2009-01 Triathlete

2008 HAWAII IRONMAN SPECIAL GEAR >> TRAINING >> RACE SCENE >> LIFESTYLE

ESSENTIALS

NO.297

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JANUARY 2009

FOR WINTER TRAINING

TRAGEDY TO TRIUMPH

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I GUESS IN SOME RESPECTS YOU CAN SAY WE’RE AMATEURS . . .

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AMANDA FELDER Collegiate National Champion

STEVE SEXTON Collegiate National Champion

LAUREN CHIODINI

AVIA Wildflower Collegiate Champion San Diego International Triathlon Champion

JP THEBERGE

San Diego International Triathlon Male Challenged Champion

NICHOLAS THOMPSON

Wildflower Long Course Champion Duathlon National Champion

LAUREN SWIGART

Wildflower Long Course Champion Buffalo Springs 70.3 Champion

TREVOR GLAVIN

XTERRA West Champion

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ALEXANDER THE GREAT 2008 FORD IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPION

Congratulations to Craig Alexander on his win at the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championships. Orca and Orbea are proud to partner with such an exceptional competitor.

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E-114 Torbjørn Sindballe

Behind the calm demeanor lurks an iron will. His objective: to be among the foremost triathletes in the world. To achieve this, he has made the necessary sacrifices and has adopted a well-balanced, optimized way of life in the pursuit of uncompromised athletic excellence. Torbjorn has been a member of the Argon 18 family for three years and there he has found a community that fully understands his vision and his goals. The E-114 he rides exemplifies our shared commitment to optimal balance and the fuller integration of man and machine. Optimal balance. Always.

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E-112 Samantha McGlone When this name comes up, determination is what springs to mind.

When Samantha starts a triathlon event, she’s there to win. Her life is framed by the need to set the bar higher at every race. This defines who she is and how she lives her life; in this challenge she finds her personal balance.

For the past four years, Samantha has been a member of the Argon 18 family, a tightly-knit group that understands her needs and fully supports her in her quest. Sam’s E-112 is more than just the bike she happens to ride: it’s the embodiment of our ongoing search for optimal balance and greater unity between bike and rider.

Optimal balance. Always.

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CONTENTS No. 297

JANUARY 2009

TRAINING Training Features Calculated Performance | 119

By Dav e C l ar k e a n d M i c h ael R i c c i

Nordic Skiing | 124

By J immy A r c h er

Lane Lines | 129

By Sa r ah M c L ar t y

53

By M ar k D et er l i n e

124

DEPARTMENTS

B y J ay P r as u h n

Editor’s Note | 22

In English | 160

B y B r ad Culp

B y C l i ff E n g l i s h

Mail Call | 24

Ticket Punch | 158

Checking In | 28

B y S am an t h a M c G l o n e

IndusTri; News Analysis; Medically Speaking; Indsutry Profile; Selection; Second Take; 70.3 Series; Training Tip; Tri For a Reason; Pro Bike; Endurance Conspiracy; Light Read; Race for a Cause

Tinley Talks | 192 B y S c o t t T i n l ey C over : C h r i ssi e W el l i n g to n P h o t o b y J o h n S eg es ta

At the Races | 164

174

On the Run | 136

By K e v i n B ec k

Fundamentals | 140

By I a n M u r r ay

Dear Coach | 143

By Pa u l H u d d l e an d Ro c h F r ey

Speed Lab | 146

By T im M i c k l eb o ro u g h

Tech Support | 150

By C hr i s t o ph er K au t z

JANUARY 2009

XTERRA Zone | 155 Triathlete’s Garage | 158

B y Mitc h Throw e r

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COLUMNS

B y Emi ly M c I lvai n e

Starting Lines | 18

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155

Big Ring | 132

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T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

CHRISSIE WELLINGTON defended her title as Ironman® Champion two years running.

Ironman winner in 2007 and again this year. What makes this so impressive is that in the world of professional sports, the competition is out to prevent a repeat.

World class sports legends have won championships and achieved major status in their sport, but few have equaled CHRISSIE WELLINGTON in one of sports greatest achievements – back to back!

And next year?

Feed your dreams.

www.cytosport.com

©2009 CYTOSPORT, Benicia, CA 94510

Congratulations Chrissie!

We are happy to be part of your success.

CONTENTS No. 297

JANUARY 2009

FEATURES Flat Dominance | 64 The unbeatable Chrissie Wellington overcomes a 10-minute flat tire stop and picks up a repeat win on the Big Island.

B y Jay Pr asuh n

As the Crowie Flies | 76 Craig “Crowie” Alexander lets the super-bikers get away and then reels them all in with a blazing run in Kona.

B y B r ad Culp

Big Island Debut | 95 Six new products unveiled at the Hawaii Ironman.

B y Jay Pr asuh n

More Than a Comeback | 100 Former pro cyclist Saul Raisin cheated death and now has his sights set on the Big Island of Hawaii.

B y Matt Fitzge ra l d

Aloha Maui | 109 A pro mountain biker with no triathlon experience stuns the men’s field at XTERRA Worlds, while Julie Dibens picks up a repeat win in the women’s race.

B y Liz Hic hens

On the cover 12 Essentials for Winter Training | 41 Tragedy to Triumph | 100 Maximize Your Long Run Workout | 136 Tubulars vs. Clinchers | 132 Born For It | 64

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FIRST WAVE

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Fire Island Photo by Thierry Deketelaere After a blazing day under the Kona sun, late-finishing athletes at the Energy Lab marathon turnaround during the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Championships are treated to an entertaining display of fire breathing.

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FIRST WAVE

Tempered Tempest Photo by Robert Murphy/bluecreekphotography.com While heat and winds bear down on athletes looking upon a seemingly endless landscape, the quiet solace of the lava fields along the Kohala Coast embody the essence of the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Championships.

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Ironman From The Outside Looking In I can only imagine how tough it is for the Ironman stars when injuries or illness sabotage their anticipated day in Kona. The examples of Hall of Famers having to pull out at the last minute is long: Dave Scott’s last-minute exit in 1988, Greg Welch’s bike-car crash on his last ride in 1993, Luc Van Lierde’s mysterious bout of nerves in 2000, Tim DeBoom’s leg injury in 2006, Faris Al-Sultan’s gastrointestinal attack last year, Sam McGlone’s Achilles injury this year.

While their talent is incomparable, the agony of a Kona withdrawal is equal, no matter where the athlete falls in the finishing order. Ironman Hawaii is such a meaningful event that, even as a spectator, to withdraw is a challenge.

So on Oct. 11, I found myself suffering from an ear affliction. Unable to fly and finding cruise lines schedules too impractical and time-consuming to book at the last minute, I wound up on the roof of my apartment in La Jolla, Calif., setting up a stationary bike in order to work out to a video from memory of the Kona course. I had a laptop fired up and plugged into Ironman’s live coverage. This setup, while it might have looked crazy to my neighbors, was carefully designed to alleviate the pain of missing my annual trip to Kona.

My rooftop Ironman setup also reminded me that my love of the sport and its crown jewel event has compelled me to race 17 Ironmans, 11 of them in Kona, and to do everything possible to share the experience with people around the world using the tools of this digital age. A decade ago, I got permission to take still pictures of the event while racing—back then, I changed rolls of film during the race. Since then, I’ve put up annual Kona blogs complete with pictures that chronicled the rich social interaction of the Ironman family drawn from around the world. And last year, I filmed two hours of video footage while racing, which was edited down to a short video that was posted on YouTube.

This year, watching Craig Alexander’s perfectly executed strategy, Macca’s mechanical disaster, Rutger Beke’s comeback, Chrissie Wellington’s Perils of Pauline recovery from a flat tire and mishandled CO2 cartridges on IronmanLive assuaged much of my longing.

And watching the endless hours of joy on finishers’ faces—Bob Scott taking 75 to 79 by 100 minutes, for example—made me realize why I feel so powerfully bound to the Ironman family.

Watching the joy at the finish, I wanted to crawl through the Internet cable straight to the finish line. Not to share the spotlight, but rather to help catch the exhausted and stumbling athletes who’d given their all. It is the generosity of spirit shown by Chrissie Wellington, taking time to honor the shining spirit of Jon Blais by doing a Blazeman Roll across the finish line, that most inspires.

Ironman week seems different, but no less inspiring, when you’re not attaching spare tires to your bike with electrical tape. So if you were, like me, forced by circumstance to be thousands of miles away from Kona, let your absence inspire you to join the celebration next year. Even if you don’t want to try, or if you try and fail, to qualify for Ironman Hawaii next year, go anyway. Volunteer. Absorb the energy of more than a thousand dreams come true.

Each time I’ve made the pilgrimage to Kona, I’ve learned something new. This year, I realized that it’s the view of your life from Ali’i Drive that is so magnificently clear and revealing, whether you are a competitor running the last few yards or a spectator cheering in the stands. The pavement along the Ford Ironman World Championship course is a very special place where the Train Smart, Hawaiian rains mix with perspiration and tears of joy.

Next year, go to Hawaii and let one of your tears fall on the pavement as you cross the line or as you catch someone Mitch Thrower crossing the line. It will change your life. mthrower@triathletemag.com

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

Courtesy Mitch Thrower

Tucson:

STARTING LINES

No. 297 • January 2009

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Publisher Associate Publisher VP, Sales & Marketing

John Duke Heather Gordon Sean Watkins

Editor Brad Culp, bculp@competitorgroup.com Managing Editor Somyr McLean Perry, sperry@competitorgroup.com Senior Editors Matt Fitzgerald, mfitzgerald@competitorgroup.com Jay Prasuhn, jprasuhn@competitorgroup.com Photo Director Don Karle dkarle@competitorgroup.com Photo Editors Brad Kaminski bkaminski@competitorgroup.com John Segesta jsegesta@competitorgroup.com Graphic Designer Oliver Baker, obaker@competitorgroup.com Medical Advisory Board Jordan Metzl, MD, Jeff Sankoff, MD VP, Production/Circulation Heather Gordon, hgordon@competitorgroup.com Customer Service Linda Marlowe Senior Account Executive Sean Watkins, Cycling & Events swatkins@competitorgroup.com Senior Account Executive Lisa Bilotti, Nutrition, Apparel, Footwear & Auto lbilotti@competitorgroup.com Marketplace Sales Laura Agcaoili, lagcaoili@competitorgroup.com Ad Manager Deena Hancock, dhancock@competitorgroup.com Ad Coordinator Lisa McGinn, lmcginn@competitorgroup.com Accounting Vicky Trapp vtrapp@competitorgroup.com Triathlete Magazine Offices 10179 Huennekens Street, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121 Phone: (858) 768-6805; Fax: (858) 768-6806 www.triathletemag.com Attention Retailers: To carry Triathlete in your store, call Retail Vision: (800) 381-1288 SUBSCRIPTIONS: Your satisfaction is important to us.

For questions regarding your subscription call (800) 441-1666 or (760) 291-1562. Or, write to: Triathlete, P.O. Box 469055, Escondido, CA 92046. Or, e-mail: subs@triathletemag.com.

Back Issues available for $8 each. Send a check to Triathlete Magazine Back Issues, 10179 Huennekens Street, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121 and specify issues requested, or visit www.triathletemag.com.

Submission of material must carry the authors’/photographers’ guarantees that the material may be published without additional approval and that it does not infringe upon the rights of others. No responsibility is assumed for loss or damage to unsolicited manuscripts, art work or photographs. All editorial contributions should be accompanied by self-addressed, stamped envelopes.

Printed in the USA. Triathlete Magazine is a publication of the

David S. Moross, Chairman Peter Englehart, President & CEO Scott Dickey, COO & CMO John Duke, Sr. VP of Print Media

Left: John Segesta/johnsegesta.com, Right: Rich Cruse

EDITOR’S NOTE

Bookends

By Brad Culp

N

Nick White is one hell of a triathlon coach. The man is only 29 years old, and he already has the honor of saying he coached an Ironman world champion (he coaches Craig Alexander).

White also has the honor of saying he coached Joe Marinucci, who did not win Kona. In fact, Marinucci was further from the win than any other athlete, finishing dead last. Not last in the pro ranks, or even last in his age group, but dead, freaking last. He was 1,637th out of 1,637 finishers. The same coach wrote the training program for both the body-fat-less Aussie who finished first and the overworked marketing executive from New Hampshire who finished last. Talk about versatility.

Marinucci crossed the line in 16:58:17—103 seconds before midnight. That’s more than double the time it took Crowie to finish.

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Hell, Marinucci’s marathon split of 8:05:48 was only 12 minutes more than the time it took Alexander to go all 140.6 miles. I’m not bagging on Marinucci. As far as I’m concerned, he was the biggest badass on the Big Island on Oct. 11.

While Crowie was doing press conferences and accepting thousands of congratulations, Marinucci was puking his guts out on the Queen K. While Crowie was indulging in a few post-race brews, Marinucci was receiving his second IV in the medical tent.

A couple of days after the race, Marinucci told me what kept him moving despite losing one pound of water for every hour he was out on the course. Yes, he was 17 pounds lighter at the finish than the start.

You can read the interview on page 50.

As different as their days were, Crowie and Marinucci took the same joy in their finishes and shared a mutual respect for each other.

When Marinucci [finally] made it to the line, Crowie—who was there to cheer on every last finisher—congratulated him. Then Crowie signed Marinucci’s 30th Anniversary Ironman Book with the inscription: “To the other bookend … well done. Craig Alexander.”

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

SYMPTOM

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Drafting Language Misrepresents Triathlon

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Drafting in a triathlon, other than specific draft-legal events (such as ITU races or the Olympics), is cheating. We know that, yet it still occurs at an inexcusable rate at our races. Often, athletes blatantly cheat without respect for the race, or they justify their “marginal” cheating, which they somehow see as acceptable. On a few occasions, it is done by people who are new to the sport just don’t know any better. Race directors should always review drafting rules before the start of the race for this reason.

Another factor that contributes to this problem is subtle insertion of drafting acceptance into our language. Listen to coverage of triathlon races on TV. Whether on Versus or NBC, you will hear terms like “the lead pack” or “the chase group” as if it were a pure cycling event. This type of language suggests (or states outright) that drafting is a normal and expected part of triathlon racing. Hearing that triathletes ride in packs or groups in the context of a high-profile race endorses this concept.

This extends to written coverage as well. There were several examples in the November issue of Triathlete magazine.

For example, “... Hillary Biscay was able to break away from the chase group ...”; “Thompson came on strong during the run

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

to conquer his competitors in the race after sitting in the middle of the pack …”; “Potts used his time advantage on the swim and carried his momentum to the bike, leaving the trailing pack …”

These phrases directly imply that “groups” and “packs” are a normal part of triathlon. Perhaps these examples can be attributed to distracted writing, but it needs to change.

We would all be better served if people wouldn’t call something a “pack” or a “group” unless it is one. And if that is what was actually happening, it is irresponsible to not mention in the report that it is cheating, especially given that this is an issue within triathlon.

Reporting on cycling packs and groups in a casual or careless manner is another sign of surrender to rule-breaking that has no place in non-draft-legal races and represents an acceptance of cheating. My assumption is that these words are simply being used because they are part of reporters’ cycling lexicon. To apply them to triathlon out of habit, however, is not only lazy, but perpetuates a sub-culture of illegal racing and hurts the sport.

Ned Woody Bow, N.H.

Ned, Exactly how far apart must a “collection” of triathletes pedaling bikes in a race be before it becomes totally illegitimate to classify them as a “pack” or a “group”?

—Ed.

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Fitzgerald Nails Hot Topic

Congratulations on your extraordinary “Running Hot” piece in your October issue. Matt Fitzgerald

Allen Lim, Ph.D.

Physiology Expert

WHEN SOMEONE CALLS YOU A CONTROL FREAK YOU CONSIDER IT

really nailed it this time, engaging and teaching me a lot about how intervals can boost performance and create a virtuous circle toward fitness. I’ve been a marathoner for 10 years and a triathlete for just one; believe me, this article made the magazine worth reading, keeping and recommending.

Thank you and keep up the good journalistic work.

HIGH PRAISE

Manuel A. Rivera Mexico City, Mexico

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Ironman Training and Avoiding Divorce

Conquering the 140.6 distance is challenging, but just as hard is putting in the 14 to 18 hours of weekly training for many weeks without creating spousal tensions.

The fact is that relationships have their own issues with or without a spouse or partner engaging in triathlon training. However, this sport is too great for the straw that broke the camel’s back to have the label “Ironman Training.”

I love triathlon, but I love my family more. So, when I decided to train for the Vineman triathlon, I was determined to try to make it work. I even Googled “Ironman training without your wife divorcing you,” but I got nothing. I was not sure I would be able to pull this off, but I sure was going to give it my best shot. Most of us are happy just conquering the 140.6-mile distance, but we do strive for the best time we can get even though we know we have a better chance of

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getting to Kona by winning on the lottery slots than with our race times.

I met Chris McCormack in person at an LA Tri Club lecture last year, just a few weeks before he won in Kona. I asked him how things were different coming from being a single triathlete to now being married with kids. He said, “You come to realize the importance of time management. They (family) do take a lot of your time, but in the end, it is all worth it.”

My spouse thinks one must be crazy to race the Ironman distance and hates how much training time even the half-iron distance took from my schedule. I understand where she comes from, since I think it’s crazy to be climbing Mt. Everest and racing the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon, but I respect and understand those who take on those challenges. It is partly about testing your limits of endurance, discipline and living your life to the fullest.

Finding the time to train seems impossible at times for many age-groupers like myself, with a spouse, kids and work. For me, any training between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. would interfere with work. Training after 7 p.m. would cut into family time, which could be a surefire path to a divorce or sleeping in the trailer. With my wife leaving for work by 7 a.m. on most days, I found myself dealing with a toddler, a baby, the stinky diaper changes, making breakfast, dressing them up to take them to the sitter, and at times taking my mother-in-law to appointments.

So, time management would be key.

My plan was to train from 5:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays and 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekends. I know, if you do the math it comes out to more than 18 hours a week even with a day off, but throw a baby and a toddler into the equation, and good luck getting uninterrupted sleep and workouts.

Thank God for treadmills, bike trainers, TiVo, baby monitors, DVDs such as Total Immersion and the DVDs from Triathlontrainingseries.com.

The treadmill and bike trainer may not be the best way to train and not as fun as the outdoors, but for me they were the only way to get any training.

With time so scarce, I had no choice but to learn to adapt.

Richard Valdez North Hollywood, Calif.

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

MAIL CALL

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CHECKING IN

CHECKING IN

ALCiS Partners with Olympian Meb Keflezighi ALCis Health Inc. of San Jose, Calif., a provider of topical pain products, announced in October its partnership with 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi. This will be the first professional running partnership for the company, and the third for Keflezighi, who is also sponsored

by Nike and PowerBar. “I choose my partners and sponsors very carefully,” Keflezighi said. “I am very excited about ALCiS Health joining Team Meb as my official source and partner for pain relief products.”

Keflezighi is known as one of the top distance runners in U.S. history. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, Keflezighi became the first American to medal in the marathon since Frank Shorter in 1976. Less than three months later, he took second place at the ING New York City Marathon. Since then, he has won the U.S. 15K Championship in both 2006 and 2007.

Samples of ALCiS Daily Relief will be handed out at more than 50 national and local sporting events this year, including the Chicago Marathon, the ING New York City Marathon and the 2009 Ironman World Championship.

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Lessing Retires After Longhorn Ironman 70.3 After more than two decades, five ITU world titles and one Olympics, triathlon superstar Simon Lessing has decided to end his professional career.

Lessing announced his retirement shortly before his last professional race at the Longhorn 70.3 in Austin, Texas, where he took fourth place.

“I have had a wonderful, enjoyable and rewarding career,” said Lessing. “I am forever grateful for what triathlon has given me.”

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INDUSTRI

Lessing’s retirement does not mean the end of his involvement in the sport. He recently founded Boulder Coaching, where he will use his knowledge of conditioning to train others.

Lessing also plans to continue in his role as the spokesperson for both Athletes for a Cure and Boulder-based CEO Challenges. Athletes for a Cure is a fundraising initiative of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, an organization that benefits more than two million American families battling prostate cancer.

“Simon is an amazing athlete and humanitarian,” said Scott Zagarino, director of Athletes for a Cure. “We wish him well and look forward to working with him for years to come.”

In 2009, Lessing will co-host the CEO Triathlon Challenge, which encourages CEOs to get out of the office and onto the race course. Lessing will provide competitors with advice, guidance and support as they train for a triathlon.

Fuel Belt Rules Ironman Hawaii Scene Fuel Belt Inc. enjoyed another dominant presence at the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, on Oct. 11. Four out of the top five men and women’s champion Chrissie Wellington chose Fuel Belt products to help get them through the hot and windy course.

2008 champion Craig Alexander ran his way from 11th place off the bike wearing a Helium 2 Bottle Belt. Wellington, who chose the Fuel Belt Bike Nutrition Box, overcame a 10-minute setback due to a flat tire before setting the marathon course record on her way to the win.

An estimated 95 percent of athletes who chose to carry their nutrition and hydration needs with them on the Kona course in 2008 used Fuel Belt products.

For more information about Fuel Belt, Inc. visit FuelBelt.com.

holiday weekend, there truly is no better time and place for triathletes to fit in some mileage and fun before race season begins.

Scottsdale’s best resorts provide the competitor with plenty of options for therapeutic pre- or post-race massages and other spa services.

For more information about the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon and Half Marathon, visit Rnraz.com.

9-year-old Named 2008 WebMD Health Hero When Winter Vinecki’s father was diagnosed with sarcomatoid carcinoma on his 40th birthday, she didn’t take the news sitting down. Instead, she created her own fundraising team, Team Winter, and started training for a triathlon. She went on to help raise more than $100,000 for Athletes for a Cure and the Prostate Cancer Foundation before competing in the Athletes for a Cure Triathlon in Orlando in September.

Vinecki’s efforts did not go unnoticed, and she was named a WebMD 2008 Health Hero in November.

It is estimated that one in six American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer.

According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 28,000 men will die from prostate cancer in 2008 and 186,000 new cases will be diagnosed.

For more information about Team Winter and other Athletes for a Cure fundraising programs, go to Athletesforacure.org. More information about the Prostate Cancer Foundation can be found at Pcf.org.

P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Celebrates Sixth Year On Jan. 18 thousands of runners will descend on the Valley of the Sun for the ultimate in winter training. The P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon and Half marathon offer ideal weather, scenic terrain and 70 live bands to entertain racers along the flat and fast courses.

2009 marks the race’s sixth anniversary, and with the race planned over a three-day

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Triathlete David Davis of Foothill Ranch, Calif., is the winner of the Triathlete Felt Sweepstakes. Davis won a Felt B12 bike that includes the TRI Modular Monocoque frame and full carbon fiber fork.

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NEWS ANALYSIS marijuana) and beta-blockers. While these substances can impact athletic performance, they also come with a host of dangerous and macabre side effects including rage, depression, breast development (in men), body hair growth (in women), shrunken testicles, nausea, brain hemorrhage, heart failure and stroke.

WADA’s Christine Ayotte

Generational Shift

Drugs may evolve but the powers of pills, needles endure.

By Cameron Elford The highly toxic compound strychnine was once used in small doses as a stimulant for elite athletes. Thomas Hicks, the 1904 Olympic marathon winner, was repeatedly injected with strychnine (followed with a brandy chaser) during his gold-medal performance in an effort to boost his endurance. Afterwards strychnine fell out of favor, replaced by other substances. In 1967, British cyclist Tom Simpson died during a Tour de France mountain stage after combining amphetamines with alcohol in a misguided attempt to crack the sport’s top tier. And, closer to home, in 2004 German triathlete Nina Kraft was ejected from the sport and stripped of her Ironman World Championship title after testing positive for recombinant 3 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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EPO (erythropoietin), a synthetic form of a naturally occurring protein hormone designed to boost the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood by stimulating increased production of red blood cells. But Kraft isn’t the only triathlete tempted to pharmacologically enhance her race results. Switzerland’s Brigitte McMahon, the 2000 Olympic triathlon gold medalist, and Olympic-distance triathlete Dmitriy Gaag of Kazakhstan have also flunked doping controls.

History shows that athletes have been both highly inventive and tremendously foolhardy in their selection of illicit performanceenhancing supplements. While strychnine and brandy no longer make the short list, other potentially dangerous, World Anti-Doping Agency-restricted substances routinely show up in drug tests: steroids (including those intended exclusively for veterinary use), human growth hormone, EPO, other people’s blood, plasma expanders, stimulants such as adrenaline, narcotics such as heroin and morphine, cannabinoids (including hash and

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CERA, or continuous erythropoiesis receptor activator, is a third-generation EPOtype drug that produces longer-lasting effects and can be administered in smaller doses than its predecessors. Like EPO and its successor darbepoetin alfa, CERA was developed for legitimate medical purposes, such as fighting anemia in those suffering from kidney disease and boosting the blood of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Prior to 2000, because of the similarity between natural, or endogenous, and recombinant EPO, there was no reliable test to detect synthetic EPO abuse by athletes.

Instead, athletes who returned high (greater than 50 percent) hematocrit levels in doping controls were barred from competition for health reasons. An athlete’s hematocrit level refers to the percentage of blood volume occupied by red blood cells.

Further complicating the testing issue, natural hematocrit levels can vary significantly among athletes, and hematocrit levels can be increased legitimately through allowable and common practices such as altitude training and simulation. Indeed, some athletes have even been exempted from the 50 percent upper limit by presenting medical evidence proving their hematocrit levels are naturally high. Such complications conspired to erode the efficacy and enforceability of the 50-percent rule.

Now, however, reliable tests exist to detect the illicit use of synthetic blood-building products, including EPO and CERA. To date, three 2008 Tour de France stage winners have returned positives for CERA in a test co-developed by Switzerland’s Roche, the drug’s manufacturer, and French antidoping authorities. In addition, International Olympic Committee officials have retested nearly 1,000 blood samples taken from athletes at the Beijing Olympics for CERA, which is marketed under the brand name Mircera.

“The testing [from the Beijing Games] is not over,” WADA’s Christiane Ayotte told the New York Times. “The athletes who doped should not sit back and say: ‘Oh, I was never caught. I’m okay.’ No, they should still be worried.”

Getty Images

CERA Latest Flavor of the Month

MEDICALLY SPEAKING

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

CHECKING IN

A Matter of the ‘Athlete’s Heart’

By Jeffr ey Sankoff, MD Sean from South Africa recently wrote to me asking about atrial fibrillation in athletes.

