Race Previews

Ivy Covered Triathlon...

Tuesday, 07 June 2011 03:45

Manitou Preview - Gosh, there's a lot going on on the Minnesota tri scene this weekend. There are two great events that are relatively young, Liberty on Saturday and Trinona on Sunday.

And there is another race, one with a storied history dating back to the Bush era. Not that Bush, his dad. The one who was the husband of the lady who looks like George Washington; not her son.

Yup, the Manitou Triathlon will be celebrating its 22nd birthday on Sunday at White Bear Lake's beautiful Ramsey County Beach. The lake itself has had shrinkage problems for the last several years but has begun a remarkable recovery. Gee, what a gorgeous body of water...

A significant percentage of our state's tri population have come into the sport/lifestyle since the millennial turn, and as a result, are unacquainted with the history of this event. That's too bad. The history of Manitou is the history of tri racing in our state. It was the arena for our multisport pioneers, like Tony Schiler, Matt Haugen, Jan Guenther, Pam Stevens, Christy Orris, Todd Morton, Kristin Miller, Julie Olson, Robin Tedlund, Annie Hed, Mo and Suzann Mouw and a talented upstart like Kevin O'Connor, who has won this race umpteen times. These are a few of the folks who paved the way for what we enjoy today, i.e. performance standards that rival or exceed what can be found in any other state.

The old timers can feel the tradition underfoot and in the air when they step onto Manitou's venue, like setting foot on an Ivy League college campus. Today's athletes, whether triathletes or, say, basketball players, do not revere history like yesterday's athletes did and still do. But that history is available to anyone who allows him or herself to embrace it. And if they do, they're sure to understand what all the fuss is about.

Manitou is a great race that deserves your participation and will reward you handsomely for taking part. There is still room on the starting line. We hope to see you there. RACE WEBSITE

Oh yeah, the PREDICTIONS. Here goes:

- Prediction - Everyone will go nuts when the handsome and venerable