Race Coverage
Hasselhoff Running & Public Drooling...
-
Friday, 05 July 2024 00:10
By Brandon Lee
Manitou Race Recap - First double for me last weekend, even though these are shorter races, the intensity is much higher, and the Manitou Olympic was another 2 hours of near red line on Sunday.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t carry any fatigue over from Saturdays sprint, but overall I felt pretty strong. The weather was so nice, and the sun was bright over WBL Sunday morning. It felt like it had been 10 days since that big orange thing in the sky revealed itself. That same sun was directly in our eyes for the first 600 or so yards l, and I had a lot of trouble sighting, nonetheless I felt very loose and fresh in the water, it was like a cold competition pool feeling and you can definitely push a bit harder and not worry about overheating. I was caught off guard at the end of the swim, it’s very shallow and my David Hasselhoff water running skills are not up to par. Hamstring cramped in transition but was able to peel out and get on the bike. I knew I had my work cut out for me as Marcus Duval was probably 3 minutes ahead at this point.
The bike course was fantastic, pretty much in my backyard and I ride these roads all the time, so I had a good tactical plan and knew where the hills were and when to push hard on the descents. Started to run out of gas at mile 20, but kept on pushing....
"You Really Have to Hang On Tight"...
-
Sunday, 30 June 2024 00:10
By Brandon Lee
Graniteman Clearwater Sprint Race Report - Fun weekend of local racing. Saturday I raced a sprint distance at Graniteman (Clearwater, MN) and took 1st place overall. Sunday I raced Manitou Olympic in White Bear Lake, 2nd place overall.
Graniteman is a bit longer than standard distance sprint, I was very happy with my time of 1:06, just edged out Brooks Grossinger by 24 seconds. Hats off to you on another great performance bud!
My strategy was pretty simple. Swim, bike, and run as hard as possible for an hour, and let the dust settle. That’s sprint distance racing, and I’m always so humbled by this distance, you really have to hang on tight.
Didn’t feel great on the bike for the first 15 minutes, the air was super heavy as it had been raining all night, but I was able to push some good power and have a lead coming into T2. The run course is super tough, the first and last miles are a trail run with some punchy hills and the one mile of road running has some elevation as well. At the turnaround I figured I had about 45 seconds on Brooks and I just told myself to keep fighting, because I knew he was pulling me back, barely hung on for the win. You’re a class act my friend!
story lines
-
Wednesday, 19 June 2024 00:10
storylines - Spencer - 50s - Becky & Thad - Whitney
Positive Takeaways ...
-
Monday, 03 June 2024 00:10
By Brandon Lee
Chattanooga 70.3 race recap - I really do love racing in Chattanooga. This is my 4th race there in two years, and I’m drawn to that beautiful bike course through rolling hills, the great race support, and always stiff competition!
My lead up to this race was semi-conservative, we pulled back training volume some over the winter because it’s a Kona year and a long season! I felt fit coming into the race especially on the bike, swimming fitness is right where I want it to be right now, and there is some work to do on the run. But overall, I felt I could have a good day if I nailed my nutrition.
The swim went well, the current was not super strong, which I was happy about. Definitely have a better idea of where I need to be and what ti work on....
Exciting Racing at LCT...
-
Friday, 26 April 2024 00:10
Additional Lakes Country Coverage - As in the Maple Grove Olympic Triathlon, the runners-up at Lakes Country truly shined. SPENCER SYVERTSON was first out of the water in first into T2. He then ran hard, turned in a sub-1-hour effort, which is a big deal at LCT, after which he waited for pre-race favorite / defending champ JOSH BLANKENHEIM, who as a late registrant launched the wave after Spencer. The fact that Josh was stringing together 5:30 miles, however, made his repeat victory inevitable.
JASON CRISP filled out the men's podium, his second Top three at LCT.
Similarly, in the women's race it was the eventual runner-up, who happened to be a newbie with strong running credentials, who set the stage. MELISSA GOBLE's first tri produced a solid swim, a promising bike split and her signature brisk run, which surprisingly was bettered by eventual 3rd placer MATA AGRE. Goble (photo) was first to finish, followed 28-seconds later by Agre. Both women waited for superior...
Bontrager & Illgen Break Out!
-
Tuesday, 23 April 2024 00:10
14th Maple Grove Triathlon Coverage - With 1000+ sign-ups and just under 900 finishers, this year's Maple Grove Triathlon was the second largest tri in Minnesota this year, surpassed only, and slightly, by the YWCA Women's Triathlon.
Twas a perfect day for racing at Weaver Lake Park on Sunday and great performances were plentiful. In the Olympic race the pre-race favorites did what they do, though perhaps not as convincingly as usual. Men's winner PRESTON YOUNGDAHL turned in a amateur course record effort--1:53:55, bettering Wade Cruser's prior best by 23 seconds, yet his margin of victory was only slightly more than a minute over runner-up TIM BONTRAGER, whose 1:54:59 appeared to have been a breakout effort, especially when you look at the list of talented guys he outraced, several of whom he'd never beaten before.
JOE ADRIAENS (1:56:15), JAKE KEEHAN (1:56:57) and elite collegian NATHAN KIM (1:57:41) secured the three-five spots. Seven men broke two hours.
Unsurprisingly, HEATHER LENDWAY won the women's Olympic race in a fine time, 2:05:07, but it was her runner-up that turned in arguably the most impressive women's performance of the day. UW-Madison's RACHEL ILLGEN placed 4th here last year in 2:16:22. This time, tough, she, like...
