Weatherman turns Ironman

FOX-9 Meteorologist Ian Leonard makes Buffalo a regular stop; numbers decrease but not popularity

FOX-9 Chief Meteorologist Ian Leonard resides in Eden Prairie. But his home away from home every first Sunday in June has become Buffalo.

Leonard was diagnosed in 2016 with squamous cell skin cancer. After surgery that forced him to remove a portion of his lower lip, Leonard went from kicking cancer to kicking water, pedals, and asphalt as a regular member of the Buffalo Graniteman Triathlon.

“This was the first triathlon I did after getting through my cancer and chemotherapy in 2017,” he said. “My best friend, who is here, we run all of our races together. He said, ‘Hey, now that you’re done with chemotherapy, let’s do something monumental – like climb a mountain. I was like, ‘dude, I don’t climb mountains.’ So, he goes, ‘let’s do a triathlon,’ and I was like ‘okay.’ So, we did Buffalo, and it was the most inspiring experience for me.”

Leonard was one of 177 total triathletes to compete in Sunday’s sprint course on a hot and steamy June 4 at Sturges Park in Buffalo.

The sprint course features a 0.25 mile swim in Buffalo Lake, followed by a 12.06 mile bike ride, and concluding with a 5,000-kilometer run. Leonard, who is 57 years old, placed 98th overall, 70th out of 112 males, and fifth out of eight males in age groups 55-59 in a time of 1 hour, 28 minutes, 02 seconds.

Brian Storhaug, 32, from Alexandria, was the top overall finisher on the sprint course in a time of 1:00.28. Eric Engel, 35, from Minneapolis, was the winner of the Olympic course in 1:59.41. The Olympic course features a 0.9 mile swim, 24.12 mile bike ride, and 10k run. A total of 102 finished the Olympic course.

Leonard’s time and places decreased a bit from last year’s 1:24.22, which landed a spot on the podium for finishing second among his age group and 76th overall.

His first-ever Buffalo Triathlon in 2017 ended in 1:36.27, which placed him 277th out of 350 total participants.

“I was terrible. I was slow,” said Leonard, reflecting back on his 2017 race. “Last year, I reached the podium, which was really special for me, because I never did that before. But that’s not why I do it. I call myself old and slow. I always say I might have cancer, but it doesn’t have me. There’s a lot worse off people than me. I just love this race.”

Since 2017, Leonard has competed in half and full ironman triathlons across the state and country.

“I’ve done five ironmans,” explained Leonard. “I’ve done half of an ironman in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and I’m doing a full ironman in August. This (Buffalo) race isn’t consequential to me anymore, but I have to come, because it’s Buffalo.”

Why is Buffalo so special? Leonard explains in more ways than one.

“The triathlon community is so welcoming and loving. In Buffalo, people are on the streets and cheering. There’s something special about this place,” he said. “I think they do such a good job here. I don’t even know, but I feel like Buffalo embraces events. When we’re out here, we always try and spend money, which is what keeps races alive. You come out and eat lunch here. If we can do that as local participants, it keeps the local race scene alive.”

As for the course itself, Leonard says it’s got its ups and downs.

“I like the Lake here,” he said. “The swim is so glorious here. It’s crystal clear and always nice and cold. To be completely honest though, I hate this run. It’s so hilly. But the bike is awesome with a couple sneaky hills.”

While Leonard is building a reputation of becoming an ironman fanatic, he also realizes most know him for his regular appearances as the weatherman on KMSP FOX-9 weekday newscasts.

Ironically, Leonard blames the weather himself for some of his slower times.

“A couple years ago here, it was really windy and the buoys blew like crazy,” Leonard said. “I’ve done Maple Grove Triathlon in a driving rain. I’ve done Ironman Wisconsin in a sideways rain. When I was swimming, it felt like I was swimming off a shipwreck. It was unbelievable. Last year in Chattanooga at the Ironman, it was 98 degree heat index.

“It was awful, but that’s why you race. The race-course throws everything at you and your job is to overcome it. It’s not to beat other people, at least for me. My job is my competition against the race-course – finish, feel good, feel elated, and tell cancer to kiss my butt.”        

Down but not out

This year’s Buffalo Triathlon took a hit numbers wise with approximately 350 total participants, according to Race Director Heather Corcoran, of Active Central Minnesota. Last year’s totals reached nearly 450.

While numbers are down, Corcoran explains that the race is still going strong.

“It was attended very well, despite the high temps, and we had a nice healthy race day registration as well,” Corcoran said. “Chatter afterward was that this event continues to impress, even though the numbers have come down. And that is our goal, to not lose quality and perfection even during these lower years. I feel very happy and satisfied with the event.”

Corcoran explains pre-pandemic, numbers would reach from 1,000-1,500 triathletes. The fact more triathlons are out there since those record numbers has also affected the decline in numbers, but not popularity.

“There were not a lot of other races,” Corcoran said. “So naturally, the concentration of racers had a small pool of events to choose from. Trying to understand the ebbs and flows of triathlon is a bit of an anomaly. And while I don’t know that we’ll ever see the sort of participation that we saw in the early 2000s, we are proud to have outlasted many other large event companies who have had to fold.”

Corcoran was assisted in leading this year’s event by Volunteer Coordinator/Race Director Heather Rothfork.

To complete a successful race from a director’s standpoint, it’s essential to have quality sponsors and volunteers. Buffalo continues to get just that from its local and surrounding communities.

“Groups that were there to volunteer were absolutely amazing this year,” said Rothfork. “We had Buffalo Cheer, Buffalo Girls Basketball, Becker National Honor Society, Big Lake Volleyball, Capital Area Youth Soccer Association, and Central Minnesota Cheerleading Association, located in Annandale. We really could not do this without these groups of hard working youth and their families.”