Race Coverage
History Made at Maple Grove...
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Friday, 01 May 2026 00:10
2025 MAPLE GROVE OLYMPIC COVERAGE - Since his amateur win at Ironman Michigan 70.3 in 4:03:10, Sherwood, Wiconsin's TYLER TANKO has proven that he is capable of becoming one of a handful of amateur American men to ever crack the the four-hour mark at the half Ironman distance. He's proven that his Olympic credentials are elite as well. He came into Saturday's Maple Grove Olympic triathlon having finished 4th under extreme conditions two weeks ago at Milwaukee Nationals. What remained to be seen was how he would fare against three-time MGO champion / amateur course record holder PRESTON YOUNGDAHL and locally undefeated SPENCER SYVERTSON.
He fared well. Starting with the fastest swim of the day, and finishing with an uncontestable run (32:59!), Tyler sliced 2:24 off the ACR. His 1:50:24 was only 1:22 off TED TREISE's pro record set in 2022.
Syvertson (1:56:09) and Youngdahl (1:57:18) also dipped under the two-hour mark.
Also winning by a sizable margin was ELENA JASPER (2:09:48), who now owns a 1st, 2nd and 3rd at MGO. KATIE DEREGNIER (2:15:18) and TIFFANY KARI (2:16:25) rounded out the women's podium.
Perhaps the most impressive women's performance of the morning was turned in by 59-year-old JULIA WEISBECKER, who finished 4th overall in a remarkable 2:16:35 thereby solidfying her nonimation for 2025 Female Grand Master of the Year....
"I Couldn't Think Of Anything More Awful",,,,
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Thursday, 23 April 2026 00:10
By Marcia Steffen
I'm 60 years old. I hate to run, even though I ran track in High School. I was a sprinter, not a long-distance runner. I haven't swum since I was a kid. I am confident on the bike; however, I ride for recreational purposes only. What was I thinking when I agreed to do a triathlon?
When McKinzie Wiedrich, owner of Coal Country Community Fitness in Hazen, ND, asked me to accompany her to the BisMan Triathlon, I couldn't think of anything more awful. But I agreed that if I could do the swim, I would sign up. When Brandon Lee, my nephew and the ring bearer at my wedding, heard that I was going to participate in a Triathlon, he told his mom and me, "Marcia will be $20K in before she knows it."
I told Brandon, "Nope, this is a one-and-done". We didn't get to swim in that race due to concerns of blue-green algae in the water, and we ended up doing a duathlon, run-bike-run.
Remember, I hate to run, and when the race was finished, I told everyone that I didn't love it. And I meant it. ..
Carter & Katie, Seam & Cami....
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Monday, 20 April 2026 00:10
2025 YOUNG LIFE TRIATHLON Coverage - Three out of four of the swim-bike-run tri winners at yesterday's Young Life Triathlon were predicted.
One, a collegiate runner who appeared to doing his first triathlon, was a major surprise. His name is CARTER FERBER. He's 21, a collegiate runner from Fargo, and he used his speed afoot to overtake NICK JASMER, who appeared to be en route to the biggest win of his young career in YL's Olympic race.
2024 YLO winner BRANDON LEE came into thecontest as the favorite, but something wasn't right when he got off the bike. The six-minute-plus-small change mile pace he ran last year was not happening, not even close. More than a minute and ten seconds per-mile slower this time around, he admitted afterward that he had "worrisome" breathing issues. This allowed Nick to take over, at least for a while. A newbie, Carter had lost time to both Brandon and Nick in the swim portion and T1 and T2, but the 5:40-miles he threw down in the 10K ultimately delivered him to the finish line 22-seconds ahead. of Jasmer.
Exciting race!...
Family Friendliness
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Wednesday, 15 April 2026 00:10
By Amy Preusser
The Green Lake Triathlon celebrated its 22nd year this past weekend, and I know why athletes come back, year after year. For me, this was the first race that I spectated - back in 2022 - and I fell in love with the sport! I have raced at the Green Lake triathlon three times, and it is always one of my favorite races. It has a hometown feel, and the City of Spicer does a phenomenal job of hosting. Since a large portion of both the bike and the run courses are on the main lake road,
many people sit in their driveways and cheer for the racers going past. As a result, there are very few miles without people encouraging you. This makes the environment fun for all ages, and - I believe - is a huge reason why athletes choose to make the annual trek to Spicer. There is also a kid’s triathlon the day prior - talk about family friendly!! Our kids participated this year, and I would highly recommend the experience. There’s nothing like sharing the sport you love with the little people that you made!
This summer, as we know, the smoky skies have been a battle. For Sunday’s race, we got a reprieve. To top it off, the water was still and there was not much of a breeze as I set up my...
A Great Way to Spend a Sunday...
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Sunday, 12 April 2026 00:10
22nd GREEN LAKE TRIATHLON Coverage - St. Cloud's GRETCHEN AMUNDSON (photo below) is an "occasional" triathlete who happens to be pretty darn good at this swim-bike-run thing. And when she decides to do a tri, it is always Green Lake. ...
The Course Record Stuck in My Mind...
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Thursday, 09 April 2026 00:10
By Spencer Syvertson
2025 Northwoods Tri Race Report - I added the Northwoods triathlon to my race calendar thanks to the recommendation by Mitch Clayton. At the start line, Mitch and I looked at each other and asked where the other three guys were that had been mentioned in the race preview. It turns out we unfortunately had multiple no-shows. Mitch said he wanted to go sub 1 hour and then asked me what my goal was. I told him that 57:06 is the course record and I have that stuck in my mind.
The swim was quick and smooth as usual. I hopped on my bike and put my head down to follow the lead vehicle. One of my rules when I race is that I don’t touch my brakes until the dismount line to T2. That meant I had to ride around the car that pulled in between me and the lead vehicle before a curve in the road. After that the rest of the ride was smooth sailing. Eventually I made it to the highlight: downtown Nevis. It was so fun to be hammering down Main Street on my bike while spectators were lined up and down the road....
