2004 USA National Long Course Triathlon Champion
2003 USA National Duathlon Champion
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Lauren "Shark" Jensen
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APR 28, 2013 (St Petersburg, FL) A shortened swim for the age-groupers due to rough water didn't hamper Lauren's spirits for unleashing the new shark helmet. She moved up from about eighth out of T1 to first out of T2 before giving back a few spots on the run to the youngsters in the elite female wave.
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FEB 10, 2013 (Woodridge, IL) With a whole wave of fellow Team Tri Faster members racing in the wave after her, Lauren attempted to set the pace at race two of the 19th annual Midwest Indoor Tri-Classic Series but had a bit of an off day and wasn't able to equal her bike result from the first race. Nevertheless, she took second overall and is still leading the series.
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Picture courtesy of Lisa and Bob Schuerman
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JAN 27, 2013 (Wheaton, IL) Race one of the 19th annual Midwest Indoor Tri-Classic Series - a great way to stay motivated over the winter. The youngsters are nipping at Lauren's heals. Lauren landed on the top spot of the podium, but second place was in the under-14 age group! Race two is February 10th and Lauren will be bringing a large group of fellow Team Tri Faster members.
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NOV 4, 2012 (Milwaukee, WI) Some fun off-season running events with Team Tri Faster. The Lakefront Discovery Run was Oct 27th (15k, 3rd overall) and the Jingle Bell Run (5k, 2nd overall). Hey, is that tutu you are wearing?
Now it is on to off-season coaching at the plethora of Tri Faster workouts. More information about all those are available at the Tri Faster Schedule page here.
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SEP 30, 2012 (Whitewater, WI) Brushing off the cobwebs from a late night out the day before, Lauren ended the local triathlon season with Team Tri Faster and Team Phoenix at the J-Hawk Latebird Triathlon on a gorgeous fall day.
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SEP 2, 2012 (Des Moines, IA) Age and other unplanned factors led to Lauren not renewing her USAT pro card this year after a 19-year span, but not her competitive spirit. So she targeted the 2012 Hy-Vee 5150 U.S. Championship Age Group Elite triathlon as a way to challenge herself to come back from recent adversity and get as close to her previous physical condition as before. The fact that a new Mini Cooper was waiting at the finish line would mean Hy-Vee was going to be a competitive race! Unfortunately, more adversity struck during her taper week and she ended up struggling to find her race mojo.In her own words, "Thanks for all the support! It means a lot. Not my best day. I was bitten by a dog this week, and the injury coupled with the antibiotics took their toll. Still I tried to stay positive and enjoy the day, and given my slower speed I had extra time to enjoy the course. Today was not my day, but no doubt there are more finish lines to come."
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AUG 25, 2012 (Pleasant Prairie, WI) Between pasta dinners and coaching support for an inspiration group of breast cancer survivors on Team Phoenix, Lauren squeezed in the sprint distance at the Danskin Triathlon Series stop in Wisconsin. After coming out of the swim with 15-year-old up-and-coming local phenom Aleena Villani, Lauren mounted her bike and built a sizeable lead of almost two minutes over the rest of the elite women - enough of a gap to cross the line in first ahead of a hard-charging Kim Goodell. Then she got to cheer on all the Team Phoenix and Team Tri Faster. A very inspirational day!
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AUG 12, 2012 (Waterloo, WI) Lauren was the top female and fourth overall finisher at the Waterloo Fit City sprint triathlon as her running improves every race. Lauren hosted Jelly Belly's Stephanie Scott who was happy to fit in this triathlon after spending most of the week standing around Wisconsin's State Fair handing out beans.
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JUL 29, 2012 (Ottawa Lake State Park, WI) Team Tri Faster picked up a first place for Spirt and Combined Bike Split! Lauren helped the cause with a fast bike and first overall women in the sprint race as she went back and forth with local legend Terry Labinski and up and coming Robbie Greco out on the bike.
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JUL 14, 2012 (Hudson, IL) Another road trip to Illinois to the Evergreen Lake Triathlon with same result as last weekend - Lauren runner up to Christie Sym.
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JUL 8, 2012 (Decatur, IL) A road trip to Decatur with her uncle brought Lauren to one of her favorite Midwest races, the Rodney T Miller Lakeside Triathlon. Thankfully, the heat wave broke in time for the race (it was only about 80F for the race versus the 100F+ the day before). She kept pace with Christie Sym of Australia on the swim and bike and managed to have the faster T2 to start the run in first place. But Christie had the better running legs and Lauren took the second place spot, seventh overall including all the men.
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JUN 9, 2012 (Elkhart Lake, WI) After a tune-up 30k time trial around the Bong Rec Area the prior weekend, Lauren returned to the challenging Elkhart Lake Triathlon "Olympic"-distance still off peak form but ready to race. She chased down the swim leader on the bike and led at T2, but Heather-Haviland used a great bike-run combo to run her down before the finish. Another step taken on the road back.
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MAY 20, 2012 (Tunica, MS) After missing the race last year, Lauren returned to the Memphis in May Triathlon. This time she did the sprint-Olympic double age-group challenge. Results on her 2012 Schedule page.
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APR 29, 2012 (Whitewater, WI) Starting on the same course where she left off last year but with much friendlier weather and a contingent of Team Tri Faster athletes, Lauren was the first female and seventh finisher overall. Her preliminary 2012 schedule is now up.
