Race Coverage
With Five Seconds to Spare...
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Monday, 05 September 2011 03:00
By Bonnie Losten-DeWilde
It started with a bet. Only the bet was a well kept secret.
"An Ironman athlete isn't tough enough to finish this course," director of the N. Dakota 24 Hour Extreme Adventure Race, and Adventure Racer extraordinaire Andy Magness chided. "An Ironman athlete might have the physical endurance for up to 17 hours but this is a 24 hour race and the obstacles and terrain are much harder. They'll crack mentally well before the end!"
"Ironman competitors are as tough as they come," countered the Ironman triathlete. "with enough physical and mental stamina to withstand whatever terrain or silly obstacles your 24 hour course might provide."
And with that, our powerful and respectable team name secretly changed from 'Babies vs. Wild' to 'The Triathletes'....
The Color of Victory...
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Sunday, 04 September 2011 11:40
St. Croix Valley Sprint - Transplanted Saskatchewanian Diane Hankee has been racing in her adopted Minnesota since 2006. In 2009 she started winning.
Diane recorded the 10th W of her career this morning under totally autumnish conditions (cool, gray, windy) in Hudson at the 11th running of the St. Croix Valley Sprint Triathlon. She wore her blue racing outfit. Yesterday she finished 2nd at SCV-Olympic while wearing her red and black uni, proving unequivocally that her blue suit is faster than her red one.
Placing 2nd in the women's race was Tina Welzien, who was wearing her light blue G-4 outfit (photo L). She won the St. Paul Sprint in that uniform and was thus attired during her 8th place finish at Brewskihouse. Once again, the evidence is clear: blue is faster than red....
Kort Threepeats at SCVO...
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Saturday, 03 September 2011 14:02
St. Croix Valley Olympic - The 9th edition of this great event was highlighted by Kortney Haag's lowering of Cindi Bannink's four-year-old course record. Kort's time was 2:09:36, seven seconds better than Bannink's. Diane Hankee (2:20:20) and Anke Sauer (Facebook photo L) of Munich, German (2:27:48) filled out the women's podium. Like Hankee, Sauer is a total hoot and speaks real good American. She is also a very nice person. Her name is either pronounced "Ang-kee" or "Ang-kah."
We're not sure.
Haag now has eight career victories, three of which were posted on this course.
Men's pre-race fave David Holden picked up his 2nd SCVO victory this morning. His time was 2:01:30. Holden has won three of the six races he's entered in 2011 and may again earn a Master of the Year nomination, as he did in '10. ...
Blog Raiding...
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Saturday, 03 September 2011 03:00
(Photo - Team GWB - Kevin, DKT, Thad, Kort & Suz.)
By Kortney Haag (from kortneyhaag.blogspot.com)
Pigman Half Race Report - Great weather .... resulted in some course records and lots of PR's. David Thompson lowered his course record by 4 minutes and Derek and I also PR'd. I was looking forward to this race the whole year - it was definitely my A race.
We headed down to Des Moines Iowa to spend the week with Derek's family on Sunday afternoon after I raced the YWCA Women's Triathlon. This was a great race and so well organized. I wasn't sure I was going to race this until about a week before. I have only done two sprints before the YWCA race and I go about the same speed for an Olympic as I do a Sprint!!! Sprint races are not for me but it was tons of fun though and I had a blast just racing with..
Cathy & Claire. Claire & Cathy...
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Tuesday, 30 August 2011 03:00
(Great YndeCam Photos - Cathy emerging from Weaver Lake & Claire in total hammer mode. Hey, go to Kerry Yndestad's Facebook page and check out his phenomenal photo coverage of the MG & TriStar races.)
Maple Grove Olympic - Five years and three weeks ago Minnesota Athlete of the Decade, Cathy Yndestad, was beaten at Turtleman by fellow Minnesotan, Heidi Keller-Miler, and honorary Minnesotan, Marnie Walth.
That was the last time that CY has finished behind a Loon State woman in a triathlon.
Until Saturday, that is.
Four days ago Cathy blasted out of T2 at the Maple Grove Olympic Triathlon knowing that she better put close to a half mile (3 minutes) under her Kwicky Blades before Claire Bootsma got off her bike. Less than that would be fatal. Claire is just too fast afoot....
Not Too Many "K"s....
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Monday, 29 August 2011 03:00
TriStar 111 - Shortly after Wanda finished the 2nd annual Maple Grove Olympic Triathlon yesterday, a friend asked her why she didn't do the 111?
"Too many 'K's," she puffed, hands on her knees.
For 112 folks, however, the 111 kilometer challenge, was not excessive. For them, there were not too many Ks.
The inaugural TriStar 111-Minnesota, which was the US debut of a two-year-old international Series, was won by German distance star, Maik Twelsiek, in an outrageous 3:12:45, which was eight seconds faster than Thomas Hellreigel's previous Series record, set in Estonia in June. Twelsiek is a former Ironman Lake...
