Tollakson Powers His Way To Mighty Hamptons Win Despite Damp Track

By Brett Mauser | 1 Comment

Roughly a dozen cyclists mount their bikes after completing the 1.5 kilometer swim as part of the 27th Annual Mighty Hamptons Triathlon. Photos by Brett Mauser

By posting a sub-35-minute run and a time of 1:57:01, T.J. Tollakson, of Iowa, rose
to the top of nearly three decades' worth of results.

Sag Harbor - While the spectators took cover from the cold rain under umbrellas, tents or whatever else they could find on Long Beach in Sag Harbor, T.J. Tollakson, one of the elite competitors at Sunday's 27th Annual Mighty Hamptons Triathlon, was licking his chops.

The early start plus the cool weather, paired with the calm waters of Noyac Bay, allowed Tollakson, a professional triathlete from Des Moines, Iowa, to attack the swim portion of the three-leg race. Of the elite group, Tollakson was first out of the water, and extended his lead with the morning's fastest bike. With roughly a five-minute edge going into the 10K run, Tollakson's concerns went from finishing first - all but a certainty at that point - to taking down the course record. By posting a sub-35-minute run and a time of 1:57:01, Tollakson fell just short of rising to the top of nearly three decades' worth of results. Kirill Litovtsenko's time of 1:56:29, set in 2002, still reigns supreme.

"I was hoping to break the record here," said Tollakson, who chose to participate in the race because his chief sponsor, TYR Men's Triathlon Clothing, backed the race. "As soon as I came this morning and I saw it was raining, I didn't know if it was possible."

Tollakson has raced professionally since 2004, with a first-place finish at last year's Eagleman 70.3 in Cambridge, Md., as well as a second at Ironman Arizona earlier this year. The Mighty Hamptons was a tune-up for yet a completely different race than the challenge that looms - the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, next month. A year ago, Tollakson finished 30th in the Aloha State, and this time he's hoping to finish in the top 10.

Christiane Muehmel flew in from Bohn, Germany, on Thursday and took
first place in the women's division.

"It needs to be a really tough workout," Tollakson said. "I had to push myself to the limit, work on my lactate threshold, my tolerance for pain. That's what this is. When you think about a race that's an hour-and-a-half or two hours, there's a big difference. Nutrition isn't as important in this kind of race. It's more about just getting out there and pushing yourself."

Even though he posted the day's fastest bike, the sizable lead he built during the 1.5-kilometer swim might have been even larger in ideal conditions. Tollakson, 32, called cycling his strength, yet the slick track forced him to dial it down a notch on the 40-kilometer course.

"On the first corner on the bike, I skidded out on my back wheel, so I had a little scare and decided to calm down a little," he said. "The bike course has some rolling hills and some sharp technical turns on it. It would be nice to come back with some sunshine and some dry roads to really attack this bike course."

A pair of Wantagh triathletes, Nils Goerke (2:02:37) and Takao Muehmel (2:07:27), finished second and third respectively. John Hirsch took fourth (2:11:06) and Nathanael Horne was fifth (2:11:56). The highest ranking local entrant, Jim MacWhinnie of Southampton, ended up in eighth place with a time of 2:14:06. No others finished in the top 25.

Jim Byrne, 37, of Bellport crossed the line in sixth position in a time
of 2:12:15.

Felicia Wagner was fourth to hit the tape among
women, posting a time of 2:28:02.

Southampton's Jim MacWhinnie was the top local
finisher, taking eighth place in 2:14:06.

Mark Poitras (2:38:54) of Sag Harbor finished 158th out of 780 to complete the race.

For the women, it was Christiane Muehmel, a 33-year-old from Bohn, Germany, who crossed the finish line first. Muehmel's time of 2:22:11 bettered that of second-place finisher Elizabeth Smith of Bronxville, N.Y., by more than three minutes and was good for 28th overall. Muehmel was second among women heading into the run, trailing only Felicia Wagner, but the German ran a marvelous time of 41:42 to storm into first place, a position she held on to. Wagner finished third (2:28:02), ahead of Brooklyn's Jeanine Bardo (2:28:48) and Alison Vanzandbargen (2:30:14).

Flying in from Germany on Thursday, Muehmel surprised her husband, Takao, who took third overall, by participating. Takao Muehmel lives in Wantagh and is a trainer for Team Total Training, while the women's champ resides overseas.

Local Competitors
The locals came out in droves and finished well also. Craig Dupree of Hampton Bays stayed solid throughout and took 29th with 2:22:17. Sag Harbor's John Broich was one place back (2:22:47) and more than two minutes ahead of buddy and race veteran Peter Spagnoli (2:24:51; 39th). Between them was Southampton's Tim Davis, who used one of the day's fastest runs to take 33rd (2:23:23). East Hampton YMCA swim coach Tom Cohill was 42nd (2:25:11), and another shoo-in for local triathlons, Martin Viera of Westhampton Beach, just snuck into the top 50 (2:26:13; 47th). Sag Harbor's Marybeth Dee was the first East End woman to cross the finish line, posting a time of 2:44:40 to take 226th.

For full results from Sunday's race, visit eventpowerli.com and click on Results.