Race Previews

Square Lake XIX Preview...

Tuesday, 04 September 2018 23:10

SQUARE LAKE PREVIEW - Next Saturday and Sunday the Square Lake 70.3 (Saturday) and Sprint (Sunday) will happen. We glanced at an entrant list last week and saw that world class amateur endurance athlete JAN GUENTHER, now 59, was on the 70.3 start list. This got us excited. We recall the 2001 Square Lake races when Jan won the Half IM on Saturday, returned on Sunday and placed 2nd in the Sprint. Two years later--she missed 2002 because she was busy WINNING Ironman Wisconsin, which shared the same weekend--she won the half again. Exhausted, she lay in the grass afterward and asked how hot it was. She was told that temps were in the mid-90s, with dew points in the mid-70s. She replied, "Good. That explains why I feel so lousy."

Despite the broiling temps and juicy air, Jan set a course and masters record in 2003. Her time was a circumstantially remarkable 4:49:21...

Well, guess what? It is quite possible that Guenther will win the women's title on Saturday. We certainly think that there is a podium step with her name on it. And we can't wait to get to Square Lake on Saturday to watch Jan, and the rest of the field tackle one of the premier tri challenges in our region.

Any other predictions? Sure. We are picking Minnesota newcomber JESSOP KEENE, a former college runner (UW-Stout) who relocated briefly to Southern California, where he threw down some very impressive tri results, to rock a podium effort.

We also think that KELLI MORETTER-BUE, 40 (photo), who impressed us with her 2nd at Waseca and 8th at Maple Grove Olympic last month, will break the 5-hour mark. Her crurent PR is 5:02:10 (Chisago 2016). We think she'll rock a 4:55 on Saturday. Fingers crossed for Kelli.

As for the 19th edition of the Square Lake Sprint on Sunday, we'll have our eye on Duluth mom / tri newbie SHYANNE MCGREGOR. A strong performance could earn her a Rookie of the Year nomination.

We'd love to see large turnouts for both of the Square Lake races. And we're not just talking about participants. Awesome races in great places like Square Lake are great for spectators, and volunteers, for that matter. And there isn't a race that cannot use a few more volunteers, right?.

Athletes can still get in, and we hope they will. RACE WEBSITE

ED. Concerning attracting more volunteer, Race Director Judi Fluger said via email: "volunteers for both Saturday and Sunday and get race vouchers worth $130 toward any of our future races – good for one year.  Volunteer just Saturday, get a $70 voucher, just Sunday $60.  Plus they do get to keep the V-shirt. And if they are on the bike course for the 70.3 they get a goody bag and everyone gets entry to the post-race barbecue.