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SEP 25, 2011 (Whitewater, WI) Rain, rain, go away! Torential downpoars kept everyone cool at this local triathlon season closer. Lauren stayed upright on her way to the top of the female standings. The rest of the fall and winter you can join Lauren at her Tri Faster workouts.
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SEP 18, 2011 (Dousman, WI) It must be fall in Wisconsin, because there are numerous duathlons on the schedule for September. Lauren was the first female overall at this local favorite. Next up is the Latebird Triathlon (indoor swim).
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AUG 22, 2011 (Pleasant Prairie, WI) Lauren scored a second victory at a sprint race this month at one of her favorite events, the Danskin Women's Triathlon.
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JUL 31, 2011 (Columbus, OH) Still on the comeback trail, Lauren felt her swim and bike are coming along but had a disappointing run due to lingering issues.
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JUL 10, 2011 (Decatur, IL) A small but competitive pro field showed up for the Rodney T Miller Lakeside Triathlon. Three women, including Lauren, marked each other throughout the swim and bike. Lauren ended up third after taking a few unplanned breaks during the run portion to stretch out some artifacts from her accident.
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JUL 3, 2011 (Muskego, WI) Finally an update! As many of you may already know, Lauren was involved in a terrible accident last October and has spent the last nine months rehabilitating and getting back to training and racing. While still not 100%, she is back on the bike and has entered a few races. Next up is the Rodney Miller Triathlon in Decatur, IL.
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SEP 12, 2010 (Madison, WI) Another year, another Ironman Wisconsin. Lauren was the sixth overall woman in her sixth attempt at this race. She had a great swim, but then felt a bit under-caloried all day and had to back off on the bike to take in more food. She settled into a solid pace on the run to maintain her place. Someone snapped a great picture [ here] of Lauren on the bike.
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AUG 22, 2010 (Cedar Rapids, IA) As the run splits and DNF list shows, most people suffered at the Pigman Triathlon from the tropical-like humidity. Lauren had a solid swim and bike but felt the effects of the heat index like everyone else on the exposed run. She placed 4th. Next up, Ironman Wisconsin.
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JUL 31, 2010 (Racine, WI) After a some heavy weeks of training, Lauren was a last-minute entry at the Iron Girl race in Racine. It was the first time this series has made a stop in Wisconsin and a good way to get some speedwork in for the upcoming longer races. She started in the second wave with all 40-year-olds and crossed the line first. Another Lauren (25-year-old Lauren Binkel) starting in a later wave took first overall by 12 seconds, which Lauren attributes to her slow first mile on the 5k run while she shook off the effects the of the past month's training. [ Photo from Racine Journal Times] [ Article/photo from Racine Post]
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JUL 11, 2010 (Decatur, IL) A fairly competive pro/elite field showed up for this well organized race in central Illinois. Even after a heavy week of long distance training, Lauren was more than two minutes faster than her winning time from last year on the same course and felt speedy. But that wasn't quite enough for the win, and she wound up third behind the "youngsters" targeting the shorter courses.
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JUL 3, 2010 (Janesville, WI) After a sluggish run at the Pleasant Prairie Triathlon the previous week, Lauren felt much better at the inaugral version of the Rock, Roll, N Run Triathlon. She was the first in the water for the time trial start format and was almost the first across the line before getting passed on the final downhill to the finish by Texan Ben Ryan. She ended up third overall including the men.
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JUN 12, 2010 (Elkhart Lake, WI) A competitive group of females pros showed up for this hidden gem of a race. The local paper's pre-race story about them is [ here]. Lauren found herself in 2nd after the swim, about 90 seconds behind stellar swimmer Gwen Jorgensen and just in front of recent Triathlete cover woman Jenny Fletcher. Jenny hammered the bike to take the lead into T1, followed about two minutes later by Lauren, who described her biking as sluggish. Gwen came in about another seven minutes later but worked her way back to the front by the finish. Jenny and Lauren followed her. The post-race story can be found [ here].
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MAY 23, 2010 (Millington, TN) The pros started at 11AM well after the age-groupers and raced in very hot and muggy conditions (high 80s to mid-90s). Lauren had a decent swim and exitted the water in under 20 minutes, was the only pro woman to crack one hour on the bike, and was racing with the lead next to Jen Garrison until about 1/4-mile. Then, Jen found a little bit extra and moved ahead for the win while Lauren took the bridesmaid spot again at this race.
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MAY 2, 2010 Another sprint race with a pool swim. This one attracted talent from all over the middle of the USA looking for a season opener. Lauren was third, 2:33 behind overall winner Pip Taylor.
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APR 30, 2010 Lauren's 2010 racing schedule has been updated through August.
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APR 25, 2010 (Whitewater, WI) Lauren was third overall including the men and first woman at the season opener for Wisconsinites. With the temperatures in the 40s, a brisk wind, and periods of rain showers, it was fortunate the swim was located in an indoor pool!
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 NOV 22, 2009 (Tempe, AZ) Returning to the warm weather for Ironman Arizona, Lauren had her sights set on a new Ironman PR. She had an excellent swim, a relaxed ride on the rolling and windy bike course, and then was clipping off 7:30 miles for the first loop of the run. All the stars seemed to be aligned for a new PR. The long season caught up to her, though, and she had to back off the pace over the last half of the marathon (or in her words, "I bonked"). Still, she managed a sub-10 hour time to finish her 2009 season.
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MAY 24, 2009 (Milwaukee, WI) The local FOX station ran a feature about Lauren.
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