Race Coverage
Tuffles, Pit Boards & Energy Pellets
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Friday, 21 April 2023 00:10
By Ted Treise
Ironman 70.3 Augusta - The 2022 version was year number... FOUR for me at Augusta. Crazy to think I’ve raced each running of the race since 2018. Each year’s been special. 2018 was my first overall amateur win, 2019 was my first pro race, 2021 I had a breakout day with a sub 3:50 time. This year my goal was to have a fast swim and invest everything I had to make that front group on the bike then whatever happens happens on the run.
Swim
Augusta’s swim is a notoriously fast downriver swim. For the pro’s its typically non-wetsuit meaning we’re all in swim skins. Knowing how important it was for me to make a good group, I went all in with my tri suit down under my skin for max shoulder mobility.
After the national anthem, we jumped in, warmed up and jockied for position on the dock. Last year I lined up towards the middle of the river and it seemed like the shore side got a better jump in the current so this year I did the opposite with an inside line. The gun went off and for the first 5 minutes it was mayhem. Typically, in a deep water start you can tread water and be horizontal, but Augusta its more like AG nationals with everyone hanging on a floating dock then scrambling to get horizontal. To my right, Filipe went out of a cannon leaving a nice gap that became prime real-estate for clean water. A few of us got in a tuffle for it and lost a bit of time. After organizing ourselves a group got away and we were the third pack from what I could see....
Katie's Day...
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Monday, 17 April 2023 00:10
SQUARE LAKE 70.3 - Fast times, much less personal bests, are hard to come by at Square Lake. The bike and run courses are arguably the most challenging in our region. (We are not including "Extreme" off road long distance tris.) The current routes have been in place since 2018 and only five men had broken 4:25, and five women have bettered 5-hours.
Last Sunday, though, two of the top three women set career PRs, and two of the Top 3 men did likewise.
In our preview, we picked KRIS SPOTH and KATIE DEREGNIER as favorites, Kris because of past credentials; Katie because she was ready to, as they say, bust out.
Well, Spoth used a strong bike split followed by the fastest run of the morning to post a winning 4:17:25, the second fastest time here ever, and one that had to be as, or more, satisfying as his 4:13 personal best set in Racine back in 2015.
Since 2013, Kris has recorded at least twelve multisport victories....
Paige Prevailed...
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Thursday, 13 April 2023 00:10
IRONMAN MADISON 7O.3 - A pair of former Minnesota Rookie of the Year recipients finished 1-2 yesterday at Madison 70.3.
2019 ROY PAIGE SCHULZ relied on her signature strong running to overtake 2013 ROY NICOLE HEININGER, who relocated to Wisconsin a few years back. Nicole posted superior swim and bike splits, but it wasn't quite enough. In the end, Schulz's performance proved to be 16-seconds faster than Heininger's. Additionally, her 4:48:43 was a PR for this race. Her prior best was 4:52:03 in 2019, when she placed 5th.
Just missing a podium spot, but garnering the women's Masters title was KORTNEY HAAG, 42. Her 4th place time was 4:52:32, placing her 3:22 iahead of her nearest masters competition.
Almost cracking the women's Top 10 was 45-49 women's winner CATHERINE LEE, 48. Her time was 5:02:54 on Madison's challenging course, which was 11-minute faster than her nearest divisional rival.
One other Minnesota woman managed to dominate her AG. We're talking about JAN GUENTHER, 63, a two-time overall women's amateur winner at Ironman Wisconsin (2002, 2010). Jan's 5:19:54 was more than 25-minute quicker than her age's group's runner-up....
Shattered Records, a Plethora of PRs & a Mongoose Named Milo.....
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Sunday, 09 April 2023 00:10
HOPKINS ROYAL TRIATHLON COVERAGE - Saturday was a perfect day for a racing as evidenced by shattered records and a plethora of PRs. The pre-race favorites lived up to expectations, both turning in stellar efforts. Remaining undefeated in regional racing this year, ANDY ZABEL used his superior bike/run skills to turn in a time of 1:02:46, a personal best on this course and the second fastest men's clocking in the eight-year history of the HoRT.
Zabel, the 2022 Male Master of the Year frontrunner, now has fifteen career multisport wins.
Then there's HEATHER LENDWAY whose Hopkins debut produced a seemingly untouchable--untouchable by anyone other than herself, that is--course record 1:03:17, which landed her in 2nd place overall. As expected, she outswam the entire field and outbiked all of her female peers. Less expected was the fact that she not only outran the women's field, only three me turned in faster run splits....
Minnesota Pros Do Oceanside 70.3...
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Thursday, 06 April 2023 00:10
ED. Minnesota Pro triathletes Ted and Dani Treise raced at Oceanside 70.3 last weekend. On Facebook, they posted these comments:
Dani’s words:
70.3 Oceanside Recap
Happy to get the first race of the season under my belt and place 11th this weekend in a star-studded field!
It’s always a bit of an unknown but this year especially. New gear and a new headspace. I focused on staying calm and finding the joy in being out there - which was tough in 56 degree water and equal was chilly air temps at the start!
Swam with the group I planned on and was thankful for feet to follow in the blinding sun.
Fumbled through T1 with numb hands and feet but managed to ride with @nmf005 for the first half of the bike. I lost the connection at some point and couldn’t quite bridge back up, but this was an improvement from the last time we faced off and she biked 10 minutes faster than me!
I’m most proud of my run - my fastest one to date!
More consistent training and fewer injuries definitely makes a difference!...
Juniors Kick Butts at Maple Grove Sprint...
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Monday, 20 March 2023 00:10
MAPLE GROVE SPRINT COVERAGE - Six-time MGS winner CHERYL ZITUR posted her fastest time ever on the Weaver Lake course last Saturday, breaking her former course record by eight seconds. That stellar effort, however, landed her in 3rd place.
Finishing in the second spot was shoo-in Most Improved nominee ELENA HENGEL, whose impressive 1:05:37 was 39-seconds quicker than Zitur's time, and only five seconds behind the winner, 19-year-old GRACE BUSCH, whose course record, coupled with her win at Fairmont and 2nd at Turtleman, make her one of two frontrunners for 2022 female Junior of the Year alongside two-time JOY BELLA BUENTING....
