Race Previews

Blaine Tri Stuff....

Monday, 14 May 2012 02:30

Race Preview - For the last seven years the Albert Lea Triathlon was the first multi on the Minnesota calendar that featured a lake swim. Earlier races were either duathlons or the swim portions took place in pools.

That changes this season. The inaugural Blaine Triathlon on Saturday, May 19, the day before the 8th annual Albert Lea Tri, is a cycle-heavy race consisting of a .3 mile lake swim, two 8.35 mile bike loops and a 3.5 mile run.

Race organizers established a 300-participant enrollment ceiling, which was reached several weeks ago. How cool is that? MTN sends our hearty congrats...

to the event's producers.

Having had the opportunity to peek at Blaine's start list, we were able to formulate a few predictions:

- St. Paul master, Jeff Grebner (photo R), had raced very well in 2011 and 2009, though, thanks to the fact that world-class 40-plussers like Kevin O'Connor and Brian Bich have grabbed most of the headlines, he has flown somewhat under the radar. We think that Jeff, who is tall and handsome despite being follicularly challenged, will win on Saturday. Check out Greb's prior highlights:

2011: 2nd @ St. Paul Sprint, 4th @ Square Lake Sprint, 6th @ Manitou.

2009: 2nd @ Square Lake Sprint, 6th @ St. Paul Olympic, 10th @ Lake Waconia Citizens

Yeah. He's ready to win.

- We believe that the women's race will come down to a battle between Greta Simpson, who has won four races in her young career, and runner/occasional multisporter Nicole Cueno. Though she's only raced in two tris over the last three seasons, Nicole's results were stellar: 6th @ Buffalo Olympic '11 (2:17!) and 10th @ Chisago '09 (4:49!). We believe that Cueno will win on Saturday and fervently hope that this is the year that the 2012 Olympic Trials marathoner (2:42:33 at Houston on January 14!) adopts the multisport lifestyle in earnest. FYI, Nicole is the director of the awesome YWCA Women's Triathlon, in case you didn't know that already.

- We predict that the race will run smoothly and that participants will tell their friends that they had a great experience. And we predict that race organizers will be forced to consider increasing the event's enrollment in 2013.

BONUS NEWS:

Hey Triathletes:

To save money, register today for the 23rd Annual Lake Waconia Triathlon! An entry fee increase of $10 will be added May 20th. Please tell your friends of the May 20th $10 fee increase and remember to register today at: www.lakewaconiatriathlon.net.

Thank You!

Marvin Denzer, Lake Waconia Triathlon Race Director

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Mobile: 612-719-9816