Atrial fibrillation is a condition in which the organized electrical activity of the sinus node, the pacemaker of the heart, is replaced by chaotic, unregulated discharge from numerous areas of the atria. As a result, the atria do not contract at all and the contraction rate of the ventricles, measured as the pulse, may become very rapid and irregular.

There are many causes of atrial fibrillation, which most often afflicts the elderly and infirm. Exceptions include cases caused by the ingestion of certain substances (such as alcohol) and physical aberrations such as atrial dilatation (enlargement of the atrium).

Exercise is known to sometimes cause this type of aberration.

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“Athlete’s heart” is a benign condition seen frequently in endurance athletes and weightlifters. With prolonged training, the heart, like other muscles in the body, becomes stronger and larger. The left ventricle may become hypertrophied, (enlarged and thicker-walled) and sustains adequate blood pressure and perfusion of the tissues with a lower contraction rate.

Athlete’s heart is almost always asymptomatic but may be detected on electrocardiograms and often causes concern until the diagnosis is established. In some individuals, the dilatation of the ventricle is also associated with dilatation of the left atrium.

The question of whether this atrial dilatation is responsible for an increased risk for atrial fibrillation in athletes remains unanswered. While some studies have found a higher frequency in athletes, others have not. Furthermore, studies of athletes with atrial dilatation have shown that they do not have a higher rate of atrial fibrillation than those without.

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Nonetheless, atrial fibrillation is a potentially serious problem that needs to be investigated and managed appropriately. The disorder usually causes symptoms of rapid heart rate, palpitations and, rarely, fainting. Any of these symptoms should prompt a medical evaluation.

Athlete’s heart is almost always asymptomatic but may be detected on electrocardiograms and often causes concern until the diagnosis is established.

Atrial fibrillation can be effectively managed in younger patients, although in some, it may be necessary to apply blood-thinning medications that necessitate serious consideration of a cessation of training. Fortunately, this scenario is rare.

Train hard, train healthy.

INDUSTRY PROFILE

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Richard Bryne

CEO and Founder, Speedplay Inc.

Jay Prasuhn

By Brooke McEwen Richard Bryne, chief executive officer and founder of San Diego-based Speedplay Inc., began making pedals in his garage after 22 manufacturers rejected his off-the-wall innovation. “It’s funny how you get to where you are,” Bryne says. “All my experiences just converged with the product.”

Bryne was no stranger to invention and design. The cyclist turned inventor had a passion for bikes early in his life. He discovered cycling during his high school years, riding his bike to school and working in a bike shop. In 1971, Bryne went from bicycle enthusiast to cyclist when a customer invited him to attend a race. Bryne jumped at the opportunity.

“I had to do it Bryne says. “I went back [after the race] and started training. I was already riding my bike; I just started riding it faster.”

Bryne road-tripped to races in his home state of Florida almost every weekend. He soon found Florida could not satisfy his insatiable appetite for cycling and he moved to California.

With a compilation of racing successes on the state level, Bryne started and coached a cycling club. His reputation for producing quality riders led to more coaching opportunities.

Bryne expanded his coaching career by running a developmental program at the San Diego Velodrome. There, he invented the Turbo Trainer, the first easily transportable bike trainer. He licensed the idea to a manufacturer that paid him royalties for the machine’s sales. Its profits led Bryne to further pursue racing and coaching.

Bryne coached Ride Across America (RAAM) riders and set several records in the process. He trained RAAM cyclists in both the team and individual divisions. His team from Atlanta took first place in its novice year followed by a second-place finish the next year. Under Bryne’s instruction, individual cyclist Jim Elliott went on to set the world’s 24-hour indoor (track) record.

While coaching, Bryne added humanpowered vehicles to his racing repertoire, and in 1983, he won the International Human Powered Vehicle Assn. World Championships.

Human-powered vehicles sparked Bryne’s interest in the aerodynamic racing world. The vehicles changed his idea of performance and he began to tinker with the traditional bike.

His innovation resulted in the first modern time-trial machine, complete with aerobars.

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Unfortunately, there wasn’t a ready audience for his invention.

“I tried to sell the aerobar thing,” Bryne says. “As you can tell from history it didn’t turn out well. I thought if I had done it once I could do it again. I had one big success; you might think it could happen again.”

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INDUSTRY PROFILE

his aerobars, Bryne was still convinced he could improve the standard bike.

After 15 years of racing, an injured knee inspired Bryne to create a more user-friendly, floating pedal, and establish Speedplay. Bryne disliked looking down to clip into the pedals he used and wanted to create pedals a cyclist could enter without looking down.

Bryne noticed the market for and popularity of clipless pedals and sought to construct a model of his own. His desire for bike betterment led to Speedplay’s signature lollipop-shaped pedals.

“If you are an inventor, you are always looking for a way to fix something or make it better,” Bryne says.

As athletes greeted clipless pedals with enthusiasm, Bryne felt he could improve upon the current model. He thought clipless pedals should be double-sided so athletes wouldn’t have to flip them over to click into place. Once he conceived the idea for double-sided clipless pedals he filed for a patent. He promoted his idea at trade shows with no success.

“I kept thinking that because I had come out with these things that were pretty revolutionary, people would see a pattern,” Bryne says. “But you really have to knock on doors. People don’t always see things the way you do; they don’t always see the potential of products. It’s really difficult to come into a market with an idea that looks so different from what people have in their minds. We really had to educate people one rider at a time to the advantages.”

But instead of accepting the manufacturers’ negative response, Bryne founded Speedplay to market his invention with the same passion with which he created it.

The first batch of 100 garageassembled pedals gained attention by a press release and word of mouth. “We started out really small,” he says. “Then we got an office, then a bigger office. We got an employee, then a few employees.”

Meanwhile, Bryne’s wife of six months, Sharon Worman, quit her job and committed to helping the company grow over the first two years. She currently runs the day-to-day operations of the company while Bryne works on design. Together they come up with Speedplay’s creativity and marketing strategies.

While starting Speedplay, Bryne was hired

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to train Jim Kennedy, a cyclist from Atlanta who was training for RAAM, and Bryne gave him a pair of pedals to test.

Two weeks later, Kennedy called Bryne and praised his pedals. The pedals enabled Kennedy, who had suffered a football injury years earlier, to ride pain-free, something he thought he would never do again.

Kennedy immediately requested to purchase stock in Speedplay.

“There’s no way the company would have survived without his help,” Bryne says.

“Everyone has a story for how they got started; ours wouldn’t be complete without him.”

Seventeen years after Bryne’s first batch of pedals was made, Speedplay climbed to the top of the technological bike market. This year alone, the winner of the Tour de France, two Olympic gold medalists and the winner of the women’s world time trial championship won on Speedplay pedals.

In 2009, Bryne says, he plans to push hard for new products. While keeping pedals as his focus, Bryne plans to diversify Speedplay’s merchandise. This year’s carbon water bottle cage was Speedplay’s first non-pedal product and was an instant hit. Look for Bryne and Speedplay to continue their outside-the-box thinking this year.

Images courtesy Speedplay

CHECKING IN

Brent McMahon Canadian Olympian 2008 Canadian National Triathlon Champion

Now You Understand the Importance of Position.

At Blue, we spent countless hours in the wind tunnel developing our latest triathlon offering, the Triad. With features like internally routed cables, hidden rear brake, and a revolutionary aerospace carbon fiber frame and fork design that is light, efficient, and reduces drag coefficients to the point of oblivion, well, the bike is fast...REAL FAST. And now that we’ve made the bike as fast as it can be made,

we want to start working on you. That’s why everyone who purchases a Triad complete build bike will get a certificate for one free hour in the A2 Wind-tunnel – the world’s premier facility for cycling aerodynamics – to assist you in getting the most out of this awesome machine.

Blue Competition Cycles – Your partner in speed.

For more information visit www.rideblue.com/windtunnel

SELECTION

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Zoot ULTRA Soft Shell Jacket $160.00

By Cour tney Johnson

This jacket will keep you dry through rain, sleet or snow while offering excellent breathability. The water-repellent knit exterior with a thermal warmth liner makes this jacket ideal for use in cool to freezing temperatures. Windproof protection and backdraft cuffs with thumb loops make sure the breeze stays out. Side pockets and a zipper garage with draft flap can hold your lip balm, keys or gloves. The reflective detailing in the front and back keeps you safe.

Zootsports.com

When the couch and a hot cup of cocoa are calling, this cold weather gear will get you out the door and keep you warm and safe while getting ready for that early-season race.

Panache Chest Deflector $60.00

Used by many professional racers as a convenient windproof solution for cold and windy conditions, the Panache Chest Deflector can be worn over your base layer or beneath your jersey. Easy to take on and off even while riding, it easily packs down into a back pocket with enough room left for bars and gels. Made of wind-proof and waterproof fabric from WindTex, the deflector will keep the wind out while keeping you dry. Panachecyclewear.com

Bellwether Pittards Windstorm Glove $37.50

This completely windproof mid-weight winter glove can be worn inside or outside long-sleeve garments with its convenient Velcro closure. It features a silicone honeycomb palm design for greater grip in wet conditions. Reflective accents help keep you visible on cloudy days. The terrycloth thumb and long cuff style are an added bonus.

Bellwetherclothing.com

YakTrax Pro $30.00

On packed snow and ice, YakTrax will give you the 360 degrees of traction you need to keep proper running and walking form while keeping you injury free and safe from falls.

The 1.4-mm steel coils are abrasion resistant and the webbing is made of 70-percent recyclable material. You can customize them to whichever shoe brand you’re loyal to. Rubber webbing and a removable performance strap ensure a snug and comfortable fit. The toe bridge keeps toes safe from snow-covered rocks. They are lightweight but durable for use time and time again in temps as low as -40 F. Yaktrax.com

Specialized Eureka Element Jersey $155

Perfect for the cold lover or those who need to get their workout in, the Eureka Element Jersey features winter-weight Fieldsensor fabric and soft-shell panels on the front and arms to keep the wind outside and the warmth inside.

Its moisture-transfer function and stretch fabric ensure a comfortable fit. The soft-shell protective panels are water resistant and the jacket also features an external zippered security pocket on the back. A unique shoulder construction provides comfort in the cycling position or while carrying a pack on your back. Specialized.com T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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SELECTION

Jaggad Invest Jacket $190

From Jaggad comes a waterproof and windproof jacket that quickly converts to a vest. This winter jacket is constructed from Jaggad’s unique Aquatech IL fabric.

An integrated thermal liner keeps you warm in the depths of winter. The Invest Jacket can easily and quickly convert into a mesh-backing vest by zipping off the sleeves and back panel when the temperature rises.

Other features include a back waterproof pocket with internal cable routing for MP3 players and subtle reflective details on the back for added safety. Jaggad.com

2XU Membrane Cycle Jacket $205

Lululemon Velocity Jacket for Women $158.00

Using 2XU’s revolutionary 8/10 hydrophillic membrane, the jacket delivers a waterproofness of 8,000 mm, keeping you dry and warm no matter the conditions. Coupled with a moisture vapor release specifically designed to avoid moisture buildup when you are working out and a Velo-Pro back and side panels, the jacket will keep you comfortable in all conditions. Designed with all the pockets you need to hold valuables, tubes and nutrition, the stretchable fabric provides a perfect fit while reaching down on the bars. 2xu.com

Louis Garneau Zero Degree Ergo Grip Performance Shoe $179.99

The water-resistant leather base of the Zero Degree with 3 mm neoprene keeps your feet dry and warm. The seam-sealed zip-front opening prevents water from coming in. The shoe laces-up with an easy buckle for quick adjustments and tighter fit. Riders have the possibility of inserting heated toe packs in the front for windy days. The ergo grip outsole made with high-density nylon provides better power transfer, stiffness and support while adding better resistance to impact. A visual display for cleat position makes for an accurate fit to SPD cleats. Reflective piping adds security and better visibility.

Louisgarneau.com

Shimano SH-RW80 Road Shoe $230

The ultimate winter performance road shoe, the RW80 evolved from a shoe originally made to allow cyclists in the Scandic countries ride as many miles as possible year around. Neoprene cuffs keep the cold and moisture out while the full-grain leather upper features 3/4-ankle protection. The Gore-Tex liner is dual thermal insulated to keep feet warm while still forcing moisture out.

A wider upper allows for thicker winter-cycling socks and the micro adjustable three-strap hook-and-loop closures ensure an ideal fit. The anatomically shaped, full-nylon composite outsole is stiff, efficient and durable. The RW80 is SPD-SL compatible. Shimano.com 4 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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A water and wind resistant and highly breathable jacket, the Velocity is perfect for running, snowshoeing or other outdoor winter activities. The DWR coating makes water bead off the garment keeping you dry. The Silverescent yarn liner helps distribute body heat and the four-way stretch fabric and stretch side panels help in ease of movement. The comfortable, moderate fit with adjustable hem cord for custom shaping makes this jacket perfect for layering without the bulk. Back venting adds extra airflow and the cuff/mitten combo keeps fingers warm. The MP3 pocket and headphone lacing system allows you to take your tunes along.

Lululemon.com

Campagnolo Racing Long Sleeve Full Zip Jersey $190 to $230

This jersey is designed using Meryl actisystem and carbon suede micro-fiber fabric for warmth, breath ability and comfort. Silveraid inserts on sides and underarms ensure a static and anti-bacterial fit. Logo and red striping are reflective, keeping you visible in a snowstorm or if you have to get your workout in after the sun goes down. The men’s design is based on a New Zealand Maori drawing that represents strength, bravery and courage.

Three back pockets plus a security zipper pocket in the middle holds keys, gloves or whatever else you need. The collar is specially designed for optimal wind coverage on the back of the neck. Sinclairimports.com

sECOND TAKE

Journalists seeking the perfect bike shot in Kona have to suffer as much as the athletes. Don’t worry, sunscreen, water and food was provided while they spent more than five hours on a flatbed.

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Jay Prasuhn

CHECKING IN

70.3 SERIES

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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Simple Ironman 70.3 Nutrition Advice

By Matt F itzgerald

Last summer I received an e-mail from Bob, who was training for his first Ironman 70.3. He asked me how he should plan to fuel himself during the race. In my reply I gave him some advice that I repeat often.

“Keep it simple,” I wrote. “Too many triathletes over-think and overdo their race nutrition.” I told him to drink his favorite sports drink according to his thirst throughout the bike leg and to drink the sports drink offered at fluid stations on the run course according to his thirst as well. That’s it. Anything fancier, I said, would be unlikely to make him go faster and would only increase the risk that he would encounter a self-inflicted issue such as stomach bloating and nausea.

Often I find that triathletes are unreceptive to this guidance, so brainwashed have they been by marketing messages that encourage a complex and heavy-handed approach to race nutrition. But science does not support that approach. For example, in a recent study from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, trained cyclists performed six separate simulated 80-km time trials on stationary bikes while consuming fluid at six rates.

Performance was no better when the cyclists drank at a rate sufficient to completely prevent sweating-induced weight loss (the usual recommendation) than when they drank according to their thirst. Drinking rate also had no effect on core body temperature.

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when they drink according to their thirst. Due to the jostling that the stomach undergoes during running, it’s not possible to tolerate as much fluid in the stomach, nor absorb it as quickly, as on the bike. And as with cycling, studies have shown that there is no performance or thermoregulatory advantage to be gained from forcing oneself to drink ahead of one’s thirst on the run.

In addition to not over drinking, you should avoid trying to cram more calories down your throat than you can comfortably stomach when racing an Ironman 70.3.

For example, in a study from the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, runners did three separate two-hour runs in the heat while drinking a sports drink at three different rates: By thirst (which amounted to roughly 400 mL per hour), at a moderate scheduled rate of 130 mL every 15 to 20 minutes, and at a high scheduled rate of 300 mL every 15 to 20 minutes. There were no significant differences in core body temperature or finishing times among the three trials. However, during the high drinking-rate trial, two of the eight subjects suffered severe gastrointestinal distress and had to stop running early.

In addition to not over drinking, you

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should avoid trying to cram more calories down your throat than you can comfortably stomach when racing an Ironman 70.3.

Your body cannot absorb more than roughly 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour during cycling, and even if it can absorb a little more, that extra bit is unlikely to have any additional effect on your performance. In most cases you can easily get the carbohydrate you need to maximize your performance by consuming a sports drink according to your thirst. For example, a typical triathlete may drink roughly 800 mL of fluid per hour by thirst when racing on a warm day. A typical sports drink contains 7.5 grams of carbohydrate per 100 mL. So the triathlete who drinks at this rate will consume 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour along with all the water he or she needs.

A well-formulated sports drink, consumed ad libitum (as you please), provides all of the nutrition you need to fuel your body through an Ironman 70.3. There’s no need to fool around with water, soft drinks, gels, bars, solid food or electrolyte tablets. That stuff only complicates things.

The only exception I recommend making is in very cool-weather races, when your sweat rate is lower yet your carbohydrate needs remain high. In these situations, consume gels at a rate that’s sufficient to supply your body with 60 grams of carbs per hour and drink water ad libitum.

Bob took my nutrition advice and had a successful first Ironman 70.3 experience. Well, not entirely successful. He did lose a bunch of time due to a rookie mistake that led to a costly bike mechanical. But I hadn’t given him bike advice, so I was off the hook.

BODY GEOMETRY SHOE TECHNOLOGY

David Millar, Sylvain

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TRAINING TIP

In our November issue, Senior Editor Matt Fitzgerald wrote about how there seems to be little research to support the idea that increasing salt intake during rigorous exercise offers performance benefits, though rarely does harm. This month, triathlon coach Bob Seebohar offers a different perspective.

Athletes, Research Support Increased Salt Intake During Races

By Bob Seebohar

Ask a group of triathletes for their opinions on sodium supplementation, and you will get a variety of views. Just recently, a prominent group of scientific researchers met to discuss the latest research on sodium and exercise. Their conclusions were presented in eight published scientific articles in a prominent research journal,. I read them all so you don’t have to and will summarize the main points and provide the real-life application of sodium use.

Joanna Zeiger, an Olympian and dominant force in long-course triathlon, has had the unfortunate experience of feeling the consequences of too little sodium in her diet.

Says Zeiger, “I sweat profusely! Immediately after starting a workout I start to sweat. It is quite salty, as my black shorts can turn white if I am not careful.”

Heavy and salty sweating is difficult for a long-course triathlete to manage. After passing out at the 2007 Des Moines World Cup race and experiencing severe heat stress in Kona last year, Zeiger thought her days of competing in the heat and humidity were over.

“Over the winter I did some testing with my coach, Dr. Phil Skiba, where I swam a hard 20 minutes in a very warm flume and then hopped on the bike for some hard efforts in a very humid environment,” she says. “I was dizzy 30 minutes into the ride and had to 4 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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get off the bike after 40 minutes. Dr. Randy Wilbur and Bob Seebohar consulted with me and determined that my sodium intake was way too low. Now, I have increased my dietary sodium intake immensely as well as my sodium load before hard workouts and races.”

Zeiger’s dizziness reflected her low sodium levels. Additional symptoms to watch for include nausea and vomiting, a throbbing headache, swollen hands and a bloated stomach. If you experience these during a race, I recommend consuming at least 200 to 600 milligrams of sodium with four to eight ounces of fluid to try to reverse the negative effects.

The current research supports Zeiger’s real-life experiences. It indicates that athletes can lose about three grams of sodium per hour. However, I have seen athletes lose up to 5.5 grams of sodium during a one-hour training session. At this rate, it is virtually impossible to consume enough sodium in competition to replace what is lost.

What is a triathlete to do? Step one is to increase sodium in the diet by preloading three to four grams of sodium about 12 to 24 hours before the race. This is quite a bit of sodium, so be sure to drink enough fluid with it. Try this in training before doing it during a race.

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Step two is to be generous with your sodium intake during the race. Because consuming more sodium will trigger the physiological drive to drink, it will be extremely difficult to consume too much. I typically recommend consuming between 800 to 1500 milligrams or more of sodium per hour.

Case in point: Zeiger takes in a shocking amount of sodium. She explains, “My personal record occurred at the Eagleman 70.3 in June, where the conditions were incredibly hot and humid. I took 30 SaltStick capsules in combination with 2x sodium PowerGels and a Powerbar Endurance drink. That equates to about eight grams of sodium total or two grams per hour. Even with all of that, I still needed an IV after the race.”

Researchers agree that the sodium content of sweat increases as one’s sweat rate increases.

Most nutrition products do not provide the amount of sodium that heavy and salty sweaters require, so I often recommend using an electrolyte supplement with at least 200 milligrams of sodium per serving.

What about increasing the sodium in your diet? Researchers agree that high sodium diets can blunt or possibly even reverse the expected decrease in sweat sodium during heat acclimatization. Therefore, the next time you gear up for an important race in the heat and humidity, be sure to increase your daily sodium intake.

The bottom line is that current research supports adding more sodium to the diet in preparation for racing in the heat, and real-life experiences such as Zeiger’s confirm this finding.

As Zeiger says, “Do not be afraid to experiment with more sodium. It is hard to take too much, but the consequences of too little are dire.” Take it from a pro and this sport dietitian, sodium is here to stay, and it should be an integral part of your nutrition program.

Bob Seebohar, MS, RD, CSSD, CSCS, is a sport dietitian and elite triathlon coach. He may be reached at coachbob@fuel4mance.com or www. fuel4mance.com.

Further Reading: 1. Eichner, E.R. “Genetic and Other Determinants of Sweat Sodium.” Current Sports Medicine Reports 7.4 Supp. 1(2008): S36-S40.

2. Murray, R. and L. Kenney. “Sodium Balance and Exercise.” Current Sports Medicine Reports 7.4 Supp. 1 (2008): S1-S2.

3. Stachenfeld, N.S. “Acute Effects of Sodium Ingestion on Thirst and Cardiovascular Function.” Current Sports Medicine Reports 7.4 Supp. 1 (2008): S7-S13.

Courtesy Zym

CHECKING IN

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Soldier Triathlete Dies in Iraq

Captain Robert Lindenau is remembered for his work in bringing sports equipment to children of war.

By Mitch Thrower Captain Robert Lindenau cut a strong, athletic figure as he ran through a treeless expanse in the dim pre-dawn light. Back home, he was an amateur triathlete, but in Tall Afar, he didn’t have a bike or a pool. His workouts were limited to a few early off-duty hours, before the brutal Iraqi sun made them impossible. He described his surroundings as, “Very much like eastern Washington or parts of Idaho and Wyoming. There are lots of rolling hills that are, at least for now, covered with grass. The similarities end about there.

I try to squint my eyes and pretend that I’m just on a road trip back home somewhere.”

Lindenau wrote those words back in 2004, one month before he contacted me about bringing ProjectActive.org to Iraq, and four years before his life would come to an abrupt end. On Oct. 19, Lindenau, 39, who had become my friend and colleague, was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade. He leaves behind his wife, Tonya, and their four children, Rachael,12, Gabriel, 10, Sarah, 8, and Hannah 6.

No tragedy compares to that of a young family robbed of a father and husband. But Lindenau’s death also means that an incredible humanitarian effort has lost its leader.

When he was killed, the world lost a true hero, someone who had a clear vision of what mattered, and who selflessly worked for what he thought was right.

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TRI FOR A REASON

Despite the extreme stress and long hours that come with being a soldier at war in a foreign country, Lindenau took the time to find me after he read about Project Active in Triathlete Magazine. Project Active is a non-profit organization that offers sportrelated education, equipment and mentoring to citizens of countries torn by war or other political tensions. In Lindenau’s words, “Sport has the power to instill a sense of pride, teamwork and community. Project Active is a charitable organization that aims to diffuse world tension through sport, focusing on parts of the world that have known years of poverty and oppression. Specifically, Project Active has sent sports equipment to parts of South America, South Africa and now Iraq.”

The “Iraq” part was entirely because of Lindenau, who took an idea he read about and made it a life-changing reality. When I asked him what would do the most good where he was stationed, he said, “Soccer balls, soccer balls, soccer balls.” So that, along with hundreds of pairs of athletic shoes, is what Project Active sent to be distributed to the Iraqi children.

I always thought that the strength of Project Active lay in the ability of sport to inspire peace. But Lindenau showed me that its achievements were much more tangible, and much more powerful. He put it this way, “Most people don’t see the progress being made until they can turn on their own faucet, or flip on a light switch in their homes and get results. Sports equipment, on the other hand, is immediately understood. The results are instantaneous: happy children, a chance to build better relationships between soldiers and the Iraqi public and an improved perception of Americans in general. It is, in short, a powerful form of force protection.

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The donations will save lives.

“As a father, I love being able to reach out to the innocent little ones. They didn’t choose to tear down their world. They were born into this. They haven’t chosen a life of violence, and with any luck, we can keep them from it,” Lindenau said.

“The kids are awesome. They went absolutely wild when they saw the soccer balls!

For a long time afterward, they came up to us to get their pictures taken, to hold our hands, to tell us jokes in broken English. Some just wanted to stand close. There’s a hand gesture for friend, which is holding the index and middle finger together. Showing a kid that he or she is your friend produces a really cool result. They just beam. They giggle. They lean in for a hug. Then they make the sign back as if to say, ’Yeah, that’s right! We’re friends!’

It means the world to them.”

My good friend is gone, but the strides towards peace that he started don’t have to end with his death. This hero knew first-hand that a few soccer balls can build trust. From trust comes friendship and from friendship comes peace. We owe it to Robert Lindenau to continue our efforts to nudge the world in the direction of peace.

I have set up a special donation link from www.projectactive.org called “Help Robert’s Family” for those who would like to make a tax-deducible contribution directly to his family.

Mitch Thrower is co-chairman of Project Active.

Imagas courtesy Mitch Thrower

CHECKING IN

Ironman

World Champion.

Enough said.

Our athletesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performances speak for themselves.

Congratulations Craigâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and to all the CTS athletes who raced in Hawaii this year: Rodger Bivens Amanda Durner Desiree Ficker Nate Gorman Gene Gurkoff Michael Hagen Tim Hola Kristi Lind Joe Marinucci Todd Murray Eric Peterson Chrissy Steigerwald Dave Steigerwald Bob Whitman

Call 866-355-0645 to join Craig and our other athletes for 2009.

trainright.com

CHECKING IN

PRO BIKE

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Chrissie Wellington’s Cervelo P2C

Again, Chrissie opted for the P2 in lieu of the P3 (or even the not-quiteready-for-primetime P4), and again showed that Cervelo’s second-tier tri

bike is worthy of world titles. Wellington ran her saddle nose a centimeter behind the bottom bracket while training in the hills of Switzerland, but went more forward, about 1.5 cm, in front of the bottom bracket for her attack on the flatter course in Kona.

