Two Local Triathlons to Finish Out the Season
I ended my 2023 Triathlon Season with two local Minnesota Triathlons: Northwoods Triathlon (sprint distance) in Nevis, MN, and Maple Grove Triathlon (international distance) in Maple Grove, MN.
August 12, 2023 – Northwoods Triathlon, Nevis, MN
0.25 mi swim / 14 mi bike / 3.1 mi run
Northwoods Triathlon again did not disappoint. It’s just an amazing, small, and intimate triathlon in my backyard with great community of volunteers. There is something to be said about triathlons in a small place that the whole community supports.
Whenever Cheryl Zitur and I compete in the same race, it becomes a question about how close to Cheryl can I cross the finish line. Generally, I’m trying to chase down Cheryl from the start, but this year she actually allowed me to smell some leader air by struggling to shed her wetsuit in T1. She actually got stuck in it (don’t ask me how), and needed the help of a friend and fellow competitor to peel herself out of it 
. However, she caught me again on the bike and finished well ahead of me, ending up to be the first woman crossing the finish line.
I was in second place for most of the race, but in the end I could not keep up with Mata Agre’s running speed and had to resign to third place. Well, her legs are 28 years younger, and I have a valid excuse: Northwoods Triathlon was less than one week after racing twice at USAT Nationals in Milwaukee, WI. But, the 58-year-old Grand Masters (Cheryl and I) rocked the race, and showed everybody that age is just a number! (race results)
What was the best part of the race? Maybe the nice glass of Bourbon that Cheryl’s husband, Dave, sponsored while waiting for the awards’ ceremony?
Thanks Nevis community until hopefully next year!
Click on image to enlarge and see caption.
August 26, 2023 – Maple Grove Triathlon, Maple Grove, MN
1.5 km swim / 37 km bike / 10 km run
Maple Grove Triathlon always tends to be at the end of the start up week at Bemidji State University, so, more often than not I don’t get to blog about it. Because I’m really late in reflecting on my races, it will actually be included in my reflections .
This is another one of Cheryl and I tend to participate in. However, to save our friendship (jk), I tend to compete in the longer international distance, while Cheryl tends to do the shorter sprint distance. The run course of this triathlon includes a pretty steep hill in Weaver Lake Park and some rolling hills along Weaver Lake Drive. For the sprint distance you run up those hills once and for the international distance you do it twice (two loops of the sprint distance run). Cheryl claims that she is not crazy enough to run up this hill twice. It looks like I’m crazy enough, but maybe I’m just tougher .
In the end, the 58-year-old Grand Masters struck again. Cheryl was the overall age group winner for the sprint distance, and I was the overall age group winner for the international distance, and I set a new 55-59 age group record for the international distance. What a great conclusion to my 2023 Triathlon season.
Note. I do not know why the gave me a different diploma than the second and third place finishers. Also, the international distance included a premier (elite) race and a collegiate race, these athletes are not included in the overall age group rankings. Among all athletes competing in the international distance, I placed fourth. IMHO, still pretty good for a Grand Master . (race results)
Click on image to enlarge and see caption.
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