morgan crosses the line before Macy (photo L) strides into sight. But that was not the case last Sunday. When Morgan's chip burped for the final time, Macy was less than two hundred yards back, and she was flying. Her second career podium finish was in the bag, but more importantly, her final time was only 37-seconds slower than her sister's...
Maggie and Preston Took Charge...
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Thursday, 12 January 2023 00:10
LAKE MINNETONKA TRIATHLON - Only three times in the LMT's eighteen runnings had a woman dominated her gender like MAGGIE SWANSON (photo L) did on Saturday. Two of those times were by former world and national (twice) champion HEATHER LENDWAY, and the other by BECKY YOUNGBERG, whose career resume boasts at least 45 multisport wins. (Becky's performance was recorded in LMT's inaugural edition back in 2005.)
When Swanson crossed the finish line in 6th place overall, she would have more than four minutes to recover before her eventual podium-mates came into view. Only six seconds apart when they crossed, the veteran CHRISTINA ROBERTS, a 25-race winner in her stellar career, managed stay in front of hard-charging newcomer ELENA HENGEL, who was coming off an impressive victory at Buffalo Sprint. Hengel needed to push because college star / LMT junior record holder ISABELLA BUENTING was less than ten seconds in arrears.
Exciting stuff! ...
Clearwater Sprint XIII Coverage...
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Tuesday, 10 January 2023 00:10
13th GRANITEMAN CLEARWATER SPRINT - In the Olympic race, the favorites raced each other head-to-head, that is, they started in the same wave. Not so in the Sprint. The clear men's favorites were ANDY ZABEL(photo), who was undefeated in two starts this season, and BROOKS GROSSINGER, whose career tri / du resume boasts at least 38 wins. Though their respective waves were only three minutes apart, these guys are too evenly matched for the later starter to catch the earlier one.
The gulf between the favorites in the women's race might turn out to be a replay of Buffalo Sprint, with talented upstart ELENA HENGEL launching well ahead of 18-race winner CHERYL ZITUR. At Buffalo, Hengel came out on top, though not until several nail-biting minutes had passed.
Would history repeat itself? Not necessarily, though Hengel's podium finish behind national classers Maggie Swanson and Christina Roberts the previous weekend at Lake Minnetonka suggested that the might...
Manning Amazing...
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Wednesday, 04 January 2023 00:12
GREEN LAKE TRIATHLON COVERAGE - Who are the frontruners for 2022 Performance of the Year nominations? If we include local pros TED and DANI TREISE, the list would include Ted's record-setting performances at Buffalo Olympic and Tri West, and Dani's six-minute win at Buffalo.
Top amateur efforts? Certainly PRESTON YOUNGDAHL's trashing of the course record at Clearwater is worthy, as is HENRY JESSEN's 7th place finish at Olympic Nationals. Former pro HEATHER LENDWAY's race at Timberman is clearly the best effort by an amateur Minnesota woman thus far in '22, and we suspect her upcoming performance at Maple Grove will be in the same league....
Booking on Faith...
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Monday, 02 January 2023 00:10
By David Koppel (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
IM Steelhead 70.3 - June 26, 2022 - Race Recap
I had a race entry that kept getting moved from 2020, due to COVID cancellations. So, I went from Ohio 70.3 (2020) to Des Moines 70.3 (2021) to Steelhead 70.3 in 2022. With the Ironman 70.3 World Championship being hosted in the US in fall of 2022, I really wanted to have a half ironman where I could try to qualify. To add to the pressure, we booked a condo in Hurricane, UT for the race I hadn't yet qualified for and my in-laws were planning to come too!
Steelhead became my “A” race for the first half of the season with the goal of winning my age group and a top 5 overall finish, which would get me a slot to the World Championship. I hadn't raced this distance since 2018, but I enjoyed the training it was by far the most regimented and consistent I've ever been with swim/bike/run in the 2 months leading up to the race.
I drove out a day early, stayed in Chicago at friend's condo, and then drove the rest of the way to Benton Harbor, Michigan on Saturday. I met Brad, my childhood friend with whom I've raced several times, at the race check-in the day before the race in St. Joseph, MI. We checked in, dropped our bikes off, did a short run, and hoped that the storms they were calling for overnight...
