Married in May.  Jenny Lynn Heiland and William Mark Vanderlinde were married May 5^th, 2007, at St. Victoria Catholic Church with Father Bob White officiating.  Jenny is the daughter of John and Joyce Heiland of Vic-toria.  She is employed at the Goodman Group.  William is the son of William and Sheila Van-derlinde of St. Boni.  He is employed at Modern Design.  After a honeymoon trip to Hawaii, the couple reside in Cologne.

Ultimate Training Ground.  Victoria had a very proud moment in the triathlon world the weekend of July 14^th.  Tim Thoma (on the right) finished 1^st in his age division and I (Greg Kurowski) finished 2^nd in my division in the Heart of the Lakes Triathlon (HOLTri.org) - a one-two punch on the short course that I believe is attributed to the great community of Victoria that we're lucky enough to live in.  The City of Lakes and Parks is the ultimate training ground for these great performances, not to mention great roads.  But the best thing that helps people to excel at swimming, biking, and running is a supportive community that doesn't try to run you off the road. 
Tim and I participated in the race without have any knowledge of each other, but that's what makes the Victoria connection so cool in my mind. 
And since you asked, traditional triathlons consist of three events - a swim leg, followed immediately by a bike leg, followed immediately by a run leg.  It's important to do it in that order, given the risk and safety factors involved.  The triathlon event is essentially an extreme endurance activity.  It provides the ultimate test of physical fitness combined with mental toughness.
Within the last decade, triathlons have increased in popularity with shorter and more standardized distances than the Iron Man and Olympic formats, but still intense because the expectation is faster speeds.  Tim and I did a sprint at the Heart of the Lakes event, which is also the Minnesota State Championship event. 
When I saw Tim's name on the list of top finishers in another age group, it really struck me that Victoria is the perfect location to train for these events.  Victoria has plenty of lakes to swim (which is much different than lapping in a pool), ample trails to run and bike on, and, most importantly, a friendly and supportive community that is biker and runner friendly.
Greg Kurowski
Victoria, Minnesota

Tournament Champions.  For the second year in a row, a Victoria Girls Softball Team has brought home a championship trophy.  This Victoria Lions Team (grade 6/7) won the championship for their bracket at the 2007 3CV In-House Fastpitch Softball Tournament in Chaska held July 13^th to 15^th.  Congratulations to the players and coaches on an outstanding performance in this year's tournament.
We would like to thank Floyd's, Schmitty's, and the Victoria Lions Club for their continued support.  Their contributions help to provide our girls with the opportunity to have fun while further developing their softball skills.  We truly appreciate your commitment to the community.
Front:  Christine Piwnica.  Second row (l-r):  Sara McLarnan, Hannah Wessels, Megan Ische, Megan Vandervest, Katie Bell, Sydney Davis, Alexis Flesness.  Third:  Kelsey Bell, Morgan Frye, Rebekah Triethart, Michaela Mandel, Lauren Strigel.  Back:  Coach Bruce Grant, Coach Bill Piwnica, Coach Tom Strigel.  Girls not pictured:  Natalie Grant, Kaitlin Brandt.
Kris Wessels
Victoria, Minnesota

Tour de Tonka.  The second annual Tour de Tonka bike ride is set for Saturday, August 4^th.  It begins at 7:30 a.m. with three different "rides."  The 15-mile goes through parts of Deephaven, Minnetonka, Eden Prairie, Chan-hassen, Shorewood, and Excelsior.  The 33-mile pedals through Deephaven, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Orono, Navarre, Tonka Bay, Shore-wood, and Excelsior.  The 65-mile goes through Maple Plain, Loretto, Delano, Water-town, Waconia, St. Boni, Mound, Excelsior, Deephaven.
Not Victoria?  Actually, we really, really tried to route the ride through Victoria just as we did last year.  However, due to road construction on Smithtown Road in Victoria - and various other county roads - we were unable to include Victoria.  The plan would be to try to do that next year and in future years, always depending, of course, on road construc-tion issues.  Safety for our riders is our first priority.
Gwynn Pletsch
Minnetonka Community Education
Excelsior, Minnesota

Behind the Scenes.  I took some pictures at the Victoria Lions 39^th Annual Softball Tournament held this year July 20^th, 21^st, and 22^nd.  Maybe you can use some of them in the Gazette.  The recycling members of Victoria Boy Scout Troop #337 are (l-r) Thomas Buan, Nathan Jackels, and Adam Cermak.  Working on the tomatoes is new Victoria Lions President Jeff Williams. 
Kurt Zuppke
Victoria Lion

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