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Ken's Journey...
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Friday, 01 February 2019 23:10
By Ken Barrick (usatriathlon.org)
It was March, 2014. I was sitting in an airport in Honduras on my way back from a scuba diving vacation, when a friend of mine handed me a triathlon magazine that was sitting on the chair next to him. He knew I was a baseball player and often made fun of me for how I always bragged about being an athlete at my advanced age of 46. “These are athletes,” he said as he handed me the magazine.
“Triathlon,” I scoffed, “that’s like taking candy from a baby. I can do that easily.”
“Sure,” he quipped back, “I dare you.”
With that dare, my adventure began. Upon arriving back in my hometown of Baltimore, MD, I began my research. Where was the closest triathlon event to my home and when? I discovered the Baltimore Triathlon was being held in September. I had six months to train. ...
Snoopy PJs & a Ute...
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Thursday, 31 January 2019 23:10
Here is mini-coverage of one the remaining two races--COON RAPIDS and CHANHASSEN--of Life Time Fitness's Winter Indoor Triathlons. Visit our calendar page to link to Life Time's Spring Indoor events, which will take place in late March and again in early April.
COON RAPIDS - To no one's surprise, masters tri-stud / mountain bike devotee LUKE NELSON finished atop the 40-member field, posting a four-point win over CORY SWINGEN. Nelson, a true "family man" and professional firefighter bought Snoopy Christmas PJs (photo) for his whole family. Very cool!
Like Nelson, Cory is an addicted MTB guy, having done the awesome Lutsen 99er on several occasions. A music lover, one of Swingen's favorite bands is "Frightened Rabbit." We've never heard of them, so we visited their Facebook page and listened to one of their tunes ("Ahem"). It was pretty darn good!
Placing 4th overall and winning for the women at CR Indoor was ELISHA KEKACS, a former collegiate hurdler (University of Utah) who outran her gendermates by a significant margin. A dedicated summer triathlete/duathlete, Elisha gravitates toward the long stuff, i.e. half and full IMs. She has many chldren (three, we think?), and her husband has a handsome beard. We think she has had a successful Lasik procedure and likes Hawaiian coffee....
Preteen Rocks at Life Time Lakeville...
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Monday, 28 January 2019 23:10
LIFE TIME INDOOR TRIATHLONS - WINTER RACES - We have already posted capsules on the St. Louis Park and Plymouth events. There were three other tris staged at various clubs that day (January 20), as well. Here's some stuff about the Lakeville event:
LAKEVILLE - Sixty athletes completed the tripartite event, with JOHN DREW outswimming and running the men's field to claim a five point victory over runner-up ERIC LINDQUIST, and preteen phenom CLAIRE VUKOVICS, 12 (photo), likewise relying on her swim/run prowesss to hold off her closest rival, outdoor tri-vet STEPHANIE FEAKES-YOUNG.
Drew has very solid outdoor tri creds. He cracked the Top 7 at New Bri last Summer, and nailed a Top 15 (13th) against the strongest men's field of the 2018 Minnesota outdoor season at Lake Waconia. As for Vukovics, she is a five-time junior Olympic cross country All-American. How cool is that! ...
Niska and Hamer Top 90-Member Field at LTF Plymouth...
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Saturday, 26 January 2019 23:10
LIFE TIME FITNESS PLYMOUTH INDOOR TRIATHLON - As with LTF's St. Louis Park event, Plymouth experienced a slight growth (90 finishers) in attendance. 2018 Plymouth bronze medalist JAMES NISKA was victorious this time around, amassing an impressive 273 points, 14 more than in 2018. His margin of victory over runner-up THOMAS PIHLSTROM was three points....
Douchebaggery & Farts in the Wind....
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Friday, 25 January 2019 23:10
Ed. James Lange is a HOOT!
By James Lange (trstriathlon.com)
In October my esteemed colleague and veritable “real journalist” Kelly O’Mara published a thought provoking piece titled “Make the Best Amateur Triathletes Turn Pro.” As title implies, Kelly argues that the best amateurs should be forced to “go Pro” (this echoes a similar theory I have for the adult film industry, but I’ll save that for another time and place).
A logical extension of Kelly’s argument is that those at the tail end of the pro field should be forced to move back into the age group ranks, to “go unpro”. This concerns me greatly, because transitioning from a professional triathlete to an unprofessional triathlete is a complicated process. When an amateur turns pro there are a plethora of resources and people they can turn to, but when a pro turns amateur they are left to drift aimlessly, like a fart in the wind....