Frame: 2009 Cervelo P2 Carbon, 54 cm Fork: 3T Funda C Headset: Cane Creek IS-2, 1 1/8” D Aerobar: Hed Vantage 8 aerobar/ A

Vision by FSA Sizemore stem 110 mm, Profile Design QSC brake levers E Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace 10-speed, 11-21 cassette F Crankset: Full Speed Ahead SL-K, 172.5 crankarms, 53-39 chainrings G Wheels: Hed Jet C2 50 front, C2 60 rear clinchers, with ceramic hub bearings H Tires: Continental GP4000, 700 x 23 rear, Continental Attack 700 x22 mm front I Pedals: LOOK Keo Carbon J Hydration/Nutrition: HydroTail H.5, Elite Carbon frame cage, FuelBelt FuelBox K Saddle: Fi’zi:k Arione Tri 2

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2008 Hawaii Ironman Bike-Split: 5:08:16

Photos by Jay Prasuhn

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Craig Alexander’s Orbea Ordu Frame: 2008 Orbea Ordu, 53 cm Fork: Orbea Ordu C Headset: Full Speed Ahead Orbit CE

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Crowie’s rig was the stealth fighter among the pro field, with muted grey and matte black tones amid a color-crazy field. The bike has a relatively slack 76-degree seat angle, but Alexander makes up for it by sliding his carbon-

railed Fi’zi:k Arione Tri2 saddle forward on its rails. Alexander also had the silkiest rebuilt Shimano ceramic bottom bracket that we felt among the pros, with the Shimano Dura-Ace/ SRM crankset spinning in perpetuity.

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10-speed, 175 mm crankarms, 11-21 cassette F Crankset: Shimano Dura-Ace with SRM, 53-42 chainrings G Wheels: Zipp ZedTech 808 rear, 404 front, with ceramic hub bearings H Tires: Continental Competition tubulars, 700 x 22 mm rear, 19 mm front I Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace J Hydration/Nutrition: HydroTail H.5, Elite Carbon frame cage, Profile Design Karbon Kage; Xlab CarbonWing, Zipp Carbon Cages; Profile Design AeroDrink; SaltStick salt tab dispensers K Saddle: Fi’zi:k Arione Tri 2 Carbon Braided

2008 Hawaii Ironman Bike-Split: 4:37:19

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ENDURANCE CONSPIRACY

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

CHECKING IN

Jumping Back In

By Tim DeBoom

When I walk into any building, I immediately know if there is a pool on the premises. The familiar smell of chlorine and mildewy carpet guides me right to it. After being a competitive swimmer for more than 30 years, it smells like home. The comfort it brings is probably something only a lifelong 5 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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swimmer can appreciate.

Swimmers have certain traits that stand out to the aquatically challenged. We also have some that only other “fish” would immediately recognize. Upon entering a pool deck, most people can look at a person in the pool and read his or her smooth, efficient strokes as those of an experienced swimmer. When I walk on the deck, I notice the person who is standing on the edge, goggles on, swinging his or her arms, and

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not jumping in the water. This can go on for a long time. I have known a few who have made it to the edge of the pool, ready to swim, only to exhale with finality and turn back to the locker room.

I have done it. I justify it by saying, “It just wasn’t my day.” From the age of six until this past year, not a week, or at the most two, had gone by without my being in a pool or ocean for some meaningful swimming. It is part of me, in such a way that I feel more

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Loads of recent studies confirm that optimal recovery goes beyond diet, beyond rest days and beyond sports nutrition bars, gels and drinks. The unrelenting stress of modern life coupled with ambitious endurance goals causes chronic depletion at the cellular level. My ten year process to research, create and provide Damage Control Master Formula to athletes across the planet (including numerous world champions) has been a mandate to solve this problem. The end result is a product that is simply the world's most potent and comprehensive supplement. At $129, it's not cheap (all told the component ingredients cost $370 to replicate in individual bottles) and it's not for everyone, but you owe it to yourself to take advantage of my risk free offer and enjoy the very best support you can get.

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CHECKING IN comfortable in the water than walking. Maybe that’s why I feel the need for a bath before bed each night. Or maybe that’s why I always knew that I would marry a woman who is also a swimmer.

Swimmer girls—that’s another column entirely.

In 2008, I did not do any focused swim training for eight months.

There were days when I craved the water, but I could satiate my need with a quick dip and a couple hundred meters. However, I did not miss the 90-minute workouts at five in the morning. I enjoyed my freedom from the pool, even though I knew it was not a permanent exit. I re-entered the world of competitive swimming after my ultramarathon training experience and followed my wife, Nicole, back to the famed Masters swim practices in Boulder, Colo.

When I first moved to Boulder, in my pursuit to become one of the best triathletes in the world, I jumped head first into the Boulder Masters scene. All the triathletes in town swam there, and it was a great way to get fit and stay fit. Coming from a lifetime of swimming on teams, I felt it was a natural progression to keep training with one.

It worked too. I swam under the guidance of Jane Scott (yes, six-time Ironman champ Dave Scott’s sister) and her infamous workouts all the way through my first world title in Kona.

Going back to those workouts in early 2002, I got frustrated.

It was a constant grind of fast-paced swimming that I just was not ready for that early in the season. I started swimming on my own and pushed myself with everything I had learned from my years in the pool. I continued the hard work needed to get to race speed but also added a couple of long, easy swims each week. These included a nice 4,000 meters straight every Friday. That might seem like overkill, but most triathletes do a long ride and a long run each week, so why not a long swim?

Turned out this routine worked for me as well. I won Hawaii again that year and my swim did not suffer. Subsequently, I got into a groove with what I needed to do to be ready for any race and took care of business for several years by myself. This approach mirrored the rest of my training, as I also soloed most of my bike and run training.

Early last year, when my wife decided she wanted to get in swim shape again and possibly shoot for Masters Nationals this spring, she probably did not realize the influence it would have on me. One evening, I was just going to swim a few laps on my own while Nicole swam practice. It just so happened that Jane Scott was coaching, and she asked me if I wanted to join Nicole and their swim practice instead. Surprising myself, I hopped into her lane.

I began to suffer early into the workout. By the end, I had trouble lifting my arms. However, I found that I really enjoyed myself. It was nice to have someone else think up a creative, effective workout for me, allowing me to just shut off my brain and swim. I went back the next day with Nicole.

I now find myself getting ready for yet another season as a professional triathlete. I am a regular again at many Masters workouts each week. Normally, it is Nicole that plays social butterfly, but I’ve really enjoyed seeing some of the same faces that were there years ago, and meeting some new people as well. I don’t go every day, and I know which workouts are best for me. I still keep my long solo swim in there each week too. What has been easy to recognize is that I’m getting pretty fit, pretty quick. There are some great swimmers who swim with the team, and they push me harder than I probably could push myself. Some days it still takes me a few extra minutes to get in the pool, but now I usually have company in at least one other lifelong swimmer dealing with similar issues about jumping in.

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CHECKING IN

LIGHT READ Animadora: Cheerleader My parting words to M.J. at the start were, “Hurry up and win so you can be there when I crawl across the line.” In true professional style, she honored her commitment by dropping out early in the run due to a muscle tear, leaving plenty of time to act as photographer, cheerleader and finish line catcher. I also spookily portended my own fate, crashing my bike into a wayward water bottle and shuffling through the remaining miles to the finish.

Enfermera: Nurse M.J. whisked me to the medical tent after the race, pulling aside my sweat-andsalt-soaked race kit to uncover every bit of roughedup flesh, insisting that the volunteers thoroughly clean and sanitize each scrape.

We gathered our gear and Michellie patiently guided me on a slow spin through a sudden

By Holly Bennett

It started as a joke. When Michellie Jones invited me to Cancun for the Ironman 70.3 race I quipped, “Sure, so long as you know how to build a bike.”

I rarely travel with my bike and when I do, feminist movement be damned, I usually have a dude with allen wrenches in tow.

This was intended as a girls’ weekend, so the dude factor was moot. Instead, M.J., celebrity triathlete extraordinaire, would be my personal mechanic. This was an idea I could latch onto. Why not let the world champion and Olympic medalist wait hand-and-foot on the age-group diva for a weekend?

Given the venue of Mexico, it was appropriate that I find a Spanish title for my new sherpa. But could there be just one moniker to encompass all the roles M.J. would be obliged to fill? As the weekend progressed, she earned a handful of new nicknames.

Guarda Espaldas: Bodyguard As we rode single file along the Cancun highway to drop our bikes at the transition area, a motorcycle pulled up beside me, the driver threatening rude “Ooh-la-las”. I turned to glare and saw the “Policia” emblazoned on his bike. He pulled past me with a deep and dirty backward glance, only to be greeted at Michellie’s side with the “M.J. Start Line Stare,” powerful enough to scare the boldest and bravest into tail-tucked submission. He immediately flipped a U-turn and left us alone. Pumped by her success, M.J. proactively strong-armed the transition area security guard in case he tried any funny business.

Mono de Grasa: Grease Monkey Not only did M.J. immediately unpack and build my bike upon arrival, she also realigned the handlebars when I complained they were crooked. And she loosened the brakes that she had initially overtightened.

And she escorted me straight to the on-site mechanic when my gears skipped.

Perhaps she still needs to learn a thing or two about wrenching, but her efforts were sincere.

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torrential downpour. Safely back in the room, M.J. situated me with cozy clothes, elevated legs, an ice pack on my head and cold drinks, cell phone, laptop and TV remote in arms’ reach. She then went to work cleaning my bike, unpacking my sopping wet transition bag and rinsing out my race gear. I looked at her with teary eyes, not so much from the pain that was slowly seeping into my wrecked body, but because in 10 years of racing no one had ever taken care of me quite like this.

And then I struck on the name I had been looking for, the title only a good-humored, good-hearted trooper such as Michellie could merit—mejor amiga: BFF. Holly Bennett is the Senior Marketing Manager of GU Sports in Berkeley, Calif. She is a threetime Ironman finisher and friend of former Ironman world champion Michellie Jones.

Photos Courtesy Holly Bennett

My Travels With M.J.

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RACE FOR A CAUSE

Courtesy US Multisport

CHECKING IN

Memoir from the Freedom Run Across America

By Hubie Krawcsyk

Forrest Gump may have decided to run across the country on a whim, but for father and son team Tom and Warren Knoll, it wasn’t that simple. They needed a reason and we needed to find them a plan. Luckily for the Knolls, finding a reason wasn’t very hard.

Tom, 75, is one of the original Ironman competitors from 1978, and was also a U.S. Marine for 33 years. He also participated in an cross-U.S. run back in the ’80s that benefited the Sunshine Foundation, a charity group that helps children with serious illnesses. This time around, the Knolls split their fundraising efforts between the three groups that represented them best: the Sunshine Foundation, the Wounded Warrior Project and the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

As for a plan, well, even after 18 months of planning we knew we were in for an unpredictable adventure. We rounded up sponsors and began coordinating logistics for a four-month, 30-miles-a-day journey across America. “Team Freedom” would make 112 stops between Spanish Landing Park in San Diego and the Iwo Jima Memorial in Washington, D.C. 6 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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Tom, Warren and the rest of us spent the winter before the trip in our home base of Milwaukee training and getting everything ready. An especially freezing winter made the training difficult, but Tom and Warren were determined—even if it meant a few bumps and bruises from slipping on the ice.

A little more than a week before the March 1 starting date, we headed to San Diego from Milwaukee in our support vehicle: my 1982 Midas motor home. Halfway there, in Colorado Springs, Colo., the already toasted brakes and sputtering engine raised their white flags and surrendered to old age. We left the rig with my friend, Roger Villmow, and rented out a Penske truck with hopes that the motor home could be fixed and handed back to us when we stopped in Albuquerque during the run.

We stood at the gates of Spanish Landing Park and visualized the 3,300 miles we had to go. Before we had a chance to think too much about the great distance we had to cover, we were off and running. At mile 20, Tom took a spill on the cement and had to be transported to the VA hospital in La Jolla, Calif.

After all was said and done, Tom had 25 stitches above his eye, and we hadn’t even made it as many miles. However, being the dedicated athlete that Tom is, he was up at 2 a.m. that next morning, headlamp firmly in tact, making up his lost mileage from the day before. The next day we all continued

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east, one mile at a time.

Everything went smooth for the next few days, until we hit the San Bernardino Mountains. I have never seen so many cars winding up a road with so little space on either side. Unfortunately, Tom and Warren had to fit in that little space.

Trucks, buses, RVs and cars hauled right past them for hours, and we felt for the first time that this leg didn’t just need to be finished, it needed to be finished with both runners alive.

Warren’s pace was always slightly faster than his father’s, and at one of the passes he was surprised when a BMW pulled over in front of him, obviously wanting to chat.

“Hey, I almost hit your buddy back there,” said the driver. “Well, actually that was my dad,” answered Warren. The man immediately pulled out a bottle of wine and handed it to Warren. “Good luck,” said the man, and drove off. Now, none of us would let such a kind gesture go to waste, so after Warren finished his run with the wine bottle in hand, we all enjoyed a glass. It was the best glass of wine I have ever tasted.

The run through the southwest desert was tough. East of Twentynine Palms, Calif., there was a sign that warned, “Next Services 120 Miles,” a tough call when you are traveling at less than five miles an hour. We loaded up on provisions and headed into the void. With freshly paved roads laid out for the next few 100 miles, we took out our Blue bikes and

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road along. The sunsets and sunrises we saw during that time were electrifying and calming at the same time. One night, we saw a dome of light in the distance—Las Vegas. It was just 300 miles away, and even though we could see it, we still knew we were out in the wilderness with mountain lions and wolfs instead of card sharks.

It was during our run through the southwest that we began stopping at various American Legion offices and met up with several legion riders willing to help us with our fundraising efforts. We began receiving a license plate from each office, which became a tradition as the run wore on. The camaraderie we felt with people we had just met is something I will take with me for the rest of my life.

As Team Freedom reached Oklahoma via historic Route 66, we discovered we were just in time to run the Oklahoma City Marathon.

Warren and I ran with the American Flag and our official Freedom Run flag. We were a hit at all of the aid stations. The crowds erupted with energy, cheering us on through the whole 26.2 miles.

At the American Legion Headquarters in Indianapolis, we received the grand tour. We saw the original document of the GI Bill, a very emotional and special treat for us all. Our plan that day was to run from the headquarters to the Speedway Post 500, which is right next to the racetrack where the Indianapolis 500 is held. Along the route, we were joined by a group of Legion Riders. I have never heard so many cars beep in my life.

After four months on the road, even the closest of friends can get testy. However, any tension we felt after months on the road disappeared as we rolled into Washington, D.C., on July 4. After finagling our way through the city, we ended up at the Iwo Jima Memorial Statue, and Tom and Warren touched the statue to signal the end. We had done it. We had felt the heart beat of America one step at a time.

So far, we have raised $30,000 for the three charities, but the fundraising isn’t over yet. We will be accepting donations through the end of 2008, and we will also hold an online auction on eBay. It was a long, rewarding journey and while things didn’t always go according to plan, we are proud for every step Tom and Warren took in support of the Sunshine Foundation, the Wounded Warrior Project and the Challenged Athletes Foundation. Thank you to everyone who helped make this amazing feat possible.

For more information on the Freedom Run Across America, visit Usfreedomrun.com.

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T R I AT H L E T E 6 3

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

Flat Dominance It came as little surprise that Chrissie Wellington successfully defended her Ironman world title. But how it came about added a bit of unanticipated drama to the day, gave fleeting hope to the contenders, and, even with increasing depth in the women’s field, offered a glimpse of the record-breaking talent that lay in wait.

By Jay Prasuhn

Never before in Kona had there been such a foregone conclusion about how the day would ultimately pan out. A dark horse last year, Briton Chrissie Wellington was an unstoppable force throughout 2008. She won every race she entered, taking two Ironman titles in the process. She dominated a head-to-head showing against the new Ironman-distance record-holder. And she did it all with a Cheshire cat grin.

The 2008 Hawaii Ironman would simply be the final jewel in her crown, a show of perfection not seen in the women’s race since the days of Paula Newby-Fraser. The real race would be for second, and Wellington’s victory speech may well have been written in July, save for a few blanks for details like the weather and the names of those who “pushed” her to reach her potential.

But the Hawaii Ironman doesn’t deal in predetermined absolutes, making the point this year with a 10-minute roadside flat tire that would lift the hopes of her competitors and threaten to dash Wellington’s day of dominance. With just over five miles to go before the Hawi bike turnaround, Wellington’s rear wheel went flat. She eased to the roadside, pulled out the bad tube, coolly slipped in a new tube, grabbed her CO2, pushed it onto the valve and pssssssshhhhhh. A second CO2: psssssssshhhhhh. The gas hissed off into the atmosphere; the tire remained flat. “It was simple: I didn’t press hard enough on the tire,” Wellington said. “Bugger all.”

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Thierry Deketelaere

The potential is so there, it’s unbelievable. She can do it, but the trick is she has to take it when it comes to her. When you go for it, it doesn’t happen. But if she just goes through the motions, it will happen—maybe not low 8:40s, but high 8:40s, yeah. She’ll get the record.

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—Paula Newby-Fraser, on Wellington’s potential of breaking Newby-Fraser’s 1992 Hawaii Ironman record of 8:55:28.

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Wellington wrestles with her CO2 inflator as the gas escapes into the atmosphere.

A few women rolled past Wellington toward Hawi as she slipped to second, third, then fourth position. With no more air and technical support vehicles nowhere to be found, an armada of press and spectators hovered, advising her of her options. Then one more woman flew past and tossed a CO2 cartridge to the ground at her feet. “You owe me one,” Australian competitor Rebekah Keat yelled as she continued up the road.

With a new chance at the title, Wellington didn’t fail. The tire came to life. By mile 80, the irrepressible Brit was back in front, and any hope of an upset flew away with the island’s famous ho’o mumuku crosswinds. “Unbelievable,” said early bike leader Dede Griesbauer, shaking her head as Wellington powered up the road.

“That was the first time I’ve been passed by the same woman twice in the same race,” she remarked.

Wellington went on to shatter the race’s marathon record, winning the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Championship title with a stunning time of 9:06:23. After a tearful embrace with parents Steve and Lin at the finish, the woman who shocked everyone a year ago and endeared herself to the sport’s critics with her infectious smile, unleashed that smile yet again.

“She’s just in a whole league of her own,” said eight-time Hawaii champion Paula Newby-Fraser, the woman whose own Kona records,

once considered untouchable, are suddenly in serious jeopardy.

“She’s a gifted athlete. A lot of athletes don’t find it, but Chrissie is fortunate to have found her gift,” said Newby-Fraser. “She’s going to reset the level. And y’know … it’s about time.”

The Swim The women’s race began with more interest than ever before. Even with Wellington considered a shoo-in, and despite marquee absentees like Michellie Jones and Samantha McGlone, there was continued talk about newcomer record-breakers, the powerhouse TeamTBB squad and the sub-three-hour marathon threats. The 2008 season revealed an undeniable depth of quality in the women’s field. Besides Wellington, any of 20 women could have finished in the top five.

But the top spot was only Wellington’s to lose. While a smattering of top swimmers dashed from a fairly calm Kailua Bay and took up short-lived places up front in the early miles of the bike, Wellington exited the water less than two minutes off the lead pace of Americans Gina Kehr and Dede Griesbaurer, Kiwi Gina Ferguson and fellow Brit Leanda Cave. Despite stomach problems that started as she floated in the bay minutes before the swim and would resurface occasionally through the day, Wellington began her march toward coronation in earnest.

You can’t even compare Chrissie Wellington to Tiger Woods. —Rebekah Keat Tiger was groomed into it, but Chrissie has come into this with no experience and gone, ‘Thank you, ma’am.’ There are no words to describe her other than that she’s a freak. You can’t compare her to any sportsman—she’s the best of the best. We all realized we’d be racing for second, but we didn’t realize we’d be that far behind.

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Left: Jay Prasuhn; Right: Michael Rauschendorfer (triphoto.com)

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

It was Australian Keat’s goodwill to pass off her CO2 spare that kept Wellington in the game.

The Bike Cave, the 2002 ITU World Champion, was in front early on, but at mile 16,Wellington took the reigns and began her forward fade into the distance. After an attempt to maintain tempo with her compatriot, Cave settled into a more sustainable pace along with Griesbauer and Aussies Belinda Granger and Keat. With the three of them on the rivet, they could do nothing as Wellington receded into the distance, gaining a nearly five-minute lead by the 45-mile mark of the bike.

Several other hopefuls were shuffled out of the mix early because of injuries. Australian Kate Major (foot) and Joanna Lawn (leg abscess) each quietly nursed maladies that had them on the starting line in less than top form. “You can’t come in here with a kink in your armor,” stated Lawn. “When you’ve missed even a little training and the mental drain of having something like this [injury] … it’s not a good thing to go into a world championship with.”

But Wellington’s flat tire made the race a race again. Her fiveminute lead evaporated and morphed into a five-minute deficit—a 10-minute swing that threatened her day. On a day that saw Chris McCormack’s title defense derailed due to mechanical problem with his bike, Wellington remained calm. As Granger and Griesbauer passed the scene, Griesbauer called out to Granger: “I said to her,

The Run Although they were among the top chasers through T2, the hard bike effort by both Granger and Griesbauer left them exhausted, fighting against the heat during the marathon. “I think the conditions on the bike made a lot of people suffer on the run,” Griesbauer remarked. Meanwhile Cave, who told NBC cameras two years ago that she would one day win this race, would have to wait another year. Rolling into T2 with a head cold hampering her breathing, an

At the beginning of the race, I wouldn’t have considered her a friend, but now, she’s a friend for life.

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—Chrissie Wellington, after Rebekah Keat gave her a spare CO2 cartridge to help Wellington fix her flat tire.

Jay Prasuhn

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

Former duathlete Van Vlerken ripped the fastest bike of the day in her debut runner-up finish.

‘Look at her—she’s over there, still smiling,’ and Belinda just shook her head and said, ‘That’s because she’s still gonna win, but not by as much!’”

Indeed, Granger was unconcerned. “She looked at me and she put her hands up, but I knew it wasn’t going to be an issue,” Granger said. “I told her, ‘Don’t worry, it won’t change the outcome of the race.’ I knew she’d be fine, but I bet it made the race real for her.”

Well, it made it really stressful at least. That was, until Keat saw Wellington roadside.

“When I had a flat in New Zealand, some smartass wrote a comment on a chat site, saying, ‘Rebekah Keat’s not very professional; she didn’t even have a spare with her,’ but my spare had fallen off,” Keat said. “I saw Chrissie there and thought, ‘I’m gonna be a good sport and offer her mine.’ Last time it happened to me, no one offered me one—they were all laughing at me. I know if it happens to me and someone returns the favor, it’s good.”

“I so didn’t expect that,” said Wellington of the sudden fortune. “I was so grateful—it was an amazing gesture of sportsmanship.”

The third time being the charm, Wellington was on the road again. But instead of going into a desperate chase mode, she moved into a level of controlled urgency. “I didn’t push above what I was comfortable with, but it did light a fire under my arse coming back,” she said. On the blustery descent from the turnaround at Hawi, Wellington’s traditionally mincing descending skill went away. “I swear I was descending so well—like Belinda!” she said. “I just couldn’t afford to be a girl going downhill.”

It was just after Kawaihae, at mile 80, when Wellington rode past then-race leader Granger, issuing a call to her TeamTBB teammate, “Come ride with me!” But Granger had already reached her limit.

“I’ve played it safe here the last few years to secure myself a top 10, but I felt I can take a few more risks. Having had a great year, I just wanted to have a go,” Granger said. “But she said, ‘Come with me,’ and she was pushing a big gear, and I could only do what I could do.” So it was without surprise that Wellington dismounted her bike with a comfy lead of nearly five minutes.

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audibly sinus-locked Cave made it just 200 yards onto Ali’i Drive for the run before bowing out to her first career DNF. Instead, it was a duo of duathletes and a new mother who would prove that the run defines the day. Among them, Yvonne Van Vlerken came off the bike in third place and posed the greatest threat.

Van Vlerken and Hungarian Erika Csomor, both accomplished duathletes, were touted even before the race began as possible foils to Wellington. Csomor, Wellington’s TeamTBB teammate, drew votes after marked improvement under coach Brett Sutton helped her reach victory over former Kona champ Michellie Jones at Ironman Arizona.

On the other side was Van Vlerken, who earned instant repute after she claimed the fastest Ironman-distance time last July by winning Quelle Challenge Roth in Germany. Both patiently wended through the field on the bike. Van Vlerken excelled in the conditions, as her diminutive frame punched a tiny hole through the wind. “[The windy conditions were] perfect for me. I’d go by girls and make myself as small as possible,” she explained. “All I wanted to know was what position I was in so I could begin my hunt, which was fun. I’d go, ‘OK, I’m 36th,’ then count as I got the next girl, then the next girl. I was hunting.”

But nearby was an underestimated German who won Ironman

That was the first time I’ve been passed by the same woman twice in the same race. You try to find a reason to not like her because she’s so dang talented, but she’s great. You gotta be happy for her. We only wish one of us was able to give her more of a race.

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—American Dede Griesbauer, who, like the rest of the top riders, was passed by Wellington at the start of the ride and after her flat tire.

Jay Prasuhn

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

Despite a spell of self-doubt on the bike, Wallenhorst’s sub-three-hour run carried her to a third-place finish.

Austria. Coached by Ironman legend Dave Scott, Sandra Wallenhorst, the mother of a 2-year-old, was moving through the field but fighting mental demons. “After 40 miles, I had quite a dip and fell in the hole that I had to push myself through,” Wallenhorst said. “I had to remind myself, ‘You’re a good rider, you’re a good rider—and the run’s coming.’”

On the run, Wellington charged. Yes, you could see that trademark grin, but on the stretches away from the spectators lining the Queen K Highway, it was less evident, replaced by a workwoman’s grimace.

“She didn’t have to be doing sub-seven-minute miles out there—she was going after it,” said Newby-Fraser. “You could see it—she put her head down and went after it.” She wasn’t just after the title; she was after Lori Bowden’s 1999 marathon record of 2:59:16. While her flat tire kept her from potentially cruising to Newby-Fraser’s Ironman record time, she didn’t want to come away empty-handed.

The Kona run record was her target.

Behind her, the run was sorting out the other top finishers. Off the bike in 10th place, Kona rookie Wallenhorst was getting the upper hand, reeling off an impressive 6:48 mile pace and moving forward past the early markers. “The run was just coming to me perfectly, I couldn’t explain it—it was wonderful,” she said.

And Van Vlerken, who patiently picked her way through the field to earn the day’s fastest bike (5:05:34), quickly passed Granger for second place and moved smoothly through the marathon. In any other year the race would have been hers, but with Wellington running into the distance, she simply settled into a pace to hold off the hard-charging Wallenhorst.

