Home
"A Joy From Start to Finish"...
-
Monday, 23 July 2018 23:10
By Jason Goepfert
Moose Lake Tri Race Report - In deference to pleas from the good folks at MN Tri News, I’ve been signing up for more races to support the local scene, especially some of the smaller races that might not have the support that larger organizations do.
One of those was the Moose Lake Tri, held this past weekend in (charming! easily accessible! welcoming!) Moose Lake. Even with construction on 35W, it only took about an hour and a half from the Cities to get there on race morning.
It was a joy from start to finish.
Race-day signup was a breeze, with friendly volunteers excited to see everyone show up. Transition was open and relaxed, with a definite local vibe. For those with higher-end equipment, there was a lot of oohs and aahs and friendly ribbing. Not a lot of those sideways competitive stares seen at larger races....
Great Choices...
-
Sunday, 22 July 2018 23:30
WEEKEND MINI-PREVIEWS - There are four multisport races on Minnesota soil next weekend. Five, if you count western Wisconsin's SHELL LAKE TRIATHLON, which historically draws it's share of participants from the west side of the St. Croix River. In fact, Minnesota athletes have won three of the first five editions of the race, and placed as many in the overall top five as their cheesehead (meant affectionately!) counterparts.
The races were are previewing in this post are Saturday's HOOT LAKE TRI and TURTLEMAN, plus Sunday's CHISAGO LAKES HALF & SPRINT.
The inaugural IGNITE SWIM RUN (at Cuyuna State Park) will also be contested on Saturday, and we hope that the event draws satisfying numbers and is a great experience for all involved. Since we don't know who's racing, nor what to expect; plus we will not be on hand to witness and report on the event, we implore participants to write race reports and send them our way, hopefully with photos. We will be happy to post those stories.
HOOT LAKE TRIATHLON - This Fergus Falls event is about to celebrate its landmark 25th anniversary. One hundred and seventy-nine athletes finished last year's sprint course race, and the early list that we saw (registration is still open) showed that 178 had already signed up. Like race management, we would love to see more than 200 participants this year, and there is a good chance the race will get that many....
Records Tumble at Buzz VI...
-
Saturday, 21 July 2018 23:25
BUZZ RYAN SPRINT - Alliteratively stated, the 6th running of the Buzz Ryan Sprint Triathlon produced a plethora of primo performances, starting with BRANDEN SCHEELS' thunderous race record 47:13, which improved the men's mark by more than three minutes. Let's keep in mind that Buzz is a short race (500yd - 10 - 2.5).
But we shouldn't be too surprised. A glance at the young athlete's 2018 scorecard tells us that an out-of-stater (Branden is from Fargo, ND) will undoubtedly claim a spot on this year's Team MInnesota, and perhaps an award nomination or two (Most Improved?). Doing so would put him in elite company alongside fellow Prairie Rose staters Sean Cooley, Rob Gilles, Marnie Walth, Melanie Carvell and Nick Nygaard.
Check out Branden's resume thus far:
- 1st @ Chain of Lakes - CR (Significantly lowering Marcus Stromberg's mark!)
- 1st @ Perham Triathlon - Course Record ...
Dream Follower...
-
Saturday, 21 July 2018 23:10
“Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire”
By Erin Ladendorf
In breaking news, I quit my job.
.
.
After many, many years in the bar industry, I’ve decided that my passions are taking me down a different career path.
.
.
After 16 years in a restaurant, I have spent countless hours behind the bar, made thousands of mojitos, done more clopens than I can count, forged some amazing friendships, drank gallons of Jameson, and walked away with tons of stories to tell.
But as I reflected and thought about the moments that made me the happiest in life, I continue to come back to the health and fitness world...
Once an Athlete, Always an Athlete..
-
Friday, 20 July 2018 23:10
By Maddy Pesch (usatriathlon.org)
When I dove off the blocks for the 200 breaststroke at my 2016 conference championship meet for Grinnell College, I thought I was competing for the final time as an athlete. I was 22, and after 12 years of competitive swimming, I thought it was time to retire. After all, I had to move on with my career and into my adult life. There wasn’t any time for serious athletics anymore, and I thought I couldn’t ever be as fast as swimming as I was at 22 ever again. So what was the point?
The first few months of my “retirement” from swimming were nice, but it wasn’t long before I noticed a hole in my life. Being an athlete was a larger component of my personal identity than I realized. Athletics meant more to me than swimming laps. I was a leader in my...
