It was a memorable 25th anniversary on Sunday, July 18, for the Heart of the Lakes Triathlon. After two storms ravaged the course Saturday evening, July 17, the morning of the race dawned cool, overcast and breezy – perfect weather for a triathlon. Jan Guenther of Long Lake claimed her ninth HOLT women’s long-course title at 51 years old despite losing two front teeth in the process. She called her victory a "nice surprise." Crossing the finish line a few minutes in front of her to claim the men’s long-course title was newcomer Patrick Parish. It was his third HOLT race and first win. The first of a pair of storms swept through Annandale Municipal Park at 4 p.m. Saturday. It flattened tents in the athlete recovery area and tipped over the finish-line scaffolding where announcer Jerry MacNeil was to report on the progress of the race the next day. According to HOLT organizer Zane Schaefer, volunteers put it all back together, the sun came out and they were feeling "pretty good" until the second storm hit before 8 p.m. High winds picked up the scaffold and threw it into a pile, he said. "It looked like an airplane just flew into the ground." Volunteers had already left for home after the appreciation picnic at the pavilion. Many of them returned to help clean up the wreckage. "Nobody called anybody; all these people just showed up," Schaefer said. "That was the coolest part. All of the volunteers just kind of rallied around." He said he had a moment of worry, thinking "Oh my gosh, how are we going to make this happen." "But people pitched in and came up with solutions." The crew worked until a lightning storm chased them indoors. There was no serious damage, Schaefer said. One of the three tents couldn’t be used the next day and some poles will have to be replaced, but that was the extent of it. "It could have been much worse," he said. "Nobody got hurt." "The 25th annual triathlon is going to be a memorable one," he added. Guenther’s race will likely live long in her memory as well, and not because she won. During her warmup at the beach, her top front teeth fell out. "I looked down and there they were sitting on a plant," she said after the race. The decorated athlete lost her real teeth after a bike accident many years ago. "I didn’t know what to do. I thought, ‘I won’t race without my front teeth,’" she said. She eventually ran into a friend of a friend who agreed to hold her teeth until after the half-mile swim, but during her preoccupation she missed an introduction by MacNeil and was almost late for the start. Guenther’s acquaintance returned the teeth once she was out of the water so she didn’t have to run and bike without them, but she said the hole in her mouth was very distracting during the first leg of the race. She recovered enough on the the bike and the run to finish more than two minutes in front of runner-up Diane Hankee of Lino Lakes. Guenther’s time was 1:47:23. She attributed some of her success to the absence of her top two rivals. Last year’s winner, Cathy Yndestad, chose to compete in another race, and Julie Hull broke her wrist at the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis the weekend before and didn’t compete. "One of my toughest competitors (Hull) was out cheering (on the sidelines) …. I figured I’d be chasing her down today," Guenther said. "But I’ll enjoy a win at 51." Parish crossed the finish line less than a minute before runner-up and rival Kevin O’Connor. The 25-year-old amateur triathlete finished in 1:30:12. He called this season a break-through year for him, and the fact that O’Connor has been having a great season as well made his victory that much sweeter. "We’ve been having some pretty good duals," he said. Although not the strongest swimmer, Parish made up ground on the bike, but it was the run where he got the most work done, he said. The cool, overcast weather helped. In years past the Annandale race has been calm and brutally hot. Originally from Illinois, Parish now lives in Circle Pines. Brian Bich of Duluth has been competing in the Annandale event since 1997. On Sunday, the 44-year-old finished fourth overall. Tony Schiller, who has won the HOLT event 10 times and still holds the unofficial long course record for an amateur, finished 12th Sunday in 1:38.19. Jody Quesnell, 43, of Roseville won the women’s short -course title in 52:52, while Brandon Onapa, 18, of Long Lake won the men’s short course title in 44:44. Justin Hoefer, 22, of Annandale finished the short course in 51:40 for 10th place overall and second place in his age group. Also in the short-course race, Adam Sparks of South Haven won the 35-39 age group in 51:42, and Becky Unger of Annandale won in her 60-64 age group in 1:24:38. Don Haugo, the founder of the Annandale triathlon, made a surprise visit to Sunday’s event. He started the very first triathlon in Minnesota in Fairbault in 1982, which he later moved to Northfield and then Annandale. Back then it was part of Fit Fest, a series of competitive and noncompetitive events throughout Minnesota. "It is so good to see an idea of creating Minnesota’s first triathlon has grown to what it is," he said. "A big thank you to all those who carried on this tradition."