At the front, the outcome was more than certain, and Wellington’s ownership of the Ironman marathon record would be as well. As she had done at every race this year, Wellington grabbed the finish banner with both hands and raised it overhead. Even with her 10-minute roadside flat tire repair, her finish time of 9:06:23 was the fifth-fastest time ever in Kona. And Bowden’s run record was now Wellington’s, at 2:57:44.

“I’m beginning to love the sport for what it is. I love training and I love racing,” Wellington stated simply, speaking of her team training in the Philippines, Switzerland and South Korea. “The history is special to me, and I’m so proud to be mentioned with names like Lori. I’m so proud to have won with my parents here and am really proud to have that run record.”

A smiling Van Vlerken came across the finish line second, a distant 15 minutes later. For the rookie, it was almost as good as a victory. “I didn’t think about winning from the beginning, especially with this being my first race [in Kona],” she said. “Chrissie was better than all of us. I was just the best of the rest.”

An elated Wallenhorst came across a minute and a half behind Van Vlerken after clocking a blazing 2:58:35 marathon (the only other sub-three-hour marathon of the day). She had proven to doubters that her Ironman-record time of 8:47:25 at Ironman Austria was no fluke.

Csomor took fourth, an impressive jump from her 10th-place finish last year. Csomor credits it to a season of training under Sutton. “I didn’t have my best day out there, except for the swim, which went fantastic, thanks to God, Brett and the team,” she said.

A month of dedicated training on the Kona course was the ticket to a top-five finish and a boat-load of confidence for Montana resident Linsey Corbin, who backed a strong 5:14 bike with a 3:09 marathon to earn fifth. “Last year was my first year as a pro, and there was a lot of intimidation,” she said. “But at Ironman Arizona, I rode the same bike split as Michellie Jones. I realized they’re normal, just like me, and that I belong with these lead women. It was wonderful to have a taste; I want more of it next year.”

Save for an experimental ITU points race, Wellington survived a full year without so much as a dent in her pristine season. In 2007 she won Ironman Korea before surprising the world with her Kona win. In ’08, she won Ironman Australia, Ironman Germany, Ironman 70.3 Timberman, the Alpe d’Huez Long Course Triathlon and the ITU Long Distance World Championships.

And finally, Kona again. Undefeated seasons don’t happen. Not, at least, until now.

“My success this year continues to surprise me,” Wellington said. “I never, never expected all of this to happen, and I’m truly overwhelmed by it all. Every race gave me greater confidence—it just built and built all year.”

The women’s field showed an unparalleled depth and range of talent, as evidenced by the fact that just three of the athletes who finished in the top 10 in 2007—Wellington, Csomor and Griesbauer—did so in ’08. Furthermore, in a 14-day span last summer, three women, none of whom were named Wellington, broke Newby Fraser’s then-record of 8:50:53 for the fastest time in an Iron-distance triathlon. While just 10 women have recorded times under nine hours in the history of Ironman-distance racing, these three women—Van Vlerken, Csomor and Wallenhorst—were added to the list this year.

“Belinda (Granger), Yvonne (Van Vlerken), Erika (Csomor), these girls have been racing those courses the past four or five years, and they’ve gotten faster. They’re that much better, the depth is good, and it’s because women’s marathon times have made a huge leap,” Newby-Fraser explained. “On the whole, a lot more women have learned to run the marathon now. Back then, if you broke 3:15, you’d be top five. Now, you have to go well, well under 3:10.”

But despite this blooming of talent, Wellington still stands alone.

No, she has not gone sub-nine yet. But the time is nigh; more wins will come and more records will fall. Comparisons to the likes of Newby-Fraser, or Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali and Tiger Woods, for that matter, are now not an exaggeration. The dominance is just so thorough, the trajectory steeper than any the sport has seen, it

I said to Belinda, ‘Come with me,’ but I never looked back to see if she had stayed with me.

At that point, I focused on passing guys.

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—Chrissie Wellington, after passing TeamTBB teammate Belinda Granger and re-assuming the lead following her flat tire.

Jay Prasuhn

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

Wellington was unstoppable on the run, breaking the marathon course record with a 2:57:44.

While Wellington has enjoyed unrivaled success under Sutton, she will move on and train with Tucson, Ariz.-based coach Cliff English in 2009. Wellington’s former teammates Hillary Biscay and Belinda Granger will also train under English, along with 2007 Kona runner-up Samantha McGlone.

The one person whose name tops the Kona lists is South African Newby-Fraser, who owns the six fastest Hawaii Ironman race times. Among them, the fastest, a time of 8:55:28, has remained untouched since it was set in 1992. It’s just a matter of time before Wellington puts her name at the top, says the woman whose name has resided there for decades. “She can put together swim-bike-run like nobody I’ve ever seen, ever,” Newby-Fraser declaredd. “She’s simply born for this.”

Three weeks out from the race, I rode the entire course at an above wattage goal of 200 watts, then my best friend drove me out onto the Queen K and dropped me off for an 18-mile run. So I pretty much did an IM that day. The next day, Lance made me ride the course again, and I bonked at mile 70. I was so mad at him. I got home and told Lance, ‘I’m not talking to you.’ But he said, ‘I don’t care, at least you now know you’re as fit as anyone out there.’

—Top American finisher Linsey Corbin, after spending a month training on the race course in Kona under coach Lance Watson.

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Ironman Championship

is inevitable that the record books will be rewritten. And only time will prove this.

With a shake of her head, Wellington contends that it’s not about breaking records. “If getting better at this sport means breaking records, that’s great,” she said, “but honestly, I’m not obsessed with records.” Her coach, Brett Sutton of TeamTBB, echoes that sentiment.

“We race during the season with the bigger goal in mind, and we do not go into races and squeeze all the juice out of the orange,” Sutton explained. “In Ironman, an extra five minutes of effort at the wrong race can bring it all down [and] kill your season. Knockouts don’t get any more pay than points decisions.”

But he added, “Chrissie had the record on the day, and the flat tire stuffed it up.”

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2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

As the

Crowie

Flies

Alexander lets the uber-bikers have their 15 minutes and proves the quickest way to get back to Ali’i Drive is just to run really fast.

By Brad Culp

“I like the moment when I break a man’s ego.”

So said Chess Grandmaster Bobby Fischer after winning the 1972 Chess World Championship. Chess and Ironman might have little in common, but one can reasonably assume that Craig Alexander felt a similar sentiment upon crossing the finish line first at this year’s Ford Ironman World Championship.

In the preceding four years, the men’s race in Kona was a battle of egos. The winners during this span—Normann Stadler, Faris AlSultan and Chris McCormack—raced each other and sometimes even addressed each other as enemies. Each man feels he is the superior athlete, and with good reason—a little arrogance goes a long way when you’re trying to go full-throttle for 140.6 miles. While this trio was battling each other on the race course and in the press, Alexander, known to most as “Crowie,” was busy racking up short-course and Ironman 70.3 wins on every corner of the globe. Then came last year. Crowie made his Kona debut and finished second, 3:30 behind McCormack’s winning time.

“I lacked a lot of experience,” Alexander said of his 2007 race.

Macca was forced out of this year’s race midway through the bike leg, after his front derailleur cable snapped and could not be repaired on the side of the road. With his countryman out of the race, Alexander came off the bike in 11th place and closed with a day’s best 2:45:00 marathon to win in 8:17:45.

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

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The Swim While few gave super-swimmers Andy Potts (USA) and Benjamin Sanson (FRA) much of a chance for the overall win, all the competitors knew that these two had the ability to open up a huge gap on the swim—and they did just that. The pair of ITU standouts had no problem letting the rest of the pro men know exactly what they were up to and were seen devising their swim plans at the pro rules meeting two days before the race.

“I think we can swim between 46 and 47 minutes if the conditions are just right,” Potts said before the race. Both men, especially Sanson, openly expressed their interest in breaking Lars Jorgensen’s Kona swim record of 46:41.

While the conditions in Kailua Bay weren’t too menacing on race morning, a significant current forced Potts and Sanson to slow down—just a bit. The duo, along with Aussie Pete Jacobs, stretched their lead throughout the entire 2.4-mile swim and exited

the Pacific with a three-minute cushion between them and the next pack. Officially, Potts was the first out of the water in 48:38, with Sanson and Jacobs each two seconds behind. In true ITU fashion, Potts flew through transition and was on the bike with a lead of almost 30 seconds.

While Potts, Sanson and Jacobs began the 56-mile trek up to Hawi, the other contenders were just finishing the swim. Kiwi Bryan Rhodes led a large group out of the bay in 51:26. Among those in Rhodes’ tow were Spaniard Eneko Llanos, Denmark’s Torbjorn Sindballe, American Chris Lieto, Al-Sultan, McCormack and Alexander.

“I wanted to be in the top 10 out of the water,” Alexander said afterward. Crowie didn’t get as far up as he hoped, exiting the water 15th, but after a speedy transition he was onto the bike in seventh position.

Another chase pack, containing Stadler, Switzerland’s Ronnie Schildknecht and Belgian Rutger Beke, exited the water three minutes behind Rhodes’ group.

Since this is my first foray into Ironman, I’m trying not to be so much of a meathead about it. I want to be smart and at least try to make it back to Ali’i Drive in one piece.

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—Andy Potts before the race, when asked if he’d stay true to his nature and go all-out from the gun or hold back a bit.

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

Andy Potts, right, races Benjamin Sanson to the timing mat at the swim exit.

Chris Lieto was one of the strongest riders of the day, entering T2 only four minutes back of Sindballe.

Only 15 miles into the bike, it was clear that Sanson, Potts and Jacobs wouldn’t enjoy the lead for very long. The trio of swimmers was still in front, but the Big Island’s usual super-biker suspects were making their move. Lieto, Sindballe, Llanos and Al-Sultan were all riding about two minutes back and were making up time with each passing mile. Noticeably absent from the chase group was Stadler, who was off in no-man’s land, another two minutes behind.

The chasers were eager to bridge the gap as quickly as possible, but they were also cognizant of the fact that race referees were strictly enforcing the 10-meter drafting rule.

Potts and Aussie Luke McKenzie were the first to get red cards for drafting, each one spending four minutes in the penalty tent near the 35-mile mark.

By the time Potts got back on his bike, Sindballe and Lieto—who had passed him just before he got carded—were five minutes up the road. True to his reputation, Sindballe led the charge up to the turnaround at Hawi, with Lieto and Al-Sultan hovering less than a minute behind him. In fourth position at mile 45 was Llanos, whom

McCormack had labeled one of the most “dangerous” runners earlier in the week.

The top four men remained in the same position through the turnaround at Hawi, but behind them there was plenty of jostling on the leader board. The most notable disappearance from the top 10 was that of defending champ McCormack. The Aussie was having trouble shifting back into his big chainring, and after a few minutes of trying, his cable snapped, and he was left with three choices: finish the race in the small ring, wait on the side of the road for tech support to fix the cable or drop out. No matter what he chose to do, he would be out of contention and unable to defend his title. After a few tense minutes on the side of the road, Macca “The tech support guys told accepted a DNF and me it would take at least 20 hitched a ride back to minutes to fix the cable. At Kailua-Kona. that point, I knew my day “The tech support guys told me it was done.”—Chris McCormack would take at least 20

The Bike

I don’t care about Andy Potts.

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—Normann Stadler at the pro press conference before the race, when asked about how having a speedster like Potts in the mix might change the race. For the record: Potts finished 10 minutes in front of Stadler, and that’s with a four-minute drafting penalty.

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

Left: TThierry Deketelaere, Right: Jay Prasuhn

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

Torbjorn Sindballe amassed a huge lead on the bike but struggled on the run.

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Alexander’s 2:45 marathon propelled him from 11th off the bike to first at the finish.

The Run During the early miles of the run, the race appeared to be between Stadler and Llanos, who both surged out of transition and began eating into Sindballe and Lieto’s lead. The two-time former champion was running well, but it was hard to ignore the torrid pace Alexander was setting on the opening miles. Crowie, running alongside Kiwi super-runner Cam Brown, made it to mile marker two in only 11 minutes.

“I went through the first mile marker in 5:30, even though I was trying to be conservative,” Alexander said. “Then I went through the second mile in 5:30 and thought, ‘This is stupid,’ so I eased up.”

Stadler continued to close in on Sindballe until he finally took over the lead at mile six. While Stadler had no problem opening up a gap on the Dane, he couldn’t shake Llanos, who remained only 26 seconds behind at the six-mile marker. Farther back, the duo of

It’s certainly a massive adrenaline rush to get the lead. The helicopter swoops low, and it’s almost like you’re in an episode of Miami Vice or something.

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—Craig Alexander after the race, when asked how he felt upon passing Llanos for the lead.

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

minutes to fix the cable,” McCormack said. “At that point, I knew my day was done.”

With the best runner out of the race, things looked promising for strong cyclists, like Sindballe, who last year ran more than 15 minutes slower than McCormack en route to a third-place finish.

Sindballe’s first name translates to “thunderbear,” and the mammoth Dane proved his name apt during the second half of the bike. As if he had flipped a switch at Hawi, Sindballe dropped the hammer and began to extend his advantage. The winds picked up considerably as the top men made the turn, but the powerful gusts did little to slow Sindballe. At mile 56 Sindballe had a lead of only three seconds on Lieto and a minute on Al-Sultan and Llanos. Thirty-four miles later, at mile 90, Sindballe was 2:13 ahead of Lieto and more than four minutes in front of Llanos and Al-Sultan.

While Sindballe has improved as a runner in the past few seasons, he was well aware that his only chance of winning would be to lead off the bike—and to lead big. At the pre-race press conference, Sindballe said that he would be comfortable with a lead of eight to 10 minutes off the bike, and he was aiming for just that on the way back from Hawi. Just after mile 90, the great Dane was clocked at 30 mph—on a flat road with no tailwind—while pedaling at 60 rpm.

Just as Sindballe pulled away from the first group of chasers, Stadler made his move to bridge the gap up to Al-Sultan and Llanos.

While a huge group of athletes remained six minutes back at mile 90, Stadler pulled away from the group and was riding 4:30 behind Sindballe. Alexander remained 6:30 back and seemed content to let Sindballe, Lieto, Llanos, Al-Sultan and Stadler use up their reserves before the marathon.

“I just wanted to do my own race,” Alexander said afterward.

Even though Crowie had a considerable gap to make up, he was having a stellar ride, especially for a guy who is known as a runner.

He was on pace to improve his bike-split from 2007, even with conditions considerably worse than the previous year. Alexander’s coach, Nick White of Carmichael Training Systems, wasn’t surprised to see Crowie riding so well.

“I thought that if we got him stronger on the bike this year, then he could really push the pace on the run,” White said.

As good a day as Alexander was having on the bike, Beke was riding even better and was one of the only athletes in the top 15 at mile 90 who could run with Alexander. Despite serving a four-minute drafting penalty, Beke was only two minutes behind Alexander and was gaining time.

As the top men headed into the second transition and onto the early miles of the run, Sindballe held a lead of 4:17 over Lieto and 4:30 over Stadler, who had passed Llanos to grab the third position at T2. Alexander hit T2 nine minutes after Sindballe and, more importantly, five minutes after Stadler.

As great a ride as Sindballe turned in (4:27:40), it actually was second best of the day. Estonia’s Ain Alar Juhanson, who at 200 pounds was the only elite athlete larger than Sindballe, posted a 4:26:14 split (25.25 mph average). However, Juhanson was almost eight minutes behind Sindballe after the swim and had to settle for sixth place at T2.

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tance tr iathlon s require a perfe c t bALAN of pow CE er, foc us and d Becky t rive. hrives in these conditio ns and she de mands the sam e from her equ ipment.

- john s egesta , photog rapher

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

Alexander and Brown had pulled to within 3:30 of Stadler and were continuing to make up ground.

Stadler held the lead through nine miles, but his expressions made it clear that something wasn’t right. Llanos ran up alongside Stadler just after the nine-mile marker and tried to open up a gap, but the German matched the Spaniard’s pace, and the two ran side-by-side for the next half-mile. Llanos seemed uninterested in running alongside the former champ and put in another surge, this time breaking Stadler. Mere moments after he was gapped, Stadler began hobbling and was forced to stop and stretch his cramped hamstring.

“I really wasn’t feeling very well at that point,” Llanos said. “I was suffering, but I just kept going and my legs felt better the longer I ran.”

Six miles later, at mile 15, Llanos held the lead, but it seemed as though Alexander was leading from behind. Crowie had run his way up to second, easily passing an ailing Stadler, and was now only 40 seconds behind the leader. Alexander had dropped his pace into the 6:20-per-mile range, while Llanos was running about 30 seconds per mile slower. It was only a matter of time before Crowie assumed the lead.

Three minutes behind Alexander, the trio of Beke, Germany’s Timo Bracht and Switzerland’s Ronnie Schildknecht was gaining ground on everyone but Alexander. Bracht continued to suffer through the marathon and was essentially already disqualified from the race at that point because he failed to serve a blocking penalty during the later stages of the bike.

The seemingly inevitable pass came just past the 16-mile marker, as Alexander and Llanos headed into the Natural Energy Lab, where the temperature was stifling. One thermometer had the temperature of the road at 108 degrees. Crowie caught Llanos as they made the turn into the Energy Lab, but this time, the two leaders did not run side-by-side for long. Alexander put on a huge surge once he

caught the Spaniard and dropped his pace to 6:08 per mile for the next two miles.

At mile 20, as Crowie turned back onto the Queen K, he had a lead of almost two minutes over Llanos, whose biggest concern now was holding off the charge from Beke. With only six miles to go, it was clear no one was going to catch Alexander. Later, he admitted to feeling fatigued, but his stride remained smooth, and his face showed no sign of weakness.

Alexander slowed for the first time during the marathon when he reached Ali’i Drive, and there were no other athletes within half a mile.

After a leisurely stroll down the finishing chute, Crowie crossed the line in 8:17:45 and was immediately tackled by his 3-year-old daughter, Lucy.

In a bit of a departure from recent finish line scenes, Alexander grabbed the microphone from race MC, Mike Reilly, and thanked the fans of Ironman.

“Without you, this wouldn’t be possible,” Alexander told the spectators.

Three minutes and five seconds after Alexander finished, Llanos, an Olympian and two-time XTERRA world champion, finished second, 33 seconds ahead of Beke. The Belgian finished with a 2:47:49 run-split, faster than all but Alexander.

“I knew I had to run fast at the end,” Llanos said. “I saw Rutger [Beke] and the Swiss guy coming fast, so I tried to run harder.”

That “Swiss guy” was Schildknecht, who finished fourth, 23 seconds behind Beke. The second, third and fourth-place finishers (Llanos, Beke and Schildknecht) were within 56 seconds of each other.

Bracht was the fifth athlete to cross the line, but after his disqualification was upheld, Brown moved up from sixth place to fifth.

In one of the biggest surprises of the day, Ironman maiden Potts was the first American to complete the race, finishing seventh (8:33:50).

The short-course standout had never run more than 13.1 miles in his entire life, yet he finished with a 2:54:31 marathon.

Mr. Consistency Gets Back to Where He Belongs

Rutger Beke bounces back from an 898th-place finish in 2007 to claim third.

Over the past six years, no athlete (except maybe Cameron Brown) has been as consistent in Kona as Belgium’s Rutger Beke. In 2003, Beke finished as the runner-up in his Kona debut. He has since nabbed two fourth-place finishes and a fifth. His only stray from the top five came last year, when his body failed him on the marathon, and he opted to walk his way to an 898th-place finish instead of dropping out. Clearly, Beke has serious resolve, and he proved it again this year by coming back from a four-minute drafting penalty to claim third. We caught up with Beke after the race to get his take on the comeback of the year.

Q:

So you finished third, 3:38 behind Crowie, after serving a four-minute drafting penalty. Are you pleased with the overall result, or are you a little bummed that a drafting call may have cost you the win?

Let me start by saying that the best guy won. Craig is an amazing athlete and he truly deserves it. Of course, knowing that I was only 3:30 down after serving a penalty makes me think. I think I would’ve at least been able to run with the leaders for a while without the penalty, but it would have been cool to race for the title.

Craig ran almost three minutes faster than me, so I’m not saying that

A:

Craig is a brilliant runner. I think he’ll win Kona this year. He has the potential to run 10 minutes faster than he did last year [in 2007 when he ran 2:45:13].

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—Dave Scott, seven months ago, when asked if Crowie could win Kona in 2008. Half of Scott’s prophesy came true: Alexander did win, but he only ran 13 seconds faster than in 2007.

It was for myself. I don’t like a “DNF” next to my name in the results. I’m only 31, and I think it’s a bad idea to start accepting DNFs because then it almost becomes OK, and you won’t finish a lot of races.

It was also for the age-groupers. I’ve stayed with this woman a few times at Ironman Arizona, and she was at Kona last year to watch. She’s a cool lady and a dedicated triathlete, but she’ll probably never qualify for Kona. I thought it would be disrespectful to her and the other agegroupers if I just quit.

Q:

As a strong runner, do you worry when super-bikers like Stadler, Sindballe and Lieto open up such big gaps on the bike, or are you confident enough in your run to let them go? How much of a gap is too big?

A: Like Alexander, Beke has no problem letting the stronger cyclists ride away and then running them down.

I would’ve beat him, but it would’ve been great to at least have the lead for a while and feel like I was racing for first and not third.

Q: A:

Speaking of the drafting penalty, what happened?

As I said at the post-race press conference, I’ve never once complained about a penalty, but this one was totally not fair. I was riding 10 meters behind Ronnie [Schildknecht], and he went to pass a guy who had fallen off the front group. I stayed 10 meters back of Ronnie and went to pass too, and then I got a red card. I still don’t know what I did wrong. They were so unclear at the pre-race meeting as to what was drafting and what wasn’t. But it’s not really important. I’m still happy with finishing third. Like I said, the best guy won.

Q:

Over the past six years you’ve been one of the most consistent finishers in Kona, except for last year, when you finished 898th. What did last year’s race teach you about this event and why did you decide to walk the marathon instead of dropping out?

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Q:

You’ve finished in the top five on five different occasions in Kona. What do you have to do differently next year to get on top of the podium? Do you think improving your swim can make the difference?

A:

Of course I’m always trying to improve my swim, but I know I’ll never be a great swimmer. I only started swimming when I was 18, and I clearly don’t have a lot of talent for it. For me the only result that counts is the one at the end. It’s funny; I don’t get a lot of attention during the race because I’m never up there until the end. I get to the finish and people say, “Here comes Rutger in third. Where did he come from?”

I know that if I come off the bike in 12th or 13th, I can still make the podium. If coming off the bike first means that you finish 50th ,then it’s not worth it. I was in 20th place at Hawi, but out of the 19 guys ahead of me, I knew I could outrun at least 12. So in my mind I was already in the top 10.

As for next year, I finally believe that I can win this race. I never believed that until now. I’m not the fastest biker or fastest runner in the world, but I’m the fastest when you combine the two.

—Brad Culp

After my 898th-place finish last year, I am much happier this year.

8 6 T R I AT H L E T E

If Normann has a lead of 20 minutes, then I really have to worry. That guy can run. Most of the other strong bikers have never run under three hours off the bike, so I don’t really have to worry about them as much. At Hawi this year I was only eight minutes behind Torbjorn, which I was comfortable with. I can give most guys eight or nine minutes, but not Normann—he’s different.

—Rutger Beke after the race, when asked which was more rewarding: suffering to the finish last year or finishing third this year.

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

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16:58:17

Kona’s final finisher, a marketing CEO from New Hampshire, makes it to the line with 103 seconds to spare.

Just before midnight on Oct. 11, I rushed back to the finish line in Kona to catch the last finisher. I figured it would make for a good interview. I wanted to know what would possess someone to suffer for [almost] 17 hours. The final “official” finisher turned out to be 34-year-old Joe Marinucci of Moultonborough, N.H. Marinucci wasn’t exactly up for doing an interview.

I mean, he might have been, but he was more or less unconscious, and a trip to the medical tent took precedence over an interview.

I understood.

I caught up with Marinucci, who has a 12:47 Ironman PR, a few days after the race to ask him one question: What the hell happened?

—Brad Culp “Most of my Ironman swims have been between 1:14 and 1:21. I’m not a great swimmer, so I figured I’d just do my best to stay out of the melee. I just went out and cruised the swim and felt pretty good. I finished in 1:25:12, and after a pretty quick transition, I was on the bike.

The first 30 miles went smoothly. The heat hadn’t hit me yet at that point, and the winds didn’t seem too bad. Unfortunately, the winds really picked up by the time I got to the turnaround at Hawi, and I could tell 8 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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Rich Cruse

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

Less than two minutes before midnight Joe Marinucci made it to the line as the race’s final finisher.

it was getting hot. I’m not very good in the heat; my digestive system just seems to shut down. After the turnaround, things slowly started to deteriorate. Miles 90 through 112 seemed like they took forever.

I had a really, really long T2—like 23 minutes long. At that point I figured I would finish around 14 hours and a little extra time didn’t make a difference to me. I just sat in transition and re-hydrated so I could start the marathon with a clean slate.

So much for having a clean slate. I started vomiting about two miles into the run. My stomach was a mess, and I couldn’t keep anything down. I started playing little games with myself to try to keep going. I forced myself to run for two telephone poles and then walk for two. I went on like that for quite a while.

When I hit mile 13 of the marathon, I thought I might not make it. I was completely toast, and I still had 13 miles to go. After I made the turnaround in the Energy Lab, I decided that I would stop at the next aid station and drop out. I told myself, ‘Just go a little farther and then you can drop out.’

I wasn’t even walking straight at that point of the race. While I was still in the Energy Lab, I fell to the ground and started throwing up again—a lot. I was so finished that there was almost a calming sense.

It was finally over; I had quit.

While I was lying on the ground, I saw an airplane taking off from the airport. I stared at the plane for quite some time as it passed over me. I started thinking about my own plane ride home two days later.

I would be on the plane, staring down at the very same spot where I was then and thinking, ‘That’s where you dropped out. That’s where you gave up. That’s where you didn’t get back up.’

I started thinking about the people from home who know me and who know how determined I am. I knew they’d all be I started thinking about the disappointed if I didn’t try people from home … I knew a little harder. I stood back they’d all be disappointed if up and decided that the I didn’t try a little harder. I only way I was quitting was if I blacked out and stood back up and decided was forced to quit. that the only way I was quitA few miles later I ting was if I blacked out came to a medical tent and was forced to quit. and took a seat. The doctor tried to get me to drink, but there was no use. I had a few sips of chicken broth, but I couldn’t drink anything else. I got up and decided that I would walk to mile 24, and then all I had to do was run two miles.

