Race Coverage
Sisters Rock at Big Lake..
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Monday, 05 August 2019 23:10
GRANITEMAN BIG LAKE SPRINT - BRIAN SORHAUG loves the Graniteman races, and he excels at them. In fact, five of his triathlon victories have been G-Man events, the most recent of which happened last Saturday at Big Lake.
To make W #5 happen, he had to throw down the event's fastest run split.
Until he hit T2, Brian was racing basically neck-and-neck with PETER COLEMAN, a Nebraska transplant who likes to fish, and has been to Norway. His six-minute miles in phase three got him to the finish line in 1:06:07, a personal best on this course.
Coleman hung on for 2nd, twenty seven seconds in front of bronze medalist STEVEN WERT, a tri rookie with a lot of potential.
Juniors took three of the Top 5 spots in the women's Sprint. Gold and Silver were well-earned by the talented LUNDQUIST sisters, TAYLOR and SIMONE (photo), both of whom were podium favorites coming into the race.
Taylor won this event in 2017, the year she was named Minnesota Junior of the Year, but Saturday's Big Lake Sprint was her first tri of the summer, an injury keeping her on the sidelines until now. Was she healthy enough to win again? Would rust be an issue?
Taylor raced as if she had been racing successful all season long. No pain. No rust. And yes, she won. Her time was 12 seconds faster than her 2017 clocking. The 19-year-old Maple Grovian now has five career adult triathlon wins....
Champion For a Little While...
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Sunday, 04 August 2019 23:10
GRANITEMAN BIG LAKE OLYMPIC - For two minutes and twenty-five seconds, RYAN COLLISON was a repeat champion. His time--2:09:32--was more than six minutes faster than last year, though in fairness, the weather last Saturday was far more accommodating than in 2018.
But that knowledge wasn't quite enough to make him comfortable. He'd outswam, though not by much, and outrode rather significantly, the man he feared most.
His rival, however, was a faster runner...
Chisago Reflections...
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Friday, 02 August 2019 23:10
ED. JOSH MORK and KELLI MORETTER-BUE turned in breakout performances at Chisago Lakes Half last Sunday. Josh won the race, and Kelli cracked the Top 10 with her first sub-5-hour effort. On Facebook, they commented on their Chisago experiences.
KELLI - “Why oh why do we do this?!” “We paid for this suffering!” “I chose this—I must be nuts!” “I’m never doing this again!” All these thoughts go through my head during a race and I’m 100% certain in almost every race I’ve done that I won’t ever...
"Determined to Have Some Fun"....
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Tuesday, 30 July 2019 23:10
CHISAGO LAKES SPRINT - DIANE HANKEE has been on a racing rampage lately. Two weekends ago, she podiumed at Bertram Blast (3rd despite running long) and Heart of the Lakes (2nd). She raced twice last weekend as well, and didn't simply claim podium spots, she won both races. Her Saturday win was at Shell Lake. On Sunday, she topped a great women's field at Chisago Sprint. In both races, she relied on her fleetness afoot to overtake the ladies who beat her to T2.
Elite Masters women have never been so plentiful in Minnesota. BECKY YOUNGBERG, 44, has won three major events this year and rewritten six Masters records. CATHY YNDESTAD, 40, set course records at Graniteman and Minneapolis. KORTNEY HAAG, 40, set a PR in a winning effort at Chisage Half IM. SARA RONDORF, 41, has won two of the three races she's done this season. ANDREA MYERS, 42, and CHERYL ZITUR, 54, are also racing at a national level.
And Hankee, 42, has has won half of the six races she's done thus far in 2019, and the other three results are a pair of 2nds and a 3rd.
Minnesota's Masters women are rocking like never before.
But wait, there's another woman who deserved to be mentioned here....
You Could Almost Hear the Clicking....
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Sunday, 28 July 2019 23:20
CHISAGO LAKES TRIATHLON - Climate Change is real! And some days the change is realer than others.
Last Sunday's Chisago Lakes Half IM and Sprint was greeted with perfect racing conditions, the kind that whisper in an athlete's ear. The kind that say "things will click today, and your game will be taken to the next level."
And you could almost hear the clicking. Many athletes rocked harder than ever before, and it was wonderful to witness this happen....
Another Big Win For Hanna!
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Sunday, 28 July 2019 23:10
HANNA GRINAKER collected her 12th career multisport victory yesterday at IIRONMAN CANADA 70.3 against an Alpsian backdrop in picturesque Whistler, British Columbia. The 2016 and 2018 Minnesota Triathlete of the Year turned in solid splits throughout, arriving at the finish line in 4:38:36.
Significantly, her time was only 17:24 behind the winning male, DYLAN GLEESON of North Vancouver, BC. (Gleeson was the amateur champion at Ironman Arizona last fall.) A more typical 70.3 time differential between elite amateur men and elite amateur women is in the 25-minute range.
Finshing 2nd behind Hanna at Whistler was talented Aussie MONIQUE DE ABREU, whose running reminds us of Ruth Brennan Morrey's. De Abreu, whose 2019 season is highlighted by her win at Port Macquarie (AUS) 70.3, and a 2nd at Geelong (AUS) 70.3, finished in 4:39:32.
Grinaker has won three of the four triathlons she's entered this season.
ALSO: JORDON ROBY and JAKE BRAAM enjoyed successful IM debuts yesterday at IRONMAN CANADA. For Roby, whose initial IM attempt was in 2014 at swim-cancelled Ironman Florida, placed 13th at Whistler in 9:39:20. Braam, a Rookie of the Year nominee in 2017, posted a 9:51:07, which placed in 28th overall....
