(Photo by Jay Schneider)

Record Numbers Compete in Elysian Triathlon

270 Individuals Compete, 70 More Than Previous Record

  Published July 14, 2005    

  The Elysian Enterprise

  by Jay Schneider, Editor

  LIFE/Enterprise

      ELYSIAN - A record number of athletes competed Saturday in the 22nd Annual Elysian Rookie's Triathlon.
      A total of 270 competitors, including a record number 31 teams and 80 females, battled to earn the coveted honors of being named Elysian's top triathlete.
      In what started out as one of the state's first triathlons, now has grown into one of the biggest in the state with the record numbers in 2005.
      The previous record was 200 participants in 1997.  This year, in addition to the record number of women and teams, 97 men competed, which is the second most ever.  In 1997, 114 men were entered.
      The winners this year are familiar names around the triathlon circles, and also within the Elysian Triathlon competitors.
      David Lyon of Mankato returned to Elysian after a couple of years competing in another event, and claimed his third men's championship.
      Lyon was the 2000 and 2001 champion and was edged out by course record-holder Nathan Korteum in 2002.  He attended an event the last two years up north during the Elysian Triathlon, but was glad to be back.
      His time of 51:27 was 17 seconds from his top time here and also was among the top 10 winning times ever.
Lyon, who is in his early 40s, said triathlons are an obsession for him after he competed in his first one nearly two decades ago.
      Lyon has not only competed in the smaller triathlons, but has also ventured out to the Hawaii Ironman, which is a 2 mile swim, 112 mile bike race and a marathon....all in succession.
      His best finish was in 2004 when he ended up 9th in his age group and 116th overall among the more than 1700 who qualified for the elite race.
      "Once you do one you either hate it or love it," Lyon said.  "My first thought is I will never do that again."
      Well that was his first time in 1999 and he has since competed both in 2003 and 2004.
      As for the Elysian race, he enjoys competing here.  His strongest part of the race being the bike portion which is considered the toughest of the three legs.  This is where Lyon built a big lead and held on.
      Coming out of the water Lyon was in the top 10 but upon returning from the eight mile bike, he was well ahead of his competition.
      His main competition was the 2004 champion, Todd Landgraff, who was a runner at the University of Minnesota in the late 90s.
      Knowing this, Lyon knew he had to keep track of him during the 4-mile run and at the halfway point, he knew approximately how far in front he was.
       "I knew I had three minutes on him but I didn't feel comfortable," Lyon said. As it worked out, he didn't need all that time, winning by more than two minutes.  Landgraff, of North Mankato, finished in 53:29.  Placing third was Ryan Pfeffer of Mankato in a time of 54:34.  Placing fourth was Tom Philstrom of Plymouth in 54:47 and fifth place went to Red Wing resident Jesse Nelson in 55:29.  Terrence Lee of Chanhassen, the husband of the women's champion, placed sixth in 55:35.
      The women's division included a great field, including last year's winner, Catherine Lee of Chanhassen and 2003 winner Ingrid Melander of Ramsey and 2002 and 1999 champion Lynette Bacon of North Mankato.
      The 2005 winner was 31-year-old Catherine Lee, who edged Bacon for the the title by only 21 seconds.
      Lee finished in a time of 57:40, which was nine seconds short of breaking the course record which Bacon set in 1999.  Bacon finished 10th overall in 57:25.  Rebecca Grissom of Apple Valley placed third in a time of 57:51.  Stacy Maas of Edina was fourth in 59:30 and Michelle Creasman placed fifth in 1:02.16.  Melander finished a distant fifth in 1:03:53.
      Lee, much like Lyon, has competed in the Hawaii Ironman in 2003 and a number of smaller races through the past number of years.
      She likes the "small town race" of Elysian, and came here after hearing good things about it a couple of years ago from some friends.
       "I love a race where you can put your kickstand down on your bike," Lee said.  "That's what makes it fun."
      Having competed in the much larger races in Madison, WI and Lake Placid, New York, coming to the Elysian race is fun for Catherine and her husband Terrance, but by no means was her second straight title easy.
       "I came down here ready to race," she said.  "It was certainly no walk in the park."
      The finish really came down to the run where Lee edged Bacon in a battle of two of the best to ever race in Elysian.
      The engineer from Eden Prairie said the days of the Ironman Triathlon's are long gone, but she will probably continue to venture south to Elysian.
      Lee was disappointed with one thing this year.  "I was looking for the bake sale across the street and there wasn't one," she said with a smile.
      A total of nine female teams competed and the winners were Lynnette Dobberpuhl, Tasha Haefner and Lisa Popple of Prior Lake, finishing in 1:00.59.  They placed second in 2004.  Second place went to Robin Burtzel and Colleen Zastrow of Prior Lake and Kelly Amundson of Shakopee in 1:01.00.
      Burtzel and Zastrow were two thirds of the 2004 championship team.
      The men's team division included only five teams, the top team featuring Faribault residents Charlie Lechtenberg, Brad Peters and Sam Schmidt in a time of 57:08.
      WEM graduates Bill Hanson and Robert Houlihan along with Robert Houlihan of North Mankato placed second in 1:01.41.
      A total of 19 mixed teams competed with the trio of Emily Ellingon and Courtney Jones of North Mankato and Zach Walchuk of Mankato placing first in 58:19.  Placing second were the trio of Kim Kolbeck of Sioux Falls, Jacquee Kolbeck of Kansas City and Ebbie Markarios of Cannon Falls in 1:07.08.
      Local athletes who competed included Meghan Houlihan, Amber Atherton, Elizabeth Voegele, Amber Olson, Eric Huges, Shane Gunderson, Craig Hauer, Jon Bakken, Dan Houlihan, Tim Bengtson, Charity Hall, Kevin Hall, Brianna Hall, Michelle Voegele, and the Lake Region LIFE's own Lisa Wann.

 Reprinted with permission

Check out great photos from the Triathlon in the Elysian Scrapbook!