When I got to mile 24, a guy pulled up on a scooter and told me that I was cutting it really close. He didn’t tell me that I was going to be the last finisher, or how close I was, but he just told me I had to hurry.

At mile 25 the same spotter told me that I had to run if I wanted to make it in before midnight. I had 1.2 miles left to go and exactly 12 minutes to do it.

I did a mix of running and walking until I got down to Ali’i Drive and heard all the spectators screaming. Those people were going nuts.

I thought I was going to die—I had absolutely nothing left. I started running hard when I got in the finishing chute, and the crowd went crazy. I couldn’t believe it. I high-fived as many fans as I could and then damn-near passed out when I got to the line.

It didn’t feel like it was real. Since I had pretty much given up in the Energy Lab, I felt like I knew what not finishing felt like. I had quit—it was taken away from me—but now I had finished.

I went straight to the medical tent and went through two IVs. I had lost 17 pounds out on the race course.”

13 12

Wheels (Individual) 1. Zipp 2. HED 3. Xentis 4. Mavic 5. Bontrager 6. Corima 7. Planet X 8. Reynolds 9. Campagnolo 10. Shimano

Saddles

1. Fi’zi:k 2. Selle Italia 3. Specialized 4. Selle San Marco 5. Terry 6. ISM 7. Profile Design 8. Bontrager 9. Serfas 10. SMP

No Surprises;

Cervelo Rules Kona Bike Count

Industry insiders also tallied wheels, saddles, components, pedals, aerobars, aero helmets and running shoes.

By Brad Culp The annual Ford Hawaii Ironman World Championships Bike Count presented by Triathlete Magazine, gives industry folk and consumers a chance to gauge current trends in the triathlon world.

The athletes competing at Kona represent the best of the best, and their choices of gear are the results of calculated decisions.

Frames (Top 20) 1. Cervelo 2. Kuota T3. Scott

414 117 103

T3. Trek 5. Felt 6. Quintana Roo 7. Cannondale 8. Specialized 9. Giant 10. LOOK T11. Kestrel T11. Litespeed 13. Guru 14. Isaac 15. Ceepo 16. Pinarello T17. BMC T17. Planet X

103 89 79 68 66 51 48 35 35 27 26 24 19 13 13

1,766 258 197 158 94 52 45 42 33 30

458 398 146 136 105 78 72 40 38 34

Component Groups 1. Shimano 2. SRAM 3. Campagnolo

Pedals

1. LOOK 2. Shimano 3. Speedplay 4. Time 5. Keywin 6. Wellgo 7. Ritchey 8. Crank Bros.

9. Aerolite

Aerobars

1. Profile Design 2. Vision by FSA 3. Syntace 4. Zipp 5. Oval Concepts 6. Easton 7. HED

1,462 144 110

678 499 370 119 18 17 5 4 2

603 363 161 113 110 106 88

Girls were being blown from one side of the road to the other, but I would just make myself as small as possible. In my mind I was thinking, ‘I’m going below the wind.’ I think I said it like 1,000 times.

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8. Bontrager 9. Deda 10. P.R.O.

Aero Helmets 1. Giro 2. Louis Garneau 3. Rudy Project 4. Bell 5. Spiuk 6. Met 7. LAS 8. Specialized 9. Uvex 10. Alpine

50 18 17

330 217 114 92 37 19 18 14 10 8

Kona Running Shoe Count Presented by Zoot Sports 1. Asics 2. Nike 3. Saucony 4. Brooks 5. Mizuno 6. Newton 7. Zoot 8. New Balance 9. Adidas 10. K-Swiss 11. Avia 12. Puma 13. Scott T14. Diadora T14. Pearl Izumi

528 171 143 130 111 107 93 77 69 25 18 16 8 7 7

416 athletes ran with compression socks this year, up from only 82 pairs in 2007.

A special thanks to these companies for helping with this year’s count: Scott, Kuota, Trek, Argon 18, Kestrel, Orbea, Louis Garneau, Felt, Quintana Roo/Litespeed, Beaker Concepts, Fi’zi:k, Profile Design, Oval Concepts, Zipp, LOOK, SRAM, Shimano and Zoot.

—Dutch Hawaii Ironman runner-up Yvonne Van Vlerken, who earned the fastest bikesplit of the day.

Jay Prasuhn

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

19. Principia 20. Cube

Ironman Championship

Ford Ironman World Championship Top 20 Pro Results Pro Men 1. Craig Alexander (AUS)

Swim 51:43

Bike

Run

Total

Bike

Run

Total

4:37:19

2:45:00

8:17:45

1. Chrissie Wellington (GBR)

Pro Women

56:20

Swim

5:08:15

2:57:44

9:06:23

2. Eneko Llanos (ESP)

51:39

4:33:26

2:51:48

8:20:50

2. Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED)

1:06:49

5:05:34

3:04:26

9:21:20

3. Rutger Beke (BEL)

54:44

4:34:44

2:47:49

8:21:23

3. Sandra Wallenhorst (GER)

1:03:21

5:14:56

2:58:35

9:22:52

4. Ronnie Schildknecht (SWI)

54:56

4:34:25

2:48:19

8:21:46

4. Erika Csomor (HUN)

59:09

5:18:11

3:03:05

9:24:49

5. Cameron Brown (NZL)

51:50

4:36:46

2:53:39

8:26:17

5. Linsey Corbin (USA)

1:00:35

5:14:33

3:09:15

9:28:51

6. Patrick Vernay (NCL)

51:58

4:42:49

2:51:40

8:30:23

6. Virginia Berasategui (ESP)

58:50

5:22:16

3:03:48

9:29:15

7. Andy Potts (USA)

48:40

4:46:00

2:54:31

8:33:50

7. Bella Comerford (SCO)

59:02

5:21:45

3:08:30

9:34:08

8. Mathias Hecht (SWI)

51:42

4:36:55

3:01:12

8:34:02

8. Gina Ferguson (NZL)

54:45

5:26:29

3:11:18

9:36:53

9. Michael Lovato (USA)

52:58

4:45:20

2:52:11

8:34:47

9. Gina Kehr (USA)

54:45

5:21:46

3:14:35

9:37:06

10. Eduardo Sturla (ARG)

54:47

4:34:26

3:03:19

8:36:53

10. Dede Griesbauer (USA)

54:52

5:20:52

3:19:17

9:39:53

11. Faris Al-Sultan (GER)

51:43

4:33:24

3:10:01

8:39:32

11. Charlotte Paul (AUS)

1:03:14

5:26:31

3:06:13

9:41:15

12. Normann Stadler (GER)

54:15

4:29:56

3:15:32

8:44:04

12. Caitlin Snow (USA)

59:01

5:36:57

3:01:59

9:43:27

13. Ain Alar Juhanson (EST)

59:10

4:26:14

3:16:27

8:46:43

13. Sibylle Matter (SWI)

56:15

5:20:13

3:23:15

9:44:54

14. Maik Twelsiek (GER)

54:40

4:35:00

3:13:48

8:48:37

14. Joanna Lawn (NZL)

59:00

5:16:44

3:25:10

9:45:33

15. Timothy Marr (USA)

51:42

4:47:39

3:04:00

8:48:50

15. Martina Dogana (ITA)

1:03:31

5:27:26

3:14:32

9:50:47

16. Paul Amey (GBR)

51:45

4:56:53

2:56:01

8:48:58

16. Naomi Imaizumi (JPN)

1:03:32

5:22:03

3:20:20

9:54:08

17. Maximilian Longree (GER)

1:00:39

4:55:48

2:48:13

8:49:01

17. Belinda Granger (AUS)

56:09

5:15:24

3:39:47

9:56:01

18. Stephen Bayliss (GBR)

51:41

4:51:57

3:02:01

8:49:38

18. Rebekah Keat (AUS)

56:19

5:26:39

3:28:27

9:56:01

19. Christian Brader (GER)

59:14

4:44:06

3:02:13

8:50:08

19. Emi Shiono (JPN)

1:14:34

5:22:23

3:15:21

9:57:04

20. Eric Beam (USA)

56:14

4:42:12

3:08:09

8:52:52

20. Sara Gross (CAN)

59:04

5:42:27

3:18:57

10:06:10

9 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

where’s your race?

Since its inception in 2006, the

Ironman 70.3 Series has become the fastest growing triathlon

series in the world. There are now 32 qualifying events that culminate each November at the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, Florida.

2009 EVENTS

DATE

2009 EVENTS

DATE

Spec-Savers Ironman 70.3 South Africa Cristal Ironman 70.3 Pucon Snap Ironman 70.3 Geelong Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore Ironman 70.3 California Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans CLSA Ironman 70.3 China Ironman 70.3 St. Croix Ironman 70.3 Florida Ironman 70.3 Austria Ironman 70.3 Hawaii Ironman 70.3 Switzerland Ironman 70.3 Boise Ironman 70.3 Eagleman Ironman 70.3 Kansas Ironman 70.3 U.K. Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake

Jan. 18 Jan. 18 Feb. 8 March 22 April 4 April 5 April 19 May 3 May 17 May 24 May 30 June 7 June 13 June 14 June 14 June 14 June 28

Amica Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island Ironman 70.3 Vineman Whirlpool Ironman 70.3 Steelhead Ironman 70.3 Antwerp Ironman 70.3 Calgary Ironman 70.3 Germany Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3 Timberman Ironman 70.3 Putrajaya Ironman 70.3 Monaco Subaru Ironman 70.3 Muskoka Ironman 70.3 Brazil Ironman 70.3 Cancun Ironman 70.3 Augusta Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3

July 12 July 19 Aug. 1 Aug. 2 Aug. 2 Aug. 16 Aug. 16 Aug. 23 Aug. 23 Sept. 6 Sept. 13 Sept. 13 Sept. 20 Sept. 27 Oct. 18 Nov. 14

REGISTER TODAY AT IRONMAN.COM Ironman®, M-Dot® and 70.3® are registered trademarks of World Triathlon Corporation

Debut

Six new products unveiled at the Hawaii Ironman.

By Jay Prasuhn In short order, the Hawaii Ironman has suddenly become a gear debut mecca. First came interest in the bike count results. Then, after incremental expo growth, came this year’s Ironman Demo Days, which gave athletes and spectators a chance to test the hottest gear for the coming year. With the demo came product debuts, several of which we caught in Kona. Here’s a look at the biggest island launches.

Shimano Dura Ace 7900 approx $2,700 complete

It made its test debut in France but was on show in Kona as well. The newest iteration of the legendary Dura-Ace group makes heaps of improvements: a new hidden cable run, reach adjustment and a shorter shift throw on the new carbon-levered brakes, new teeth design on the chainrings, a carbon fiber pulley plate on the new rear derailleur and a fourth titanium ring on the cassette.

Expect many pro triathletes to show up at races on the 7900 next year.

Shimano also debuted (and hosted its first media test) of the new Di2 Electronic Dura-Ace groupset—which drew its cues from the 7900 mechanical group. Look for a complete review of the Electronic DA in the coming months. Dura-ace.com

AquaSphere SwimSkins $129 to $199

SRAM 1090R2C, price TBA

SRAM opted to bypass Interbike and launch the first new mechanical departure from the traditional bar-end shifter at the most applicable locale: Kona.

At a press launch (with Michellie Jones on hand to recount her firsthand experience), rumors were confirmed: This spring, SRAM will produce a shift lever that instead of levering down, simply “clicks” down or up, with the lever returning to its original centered position (hence R2C—return to center). SRAM says initial wind tunnel tests reveal that the R2C shifters can save an average of 10 to 15 grams of drag at 30 mph, resulting in a savings of 10 to 36 seconds over the length of an Ironman. Chris Lieto used the R2C prototypes during the race in Hawaii, but we’ll see production versions (at a price to be named later) in shops this spring. Sram.com

We thought this was appropriate for the winter months: a full 1 mm training swim skin that is great for cold outdoor pools. It gives you warmth and a bit of buoyancy to optimally replicate a wetsuit swim, without having to train with your $400 wetsuit in the pool. AquaSphere, the new official wetsuit of Ironman, has options including the shorty at $129, a sleeveless for $159 or a full suit for $199.

Aquasphereswim.com

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T R I AT H L E T E 9 5

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

Big Island

Congratulations

CRAIG ALEXANDER

CARBON WING

13 X s! p i l a b Wo r h s ld Champion Ironman Signature Fragrance $1 to $23

Carbon Wing

Super Wing

Flat Wing

Sonic Wing

Mini Wing

THE FASTEST SYSTEMS 9 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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JANUARY 2009

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T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

Photos Show Options

Yep, cologne. Before the obligatory question, “What does it smell like, sweat?”, the media in Kona were given samples of the Avon-produced men’s cologne. Avon describes it as “a victorious fusion of energizing citrus and exotic spices spiked with rich woods. Top notes of ginger, sparkling lime and violet mingle with mid-notes of nutmeg, rain mist accord and vetiver, grounded in a base of pachouli, cedarwood, wiliwood accord and tree moss.” Uhhh…OK. We just thought it smelled nice. The line, which will include a roll-on antiperspirant deodorant ($1), aftershave ($5) and cologne ($23), will be available in the spring. Avon.com

Win This Bike

plus the treatment of a pro triathlete!* * Includes airfare from anywhere in the continental U.S., 2 nights accommodations, and 2 hours in the A2 wind tunnel in Mooresville, North Carolina.

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triathletemag.com • rideblue.com

Offer expires March 31, 2009. No purchase necessary.

Official rules are listed in the back of the magazine.

2008 Hawaii Ironman Championship

K-Swiss Limited Edition K-Ona $120

There was no missing Chris Lieto, Kim Loeffler, Paul Amey and Luke McKenzie racing in the new K-Ona in Kona, which was designed with input from K-Swiss athletes. We tested the shoe and liked its low heel, sole drainage, flexiblilty, super-light weight (9 oz.) and that little touch of medial stability. Athletes in Kona loved the limited edition versions for their flexible, breathable upper and the two motif options: a blue or white shoe with the Ironman logo, and the U.S. or Australian flag version. The run of 500 shoes were limited to sale in Kona, but you can get the K-Ona in standard colorways this spring. Kswiss.com

Maystorm Skinsuit $200

Our spring wetsuit review revealed Maystormâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s custom suits to be the most underrated rubber on the market. With Jamie Whitmore and Conrad Stoltz among the names wearing the brand, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re certainly a rising player. We ran into the Japanese masterminds in Kona, who showed us a new skinsuit, developed and delivered just weeks before the race and worn during the race by Japanese pro Naomi Imaizumi. With a very tight, athletic cut, Maystorm says its tests reveal the swim skin is good for a free second every 50 meters. Maystorm-gear.com 9 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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More Than a

Comeback

Ben Ross

Saul Raisin might have won the Tour de France.

But after a bike crash nearly killed him, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll settle for winning his age group at the Ironman World Championship and raising millions of dollars to help others with traumatic brain injuries.

By Matt F itzgerald

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It

wasn’t his doctors or his parents but rather the Google Internet search that awakened Saul Raisin to full recognition of what had happened to him as he recuperated at the Shepherd Center, a catastrophic care hospital in Atlanta, more than a month after his accident.

“The first time I went on the Internet in my therapy, I went to my e-mail account and I had about 1,200 e-mails from everyone from George Hincapie to Lance Armstrong,” says Raisin, now 25. “They were all saying, ‘Saul, we just want you to know we’re praying for you and we’re here for you.’ And I thought, ‘What is going on?’”

Still cloudy-minded from his 40 mph knock to the noggin, Raisin investigated further.

“I Googled my name and got more than 550,000 search results,” he recalls. “My first thought was, ‘Did I win the Giro d’Italia?’ I clicked the link to a story on CNN and it was all about what had happened to me. And that’s the first time I understood why I couldn’t move the left side of my body, why I was confined to a wheelchair. That’s when I finally realized I had a brain injury.”

What Raisin learned from CNN was that on April 4, 2006, he crashed while riding his bike at a full sprint in the closing stretch of the first stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe in northern France. He suffered a broken clavicle, two broken ribs, a badly mangled right hand and severe abrasions in a head-first impact that caused a violent seizure.

After regaining consciousness, he was rushed to a nearby hospital, where rapid brain swelling sent him into a deep coma.

Roger Legay, the general manager of Raisin’s Credit Agricole cycling team, called his parents, Yvonne and Jim, at their home in Dalton, Ga., and urged them to catch the next flight to Paris. Upon arriving at the hospital, they were bluntly told by the doctors to expect their son’s death at any moment.

Six days later, Raisin awoke paralyzed on the left side of his body.

Two weeks after that, he stood upright. Three months later Raisin was riding a stationary bike three hours a day. In September 2007, Raisin competed in the USA Professional Time Trial Championships, finishing dead last but finishing nonetheless. And in October 2009, Raisin, having been medically barred from competing in pro cycling, plans to compete in the Hawaii Ironman.

Courtesy Saul Raisin

Not the Average Miracle We’ve all heard a lot of stories of miraculous sports comebacks.

But Saul Raisin’s is different from others we know about, including the incomparable Lance Armstrong’s. Even at the depth of his fight with cancer, Armstrong was given 40-percent odds of surviving. And, of course, he did not win seven Tour de France titles with cancer. He was as cancer-free as his competitors during his years of staggering dominance.

But the fact that Saul Raisin can even ride a bike again remains shocking and inexplicable to brain-injury experts, and his injury will challenge him for the remainder of his days, no matter how far his comeback goes.

“This is a kid that truly shouldn’t be alive today,” says Dave Shields, a cycling writer and now a close friend of Raisin who authored the young rider’s deeply moving memoir, Tour de Life: From Coma to Competition.

“When I was researching the book I had some of his brain scans, and I showed them to numerous neuorologists, and every single one of them said to me something along the lines of, ‘This kid lived?!’

They looked at it and said, ‘This is a picture of an irrecoverable injury.’ It’s just amazing that he did what he did. He was so close to not making it.”

So how did he make it, and not just make it but recover so fully that he is now ready to take on long-distance triathlon racing?

“He had some luck,” says Gerald Bilsky, MD, who took over Raisin’s treatment at the Shepherd Center after Raisin was transported back to the States from France in a flying ambulance one month after his wreck. For example, the hospital nearest to the site of Raisin’s accident happened to employ the best brain surgeon in all of France, whose skills gave Raisin a fighting chance. But it was cycling that enabled him to make the most of that chance, in more ways than one.

“A huge part of his recovery is due to the fact that, first of all, he was in unbelievably good physical condition prior to the crash, but also his drive to get back on the bike,” says Shields. “That really drove his recovery.”

Raisin agrees. “Lance’s book is It’s Not about the Bike,” he says, referring of course to Lance Armstrong, whom Raisin, a climbing specialist, once cracked on a hard training ride in the mountains. “For me it was all about the bike. I wanted to get back where I was.”

To get back to where he was, Raisin first had to get to the point where answering one simple question did not exhaust him. “The level of fatigue was so high,” Raisin recalls of the early days of his rehabilitation. “Every little thing was so mentally exhausting. I remember my first day of therapy, they asked me my name and my age. I was so exhausted after answering the questions that I cried like a baby and begged to be put back to bed.”

When Dr. Bilsky cleared Raisin to begin riding on an indoor trainer, he was still almost completely unable to use the left side of his body. And not only that, but he didn’t even know his body had a left side.

“I had something called severe left side neglect,” says Raisin.

“That’s where you can’t feel or see the left side of your body. If I was walking on the right side of the road, I would end up falling in the road because I couldn’t see it.” When asked by his therapists to draw a human stick figure, Raisin would literally draw half a person.

Branching Out Cycling helped Raisin regain function on his left side, but only so much. As he trained obsessively for his targeted comeback race, the 2007 U.S. Pro Time Trial Championships, Raisin expressed frustration about his slow progress to one of his therapists, who After his accident, Saul Raisin suggested he start running, had to relearn how to do everybecause it’s much harder for a thing from eating to walking. weak leg to slack off and hitch a ride from a stronger leg when running than when cycling. His initial commitment to running was halfhearted, though. He couldn’t see how running would improve his cycling.

As a result, he says, “I did the U.S. Pro Championships with a leg and a half.” Only when he decided to become a triathlete T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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T R I AT H L E T E 1 0 1

More Than a

Comeback

did Raisin begin running seriously, and since then, he reports, his left leg strength has doubled. Although Raisin’s comeback race was a competitive disappointment, on another level it was a triumph.

The event became an unofficial celebration of Raisin’s recovery, with friends, acquaintances and strangers crowding around him to express their love and best wishes. Another cyclist in his position might not have received such expressive attention, but Raisin’s golden retriever personality—good-natured, fun-loving, affectionate and loyal—had made him especially popular in the cycling community even before his accident.

“He’s a hell of a nice guy,” says Bilsky. “He’s got a huge heart; he cares about other people. He’s not a very egocentric individual.

He wants to succeed for himself, but he’s not caught up in competitiveness. He’s a social guy who really cares that other people are doing well.”

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He is not, however, entirely the same person he was before his accident.

Brain injury sufferers commonly exhibit a few classic personality changes as they recover, and the person who knows Saul Raisin better than anyone else does says he is no exception. “Saul is still the same person,” says Yvonne Raisin, “but there are two distinct differences. One is that he is very impulsive. If he wants to do something, heaven or hell can’t stop him. For example, he never chewed gum before. He couldn’t stand gum.

Now he has to have it all the time. If he runs out he’ll go to Wal-Mart at midnight and get it.”

Thanks to intensive retraining, however, Saul Raisin has made steady improvement in the ability to control his impulses. Gone are the days when, sitting around a dinner table with family or friends, he would reach out and snatch food off another’s plate with his bare hand.

The second big change Yvonne Raisin has noticed is more acceptable but no less a symptom of her son’s blow to the head. “Saul’s always been a very affectionate person and very caring and loving with others,” she says. “But now that’s tripled. Before the accident, like most of us, he didn’t really pay attention to disabled people.

Now Saul will stop and ask them how they’re doing. He’ll give them a big Raisin wept for joy after hug. If he sees a little old lady with a completing his comeback heavy shopping bag he’ll go and ask race, the 2007 U.S. Pro her if he can carry her bag for her.”

Cycling Championships Time Trial.

Nowadays Raisin forms friendships very quickly and seeks almost marital closeness in many of them.

Although they met just a few months ago, Raisin and his triathlon coach Jason Goldberg talk on the phone five to 10 times a day.

Goldberg has a special ringtone that identifies Raisin’s calls: the song “(Even) More Human than Human,” by the X-Ecutioners.

Raisin himself feels oddly disconnected in some ways from his life before the accident. Not only does he not remember the accident itself, but he recalls little of the three or four months preceding it.

Less than two months before crashing he rode the 2006 Tour of California. The following year he returned and rode several of its stages to raise awareness and money for Raisin Hope, his foundation to support fellow traumatic brain injury sufferers. Except for a few of the most brutal climbs, he had no recollection of having been on those roads previously.

Beyond having forgotten where he was before the crash, Raisin has also forgotten some aspects of who he was before. “The other

Ben Ross

The Same and Not the Same

More Than a

Comeback A Dream Dashed

In May 2008, Raisin participated in his first triathlon, the St. George Triathlon in Utah.

day someone asked me if I’ve always been a neat freak because I like everything to be in place; I like to keep my room in order,” he says. “I thought about it, and the truth is I don’t remember. That’s just the way my parents and caretakers have taught me to be. ‘OK, Saul, you fold your clothes, you put them away nice and neat, and you stay organized.’”

Due in part to the various impairments and glitches that even the luckiest brain-injury survivors carry with them for life, their failure rate in relationships is exceptionally high, with more than seven in 10 marriages involving a person with a brain injury ending in divorce.

One year into his recovery, Raisin started a new relationship with Aleeza Zabriskie, the younger sister of American cyclist David Zabriskie.

Within a few short months Raisin had relocated from his parents’ home in Georgia to Zabriskie’s home in Salt Lake City and exchanged wedding vows with her. And within another few short months the couple had split up and Raisin had moved back to Georgia.

Raisin’s biographer and friend Dave Shields, who also lives in Salt Lake City, was sorry to see him go, for more than one reason.

“I would like to see Saul be more independent,” he says. “He’s very capable of making decisions and living on his own, but he loves his parents so much that he ends up involving them in every decision.

But the way he progresses is by being forced to confront every kind of challenge.”

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The loss was not only Raisin’s, but cycling’s. Everyone with knowledge of cycling who ever saw Saul Raisin ride agrees that he was phenomenally gifted and destined to do great things as a bike racer.

“Saul could have been the next American Tour de France podium finisher,” says his triathlon coach Jason Goldberg. As a boy, Raisin developed a spinal curvature condition that created an abnormally large chest cavity, allowing his heart and lungs to grow to unusually large proportions. At the beginning of his pro cycling career, Raisin astonished a trainer in testing by sustaining a power output of 550 watts for six minutes on the slopes of the infamous Col de la Madone at a blood lactate level of just 4 mmol/L—a combination of numbers that not only had never been seen before but would have been considered impossible before Raisin produced them. By the time of his accident at age 23, Raisin had already won a stage in the Tour de Langkawi, captured the King of the Mountains jersey in the Tour de l’Avenir, and been named the Tour de Georgia’s Best Young Rider.

“The kid was made to ride a bike,” says Shields. “He’s got this awkwardness to the shape of his frame. He doesn’t look like other people. He sometimes just doesn’t look comfortable on his feet. Then you see him on a bike and it’s like, ‘Holy cow!’ He fits on a bicycle differently than most people. He’s incredibly smooth.”

According to Shields, Raisin was so devastated by the death of his cycling dream that, after months of stunningly rapid progress in his health and functioning, he began to regress. But to his credit, Raisin eventually found the wherewithal to redirect his passion for racing bikes into helping other traumatic brain injury sufferers through his foundation, and thereby got his recovery and his life moving forward again.

Ben Ross

Perhaps the greatest challenge Raisin has faced since his recovery— possibly even greater than the failure of his marriage—is the cold, hard end of his dream to return to professional cycling. By the fall of 2007 Raisin had recovered sufficiently to return to France for training and testing with team Credit Agricole. The future of his career depended on the judgment of the team doctors who evaluated his health and fitness. The heartbreaking post dated November 22, 2007, on Raisin’s blog says it all: My dreams to be a professional cyclist are dead. I do not know where to begin. This is the hardest blog I have ever had to write. Yesterday, I was greeted by my Mom and Dad early in the morning in Salt Lake City. I was so surprised to see them but the fake smile on my Mom’s face revealed something was wrong. Roger Legay had called them the day before to tell them that the French doctors would not release me to race. His voice cracked as he later told me the news and I tried hard to fight back the tears. I did very well on my neuro-psych tests but the doctors said it would be too dangerous if I were to crash and hit my head again. It is hard to take in the fact that all the last 13 years of hard training are now over. I always say that if you do your best in anything be happy and content knowing you did your best. I will always stand by this motto. I did my best and gave my all to get back to the sport of professional cycling and am content with the fact I did my best and I will never ask, what if? Now it is time to move and start new a new life. I am no longer Saul Raisin, cyclist professional for the team Credit Agricole. I am now Saul Raisin, brain injury survivor … Job hunting is not going to be fun … any ideas? Up for hire.

