July 30, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.
With a new event name comes a new champion
With a new event name comes a new champion
Men
For over a half decade, David Thompson had claimed the Chsiago Lakes Triathlon. He had close finishes and comfortable margins. The St. Paul native took on all comers every year.
This year, however, Thompson did not participate in what is now known as Toughman Minnesota, to defend his longtime crown, which left the win open for the taking.
There were a few top five finishers back from last year, and one of them made the big jump to the top spot.
Eric Engel of Madison,âWisconsin, who finished in fifth place last year, dominated.
Engel finished in 4:05.10, a time that would’ve rivaled Thompson’s finish (he finished in 4:03 last year).
He bested second place Sean Cooley by 12 minutes, and he did most of his damage on land.
Engel was the ninth swimmer out of South Chisago Lake on Sunday morning in 29:59, so he knew he would have to make up some time.
By the time the 56 mile bike ride was over, Engel had surpassed the eight faster swimmers. He clocked a Toughman best 2:11:27 on the bike, giving him a couple minutes lead.
Engel began to extend his lead in the 13.1 mile run. He was the second fastest runner on the course with a time of 1:21:58, and it put a considerable gap between himself and Cooley, who ran the course in 1:31:36.
Cooley, a Grand Forks, North Dakota native who finished third last year, came in second with a time of 4:17:00. Paul Rockwood of Superior, Wisconsin was third with a time of 4:18:01. Duluth’s Mike Ward came in fourth with a time of 4:19:58 and Jonathan Balabuck from north of the border finished in fifth place with a time of 4:20:18.
Women
The rotating cast of women’s winners took another stop at an unlikely place in 2015.
Kelly Trom of Minneapolis won the Toughman Minnesota Half Iron in 4:44:30.
The result, however, was surprising because it was only Trom’s second Half Iron. She finished in second place in her first, and took the next step to win at Chisago Lakes.
She won the race by over 11 minutes and she did it with remarkable consistency. Trom didn’t finish in first in any of the events individually, but she stayed near the top in all of them to win by a comfortable margin.
Her best event was the bike, as she came in second place, only seven seconds behind Diane Birkeland of Minneapolis. Trom, though, was already ahead of Birkeland at that point since she came out of the water in 30:19, 13 minutes faster thanâBirkeland.
In the run, Trom clocked a 1:41:41, which was the third fastest time on the course for women on the day.
Valerie Morwood of Kenora, Ontario, Canada was second in a time of 4:55:39. Maple Grove’s Erin Hydnman-Farrens was third in 4:57:10. Ann Sunggerud of Chaska was the only other woman to break five hours, as she came in fourth place with a time of 4:58:30.
Birkeland rounded out the top five with a time of 5:00:53.
Local Runners
Six local runners took to the course for the steamy and humid Toughman Minnesota Half Iron.
The top finisher by far was Forest Lake’s Aaron Wilson. He came in 18th place with a time of 4:35:55. He was fourth in his 35-39 age group.
Sarah Zirkle of Wyoming came in 86th place. She finished the course in 5:10:56 and was the 11th overall female to finish.
Lindstrom’s own Jon Lauritzen just broke the top 100, coming in 100th place with a time of 5:15:28. He was 14th overall in the Mens 40-44 age group.
Jenny Wilson of Forest Lake came in 211th with a time of 5:46:00. She was the eighth overall female in the 30-34 age group.
North Branch also was represented by a pair of finishers. Kyleen Harstedt came in 324th place with a time of 6:15:47 and David Nelson finished in 6:59:39 to finish in 420th place.
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