Race Previews

Toughman & The Blast...

Tuesday, 19 July 2016 23:10

TOUGHMAN HALF & SPRINT PREVIEW - Can you believe this awesome event, known formerly as the Chisago Lakes Triathlons, will launch its second decade of great racing on Sunday? Whoa, right?

As always the fields will be large--1100+ total participants--and very deep. If the weather cooperates, we should see some records.

The men's amateur record is Tim Hola's 4:04:27, set in 2014. Hola, now 41 and a longtime resident of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, is a special athlete. In the history of US amateur half IM racing, three names...

stand out: Troy Jacobson, who was known as Mr. Half Ironman back in the late 80s until the mid 90s, when he got his pro license; Tim Hola, whose success and prolific-osity began around 2005 and has yet to decline, and Dan Stubleski, whose long course dominance began in 2013.

Hola, who was 2nd overall at Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 a few weeks back, will be on the Toughman starting line on Sunday, and we predict that he'll not only lower Rod Raymond's masters record (4:10:43 set in 2008), but land on the overall podium.

He may even win, but that won't be easy. He'll have to outrace Matthew Payne, a five-time half IM winner, including this event in 2013. Matt's PR is 4:02:46, and he badly wants to break 4-hours.

If the weather cooperates, he just might do it. In any case, we think he'll win.

Matt will get a great push/pull from Hola,  Sean Cooley (three-time Superior Man champ - PR - 4:09:05, Kris Spoth (2nd amateur at Pigman in 2015 - PR 4:11), Steve Morris and Paul Rockwood and a few others.

In the AGs, we predict that David "Hercules" Lyon, 54, (Schofield, WI) will win his division for the seventh time, and Jake Croteau, 19, (La Crosse, WI) will set a PR and lower Eric Ander's junior record (4:31:36 - 2011).

The women we expect to set the pace in the half include defending champ Kelly Trom, Hanna Grinaker, Gaby Bunten and Erin Farrens-Hyndman. Our pick to win is super rookie Grinaker, who we believe will break 4:40. Yes, she's that fast. We think Trom and Bunten will round out the podium.

The women's AGs will be hotly contested. We think that Tracy Serreyn will hold off Diane Birkeland and Sarah Zirkle in the 50-54W category. And we predict that Jan Guenther will destroy the 55-59W mark.

The wonderfully bike-heavy Toughman Sprint (.25 - 22 - 5K) will feature a great battle between Diane Hankee and Bridget McCoy. We're confident that one of those women will win, and she will join Josh Blankenheim in the winner's circle.

Are you signed up yet?  RACE WEBSITE

INAUGURAL BERTRAM BLAST PREVE - Do you remember your first road race? It changed your life, didn't it?

Then you did your first triathlon. Three times the fun. Three times the enrichment. The endurance experience couldn't get any better than that, right?

Actually it can.

If you've done an off-road triathlon, you know what we're talking about. We could go all transcendental on you here, but we'll let race founder/director Brett Oden do that for us:

Less than an hour from metropolitan Minneapolis but worlds away, Bertram Lakes is a truly magical place that refreshes the soul.  The course, designed by Buffalo Triathlon founder ...features miles of wooded singletrack, pine forests, and grassy doubletrack meandering between a chain of sparkling clear non-motorized lakes. Family-friendly, the venue features a large beachfront transition area and an adjacent brand new waterpark, ropes course and zip line, access to which is included in your race entry. Bring the family, join your friends, and feel like a kid at camp again, without the awkward weirdo counselor moments but with live entertainment, food, and a great day of fitness and camaraderie.

The Bertram Blast is on Saturday and we hope you'll give it a try. Visit the website. Watch the video. Act quickly, though. Registration closes at midnight on Thursday. RACE WEBSITE