Comeback

The Raisin Hope Foundation is still nascent, and its future uncertain, but it is heading in the right direction. It is supported by a rudimentary Web site and has already channeled tens of thousands of dollars to charities from revenues generated by charity bike rides and the sales of Raisin’s memoir. It is also receiving a growing amount of exposure from Raisin’s ongoing comeback, which is now focused on triathlon, a sport in which Raisin does not require medical clearance to compete as an amateur.

Raisin’s desire to make a difference in the lives of others in his situation is authentic and intense. Goldberg likes to tell the story of the time he hung out with Raisin at the Interbike tradeshow in Las Vegas and watched Raisin compulsively share his story with—and inevitably sell a copy of his book to—every person he encountered, including industry luminaries such as Steve Hed and another of Goldberg’s clients, pro triathlete Bjorn Andersson.

“He’ll grab anyone who will listen and talk about it,” Goldberg says. “He’s so passionate about it, it’s kind of moving.”

For his part, Raisin feels he simply owes it to other traumatic brain injury sufferers to help however he can.

“I have a second chance at life, and I want to give back and help others,” he says. “When I hear about someone else who has had a traumatic brain injury, whether it’s a pro cyclist or someone else, I don’t hesitate to send them a signed jersey and a copy of my book or whatever. Those little things make such a difference. Hope is one of the only things that’s free to give. It costs you nothing, and it goes such a long way.”

Gainfully Employed So Raisin is no longer seeking employment. He created his own job. It doesn’t pay well just yet, but he loves it. “His goal in life is to help other people,” says Yvonne Raisin. “That’s who he is now.

I hope that he can make a living helping others. I think he can. I really do.”

Serving as president of the Raisin Hope Foundation is not a full-time gig, which leaves Raisin plenty of time to swim, bike and run. But workouts are arguably part of the job, because racing triathlons is essentially a marketing program for the foundation.

Raisin believes that by completing the Hawaii Ironman he can draw badly needed attention and resources to traumatic brain injury and send a message of hope to fellow survivors.

“To me, the hardest one-day sporting event on earth is the Ironman,” he says. “So when I do it, I want people to say, ‘That kid had one of the most severe brain injuries you can have, and he overcame it, so I can do it too.’”

Can Saul Raisin really be a competitive age-group triathlete?

His coach thinks so. “He’s not built like a swimmer,” says Goldberg.

“He’s built like a climber: long and stringy. But I think he can go about an hour in the water in an Ironman.” As for the bike, he says, “I think he can have a bike-split that will rival some of the better [cycling] pros like [Laurent] Jalabert did [in 2007].”

(Jalabert’s bike-split of 4:45:49 was the 26th-fastest in that year’s World Championship.)

And the run? “Saul is not a runner,” is Dave Shields’ verdict.

Raisin does not contest it. “Running is definitely my weakness,” he concedes. But finishing the 2008 New York City Marathon on Nov. 2 will give him something to build on, and Jason Goldberg has identified some correctable biomechanical flaws whose fixing could make Raisin a more efficient and confident runner.

Every triathlete has a weak discipline, but in addition to a weak run, Raisin faces another obstacle to his pursuit of triathlon success 1 0 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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that is specific to his brain injury. “I really do not feel fatigue the way I used to,” he explains. “The doctors say either I damaged the part of my brain that produces feelings of fatigue or the level of fatigue I experienced in the hospital was so high that everything I experience now, my mind thinks is easy.” Raisin still bonks when his body approaches its limits, but he doesn’t see it coming as the rest of us do, so he has to rely more on objective data such as wattage to pace himself effectively.

Raisin has already completed one triathlon—a low-key Olympicdistance event last May. The plan for 2009 is a full slate of Ironman 70.3 events, including Wildflower, California, Florida, Vineman, Eagleman and Timberman, and then the Ironman World Championship in Kona (provided he qualifies or receives a special invitation).

True to his competitive nature, Raisin has ambitions that go beyond merely making the 17-hour cutoff in Kona. “The first year I do it I want the reaction to be ‘Wow!’” he says. “The next year I want to be competitive, for sure.”

And after that? When asked where he expects to be in 10 years, Raisin falls silent for a while, suggesting that he seldom thinks that far ahead. Interestingly, his eventual answer invokes the same Internet tool that first clued him into the reality of his new life back in 2006.

“In 10 years,” he says, “when you Google ‘traumatic brain injury,’ I would like the Raisin Hope Foundation to be the first link that comes up. And when you go there I would like the site to have all kinds of resources like Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation Web site has for cancer. I want it to be a haven for anyone with a brain injury, and a beacon of hope.”

Raisin was honored with the Toyota Engines of Change Award at the 2008 Competitor Endurance Sports Awards.

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Aloha Maui Nils Nilsen

Pro mountain biker wins XTERRA Worlds in his first-ever off-road tri; Dibens repeats as womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s champ.

By Liz Hichens

Brit Julie Dibens used a powerful swim-bike combo to score her second win in Maui.

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Aloha Maui

Age-groupers charge into the water to kick off the 12th edition of the XTERRA World Championship.

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ith the days leading up to the XTERRA World Championships featuring mild temperatures, gentle breezes and consistent cloud cover, it looked like the oftenvolatile weather of Maui’s Makena Region would be kind to the competitors. But hours before the race, conditions shifted to usher in a brutally hot day on the slopes of Haleakala Volcano and the sands of Makena Beach.

The day’s surprises didn’t end with the weather. Spain’s Ruben Ruzafa stunned the crowd by earning the world championship on his first-ever attempt. On the women’s side, Julie Dibens proved last year’s win wasn’t a fluke, and she became the second woman in XTERRA history to win back-to-back world championships.

Ruzafa, Weiss Leave Favorites Behind Canada’s Brent McMahon used his experience in Olympic-distance swims to quickly take the lead in the 1,500-meter swim at Maluaka Beach. McMahon held the lead at the on-shore run going into the second swim lap and was first into T1 with a time of 18:13— a time nearly a minute and a half faster than his 2007 leading swim time of 19:42. McMahon’s lead was minimal, with the U.S.’ Craig Evans and Branden Rakita, Spain’s Eneko Llanos, Italy’s Gianpietro De Faveri and Switzerland’s Olivier Marceau all following within 10 seconds of McMahon. Ruzafa came out of the water at 20:35 and worked quickly to make up the margin on the leaders.

While Ruzafa quietly worked his way toward the leaders, South Africa’s Conrad Stoltz looked like he was on his way to defending his 2007 world championship title. Heading up the feared “Heartbreak Hill,” Stoltz managed to build an early lead over Marceau and South Africa’s Dan Hugo. While the South African continued to hold a sizeable lead over the competition, Ruzafa and France’s Franky Batelier worked their way up to second and third positions, respectively.

The battle appeared to be for podium positions as Stoltz looked tough on the bike, until he suffered a flat tire on the back half of the unforgiving course. With Stoltz losing his top position, Ruzafa battled 1 1 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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the lava-hot course and took the lead heading into T2 with the day’s best bike-split of 1:30:25. World Cup mountain biker and XTERRA Austria champ Michael Weiss of Austria was equally impressive on the bike, posting a split of 1:30:33 and coming into T2 in second position. Stoltz worked to overcome the time lapse left by his mechanical difficulties and came into the transition as the 10th-fastest cyclist.

Heading into the run, Ruzafa and Weiss showed the field that they could carry their power from the bike to the run. The pair quickly built a substantial lead over the trailing runners, with Ruzafa holding a slight lead over Weiss. With the Spaniard and the Austrian running away with the first two positions, the rest of the race became a mixture of fading cyclists and surging power runners. Ruzafa held off Weiss through the entire run course, posting a run time of 45:26 and earning the win in a total time of 2:37:36.

“I knew I had prepared very well for this race,” Ruzafa said. “But it’s hard because I knew there would be tough competition from these guys. Right now I am on a cloud. I don’t think I will understand what I’ve done until I am on the plane home.”

Behind Ruzafa, Weiss posted a run time of 45:29, earning a total time of 2:38:10 and a podium finish in his first-ever world championship. Weiss attributed his success to simply surviving through the bike portion.

“The bike was very difficult,” Weiss said. “I made some mistakes because it is my first time here in Maui. I had a hard time adapting to the lava rocks, but I am happy because I did not leave anything on the course. I had a very heavy bike, but it lasted. I am happy to be over the finish line without any injuries and a second-place finish.”

In the battle for third, McMahon came back from the 12th-fastest bike time to run his way past several competitors and into third with a final time of 2:40:56. McMahon’s run time of 43:18 was the best in the field by more than two minutes, making him the fastest competitor on both the swim and the run. Fellow Canadian Mike Vine held onto fourth position with a time of 2:41:37. Marceau rounded out the top five with a finishing time of 2:42:01.

Aloha Maui her lack of experience on the mountain bike would keep her from claiming a second title.

Dibens powered through the entire 19.1-mile bike course in 1:48:32, shaving nearly three minutes off of her 2007 world championship bike time. Despite Dibens’ dominant performance on the bike, she said post-race that her training on the mountain bike has been minimal. But in 2009 that will change.

“I’m going to spend more time on my mountain bike by moving over to the U.S.,” Dibens said. “There will be no excuse for not getting on my mountain bike more. I’m excited to race on the U.S. circuit and compete more with the other girls. I really spent no time on my mountain bike at all, other than the days leading up to the race.”

Behind Dibens, American Shonny Vanlandingham overcame a mediocre swim to post the fastest bike-split of the women in 1:48:12. Vanlandigham’s Luna Chix teammate, Canadian Danelle Kabush, also put herself in contention with the third-fastest bike time of 1:50:48.

Near the back of the field, three-time world champion Melanie McQuaid of Canada struggled to replicate the strong performances of her 2008 season because of stomach issues. McQuaid’s bike-split of 2:01:02 was more than 10 minutes slower than her runner-up performance last year and marked the first time she posted a bike time over two hours in Maui.

“I want a mulligan,” McQuaid said afterward. “Can we race tomorrow?”

Ruzafa’s mountain biking background paid off as he and Michael Weiss built a massive lead on the bike.

Who is Ruben Ruzafa?

Photos by Nils Nilsen

Twenty-four-year-old Ruzafa may have had less triathlon experience than any other athlete competing in Maui, but experience goes out the window when you can ride a mountain bike faster than most triathletes can ride a road bike. Ruzafa is known in his home country as one of the best mountain bikers around, but he opted to try his hand at XTERRA after talking to countryman Eneko Llanos two months ago at the Spanish Mountain Biking National Championship (which Ruzafa won).

Ruzafa’s off-road accolades over the past year earned the youngster a spot on his country’s Olympic mountain biking squad, but in a controversial decision, he was replaced by veteran Carlos Coloma only five weeks before the Beijing Olympics.

“I didn’t know I could do so well,” Ruzafa said. “I thought if I didn’t lose too much time on the swim, I would be able to catch up on the bike and hopefully hold on during the run.”

Ruzafa, who has only been swimming for one year, said he’ll begin to focus on XTERRA and will return to defend his title in 2009.

Dibens Doubles World Champ Count XTERRA’s top women proved to be as strong as the men in the water, as American Linda Gallo was the second overall competitor out of the water behind McMahon with a time of 18:16. Canadian Christine Jeffrey was the second woman into T2 with a time of 18:29, followed by Dibens at 18:53. With Dibens at the front of the race from the beginning, the trailing group could only hope that 1 1 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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Dibens massive bike lead shrank during the run, but she hung on for the win.

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IT’S ALL ABOUT MAKING THE START LINE.

Aloha Maui Amateur Field In the amateur race, Francois Carloni of Saint Raphael, France, earned the honor of fastest amateur with a time of 2:54:26. The time was good enough for 20th position overall. Carloni competed as part of the 20-24 age group. Forty-two-year-old Keri Grosse of Leavenworth, Wash., walked away with the women’s amateur crown and a time of 3:34:04.

Three amateur competitors have raced and completed in every world championship race dating back to 1996. Joe Alueta (4:10:13) of Wailuku, Hawaii, Steve Fisher (4:24:15) of Lahaina, Hawaii, and Steve Tarpinian (5:06:48) of Wantagh, N.Y., all crossed the finish line for their 13th consecutive finish in Maui.

The night before race day in Maui, XTERRA announced its latest hall of famer, Jimmy Riccitello of Tucson, Ariz. Riccitello accepted the honor in front of all the racers and spectators. He was the inaugural winner of the world championships in 1996 at Wailea, Maui.

During his acceptance speech, Riccitello said that he was inspired by the world championship atmosphere and would compete on race day. Battling on a borrowed bike, Riccitello finished 56th overall with a time of 3:09:00.

Just two weeks removed from a runner-up finish in Kona, Eneko Llanos finished sixth in Maui.

Hawaiian Airlines Double

Warrior Award

Also up for grabs in Maui was the Hawaiian Airlines Double title, awarded to the pro man, pro women and age-groupers with the fastest combined Ironman Hawaii and XTERRA Maui time.

Spain’s Eneko Llanos earned his third straight title after a second-place finish in Kona (8:20:50) and a sixth-place finish in Maui (2:42:49), for a combined time of 11:03:39. For the women, Switzerland’s Sibylle Matter rounded out her season with the title by finishing 13th in the Ironman World Championshps (9:44:54) and 14th in the XTERRA World Championships (3:27:14), for a combined time of 13:12:08.

In the amateur field, Honolulu’s Mark Geohegan finished 22nd in his division (9:52:21) at Ironman and second in the 45-49 age group in Maui (3:14:49), for a combined time of 13:07:10. Karen Brisson of Honakaa was 27th in her age group at Ironman (11:37:10) and fourth at XTERRA in 3:47:34 for a combined time of 15:24:44.

The women’s pro start list was missing a familiar name: Jamie Whitmore. Whitmore had started a battle with cancer nine months before the world championships and was sidelined at the beginning of the 2008 season. Whitmore won the world championship in 2004 and was a regular on the XTERRA race circuit. She remains the sport’s all-time winningest athlete.

For her contribution to the sport and her persevering spirit, Whitmore was honored with the 2008 XTERRA Warrior Award. The Warrior Award is given to an athlete that has shown exemplary courage in the face of adversity, gone above and beyond to help the greater community or personified the “Live More” spirit. In her acceptance speech, Whitmore asked the nearly 600 athletes to think of her when they wanted to give up.

McQuaid’s stomach issues became increasingly painful throughout the bike, and she was forced out of the race at T2.

Onto the run, Dibens continued to dominate, unaware of the speedy runners closing in on her lead. It wasn’t until a passing male athlete warned Dibens of a nearing Kabush that she was aware of her diminishing lead. Dibens was forced to push the pace in the final minutes of her run, despite her struggle with the soaring temperatures.

“I was really struggling with the heat today,” Dibens said. “The run was a matter of survival. I knew the girls were starting to catch me. I’m so happy I was able to hang on for another world championship.”

Dibens’ 55:30 run earned her a final time of 3:03:57 and her second consecutive world championship in as many tries. In her first year back after having a baby, Kabush’s field-leading run time of 49:55 propelled her into second position and her third podium finish in Maui. (She was third in 2004 and second in 2006). Kabush’s final time of 3:04:56 is a personal best for her at the world championships.

Vanlandigham held on for third position and a time of 3:10:49.

Behind Vanlandingham, a fleet-footed Renata Bucher of Switzerland ran strong, finishing fourth in 3:11:06.

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XTERRA World Championships Makena, Maui, Hawaii Oct. 26, 2008 1.5K swim, 30K bike, 10K run Men 1. Ruben Ruzafa (ESP)...................2:37:36 2. Michael Weiss (AUT)...................2:38:10 3. Brent McMahon (CAN)...............2:40:56 4. Mike Vine (CAN).........................2:41:37 5. Olivier Marceau (FRA)................2:42:01 6. Eneko Llanos (ESP)....................2:42:56 7. Josiah Middaugh (USA)..............2:42:56 8. Dan Hugo (RSA).........................2:43:28 9. Brian Smith (USA)......................2:43:47 10. Chris Legh (AUS)......................2:45:20 Women 1. Julie Dibens (GBR).....................3:03:57 2. Danelle Kabush (CAN)................3:04:56 3. Shonny Vanlandingham (USA)....3:10:49 4. Renata Bucher (SUI)..................3:11:06 5. Christine Jeffrey (CAN)...............3:11:06 6. Jennifer Smith (NZL)...................3:15:59 7. Jenny Tobin (USA)......................3:16:08 8. Carina Wasle (AUT)....................3:17:31 9. Sara Tarkington (USA)................3:19:16 10. Lesley Paterson (GBR).............3:19:53 Amateur Men 1. Francois Carloni (FRA)...............2:54:26 Amateur Women 1. Keri Grosse (USA)......................3:34:04

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TRAINING “Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must.”

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TRAINING

Calculated Performance

Using quantitative models to optimize your training.

By Dave Clarke and Michael Ricci

T

Triathletes invest significant time, money and effort to achieve personal best performances. Unfortunately, there are no laws to which one can adhere to guarantee peak performance. All too often, triathletes who plateau add more volume or more intensity to their training, expecting that their efforts will be rewarded with better racing. But those who use this approach are often disappointed upon crossing the finish line.

Why does more training not guarantee better performance? The reason is that training has both positive and negative effects on the body, such that only an optimum amount of properly scheduled training leads to improved performance. Each triathlete must find his or her own individual optimum.

Engineers use mathematical models to design and optimize the performance of complex systems, such as chemical plants and airplanes.

Similarly, exercise scientists have developed mathematical models to optimize athletic performance. While these models once suffered from limited practicality outside the laboratory, the advent of the power meter for cycling has spurred the development of new metrics of training “dose,” modifications to published models and excellent software that renders these models accessible to any triathlete.

Imagine that you or your coach could design a training program

that guaranteed peak performance for your goal race. Such guarantees are hard to come by, as the normal approach to training program design involves combining general knowledge from training textbooks, trial-and-error experimentation and the experience of the coach and/ or athlete. While this approach can work, much guesswork is still required, and a more precise method is wanted. Enter mathematical modeling. Mathematical models provide a quantitative framework for rational, systematic and objective design and analysis of training.

Importantly, because the model inputs and parameters are based on your own training data, the models are specific to you, such that reliable quantitative prediction of performance is now possible.

Models: How They Work Most of the models used in modern scientific studies are based on the work of Eric Banister and his colleagues at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. The models are typically referred to as “impulse-response models,” wherein the daily training dose is the “impulse” (or input) and performance is the “response” (or output).

The key underlying assumption of the models is that training induces both positive and negative effects, commonly known as fitness and fatigue, respectively. Performance, or one’s “form” on race day, is calculated as the balance between fitness and fatigue. As a coaching tool, the models are used to help design and schedule workouts such that an optimum balance of fitness and fatigue is achieved to maximize performance on the day of the goal race.

While the basic premise of these models has changed little in three decades, their practical utility has only recently been exploited, largely due to the advent of the power meter for measuring power output during cycling.

The power meter measures the true rate of work, so that exercise intensity can be precisely quantified regardless of the course or T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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TRAINING TSB

conditions. Dr. Andrew Coggan, an exercise scientist and competitive cyclist, has developed a number of power-based metrics for quantifying training data. In particular, the training stress score (TSS) can serve as the input (or impulse) for the models. For the purpose of quantifying training, the TSS appears to be a much more useful metric than previously used heart rate-based metrics. Therefore, it has enjoyed widespread acceptance among cyclists and triathletes.

Two commercially available software packages make implementing these models easy and accessible for everyone. Both are applicable to running as well as cycling for those who collect running workout data with a speed and distance device. A version of the full impulseresponse model is used in PhysFarm’s RaceDay software created by Dr. Philip Skiba, a physician, sports scientist and triathlon coach. A simpler version of the model, called the Performance Management Chart (PMC), was developed by Dr. Coggan and is featured in TrainingPeaks WKO+ software.

Both models have advantages and limitations. The model used in RaceDay is more powerful because it predicts performance in absolute terms (i.e., wattage that could be held on the bike during a race).

However, much data is needed for the model calculations, which comes either from frequent (i.e., weekly) performance tests or data from hard workouts. The advantage of the PMC is its simplicity, but its biggest downfall is that performance is not concretely predicted.

Also, it can be difficult to interpret the model outputs without previous data or experience as guidance. In both cases, diligent downloading of power meter or GPS data or tedious manual quantification of training data is required for either model to perform well.

Practical Application of the PMC Model With this background established, we will discuss applying these models to analyzing and predicting triathlon training and performance.

Specifically, we will present two case studies of athletes in which the PMC was used to analyze and plan their cycling training. In the discussion, we will refer to the terms CTL, ATL, and TSB, which are the variables involved in the PMC calculations.

CTL is the “chronic training load,” which is a variable used to quantify one’s fitness; ATL is the “acute training load,” which quantifies one’s level of fatigue; and TSB is the “training stress balance,” which quantifies one’s freshness and equals the difference between CTL and ATL. The output of the model is “form,” which is defined as some combination of CTL (fitness) and TSB (freshness). There are no scientifically established values of CTL and TSB that predict whether or not one will have good form. Instead, one must find his or her own range of values that correspond to peak performances. This is done through analysis of previous training data or through repeated use of the model to plan one’s training for goal races.

Case 1: Half-Ironman Triathlon Training Analysis and Planning The PMC can be used to analyze past training and performance data. The first case study is that of a female athlete who raced a halfIronman triathlon before the PMC was available to the public. Her training data was extracted from her log and charted using the PMC (Figure 1). In the first three or so months of training, the data was inconsistently logged, such that ATL remained artificially low and the TSB remained high. By March, the chart features more irregular spikes, reflecting daily training doses. A short taper prior to a sprint race caused a spike in TSB, and this was followed by heavier training 1 2 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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1 Inconsistant Training Data 2 Sprint Race TSB +7 3 ATL too high, too close to ‘A’ race 4 Peak TSB before ‘A’ Race of 1.1

Figure 1: PMC chart for a six-month training block for a female triathlete leading up to her goal race of a half-Ironman triathlon. into late April and May. During this time, the CTL rose in a gradual fashion, and the ATL tended to stay high until race day.

In the race, the athlete had a good swim and ran close to her desired pace but had a subpar bike ride. In analyzing her race, if all we knew was that the swim and run were good but the bike was bad, then it would be logical to think that the athlete was properly tapered and had a bad day on the bike, perhaps due to insufficient training or some other factor.

The PMC tells a different story, however, in that the TSB was only +1.1 just before race day. Generally, one would hope for a higher TSB after a taper, implying that this athlete was insufficiently tapered for the bike portion of the event. Had the TSB been known before this race, her training could have been adjusted to rest her more in the last few weeks before the race. In addition, these results indicate that, for this athlete, a TSB higher than +1.1 is probably necessary for optimal performance.

The athlete had another A race four months later, and this time the PMC was used to optimize her training and taper. In particular, the program was designed to achieve a TSB score ranging from +10 to +17 while maintaining a reasonable CTL. The athlete was limited to three bike workouts per week; two of them emphasized intensity, with one of the workouts inducing a high ATL. Figure 2 shows that the training worked, as the CTL steadily increased during the training block until about three weeks before the event, at which point the taper was started. Three weeks may seem lengthy for a half-Ironman taper, but, for this athlete, it was required to attain the desired TSB. Her final TSB before the race was 14.9, and, not only did she have a PR bike-split, but she ran a PR as well. Afterwards, the athlete commented that using the PMC felt almost like cheating. Obviously, she had to do the work, but knowing how many TSS points to accumulate in each workout and during each week to precisely specify her taper duration greatly facilitated the optimization of her training program.

Following is summary information for a typical week of the bike training program that proved optimal for our half-Ironman athlete: Average weekly TSS: 217 points Maximum weekly TSS: 388 points in week four Minimum weekly TSS: 121 two weeks before her race.

Typical weekly workouts: One ride each week that included a sustained climb of 20 to 40

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1 Lowest TSB 2 Long Ride IM effort 3 Sprint Race: TSB +7 4 Big Ride: 6k of climbing in 3:46 5 Peak CTL: 3 weeks out 6 TSB For HIM: +14.9

Figure 2: PMC chart for the same female triathlete as in Figure 1 for a subsequent three-month block of training leading to a half-Ironman distance triathlon. minutes, which accumulated 125 to 225 TSS points.

One longer ride between two to three hours, which typically accumulated 100 to 150 TSS points.

One other ride each week either on the mountain bike or done as an easy recovery ride.

Case 2: Training Program Charting and Performance Prediction for an Ironman Triathlete In this case, the PMC was used to plan an optimal training program for an Ironman triathlete. The training plan was devised for the 12 weeks leading into an IM race. The TSS was estimated for each workout, and the model was calculated using a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The planned program was structured to ensure a reasonably high CTL and high TSB by race day. Thus, the athlete had the confidence that if the program was executed as planned, a peak performance would likely result.

As the weeks progressed, the predicted output was compared with the actual PMC created in WKO+. On race day, the predicted TSB was within one point of the actual TSB, which was +25. During the race, the athlete rode a 5:21 PR bike-split. The athlete also used the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intensity factor (IF) metric to pace his ride, which his power meter automatically provides, thus eliminating guesswork as to whether the ride was correctly paced. Therefore, quantifying training and pacing conferred substantial confidence to the athlete such that he could focus on achieving his goals.

Here is the summary information for a typical week of the bike training program that proved effective for our Ironman athlete: Average weekly TSS: 470 points Maximum weekly TSS: 945 points, two weeks out Minimum weekly TSS: 153 points in week three.

Typical weekly workouts: One ride each week of 4:30 or longer, which accumulated 200 to 300 TSS points.

One ride each week with VO2max work, which usually accumulated 60 to 80 TSS points.

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One ride each week featuring big gear work, which usually accumulated 90 to 120 points.

Recent progress in the science of modeling training and performance, motivated largely by technological advances, is spurring a revolution in triathlon coaching and training planning. While these models cannot replace hard work (in fact, their utility depends on it), they can indicate how much hard work to do and when to do it.

In this way, quantitative models can inspire confidence that your hard work will lead to peak performance.

