Submitted by Win Multisports' Bill Nevala:
I have directed a number of events in the past two years and I must say that this past weekend was by far the best directing experience I have had. It comes down to this: the community of Waseca really came through and is one of the key reasons why this event was so good. I liken it to the great event cities like Annandale with the Heart of the Lakes Triathlon or Shoreview with the Turtleman Triathlon. Waseca’s dedication to community events has proven itself this year. Mayor of Waseca, Roy Srp, came to Wendy and me at the finish line on Sunday and said, “I don’t care what our city has to do, please come back and put on this event again next year. This is such a wonderful thing for our community!” Well Roy, I can assure you we will be back. I was so pleased with this event that if I had to only put on one event, it would be this event. That is saying a lot after an extremely successful 2nd Annual Rochesterfest Triathlon back in June.
The feedback from the race has been very good. We have some things to work on for 2010, but all in all it was a home run for this first year. The unique distance of the 1/3 Iron distance race brought in some good participants. The distance is great as a stepping stone for a move up from the typical International distance to the longer Half Iron distance. The event also had a Sprint course to introduce the sport to several rookie triathletes and short course specialists like Red Wing’s Jesse Nelson, who took the Gold in the Men’s Sprint race, he commented, “I run 8-10 Sprint races around the area and this one really stacks up well with them.”
Wendy and I are feeling pleased that our event in Waseca was an overwhelming success. We have high hopes for the 2010 season for not only this event, but the 3rd Annual Hy-Vee Rochesterfest Triathlon. Thanks to all who participated in our 2009 events! Keep swimming, biking and running folks. -BN
