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"Things Are Moving in the Right Direction"...
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Saturday, 06 August 2022 00:10
By Kelli Moretter-Bue
Chisago Sprint Race Report - I am 100% a triathlon nerd. I love this sport and follow it very closely.
Even more than watching it, I love participating in it: training hard, figuring out the nutrition, balancing rest and work are all part of a puzzle that I truly enjoy.
I lost that enjoyment last year. I had trained hard for Ironman CDA and was very fit for the day. Unfortunately, the heat (102!) and my hamstrings had other plans. I ended up with a DNF. Gutting. All the hard work and family sacrifice and balancing work and training for a Did Not Finish.
I then took a few weeks and decided to sign up for Ironman Madison. I didn’t want to waste my fitness and I hoped my hamstring tendons would improve. I raced a 70.3 in August last year and was absolutely miserable the entire time. My body hurt. My mind could not free itself from the misery. When I crossed the finish line I said “I’m done.”
I didn’t do Ironman Madison. In fact, I stopped working out. I needed a break, a big one....
"I Will Definitely Be Back"...
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Monday, 01 August 2022 00:10
CHISAGO LAKES TRIATHLON COVERAGE - Part I - Breakout wins by "under the radar" male athletes have almost become the rule, not the exception, at Chisago Lakes Half Ironman in the last half-dozen years. Tri rookie KARL NYGREN outraced a plethora of pre-race favorites en route to the men's title in 2021. Kiwi MATT HUTCHINSON's credentials were very solid, though totally unbeknownst by his American peers, until he beat our region's best --Cooley, Adriaens, Cruser et al--here in 2018.
We shouldn't have been too surprised, then, when a heretofore unknown, outside of Xterra circles, that is, overtook pre-race favorite JOE ADRIAENS during the run and sped to an impressive win, a personal best for the distance by more than six minutes despite the unrelentingly windy conditions.
His name is LUKUS KLAWITTER. He's originally from Hutchinson, Minnesota, and is currently completing his doctorate at NDSU in Fargo. We reached out to him after the race and communicated via Facebook Messenger. His personal race report, which includes his competitive bio, will serve as the first of two, perhaps three, MTN posts covering this year's exciting Chisago Lakes Triathlon. It is unedited. We love the fact that Dr. Klawitter isn't into using mid-sentence capital letters....
Beans and Bagpipes and Not Having to Drink Light Beer...
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Friday, 29 July 2022 00:10
BREWHOUSE PREVIEW - The definition of a true "Classic," Duluth's flagship triathlon will celebrate it's 35th edition next Sunday. It will also be the 10th anniversary of its "new" spectacular venue at Island Lake, a 15-minute drive north of the multi-nicknamed town, e.g. the Zenith City, the Air-Conditioned City (because of Lake Superior's cooling effect in the summertime), Portland of the Midwest etc.
As expected, sharing the same weekend with Nationals has leeched some BH regulars, still, the race should field between 350 and 400 participants. This is happy news. (The 2023 Brewhouse will not go head-to-head with the Age Group Championships.)
The list we perused, which is almost two weeks old, suggested that SHYANNE MCGREGOR will continue to dominate the Sprint race, though BETTINA KEPPERS will keep her honest, and ELAINE NELSON should notch her sixth W on this course, despite what we assume will be some post Chisago 70.3 aches. LISA FILZEN should land on the Olympic podium for the second consecutive year. We predict that she will set a new BH personal best.
JOSH BLANKENHEIM was not on the list we saw. If he's not going to Milwaukee, we think he will do, and win for the 4th time, his beloved hometown tri. ...
Chisago XVI Preview...
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Thursday, 28 July 2022 00:10
2022 CHISAGO LAKES TRIATHLON PREVIEW - Approximately 900 triathletes are expected for this Sunday's 16th-edition Chisago Lakes 70.3, Sprint and inaugural Olympic triathlons. The CLT is a fantastic event at a fantastic venue: Paradise Park in Chisago City....
Encouraging Signage...
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Wednesday, 27 July 2022 00:10
TURTLEMAN NOTES - Regional triathlon attendance has been in decline for at least a decade. And the pandemic has exascerbated that in a big way. Unlike, runners, swimmers and cylists, Triathletes depend on racing for their identity, thus "uncertainly" can, and has, shifted many to a single sport emphasis. The migration from triathlon to cycling in all its forms, for instance, can best be described as "torrential," not a trickle. Still, high-ticket races like Nationals and Ironman-branded events are keeping the sport alive in a global sense, but they are contributing to the shrinkage of local and regional races.
It's easy to get a bit depressed about this stuff, but there are some signs that our regional scene may be rebounding, albeit slowly. And we need to remember that we are responsible for either resuscitating our sport locally, or pulling the plug. We can resuscitate by racing locally and enthusiastically. Instead of doing one local race a year, we can do two or three. And we can encourage potential newbies to give tri a try, or encourage vets to add another local race to their schedules.
Studying last Saturday's Turtleman results, we were heartened to see that 300 athletes finished the event, especially since last year's finisher total was 213. Eighty-seven additional line-crossers is a significant upward bump (31%). Very encouraging, especially if what we are seeing is an actual trend....