Dave Clarke, MSc (kinesiology), PhD (biological engineering), is a top-tier age-group triathlete. Michael Ricci is a Level 3 USAT coach and head coach and founder of D3 Multisport, based in Boulder, Colo. More about these models is available at www.d3multisport.com.

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CTL (TSS/cl)

1 Training Camp CA 2 Big Recover post Camp 3 Training Camp AZ 4 Peak CTL 5 Peak TSB

Figure 3: PMC chart for a four-month training block leading up to an Ironman triathlon.

TRAINING

Nordic Skiing Improves Triathlon Efficiency

By Jimmy Archer

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As athletes mature, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain a steady rate of improvement. However, introducing new and different activities into your training offers new challenges to help you break out of your physical and psychological rut.

One of the best options for triathletes looking for a new challenge during the off-season is Nordic skiing. Generally known as skate skiing (although there are both skate and classic forms), Nordic skiing is an ideal cross-training option for triathletes and offers numerous benefits, including excellent aerobic development due to full body demand; core body stability and strengthening; improved balance and coordination; injury prevention; and increased triathlon-specific efficiency.

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Aerobic Development One of the key goals of any pre-season is aerobic development.

This is a broad adaptation consisting of: Increased vascularization; more piping for movement of blood and therefore oxygen (O2) Increased capillary density for increased diffusion of O2 to working muscles Improved ventilation through development and activation of deep lung tissue Increased mitochondria density for increased energy production and improved muscular efficiency Increased O2-carrying enzymes

TRAINING In short, aerobic development makes you a more efficient athlete and prepares you for the demands of increased training intensity later in the year. Nordic skiing is an excellent way to stimulate aerobic development because it is a true full-body exercise. To ski properly, you will need to use nearly every muscle group in your body. This increase in muscle activation also increases stimuli for the body’s adaptation and thus, aerobic development. Basically, the more muscle tissue you use, the greater the aerobic adaptation.

Further benefits of this type of exercise include training at a higher elevation and the resistance involved in skiing. Higher altitude increases the already high aerobic demand of Nordic skiing. This, coupled with the resistance of the snow and the effort needed to ski well, tends to keep your pace in check and keep you at a lower heart rate and lactate production zone, stimulating better aerobic development.

Basically, to best develop your aerobic capacity, keep the intensity low and your heart rate in zone two or below.

Core Body Improving your core body strength is one of the best ways to develop efficiency of movement across all three triathlon sports.

A strong core gives you a solid foundation from which to perform the movements necessary for swimming, biking and running.

It’s like building a house. You want a thick concrete foundation with rebar reinforcement before you start putting up walls. The more stable the foundation is, the more stable the entire structure will be. The same can be said of movement. The more stable the core is, the more efficient the movement you are attempting to perform will be. Even a one-percent lack of efficiency adds up over several hours of a triathlon.

Nordic skiing is excellent for developing the core body because of its demand for strong core movements over 180 degrees and through all three dimensions during every ski stride. With every stride, you will activate the upper and lower abdominals, obliques, lower back and hips. It’s kind of like putting your full abdominal routine into every cycle of your ski stride and then repeating that for an hour or two.

Coordination and Balance A huge component of Nordic skiing that is very difficult to mimic elsewhere is its demand for developing coordination and balance. To ski well, you must use all four appendages independently while moving through three dimensions, activating your core through 180 degrees, all while sliding over snow. When you spell it out like that it seems almost impossible, but it’s not. Like anything there is a learning curve, but once you have the basics, it is all about refining the technique. It takes two to four weeks for most people to develop basic ski technique. However, learning even the basics of Nordic skiing will place a unique demand on your proprioceptive capacity (i.e. balance and coordination).

Good proprioception is key to refining your technique in any sport. One of the best ways to improve proprioception is through novel challenges. New challenges force us to learn new ways of moving and will develop new neuromuscular pathways. Skiing provides a novel change from triathlon training that will ultimately benefit your triathlon movements. Whether you want to improve your swim stroke or refine your running gate, the improved proprioception you will develop while skiing will help you make changes that will improve your technique in your triathlon training.

Injury Prevention In addition to the various performance, efficiency and technique benefits of Nordic skiing, it is also an excellent form of injury prevention. Skiing is easy on your body; it is done on a soft surface with little impact. More importantly, skiing stimulates the development of small stabilizer muscles, ligaments and tendons surrounding your joints. Often, these areas are the body’s weak links, leading to injury when your training intensity increases. The balance T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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TRAINING

DIGITAL EDITION NOW AVAILABLE Our digital edition is an exact replica of the print edition of Triathlete magazine, delivered to your computer by e-mail. It looks just like the print edition and contains the identical training information, gear reviews, race reporting, news and nutrition tips as the mailed copy. But the digital edition offers several advantages that print doesn’t: • Links to all of the Web sites (URLs) and E-mail addresses • Download: Save a local version directly to your computer for off-line viewing • Tools that allow you to zoom, print or e-mail pages to a friend • Find anything in the magazine by typing a search phrase • View all available archived issues for this magazine • Environmental friendly: No trees are cut and no fuel is wasted to deliver this edition

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and three-dimensional movement required for skiing force these weak spots to get stronger. Also, working some skiing into your pre-season allows you to gradually reintroduce running and cycling into your program after your break. This gradual introduction allows your body to more fully adapt before stepping your running and cycling up to full volume. Coming back too quickly is one of the primary causes of injury in endurance athletes. Skiing helps to temper your enthusiasm.

Increased Triathlon Efficiency Improved balance, strength and stability all help you to improve as a triathlete. Each individual aspect of triathlon is supplemented through skiing; thus, you will be faster and more efficient as a triathlete. It is counterintuitive, but often the best way to stimulate improvement within your primary sport is to introduce a new approach. Once you have mastered the basics of Nordic skiing,

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

try to ski two to three times per week. Simply substitute skiing for one of your swim, bike or run workouts.

If you don’t live near snow, you have a couple of options. One is to use roller skis.

These use the same equipment and technique used in snow skiing except for the “ski” is something like a long roller blade. The other option is to use the slide board at your local gym. Nearly every gym or athletic club has a slide board. This option takes most of the arm and shoulder work out of the equation since you can’t use poles, but doing slide board as a warm-up for 20 minutes before a strength training session will give you most of the benefits of real ski training.

So, whether you live in Minnesota or Florida, work some Nordic skiing into your pre-season. You will find it gives you a new direction and surprising benefits.

Jimmy Archer is a pro triathlete, coach and director of Without Limits Racing, Withoutlimitracing.com.

esa

XVII ENDURANCE SPORTS AWARDS

JANUARY 31, 2009 • SEA WORLD, SAN DIEGO

The honorees at last year’s 16th annual Competitor Magazine Endurance Sports Awards Gala included (from left to right) Saul Raisin, Conrad Stoltz, Samantha McGlone, Chris McCormack, Heather Fuhr, Scott Rigsby and Ryan Hall.

“The Academy Awards of Endurance Sports”

-Entertainment Tonight

THE EVENING BENEFITS THE CHALLENGED ATHLETE’S FOUNDATION TABLES AVAILABLE! For more information vist our website listed below and to order tickets email Geoff at info@endurancesportsawards.com

www.endurancesportsawards.com The Competitor Magazine Endurance Sports Awards is a property of

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TRAINING PEAK’S Training Plans Training Peaks has developed a series of triathlon-training plans for all levels of multisport athletes.

There are 40 complete plans for every level of triathlete, from newbies to pros, and for every distance, from sprints to Ironman.

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Delly Carr/triathlon.org

LANE LINES

How to Swim Like Sara McLarty

By Sara McLar ty

TRAINING

T

The title of this article probably caught your attention for one of two reasons. Either you recognize my name and you hope there is a super-special swimming secret in this article, or you have no idea who I am and you started reading to figure out why you should care.

Most likely you fall into the second category and, therefore, I should officially introduce myself. My name is Sara McLarty (duh), and I am a professional triathlete. In the world of triathlon, I am T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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considered a fast swimmer. I claim the title “first out of the water” at every race. My biggest lead was 90 seconds at the 2006 World Cup in Ishigaki, Japan.

Most of my competitions are international-distance and draftlegal. I compete against the best in the world at World Cup and World Championship races. I also enjoy competing in the famous American races: Escape from Alcatraz, Lifetime Fitness and Chicago.

You can usually watch quite a bit of coverage about me at the start of the race, especially when I’m battling men like Andy Potts and Hunter Kemper in the waters of San Francisco Bay. Unfortunately, I haven’t held my lead all the way to the finish line … yet. My most memorable finishes have been a third at Alcatraz, a second at the USAT Elite Nationals and sixth in the Edmonton ITU World Cup. I am still training hard and having fun, and at 25 years of age, I still have plenty of years remaining in this sport.

Now, enough about me. Are you ready for that super-special swimming secret? Are you ready to discover how to be “first out of the water”?

First, join the local swim team when you are 4 years old. Find a great coach who focuses on basic techniques and emphasizes the importance of developing a beautiful stroke. Swim year-round on a club team for 10 years and race your teammates in the pool every day. Then, if you are still healthy and enjoying the water, head off to a top swimming college (like the University of Florida) for four more years of training. Train hard in the pool with two-hour, 8,000-yard practices 10 times a week. Finally, compete in swim meets against Olympians and world champions, and then qualify for the Olympic Trials. After all that hard work, miss the Olympic swim team by two places and dive straight into the sport of triathlon. Without a doubt, you will be swimming like Sara McLarty!

That’s it. That’s my secret.

What? Not exactly what you were looking for in a triathlon swim training column? If you missed the part where I gave a swimming secret that you can actually use, then you didn’t pay close enough attention!

Develop Your Stroke A novice triathlete should start in the pool just like novice swimmers: by learning proper technique and developing a pretty and efficient stroke. Too often I see new swimmers diving into Masters swimming groups or just swimming endless laps without any on-deck coaching. Each yard swum without good technique makes it harder for you to develop a pretty stroke in the future. It is very important to spend time doing stroke drills and getting feedback from a good coach, no matter which age group you race in.

Here are some common technique flaws, each paired with a drill/solution to create an efficient and pretty stroke:

• • • •

Problem: Straight-arm recovery Solution: Finger-tip drag Problem: Weak kick Solution: Point toes, shorten kick length, increase cadence Problem: Wiggling hips Solution: 3-6-3 drill (six kicks on one side, three strokes, six kicks on the other side) Problem: Sinking hips Solution: Lower head position in the water

Race in Practices and in Meets It’s also helpful to watch the people in the other lanes. These are your competitors—try to beat them to the wall. Choosing a challenging interval is next—time to build up your swimming muscles with some intensity and hard work. I encourage racing in practice for two reasons. Firstly, racing builds confidence in your abilities, and, secondly, it is an easy way to measure improvement. The bonus: it comes in handy on race morning when you are on the starting line with 99 other people, all eyeing the first turn buoy.

I coach a Masters group in Clermont, Fla., at the National Training Center. I have adult swimmers covering the entire spectrum of swimming abilities. My top swimmers are in and out of the water in 75 minutes. My novice athletes are out in 60. Leave the two-hour swims to the younger generations, the collegiate athletes and the professionals. The fitness obtained from cycling and running allows swim practices to be short and sweet, as long as you are making a conscious effort to look pretty and swim fast.

The average triathlete enters running races and maybe a cycling race or two in the off-season. Where are the swim meets? Five-kilometer races and 10Ks are great opportunities to work on speed or practice maintaining racing pace. Road races and time trials are fun ways to build bike-handling skills and stay fit. Swim meets are no different.

Enter the 100-yard freestyle and put your race-start pace to the test.

You might discover that you are overdoing it in the first 50 meters and going into the red zone. Maybe you’ll find another gear, and suddenly you find yourself leading the pack to the first buoy and eventually being first out of the water.

Sara McLarty is a professional triathlete living in Clermont, Fla. In her spare time, she leads triathlon camps at the National Training Center, www.usantc.com.

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Delly Carr/triathlon.org

TRAINING Lane

RING

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

TRAINING BIG

Tubulars versus Clinchers: Getting Real

By Mark Deterline

Y

You hear someone touting the superiority of tubulars on almost every group ride. Someone asks someone else what they recommend in the way of race wheels, and although the brand will vary, there are generally three constants: carbon, deep section and tubular.

Then the discussion shifts to tubular tire brands and how best to mount them. Oh, and this part is not only about the convenience of the new adhesive tapes or the importance of using as little glue as possible (even though three layers on the rim is generally recommended).

It’s also about being aware that the bottom layer of a tubular is held to the tire with adhesives, some of which may be incompatible with certain glues. Just as you notice the listener becoming intimidated by the thought of mounting tubulars and changing flats, the advice-giver quickly switches from the practical issues to the performance arguments: Tubulars provide lower rolling resistance.

Tubular wheelsets boast lower overall weight.

Tubulars corner better.

Tubulars are safer in the case of a flat tire.

Tubulars are less prone to pinch flats.

Most pros use tubulars.

Nothing compares to the feel of a tubular.

Despite these arguments, you do not need to use tubulars. After months of interviewing manufacturers, elite riders and equipment experts of all kinds, I am convinced that if you are more fit than a competitor, you will beat him (or vice-versa) regardless of your tire system.

The question then is not which system is better, it’s about which system is better for you, and why tubulars do not make sense for the overwhelming majority of riders.

I’m not anti-tubular. I run a great set of tubulars on a deep-section wheelset that live on my TT bike, because when I was looking at aero wheels, I figured every hundredth of a second counted. I had a pro 1 3 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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mechanic triple-glue my rims over three or four days with ultra-thin coats of an excellent, compatible tubular glue and prep my expensive tubulars with a very thin coating. He then mounted the tires and let everything set for 24 hours, before checking them again. Do I discern any performance advantage over clinchers? Not really. Chrissie Wellington runs clinchers and they seem to suit her just fine.

The truth is that I bought those tubulars largely out of curiosity.

I was also driven by fear—fear of not doing everything I could to be as fast as possible. I don’t know if I’d make the same choice if were faced with the decision today.

Speaking of fear, tubulars make for thrilling stories, both tragic and exhilarating. I remember watching footage from a Tour de France stage finish in the 1980s where a lone breakaway rider had only a couple of turns to clear before a career-defining victory. Unfortunately, he rolled a tubular off his rear wheel in one of the final corners, went down, and while he waited for a replacement wheel, a chase group came through and was gone.

The reality is that a well-glued tubular should never roll off as long as the glue doesn’t dry out and become brittle. While over-gluing your tires will ensure they’ll never roll off, doing so negates any potential savings in rolling resistance. Furthermore, in the case of over-glued tubulars, you may not be able to get them off if you need to fix a flat out on the road. Remember Normann Stadler trying in vain to pry off a punctured tubular while that year’s broken Kona dreams streamed down his face?

Most pro wrenches, racers and wheel manufacturers admit that the performance gap between tubulars and clinchers has narrowed considerably, if not completely. A little more than half of those I spoke to claimed that nothing feels or corners as well as a tubular.

After pressing them on the issue, they might say: “Well, I’ll be frank with you. If I weren’t a sponsored rider or didn’t work for a wheel manufacturer, I would probably own a single set of high-end wheels: a mid-to-high profile, all-carbon clincher. We’ve gotten to the point where the real-world differences are minimal, and all-carbon

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TRAINING BIG clincher rims and new, multi-durometer clincher tires really are that good.”

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I’ve been running high-end, all-carbon clinchers on my road bike for two years and I must say that I’m a believer. With the growth in popularity of both cyclo-cross and triathlon, as well as the increased availability of mountain bike tubulars, it seems that the resurgence of tubulars has ironically surfaced just when clincher technology closed the gap.

This is especially true now that all-carbon clinchers have demonstrated that they can stand up to the rigors of pro road events and prevail.

Case in point: The HealthNet Professional Cycling Team presented by Maxxis (a clincher-only tire manufacturer) won four National Racing Calendar titles on Reynolds all-carbon clinchers.

One argument for tubulars is that most ProTour riders still prefer and ride tubulars.

With all due respect, we’re talking about a racer demographic that was slow to adopt aerobars, threadless headsets and clipless pedals. Even worse, many Pro Tour riders still believe that a slightly lighter, less aero bike is better on a time-trial course with just a tiny hill. It’s not.

Former CSC, HealthNet and ToyotaUnited pro team mechanic Nicholas Legan breaks tire selection down to three key considerations: safety, performance and value.

“Safety is a double-edged sword in the clincher/tubular debate. A clincher tire will not roll off a rim like an improperly glued tubular can in extreme situations. Often this is due to poor gluing procedure or impatience on the part of the tire installer. In the hands of home mechanics or shop hands without tubular experience, tubulars seem like the riskier choice.

“There is a flipside to this portion of the debate though: When a tubular is properly glued, it will not come off the rim, even after a puncture. This is a huge advantage because the rider is not suddenly riding on a bare aluminum or carbon rim,” Legan says.

“Performance—now here’s where we get into the slippery world of subjectivity.

There are many professionals today who have never or rarely raced on tubulars.

“That being said, most professional cycling teams still race on tubulars. Why? Well, tradition is a part of it, as well as the fact that pro teams employ professional mechanics to deal with wheels and tires.

What’s more, most of the funding that wheel T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

Ring

and tire manufacturers spend is currently directed at clincher technology. With the recent advent of tubeless road designs the options are increasing even more.”

Which brings us to a nod in Steve Hed’s direction, whose new product development efforts warrant tech articles all their own.

With the development of Hed’s Ardennes rim models, 23 mm tires—tubular and clincher—sit lower and rounder in the rim beds, instead of protruding from the rim in a bulbous shape.

Sidewall deflection (or flex) is decreased, so that the tires’ contact patch with the road is shorter and wider. Hed says that all those factors contribute to lower rolling resistance, in addition to improved aerodynamics. The rounder shape of the tires acts more like a fairing, transitioning more fluidly into the wider rim interface and along the rim’s surface to its nose.

But Hed wheels certainly aren’t cheap, which brings us to Legan’s final angle of his three-pronged argument: value.

“For most riders and racers, clinchers are where it’s at for value. A single high-quality tubular can cost as much as the best set of clinchers. Add to the mix the labor costs of having tubulars professionally glued and the fact that an expensive spare tire (and not a $5 innertube) should be carried when training on tubulars. All this virtually makes riding tubulars a race-only affair, and that’s not an ideal situation, either,” Legan says.

“The last thing a nervous, highly-caffeinated athlete needs is a wheel and tire set-up that is foreign to him or her. A better solution is an ultra-slick set of carbon clinchers with high-quality tires that an athlete isn’t afraid to train on. It’s nice to know that on race day you know what your wheels are capable of, what the braking is like, how they react to crosswinds, etc.”

And finally, Legan drives it all home with conclusions I share—such as how the choice can positively affect your racing and results: “Why clinchers? Because they are realworld practical. I only have to carry a $5 spare tube. I don’t risk a $75 tubular when I puncture. I also know that I can easily fix them roadside and I have no reason to abbreviate my ride if I flat because I’m worried about rolling a spare tubular.

“Both tubulars and clinchers have their advantages, but for me, when spending my hard-earned play money, I’ll spend it on clinchers. Everything from Paris-Roubaix to NRC titles have been won on clinchers.

It will never be my tires holding me back,” Legan says.

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THE RUN

John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

TRAINING ON

Breaking Down The Long Run

First in a three-part series that will detail run workouts of varying lengths.

B y Ke v i n B e c k

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Among your foremost needs as a triathlete is that of determining how to best allocate your energy within each discipline. This is a challenge even for jocks who focus only on running. Figuring out how much of every weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (or cycleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s) training mileage should be dedicated to intense intervals and to longer, more sustained highend efforts versus the amount that ought to consist of easy recovery 1 3 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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running is something that can take years of trial and error. The right mix varies widely between individuals.

Triathletes, whose every session contributes something to their overall aerobic base, are more concerned with making the most of every run than with jogging around between hard workouts. With this idea in mind, it is sensible to approach run training through a scheme that is anchored on three types of key workouts: Long runs, medium-long runs and intervals.

The particular scheme that I employ with my athletes divides each type into three subtypes. Medium-long and long runs are divided into steady-state, medium-paced and fast-paced subtypes. Intervals are divided into short-, medium- and long-interval subtypes. With one subtype of each type done each week, athletes complete one multi-pace training cycle that includes nine distinct workouts every 21 days before embarking on the next or tapering for an upcoming competition.

Overall running volume also fluctuates on a three-week cycle. Mile-

ON THE RUN Week

Tuesday

Friday

Sunday

Mileage

1

Medium-long run/fast finish

Long intervals

Long run/marathon pace

Lower

2

Medium-long run/ steady state

Medium intervals

Long run/fast finish

Medium

3

Medium-long run/ lactate threshold

Short intervals

Long run/steady state

Higher

age is relatively lower in week one, medium in week two and highest in week three.

These workouts will be described in detail in a series of three columns. This first installment deals with the workout of greatest interest to triathletes: the long run.

Whether your aspirations center mainly on shorter events or you’re aiming for an Ironman, long runs comprise the core of your perambulatory training.

gears like this after being on your feet for a couple of hours, the benefit lies mainly in calling into play type IIb (fast glycolytic)

TRAINING muscle fibers, goading them into assuming a more endurance-oriented character. In long events, particularly those in which the running component is at the end, it is vital to maximally train each fiber type in a way that allows it to contribute to long-distance performance. No matter what, your type I and type IIa fibers will always do the lion’s share of the work in distance races, but by forcing your type IIb fibers to shoulder some of the load, you become a more economical and a more capable specimen overall.

A sample run for our hypothetical 3:30

Types of Long Runs Steady-state. The main benefit of a standard, or steady-state, long run is furthering endurance and building resistance to fatigue; not only fatigue incurred during competition but also in the course of various other types of training. When done at about 70 percent to 75 percent of VO2max (or 75 percent to 80 percent of max HR), these runs increase the fuel-burning efficiency of both type I (oxidative) and type IIa (fast-oxidative) muscle fibers, and require less recovery time than more intense long bouts.

Pace is not a concern during these runs, so you’re free to undertake them on trails and hillier courses. However, especially rough terrain prevents you from maintaining smooth form throughout a run and creates a suboptimal situation. It’s important, more so for multisport athletes than for marathoners, to practice good form with steady turnover while tired.

A sample run for someone with Ironman experience and the ability to run 3:30 in an open marathon (8:00 pace) would be 18 to 22 miles at about a 9:00 to 9:30 pace, assuming good weather and a favorable training course.

For specificity, it would make sense to do these the day after a long bike ride.

Fast finish. When Khalid Khannouchi set a pair of marathon world records in 2002, his coach and wife, Sandra, made it known that one of his staple workouts was a long run of about 20 to 22 miles in which Khannouchi would run the last two at a progressively faster pace, moving through half-marathon to 10K to 5K race pace in the last 10 to 15 minutes.

Although it is a challenge to change T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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Photos by John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

TRAINING ON

marathoner might be 16 to 18 miles, with the last two done at a pace starting at about 7:30 and dropping to 7:00 in the final three to five minutes.

Marathon pace. Mathematically, this type of long run is something of a compromise between the other two. It is also the most taxing, so ideally it should be performed at the end of an otherwise low-key week and not within three weeks of an important competition.

This run reinforces specificity of pace and effort. Although you won’t come close to your fastest marathon at the end of an Ironman (or your fastest open 10K at the end of an Olympic-distance triathlon), it’s still crucial to do a substantial amount of 1 3 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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training at ideal marathon intensity so that the effort level is familiar during competition even if your pace is slower.

The amount of running to do at marathon pace varies according to your experience and the type of event. If you’re aiming for an Ironman, you’ll want to build up to runs of 16 miles that include around 12 miles at your optimal marathon pace, placed at the end of the run.

Olympic-distance triathletes—almost all of whom will be racing, if not running, for more than two hours—should shoot for at least eight miles at marathon pace at the end of 14- to 16-milers. The slower portion of the run should be done at the same comfortable pace at which you do your steady-state long runs.

Schwalbe_09_vert.ai 10/29/2008 10:43:52 AM

Putting It Together A training regimen that includes each type of long run has you going long every week and rotating through the three subtypes.

The steady-state long run is the longest run you’ll do in each cycle, the fast-finish run the second-longest and the marathon-pace run the shortest (although interchanging the latter two has never been known to kill anyone). So, in tabular form, our 3:30 candidate follows a plan like this one: Week

Distance

Specs

1

15 miles

Last 6 miles in 48:00

2

17 miles

Last 1.5 miles in 11:00 (7:30, 3:30)

3

19 miles

In 2:50:00 to 3:00:00

4

16 miles

Last 9 miles in 1:12:00

5

18 miles

Last 2 miles in 14:30 (7:25, 7:05)

6

20 miles

In 3:00:00 to 3:10:00

The next two columns will address the other types of runs included in this training system and will culminate in an integrated training scheme applicable to runners and triathletes at all levels.

Kevin Beck is a senior writer for Running Times and editor of the book Run Strong (Human Kinetics, 2004).

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TRAINING Fundamentals

A Purposeful Push-off

By Ian Murray

T

The push-off happens at the start of a length of swimming in a pool. It begins with both feet planted firmly on the pool wall and entails extending the legs dynamically to propel the body forward through the water.

Many triathletes who come into the sport with no formal swim background might feel as if pushing off the pool wall is somehow cheating. The attitude seems to be, “Well, I won’t be able to push off in the open water segment of my upcoming triathlon so why should I do it now?” The truth is that each push-off sets the tone for the swim that follows.

That tone could be a sloppy flop into the water with arms half-bent, head up high and little forward progress, a start that will often lead to a length of swimming marred by the biggest flaw in swimming: drag.

Or, the tone could be one that respects the resistance of the water: a streamlined launch with arrow-straight arms, a head hidden from the water and the kind of efficiency that torpedos apotheosize.

If all that dreamy talk of slipping through the water is lost on you, then just be inspired by speed. It is within the first few feet off the wall that we move fastest, and a good push-off gives us the opportunity to attain and sustain a greater peak speed.

The streamlined position needed for a good push-off can be 1 4 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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If all that dreamy talk of slipping through the water is lost on you, then just be inspired by speed. first created and practiced standing in the shallow end or on the pool deck.

Begin by assembling your hands. Place one hand on top of the other, lock the top thumb over the bottom hand and clean up the other thumb and fingers into a tidy package. Then raise your arms straight over your head and squeeze your ears with your biceps. Make sure the spine is aligned so your head is hidden between your arms.

The actual push-off requires you to first duck down about 18 inches under the water’s surface close to the pool wall. Your arms can be spread wide initially to help with balance while you position both feet up on the pool wall. Then at the correct depth (about 2.5 feet), create the streamlined position and launch strong off the wall.

