Race Coverage
Lendway's Words
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Friday, 06 January 2023 00:10
By Heather Lendway
Timberman Race Report - After racing through some constant pain my last pro year in 2017 I finally had an MRI to find partial tears in the high hamstring tendons. It took about three years to find the right combo of care to feel mostly recovered. Then COIVID hit so I tread back into the racing waters last summer to see if I could find any joy in racing again after a discouraging end to my pro career. My first race back I was pleasantly surprised that my body just kind of knew what to do minus a few details like dismounting a bike, where I lost a shoe and almost crashed, but it turned out OK. I generally had a good time, enjoyed seeing some old friends and making some new ones. After that I decided to do Timberman, and fell I love with the venue. This included crystal clear water, cool enough for a reasonably comfortable wetsuit swim, safe roads for riding (so safe I accidentally did a little extra mileage in ‘21) and a perfect run course with plenty of water stops and a few rolling hills. After the race I booked a room for ‘22 and Patrick and I registered the day registration opened (hence being #3 and #4 race bibs)....
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...
Silly Weather Apps...
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Monday, 19 December 2022 00:10
CHISAGO LAKES TRIATHLON COVERAGE - Part II - Weather apps told Chisago entrants to expect heat. Lots of it. Temps flirting with 90-degrees were expected by mid afternoon. That news kept a significant percentage of the 900ish registrants at home....
A Great Race at a Great Place on a Great Day...
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Thursday, 15 December 2022 00:10
17th BUFFALO SPRINT - For ten years ELENA HENGEL (photo) competed in the equestrian sport of "Three Day Eventing." Knowing only that this is a horsey deal, we went to Wikipedia for clarification:
Eventing is an equestrian event where a single horse and rider combine and compete against other competitors across the three disciplines of dressage, cross-country, and show jumping. This event has its roots in a comprehensive cavalry test that required mastery of several types of riding.
Cool stuff.
Hengel, now 25, decided to give triathlon a go last year, racing four times with decent results, albeit not the kind that immediately portended elite potential.
Elena went into last Sunday's Buffalo Sprint Triathlon flying well under the radar. Four-time champion CHERYL ZITUR, and BETTINA KEPPERS, a perennial podium finisher here who was rocking a cool diamond nose stud, were favored, with 2021 Chisago Sprint winner DEANNA JAGIELO, three-time Master of the Year nominee CHRISTEL KIPPENHAN and underrated master KELLI MORETTER-BUE expected to challenge for top spots...
Records Tumble at Sturges Park...
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Wednesday, 14 December 2022 00:10
Photo - Fun bringers at Buffalo, including Darin, Lang and Jordan who nuked the men's relay record. Also: Mary, Jeff, Eric, Betsy Nine Toes and another guy.
16th BUFFALO OLYMPIC TRIATHLON - Subtracting 25-degrees and 30 miles-per-hour gusts, conditions plaguing last years race, made a huge difference at yesterday's race. Last year's windy inferno kept a talented field of men from cracking the 2-hour mark, and a strong women's field from breaking 2:20. On Sunday, when conditions were perfect (temps in low 60s, negligible wind), four men broke two hours, the first of whom doing so by more that 6-minutes, and four women needed less than 1:40 minutes to go the distance. These stats have been matched at a few prior editions of this race, but never exceeded...
