Race Coverage
Brooks & Cheryl Again!
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Monday, 14 August 2023 00:10
NORTHWOODS TRIATHLON COVERAGE - Retired star triathlete BRIAN BICH was an eleven-time winner of the Brewhouse Triathlon. TONY SCHILLER has won two races--Heart of the Lakes and Lake Waconia--more than ten times each. JAN GUENTHER, CATHY YNDESTAD and ELAINE NELSON have come very close to doing so as well. Still, the Minnesota triathlete who has more victories at a single race is BROOKS GROSSINGER, who just won the Northwoods Triathlon for the eighteen time last Saturday.
Granted, Brian, Tony, Jan, Cathy and Elaine have double-digit wins, or almost so, at events that are among the most competitive races in our state, while Northwoods' excellence is not based on its competitiveness. Still, eighteen wins at a single race, eighteen wins in eighteen starts no less, is herculean. It demands that the athlete not be injured and that his or her bike is always sound....
A Few Words About Tri West
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Saturday, 29 July 2023 00:10
Photo by MinnCam
MTN is a lifestyle promotion website, not a journalistic one. As a rule, we don't write negative stuff about people or races. If a race has serious problems, we won't cover it. We don't want to contribute to a race's demise, or stand in the way of its recovery. We want problematic events to bounce back. This said, we won't pretend that yesterday's Tri West wasn't flawed and that eventual results were unreliable. But we will say that in spite of what happened, this event deserves to continue. Its venue is terrific, especially the way it was set up this year. Its attendance increased for 139 in 2022 to 244 on Sunday. That suggests that triathlon is starting to see a post-pandemic rebound...
Freaking Awesomeness, Mountain Gaps & Horse Manure...
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Saturday, 15 July 2023 00:10
By David Leard
IRONMAN 70.3 PENNSYLVANIA - HAPPY VALLEY - Race Report - After driving the bike course on Saturday, I texted a couple Penn State buddies and told them, “Just drove the bike course. Freaking awesome! Gonna get my butt kicked, but it’ll be freaking awesome!” It was. The whole race was.
I never did a “Ironman” 70.3 before. Always thought them a little overpriced and when I wanted to do a half, there are local ones I’d rather support. But when this race was announced, and it was indeed going to be held at Penn State and finish at the 50-yard line of Beaver Stadium, my travel plans were made, and my sister’s 4th of July picnic was planned before registration opened.
Because of a new job, I didn’t race at all in 2022 and probably only trained a third of what I would have liked for this race. I went in relying on experience, muscle memory and (I hoped) a deep base to just enjoy and try and finish this one with no other stated goal....
Storm Delays & Exploding Hearts...
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Thursday, 06 July 2023 00:10
By Cami Eckhoff
Steelhead 70.3 Race Report - Steelhead 70.3 was an awesome and challenging experience! The highlight was having Keith and our boys with cheering and supporting me! The kids have come to a couple local short course races but being apart of a Ironman event and spectators on race day is no small endeavor. They came with to registration and bike check in the day before and were up at 4:30 am (3:30 our time) race morning, sat in the vehicle for the hour storm delay, walked miles across sand, road, golf course and more all to cheer for a few seconds each time. Every time I saw them, my heart exploded! They were the real champs of the day!
A quick race recap~ I truly swam, biked and ran as best I could with what my body gave me on Sunday.
Swimming in Lake Michigan was nerve-racking but I took it buoy by buoy being tossed around by the waves, telling myself to be calm and just keep swimming. I was so glad to lift my head and finally see the finish arch! ...
Washed Bikes, S-Pattern Swims and a Gem of a Run Course...
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Saturday, 24 June 2023 00:10
By Tim Brown
Ironman Des Moines 70.3 Race Report - Ironman Des Moines has been vacillating between a half and full distance Ironman event. This year was a 70.3 and timing was just about perfect for my planned build up to the full distance Ironman Wisconsin in September. I was pleased to see the event sell out resulting in tight quarters in transition. The weather was a bit unsettled with rain giving the mandatory checked bikes a good washing the night before the race. Race morning was cool and windy with gusts in the 25 MPH range.
The swim takes place in Grays Lake Park. A great location, although remote parking results in a half mile walk while loaded with gear to transition. Once you’re transition is set-up, there’s another walk to the far side of the lake to the swim start. Grays Lake was protected enough from the wind to remain fairly calm. The cool weather just barely allowed for a wetsuit legal race. The point to point swim makes a “S” pattern around the lake with a self-seeded time trial start.
The bike is a bit of a patch work of out and backs and turn arounds. Crews were out days before the race patching roads. There were a few rough patches and sections road construction to navigate but the biggest challenge was...
David's Twofer...
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Friday, 16 June 2023 00:10
By David Koppel
Ironman 70.3 Tulsa and Des Moines Race Recaps (2 for 1!) -Ironman Tulsa 70.3 was somewhat of a late addition to my calendar, but I was feeling like I put in such steady work from January to May, that I wanted to start my season earlier than ever before, and to do that, I needed to leave Minnesota. I chose Tulsa so that I could drive (9.5 hours!), but it worked out pretty well. I drove Friday to just south of Kansas City, and stayed the night there. Then I drove down the rest of the way to check in, and relax in my hotel room all afternoon until race morning. Tulsa was much cooler than expected and I was very happy about that. The race had a half ironman and a full ironman happening the same day, on the same course, but it was still a small race compared to other locations. I didn’t know of anyone who would surely win the race, so I thought there was a chance I could be leading the race at some point.
The swim was at a state park in a nice location, but the cold air caused the lake to fog up, so the swim was delayed a full hour. This complicates things as most people have a routine with what they eat and when, and I had no calories with me and had to wait an extra hour to start the race. I took a mental note that I was definitely going to need additional calories beyond the 1000 calories of Infinit in my bike bottles and filed it away for later....
