by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
A Sauk Rapids man, Rob Madgwick, excelled in the 33rd annual Sartell Apple Duathlon held May 23.
Madgwick placed second in his age division of males 20-54. He crossed the finish line with a time of 1:39:13. Madgwick was one of about a dozen Sauk Rapids residents who competed in the “Apple,” along with more than 200 other runners-bikers in various age-and-gender categories. A total of 208 racers completed the “Apple,” with Madgwick finishing in 39th place overall.
The race involves a 5k run, a 33k biking course and another 5k run.
The participants last Saturday hailed from cities throughout Minnesota and even from other states. The “Apple” is recognized as one of the best and most efficiently run duathlons in the nation.
The overall winner of the race was Matthew Payne, 38, of Columbia Heights with a top time of 1:20:46. The female winner was Elaine Nelson, 36, of Duluth with a time of 1:34:06.
Other Sauk Rapids participants and their overall places among the 208 who finished the race are Jason Migalas, 36, 83rd place; David Vee, 31, 119th place; Adam Plant, 30, 137th place; and Amy Foss, 34, 164th place.
The Apple Duathlon also allows for teams of competitors with one doing the two running portions, the other doing the biking portion. Two Sauk Rapids teams placed in the top 10 of their age-gender divisions. A team dubbed Wreckless Moles placed third of eight teams in their category. Its members are Rebecca Ballman (runner) and Kari Osmondson (biker). A male team called Rejuv 1 placed sixth of the nine teams in its category. Its members are Rob Okerlund (runner) and Scott Eide (biker).
Duathletes grab their bikes for their grueling 33k biking portion of the Sartell Apple Duathlon.
A wave of runners-bikers sets off from the starting line at Sartell Middle School during the May 23 Sartell Apple Duathlon.
A duathlete, Chad Milner of Eden Prairie, leaves the bicycle-transition area after completing the first of two 5k runs. His bike portion of the Apple Duathlon was a 33k route. Milner finished in 11th place, overall, out of the 208 duathletes who completed the race.
Winry Richards of St. Cloud (left) and Rayna Dickhaus of Cold Spring play with their jump ropes just before the start of the Sartell Apple Duathlon.