Are you not entertained?

Mother Nature huffed and puffed on Saturday at Maplewood State Park, but could not blow down the runners who stormed the trails and brought back some great times for their efforts. And oh, do we hope the last four races are as exciting as the first two.

Two-time series champion Nick Mariotti is holding on to his lead by the thinnest of margins (270.12) over ultramarathoner A.J. Groebner (269.23), who was in his element, if not entirely familiar territory, on the Maplewood trails Saturday. Close behind and neck-and-neck are Hunter Halvorson (217.25), Jacob Gustafson (215.91), and Mitch Wellman (211.98), the latter two being no strangers to the series leaderboard, having finished near the top in years past. We are also looking forward to seeing how the Tungseth vs. Tungseth father/son battle pans out (0.61 points apart), and want to know if there are any chore or allowance increases on the line for this one.

If that's not going to keep you on the edge of your seat, take a look at the women's leaderboard and consider the depth of talent that can be found there. Lots of familiar names are back to take a crack at the title, including last year's undisputed champion, JoEllen Kohlman-Petrick (currently at 287.69), 2016 runner-up Jess Knutson (199.24), FFAR pacer Lynn Wolters (196.89), and Bridget Leonard (216.02), whose November Turkey Trot will close out our race season. All have a challenge ahead of them in the form of Shauna Overgaard (298.61), who, if the first two series races are any indication, leaves nothing out on the course. She nearly notched back-to-back victories, crossing the the LR Half line first in an oxygen-deprived state but just missing the top Running Wild spot, though she did bring home some serious credibility in the form of bandaged legs, arms, and a little less blood in her body than when she started the day. Maybe that's something we should all strive for.

We're back at it one more time this month at the Viking Challenge, who is sporting a stylish new June 17 date. After that we'll have some time to regroup and get the Speedos and Spandex out for the Hoot Lake Triathlon and Central Lakes Cycle Duathlon before finishing out the season with our new fall classic, the Turkey Trot.