Race Previews

Thanks Uncle Randy!

Monday, 07 September 2020 23:10

SQUARE LAKE SHORT COURSE - Twenty-one years ago, Uncle Randy  decided that he was going to broaden his race production company. Running and walking events were the staples of his business then and he wanted to add multisport races. Triathlon was very popular and he wanted to get in on the action.

Additionally, he saw an opportunity to extend the brief Minnesota triathlon season, which at that time ended with Lakes Country in late-August.

The venue he selected for his first triathlon was stunningly beautiful Square Lake Park and its rolling, rural environs. Excitedly, he showed this site to the Midwest Events Guys who shared his enthusiasm. (He also shared his vision with another running company, Final Stretch, who would also expand into tris and dus and fill out and extend Minnesota's swim-bike-run and run-bike-run season.) In early September 2001, the first Square Lake Short Course race was born....

The 20th anniversary of the Square Lake Short Course Triathlon will happen next Sunday. Many would love to attend the event as spectators, but COVID put the kibosh on that. The event will consist of participants and volunteers only. Bummer. 

Though we haven't seen an entrant list yet, we are aware of several top athletes who are planning to race, some committed--JOSH MORK, DIANE HANKEE, SIMONE LUNDQUIST--others tentatively so--KEVIN O'CONNOR, TED TREISE, SHYANNE MYGREGOR, BETTINA KEPPERS. (We're hoping that other fast folks like JENNA HORNER, ANNA RAINER, SARA RONDORF, AJ MANNING, BRETT LOVAAS etc. decide to make the trek out to Square Lake next weekend, too.)

There will also be a plethora of "usual suspects" in the Age Group competitions. We're anxious to see if, for instance, LUKE HARNED can better the 65-69M course record--1:43:03--he set there in 2019.

A typical winning time for men here is 1:24ish. Mork, whose 2020 resume features a win at Graniteman Clearwater, and a 2nd--1st amateur--at Big Lake, should be able to knock a minute-or-two off that, and Treise, winner in both of his starts this year, should hack another minute off.

Hankee and McGregor raced here in 2018, with Hankee winning and McGregor taking 4th. Shyanne was a rookie then, and her emergence since then has been fun to watch. She'll come into the race as the favorite, but let's not discount Hankee. Both women have victories in their only other starts this season, and McGregor has yet to face and beat a Team Minnesota athlete, though the times she recorded in her last three races were certainly Team Minnesota fast. What we're saying is this: the battle between McGregor and Hankee should be epic and give us a clearer picture of McGregor's trajectory.

We thank Uncle Randy for creating the Square Lake races, which have rightfully earned "classic" status. The 20th anniversary race should be another goodie.