Race Previews

Important Newsy Notesey Stuff...

Tuesday, 13 March 2012 03:30

* COOL BEANS - TwinCities Olympic has been added to the prestigious Midwest Collegiate Triathlon Conference Race Schedule. How cool is that!

2012-2013 Conference Schedule:

20-May Bluff Creek Triathlon Boone, IA Olympic

9-Jun Elkhart Lake Triathlon Elkhart Lake, WI Olympic

23-Jun Quartermax Tri Innsbrook, MO Olympic

22-Jul TwinCities Triathlon St. Paul, MN Olympic

5-Aug Omaha Triathlon Omaha, NE Olympic

12-Aug Rev3 Wisconsin Dells Wisconsin Dells, WI Olympic

The Midwest Collegiate Triathlon Conference (MWCTC), founded in 2006, began as an association of colleges and universities located in the Midwestern and Mideastern United States of America. In 2010 the large conference split into the Midwest and Mideast conferences, which are now governed separately. The MWCTC is officially recognized as the governing body for the sport of triathlon at the collegiate level in the Midwestern United States of America by USA Triathlon (USAT), the national governing body of triathlon in the United States of America. The commissioner of the MWCTC is currently located in Madison, Wisconsin USA.

* GREAT FINAL STRETCH NEWS - Final Stretch, the excellent event management company that produced five tris and two dus in 2011, is expanding it's schedule in 2012. The company has recently acquired two of our state's long-standing and highly respected events: the Albert Lea / Land Between the Lakes Triathlon and the North Mankato Triathlon. The Albert Lea race on May 20 will continue to be part of the Tri Minnesota Series and is expected to draw record attendance. The North Mankato event, though not a member of the TMS this year, has raised its enrollment ceiling to 375.

Also, the Liberty Triathlon's Baker Park / Lake Independence venue is unavailable this year due to construction projects. The 2012 races will be held at Lake Rebecca Park Reserve in Rockford. The participant list on the website has not been updated since February 20, thus it would be easy to assume that plenty of spots are still available. The truth is that the event is more than 75% full. We do encourage interested athletes to act quickly to insure their participation in this annual classic.

Finally, the St. Croix Valley Sprint and Olympic Triathlons will not be staged on separate days this year. Instead, both races will take place on Saturday, September 1.

Final Stretch WEBSITE

* SONORAN RACE REPORT - Hey MTN Guys - MN had 2 representatives at the Desert Classic Duathlon yesterday March 10th, myself and James Hannon from Rochester. The race was a 3.65 mile run on desert trails, a 30 mile road bike, followed by a 3.75 mile desert trail run. You could have chosen to do a mountain bike segment instead of the road bike leg. The runs were on mostly single track mountain bike trails in the McDowel Mountain Regional Park near Fountain Hills, AZ. Weather was great. The runs were difficult due to the terrain, passing was a challenge, and half of the road course was on large chip-seal. Vertical climbing on the bike amounted to 1200 feet or so according to my computer. I did not have my best race and was crushed in the 60+ age group by a Murray Macpherson (have you heard of him?). I believe James Hannon won his divisiion. I didn't stay around for the ceremonies as I had scheduled commitments with my house guests. My next planned race is the Duathlon Nationals in Tucson April 28th. Then back to MN for the good weather season. ................Ben Ewers

NOTE: A two-time Minnesota Grand Master of the Year, Ben earned a USAT Grand Master of the Year Honorable Mention in 2011. FYI Ben, Murray MacPherson is from Calgary and he, like yourself, winters in AZ. A decorated AGer since the 80s, Murray has recently turned 60. He still runs 37-38 minute 10Ks (damn him!) and popped a 4:49 at Soma Half last fall.