Race Previews

Mary & Jeff Will Be There...

Tuesday, 21 June 2011 02:50

Croixathlon Preview - Amy is kinda bummed. And on her behalf, so are we. There are six weekends during the 2011 tri/du season with five or more scheduled multis. Not only is Amy's race--the 6th annual Croixathlon--on one of those crowded weekends, it is on the one that is the most jammed....

There are EIGHT races to contend with this coming weekend, and some of those events are experiencing slumping enrollment. Amy would love to see 300 folks on her starting line on Saturday, but that would require a sizable chunk of race week registration.

How can MTN help?

Hopefully we can be appeal to those who have yet to sign up for a Saturday race. We want to invite 75 heretofore un-signed-up athletes to accept the Croixathlon challenge and register this week. Those who do will be glad they did. (NOTE: The race is offering a 10% "Latebird" discount!)

Need a few hearty recommendations? Just ask perennial recidivists Dan Cohen, David Holden, Lindsay Marshall, ANYONE from the fun-loving Wild River Tri Club, Mary Deep, Jeff Gilmer (Mary and Jeff should be married by now - we'll check on that this Sunday - see photo of them below. Aren't they a cute couple?), Jonathan Sage-Martinson, and these are just the names of folks that come immediately to mind. They'll tell you that Croixathlon is unique. And that it's soooooo fun. Most of these folks call it their favorite race of the season. They love it's unique features, like the diabolical Climb from the St. Croix, which is a must-do thing in any multisporter's pain-seeking life. They love the riotous pre-race meeting. Amy and Gretchen are both total hoots! And together they achieve a whole new stratospheric level of "Hootness." You have to hear and see them to believe it.

Croix vets love running on bridle paths dotted with horse poop that has been spray painted orange. And hanging out in a rustic camp setting. These are just some of the things that distinguish Croixathlon from other fine events.

And don't forget that a good portion of the field heads to Barker's in downtown Hudson after the race to chow on world-class buffalo wings (and other great stuff, too!) and enjoy their immense variety of imported and craft brews.

Let us repeat: Give this event a chance. You'll be glad you did.

Now for the PREDICTIONS, based on current sign-ups. We fully believe that field-depth will be added this week.

* Dan Cohen and David Holden have been duking it out for the top men's spot for the last several years. We don't expect that to change. Dan has won the last two years, but this could be David's turn to triumph. Holden is fit and has won one race already this year, plus he's coming off a Top 5 finish at the ultra-competitive RochesterFest / MSCS Olympic State Championships. Dan has yet to race this year and has been working his buns off for the last several months at OptumHealth Performance. Still, there's much to be said for guts and muscle memory. And Cohen has an abundance of both.

* With defending champ Cathy Lee, who was nominated for Minnesota Triathlete of the Year in 2010, living in Ohio these days, and 2010