I've heard amazing things about the Superior Man Tri venue and race experience, and I'm glad to report that it did not disappoint. Far from it. Hearing it second hand doesn't even remotely come close to the breathtaking beauty that the north shore provides, or the challenges. I was originally scheduled to race this weekend, but due a critical training weekend prior to Ironman Wisconsin racing just wasn't in the cards for the weekend. So I considered my race fee a donation to an unique race for a community I'm grateful to be apart of. And I'm so glad I did!
Joe and I rolled into town early Saturday afternoon. so I could get an 80 mile bike in and do some recon for the bike course.
I ended up finding myself on some rather questionable roads at best to get out of town, and after portaging my bike over a steep gravely hill I found myself on Scenic Dr leaving out of Duluth up to Two Harbors, MN. Or as many people know, the Grandma's Marathon course.
Finally, on the right track.
It was such a treat to be able to mix up my long rides with this gorgeous change of scenery.
Just happy to be here!
Here, there be monsters.
And such a blast to run into some of my biggest fans!
After a short run off the bike, it was a quick dinner and straight to bed to be able to get up and sherpa for Mr. Joe Adriaens! We were up far before the sun was, and were headed over to transition.
Such a beautiful day for a race, and so glad to have my awesome support crew of pro sherpas with me!
Superior Man has the most interesting race start I've ever seen, hope to be able to participate in someday.
You jump off a boat! And swim your little butt to shore! In order to jump off the boat, you must first get on the boat.
The pro sherpas and I sent our athletes off to be kicked out of a perfectly good boat, and made ourselves comfortable on the shoreline of Lake Superior to enjoy the sunrise and the swim course.
After sending Joe, Sean Cooley, and Hanna Grinaker off on the bike. It was time for our own workouts.
We bee-lined it back to The Inn on Lake Superior, set off for all of our individual workouts with plans to meet back up to see Joe in off the bike. I took my 8 mile run onto the race course to do some recon work to report back to the athletes. My oh my is that a course as challenging as it is beautiful. And it is astonishing. I wound my way backwards through the run course to ensure I didn't miss any of the lead athletes, and let Joe know if he was ahead or behind Cooley (and by how much).
By running the course backwards I got the opportunity to fully experience the traithlon community at it's finest - supporting each other as we push ourselves to be our absolute bests. This time in a stunning venue.
Off the bike, Joe was 3 minutes back from Cooley and looking like he could make up the ground. On the second loop around he was 6 minutes down, but he has tenacity that needs to be seen to believe.
Hanna of course absolutely crushed the women's field! So proud of her drive to keep her focus no matter what race day throws at her.
All in all. Cooley came in 1st followed quickly by Ted Triese and my very own Joe Adriaens to round out the podium. Amazing race performances by each racer, and incredibly entertaining commentating by the ever brilliant Jerry MacNeil.
Absolutely amazing way to top off quite the adventure of the weekend. So beyond proud of you Joe! A massive thank you to the race director, the stellar volunteers, and an even bigger thank you to my Pro Sherpa parents! Each race is made more memorable, and so much more fun, by having you both with us to experience these crazy adventures!