The goal of the first few attempts should be to get a feel for the push-off itself. Don’t worry about the stroking and kicking to follow—just push and glide. Try to surface so that the back of your head, the back of your suit and your heels all break the surface of the water together. Make sure your trajectory is slightly upwards, toward the surface, and that your head remains hidden between your arms so you are looking straight down at the bottom of the pool.

Once you’ve mastered the push and glide, take that streamlined body position and the speed off the wall straight into your swim. Use this push-off for every length of your swim and you’ll find yourself consistently practicing a faster swim.

Ian Murray is head coach of the Los Angeles Tri Club and author of the instructional DVDs, “Triathlon Training Series.”

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DEAR COACH

Vitamins, Supplements, Vegetarianism B y Pa u l H u d d l e a n d R o c h F r e y Dear Coaches, I am a vegetarian, and I wonder if I need any supplements to help offset the long training. I have also found that my size (six feet six inches, 225 pounds) can be troubling on the long runs, in terms of abuse and injury. Is there any science behind all the hyped joint supplements? All I have ever used is a good multivitamin, and I am wondering if that is sufficient.

Pete Holton United Kingdom

Pete, We’ve been mulling this one over and trying to decide how to respond, if our response will be valuable, and, in the event that we cannot, if can we still sound somewhat smart or just sound like smart asses.

Remember Star Trek? Remember Dr. McCoy? Our initial response was similar to his famous rants at Captain Kirk. “Dammit, Jim, I’m a triathlon coach, not a registered dietician!” This is one of those questions which we’d rather you take up with a qualified nutritionist— T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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COACH

preferably one who is familiar with endurance sport.

That said, we’ll still give you our two cents because we’ve seen every version of every dietary habit and supplement used in this sport, with both resounding success and abject failure. It sounds like you’re posing three questions here: Do I need additional supplements as a vegetarian endurance athlete?

Do joint supplements really work?

Is a multivitamin sufficient?

The first of these can be as much an emotional and politicallycharged question and response as it can be a factual query and answer.

We’ve seen seemingly normal, well-adjusted adults go from logical discourse to heated argument in the space of minutes when discussing vegetarianism.

There are many types of vegetarians, from those who don’t eat red meat but still eat chicken, fish, eggs and dairy products, to those who consume absolutely no animal byproducts. If you’re the latter, your biggest concern is to ensure that you’re getting all of the amino acids necessary for human health.

Commonly known as the “essential amino acids,” these nutrients are not synthesized by the body, so you have to get them through food sources. They are: phenylalanine, valine, threonine, tryptophan, isoleucine, methionine, histidine, leucine and lysine. Most vegans are aware of their protein requirements and how to get enough on a day-to-day basis through a plant-based diet, but for those who are unaware of the potential for amino acid deficiencies, trouble could loom.

A complete protein contains all of the essential amino acids. There is no plant food that contains a complete protein. Vegetarians can only get all of the essential amino acids by combining plant foods that have complementary amino acid profiles. It was previously believed that it was important to combine them within a single meal, but more recent evidence suggests that it is sufficient to get all of the essential amino acids over the course of an entire day.

Paula Newby-Fraser was a very unapologetic carnivore throughout her career. She felt that meat (including red meat) was the best way for her to maintain her protein, B vitamin and iron requirements as an endurance athlete. She always believed that a vegetarian diet would be warranted if she were sedentary, but at her level of training and racing, meat was a critical part of her week-to-week diet.

Dave Scott, on the other hand, wasn’t a vegan but was much more picky about his protein sources. Both athletes had a lot of success, so it’s difficult to say emphatically that one diet is better than the other.

So, do you need additional supplements? We suggest you consult a nutritionist who understands the needs of an endurance athlete.

But we don’t feel it’s unequivocally necessary. Personally, we both prefer some meat in our diets, especially when training hard. We simply feel better when we do.

As to your second question about whether joint supplements really work, if you look at the research, you will find many studies that say supplements work and just as many others showing that they don’t.

We’ve found that glucosamine/chondroitin supplements help, but relief comes over the course of a month or two of consistently taking the supplements. In other words, it isn’t Vicodin. Who knows if the relief we’re experiencing is more placebo effect than actual efficacy, but 1 4 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

For those who are unaware of the potential for amino acid deficiencies, trouble could loom.

it seems that when we consistently take these supplements over time, they help our creaky knees and other joints.

There. Just what you wanted—a completely ambiguous, anecdotal response. Hey, we warned you at the start: you’d be better of consulting a registered dietician.

Regarding multivitamins, we’ve always been believers in the shotgun approach to nutritionally covering our asses. However, in recent years, we’ve realized that might not be the smartest approach.

We used to think that supplementing with 1000 mg of vitamin C and 400 IU of vitamin E was a good idea—on top of a multivitamin.

Antioxidants were all the rage, and we knew that as endurance athletes, we were the most prolific free-radical producers bar none.

In the past five to 10 years, however, we’ve seen research that shows detrimental effects of taking megadoses of certain vitamins and supplements. We’re not dead yet, but who knows what damage we may have done? Most multivitamins are within U.S.-recommended daily allowance guidelines, but how can we be sure these guidelines won’t change in another 10 years? Remember the movie “Sleeper”?

Woody Allen’s character wakes up in the future and discovers that cigarettes are considered healthy. We don’t think that’s really going to happen , and we’re also pretty confident that the following triedand-true dietary advice will never be overturned: practice variety and moderation.

Hope that helps, Paul and Roch Paul Huddle and Roch Frey are not winners of the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, but they’ve trained with and coached many of them. They have lived the sport of triathlon on every level for the past 30 years and use this extensive background to assist others with their goals.

Based in Encinitas, Calif., Paul and Roch are partners in Multisports. com, an endurance coaching service that includes camps, online coaching, and personal coaching. Never resting on their considerable laurels, both continue to explore strange new worlds (adventure racing), seek out new life (ultra-running) and new civilizations (paddleboarding and stand up paddling), and to boldly go where few men have gone before (The Underpants Run). If you want to consider coaching that emphasizes experience, common sense and simplicity, go to www.multisports.com.

If you have a question that begs for ridicule and sarcasm, please send it to info@multisports.com.

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TRAINING SPEED

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Rest Time Between Races Important

By Tim Mickleborough, PhD Dear Speed Lab, It appears that more athletes are competing in Ironman races only one week apart.

Some professional triathletes recently competed in 2008 Ironman Louisville and then one week later Ironman Wisconsin.

Although they seemed to race fine at Ironman Wisconsin (in fact, they both won), my question is can you fully recover from one Ironman race and compete one week later in another Ironman? How long does it take to recover from an Ironman race?

Greg Holder Cincinnati

Dear Greg, You are correct that more triathletes, particularly at the professional level, are competing in Ironman races more frequently throughout the year (in some cases as many as five to eight events per year). And yes, sometimes they even attempt to complete Ironmans on consecutive weekends.

The short answer to your question would appear to be â&#x20AC;&#x153;no,â&#x20AC;? it is not possible for triathletes (at least age-group triathletes) to fully recover within one week of completing in an Ironman.

The European Journal of Applied Physiology1 recently published a paper that sought to determine the physiological and biochemical stress responses that take place following an Ironman triathlon in 48 well-trained age-group triathletes.

The authors of the study found that five days after an Ironman race the athletes still had evaluated blood markers of muscle damage ...

The authors of the study found that five days after an Ironman race the athletes still had elevated blood markers of muscle damage, and in fact some markers of systemic inflammation induced by the race persisted for 19 days post-race.

Based on these findings, the authors recommend that athletes perform at least two

to three weeks of active recovery following an Ironman race.

A question arises as to whether the authors of the study would have seen a different physiological/biochemical response in professional triathletes.

Although the elites are different from the rest of us, one would not expect them to be that different in this regard.

Reference: 1. Neubauer, O., Konig, D. And Wagner, K-H. (2008).

Recovery after an Ironman triathlon: Sustained inflammatory responses and muscular stress.

European Journal of Applied Physiology. 104: 417-426.

Dear Speed Lab, I have a few triathlete friends who actually inject iron into their muscles in order to avoid potential iron loss due to training.

Apparently, the reason they inject iron rather than take it orally is due to a higher rate of absorption with the injections.

I am especially concerned since they have not had their iron levels checked by a physician. They are tired a lot, but I am not sure if this is related to low iron levels or just a general level of fatigue. Am I right to be concerned?

Mark Neely Clearwater, Fla.

Dear Mark, The idea that intravenously or intramuscularly injecting iron will eliminate iron deficits by increasing the production of red blood cells (RBCs) in the body faster than orally ingesting iron is a misconception. In addition, iron injections are potentially dangerous and may result in complications.

For instance, hypersensitivity reactions such as difficulty breathing and shock may occur, although they are rare. There is also some risk of delayed reactions such as sore muscles, joints and fever. These flu-like symptoms typically last two to four days after administration of the therapy.

If you suspect that you are iron deficient, the best course of action is to have your blood iron levels measured by your physician and to take an oral iron supplement if a deficiency T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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Îźg/L for men. Under normal conditions, the body contains three to four grams of iron. The daily loss of iron (about 1 mg/ day) is replenished by iron absorption from nutrients in the small intestine. When the iron supply to the small intestine increases, it will not necessarily lead to more iron absorption. In fact, only when the body is in an iron deficient state will the intestines absorb more. This is because of a regulative system in the small intestines that prevents over-absorption.

If hemochromatosis is diagnosed, then iron supplementation should cease immediately. The athlete should undergo weekly bloodletting of 500 mL/week until normal ferritin and hemoglobin levels are reached.

Some hospitals inject a substance (iron chelator desferal) that binds iron and both are excreted via the kidneys and bilious ducts. It is very important that, if hemochromatosis is detected, the patientâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relatives are screened as well. If the illness is diagnosed and treated before organ damage occurs, life expectancy is normal. You should tell your triathlete friends to stop taking iron supplements immediately and to get their blood iron and ferritin levels checked.

Suggested Reading: Herbert, V. (1987). Recommended dietary intakes (RDI) of iron in humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45: 679-686.

Dr. Mickleborough is an associate professor of exercise physiology at Indiana University.

He is a former elite-level athlete who placed eighteenth overall (08:55:38) and second in the run (02:52:13) in the 1994 Hawaii Ironman World Championships.

istockphoto.com

is found. Endurance athletes should have their hemoglobin, serum iron and ferritin levels checked regularly.

Iron supplementation should not continue indefinitely and should not be done without blood chemistry monitoring three to four times a year. Approximately 5 percent to 10 percent of the population is subject to iron overload, or hemochromatosis, which causes symptoms of fatigue and malaise similar to those of iron inadequacy and may create a dangerous situation for an athlete.

Typically in these subjects, serum ferritin levels are high and can be easily detected using blood chemistry profiling. There are two types of hemochromatosis: the primary or hereditary type and the secondary or acquired type.

Primary hemochromatosis is common only in men, since women lose iron during menstruation, and it is caused by a defective gene, which results in abnormal absorption and storage of iron from the small intestines.

When ferritin is fully saturated with iron, the storage of iron bound to ferritin is no longer possible. The surplus of iron must then be stored in the heart, liver, pancreas, pituitary and adrenal glands, testes, kidneys and joints.

Secondary hemochromatosis can be caused by excessive iron intake, either from supplements or injections, or for pathological reasons (e.g. chronic destruction of red blood cells and liver disease). In fact, a common cause of dietary iron overload in parts of Africa is drinking beer that is brewed in steel drums.

Routine blood checks in professional cyclists often show high serum ferritin levels; more than 500 Îźg/L is not unusual.

Normal ferritin levels are between 13-370

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TRAINING Tech

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Raising the (Aero) Bar Three considerations for finding the perfect system.

By Christopher Kautz

A

Aerobars are arguably the defining characteristic of a triathlon bike. While aerotubes and the geometry designed to accommodate aerobars are certainly important elements of a tri bike, the aerobar is where it all begins.

In setting up a tri bike, you begin by positioning the bars and work backwards.

This is why understanding the fit characteristics of aerobars is important and proper bar selection is so critical.

There are three primary concerns with aerobar selection. The first part is determining whether you want a one-piece bar or a basebar and clip-on. The second is the shape of the extension. The third is the height of the pads relative to the basebar, or what is called the aerobar’s “stack height.”

Types of Aerobars One-piece aerobars are an integrated unit, made up of at least a basebar of some type, arm pads and extensions. In some cases the stem is also built into the unit.

One-piece bars are preferred by many elite-level riders as they generally provide more aero benefit than a clip-on bar. The extra aero benefit of a one-piece bar is not in the position it puts the athlete in, but rather is a result of the bar itself being made up of more aerodynamic shapes than standard basebars, such as bullhorns or drop bars.

Clip-on aerobars are bars that bolt onto a separate basebar. When using a clip-on bar you will have three separate components to select: the stem, the basebar and the aerobar. Clip-on bars are more common than one-piece bars, particularly among age-group athletes.

Advantages; Disadvantages There is a number of advantages and disadvantages to using either a one-piece set-up or basebar and clip-on combinations.

One difference is cost. A clip-on bar is less expensive than a one-piece bar, especially if you already have a basebar and stem and simply want to add a set of aerobars.

The second difference is adjustability.

Clip-on bars are often more adjustable and versatile than one-piece bars. Within the category of one-piece bars there are individual models with differing amounts of adjustability.

The Hed one-piece bar is adjustable in nearly all parameters. Others, such as the Zipp Vuka and Profile Carbon-X bars, have very good, but not complete, adjustability.

Still others, including the VisionTech TriMax bar, have virtually no adjustability.

Clip-on bars, on the other hand, normally allow for adjustment in terms of width, extensions and the elbow pads, as well as tilt of the aerobar independent of the basebar and length of the aerobar.

The third difference is aerodynamics. A one-piece bar will generally be more aerodynamic than a clip-on with a basebar, and can save precious seconds on the race course.

For athletes looking to maximize their aero advantage, a one-piece bar makes sense. This helps explain why most elite-level athletes use one-piece bars—to them every second is precious.

Choosing Extension Shape The second piece of the puzzle is deciding what shape of extension you want on your bars. While some bars, such as Zipp, Hed and Oval Concepts, have removable extensions allowing you to swap them out independently of the mounting hardware, others are fixed. There are many shapes of extensions from which to choose and the variety is continuing to grow.

The most common shapes are ski-tip, S-bend and straight, and there is a number of iterations of each of these three varieties. A fourth category, the W-bend, for wrist relief, is the newest and may be found on bars such as Syntace and Blackwell Research.

The type of extension you choose is highly personal and there is no one right answer. Ultimately, you need to find a bar that fits your riding style and allows you to settle in to your position comfortably.

S-bend bars tend to be favored by athletes who like to use their aerobars for leverage.

They are popular among elite athletes, but are often found to be less comfortable by athletes who like to relax into their bars. Most age-group athletes tend to find ski-bend or W-bend bars more comfortable, especially for longer events.

Straight extensions are the least prevalent among multisport athletes and more commonly seen on pure time-trial bikes.

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Stack Heights The third and final aspect of aerobar fit is the stack height of the bar. Essentially, this characteristic refers to how high the tops of the aerobar pads sit over the midline of the basebar, which is the center point of where your stem holds your bars. This coordinate is essential for proper frame geometry because it has a direct effect on how tall the headtube of your bike needs to be.

On some bars the pads sit only about one centimeter above the bar; on others they can sit up to six centimeters up. To achieve the same fit with two different bars at these extremes (which requires keeping the tops of the pads at the same height) you would need to make significant mechanical adjustments to the front end of your bike. On a new bike, this would have a bearing on headtube length, and thus frame selection. On an existing bike it would require changes to the stem angle and the number of spacers under the stem.

When buying aerobars, it is important to assess how all of these design characteristics will affect your set-up. Ideally, aerobar selection takes place at the same time as bike selection, since the two are so inextricably linked mechanically. Working with a bike fitter who is knowledgeable about tri bikes will help you to make the proper selection.

Christopher Kautz is the owner and founder of PK Cycling in Fairfax, Calif., and one of the originators of the fit studio concept.

You can find him at www.pkcycling.com. triathlete_jan09:Layout 1

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Nils Nilsen

I

In September, several hundred athletes from 21 states gathered at the upscale Old Mill District in Bend, Ore., to take on the fourth annual XTERRA Trail Running National Championship. It was one of those amazing fall days in the Pacific northwest, crisp and clear with the morning sun beaming off the Deschutes River that flows through the forest before snaking its way through the rustic town.

The race started against the backdrop of the old brick powerhouse building and its three towering smokestacks where they once operated one of the largest pine sawmills in the world. The course then cut along the river and onto pristine forest trails in a matter of miles—testament to the accessibility of great single track nearby.

Indeed, Outside called this place the best trail running town in America, and some of the fastest runners from across the nation came to put its reputation to the test.

Ultimately, the king of XTERRA trail running was none other than Bend’s own Max King. The 28-year-old Olympic Trials steeplechaser turned out close to five-minute miles for a winning time of 1:08:01 over the 21K course.

King, who won the XTERRA off-road triathlon national title in the

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XTERRA ZONE 20 to 24 age group in 2004, edged out steeplechase star Ben Bruce, 26, of Eugene, Ore., by just over a minute. Ryan Bak, 27, King’s teammate on the 2008 USA World Cross Country Team, took third in 1:09:41.

“When I spoke to Ryan, he said he was just coming to do the race for fun but both he and Ben entered the race at the last minute and I knew they would be tough competition,” said King, a Cornell University graduate, who is a chemical engineer when he’s not out blazing trails.

Being from Bend, King was familiar with the course and able to run part of the upper track the night before, giving him a good feel for the twists and turns.

“I love to run a course with tight curves. It might be because of my low center of gravity,” he joked. It was a close race for the first section, but at mile three King took the lead and never looked back.

“It’s a great course and nice to show all these runners from out of town what we have here in Bend, and how you can go from this really cool downtown-type setting to forested single track in just miles,” said King.

“There were several competitors that said it was the most beautiful trail run they’d ever been on, and I had the opportunity to look at the course I run on every day from an outsider’s perspective during the race, and there really are some spectacular sections along the river.”

The course, which started at about 3,600 feet of elevation and gained a little more than 1,000 feet along the way, was lauded by all as fast and fun with lots of switchbacks on sandy, rocky and dirttriathlete_jan09:Layout 1

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strewn single- and double-track trails. Tucked neatly between the still snow-covered Cascade Mountains and the wide-open high-desert plateaus of central Oregon, Bend is quite the playground for such pursuits as trail running.

In the women’s race, marathon specialist Susannah Beck, 40, took home the top prize with her time of 1:23:07. Beck was fourth at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2000 and eighth in 2004, and clearly she has not lost that foot speed.

The Eugene native duked it out for first place with Bend local Kami Semick, 42, who finished just 19 seconds later. The two ultra trail runners had battled each other just weeks earlier at the USATF 50-Mile Trail Championship and the results were the same, Beck and Semick in first and second.

Runners for the championship 21K distance ranged in age from 16 to 84. After a 50-plus-event XTERRA Trail Run Series, 22 regional champions went head to head at this race to see how they stacked up against the competition. Impressively, five Bend runners won national titles, along with several other Oregon-based athletes. Outof-state champions included runners from California, Pennsylvania, Washington, Utah, Colorado and Nevada.

All the race action was filmed by the award-winning TEAM TV crew and will be edited into a segment for a future nationally syndicated XTERRA Adventures TV show that will be seen by millions of viewers across the country.

You can see video highlights from the race right now at XTERRA .tv, find complete results at xterratrailrun.com, and look at the picture gallery at XTERRAphotos.com.

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TRIATHLETE’S GARAGE

Complete with SRAM Red, the Cervelo P4 prices at $6,800, or $4,800 for only the frameset.

By Jay Prasuhn

I

It was the equivalent of mission impossible: Improve on the singular model of bike that has been the industry’s aerodynamic standard-bearer for the last three years.

Such was the challenge for Cervelo, and we had a chance to test the new P4 in the most applicable locale, Kona. Only weeks after its grand unveiling at Interbike in Las Vegas, Cervelo took a handful of P4s to Hawaii for consumers to test. Two weeks from public unveiling to a road test—it was one of the fastest “from show to go” experiences we’ve ever witnessed.

One caveat: If you’re a P3C owner looking for something markedly different in terms of handling, cornering or climbing, you’ll not find it here. Geometrically, it is a mimic of the P3, right down to the two-position 74- or 78-degree seat post clamps and horizontal dropouts. Cervelo’s P3 has become the standard by which many other brands derive their balance. As such, when developing the P4, there was no reason to change the ride—athletes like Steve Larsen, Bella Comerford and Kristin Armstrong like it the way it is. So handling, climbing, descending and cornering are as solid as they’ve proven to be on the P3. It’s driving the bike in a straight line where you’ll find what makes the P4 special.

Cervelo invited Triathlete to the wind tunnel in San Diego last spring to get a behind-the-scenes look at the P4 in development. A non-disclosure agreement later, we got a look at some pieces of what would ultimately be the P4.

By “pieces,” I mean the frame we saw in the tunnel test section was a unique chassis that allows for removal and interchangeability of separate frame pieces. Cervelo engineers could swap out a collection of differently shaped down tubes, seatstays and other parts to find the most optimal setup without having to change several frames. To say that millions of dollars went into the creation of the P4 is not for wow factor. It’s a fact.

So what did they finally decide on for the P4? Well, there’s that water bottle—which we’ll get to. But on the whole, the frame underwent lots of little changes that added up to a lot.

While the trademark (and increasingly mimicked) curved seattube

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remains, little hints of change lay all over the bike. For example, the seat tube’s depth shallows a bit.

Horizontal dropouts stay, but instead of using linear-adjust set screws, Cervelo now has barrel adjust settings for the screws. The seatstays are dropped vertically to reduce frontal area. The fork flows with a more seamless connect with the down tube and head tube. The result is incremental increases in airflow attachment here, decrease in frontal area there—all hair-splitting details.

Then there are the larger changes: The integration of the rear brake within the chainstays (moving them from their traditional placement at the top of the seatstays), and a down tube water bottle.

The 570 mL bottle is one of the most interesting elements. It is built to fit the frame seamlessly, with wind flowing from the leading edge of the down tube across the bottle and onto the rear wheel. The result is a single aero profile for wind to pass across. For those who prefer to eschew the bottle, a tool kit “box” can be substituted.

For a 40K race, the one bottle will do the trick. But for those doing a 56- or 112-mile bike, questions arise, like what to do with aid station handoff bottles? While prototype bottles were not yet available for test, we had a look at how the bite valve cap flips off—a 2.5 cm opening allows an athlete to refill the aero bottle on the fly. It will require some basic bike handling skills to do, but it can be done.

Cervelo’s proprietary rear brake (with an eccentric cam quick release) has a carbon fiber booster that makes rear braking as solid as any stock Dura-Ace brake. One question was whether the bike would retain its bottom bracket stiffness, given that the rear brake is built into an alcove, thus carving material from this high-stress area.

Reassuringly, the P4 was as stiff as the P3 with a bit more material in the stays themselves to offset material loss.

So yes, after nearly a year of hype, the new alpha rig delivered. Is it worth what might be considered an inconvenience with the aero bottle? Is your desire to take advantage of the hairsplitting work that went into it? If you are as stringent as Lance about your head placement or frontal drag through a race, the P4 is your bike. If not, the P3, with its own gold medals and stage wins, ain’t nothing to sneeze at.

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IN ENGLISH

Beverage Periodization

By Cliff English

I

In the depths of winter a typical training session and microcycle may look very different than in the middle of the race season. This is periodization and it is the key to any good training program. As a coach, I am constantly planning and adjusting training volumes, intensity, micro and macrocycles according to the season and an individual athlete’s goals. Periodization can be applied not just to physical training but to mental training, flexibility and even nutrition.

While the New Year approaches and you are laying out your plan of attack for the season, I encourage you to think about an often overlooked area of periodization: adult beverage consumption.

Now I am neither condoning nor condemning alcohol, but there is substantial research that suggests that a drink now and then may not be the worst thing in the world and may even have health benefits. So if you tend to over-indulge, I propose a yearly “beverage periodization plan” to maximize the benefits of all that hard training while still enjoying a glass or two.

Winter: Now is generally the time when the endurance training load drops because of weather and daylight restrictions, so this must be taken into consideration when choosing a beverage for those long winter nights. Opt for drinks with fewer calories, and make sure to consume them with or after a healthy meal.

Red wine is a perfect choice for winter. It pairs well with typically heartier foods eaten during the winter yet one standard glass has only 124 calories. The heart-healthy benefits of red wine are well documented, with the cardio-protective effect attributed to antioxidants present in the skin and seeds of red grapes. My suggestion is Orin Swift, a small wine maker with two red blends that rock, the Prisoner and Papillon.

Beer is another suitable winter tipple but it pays to choose wisely.

There is a reason they call it a beer gut. Surprisingly, Guinness contains only 125 calories per 12 ounces, making it one of the fewer calorie beers available. Add to this the iron and vitamins that are not found in other beers and you’ll agree: Guinness is good for you.

Spring: When spring finally arrives, it comes with some sweaty, sunny training days with long rides and training camps. Longer days 1 6 0 T R I AT H L E T E

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and increased energy expenditure make this the perfect time to enjoy some craft beers. While not as light as major brands of beer, small artisanal producers make quality beer in small batches using (hopefully) less additives and preservatives than larger mass-produced breweries.

Some of my personal favorites for springtime include Blue Moon Hefeweizen and the organically produced Mothership Wit Organic Wheat Beer by New Belgium Brewery.

While most of the health-promoting properties of wine are usually attributed to red varieties, there is recent research that suggests white wine may provide just as much antioxidant power as its red counterpart. All the more reason to reach for a crisp Sauvignon blanc or Chardonnay from Sonoma County, Calif., or Willamette Valley, Ore. Try to source some locally produced or biodynamic wines just as you would produce and organic meat. Almost every state in the U.S. produces wine so look around for some in your area. Wine from smaller producers is less likely to have as many additives as some larger commercial producers. Beware of cheap Aussie wine—how can something travel so far and still be so inexpensive?

Summer: For most of us, summer means race season. And while those long summer evenings can be conducive to sitting out on the patio with a few six-packs, there are better choices more advantageous to training. The warm weather encourages lighter, more refreshing drinks, which are perfect for athletes looking to trim a few pounds from their race weight.

Clear, distilled spirits (such as vodka, gin and rum) are the lightest choices available—a 1.5-ounce pour contains about 100 calories.

They also contain no yeast or sugar, which often causes next-day regrets. Mix these with fresh limes, mint and soda (also known as a mojiito) for a low-cal summer drink favored by the pros.

Sparkling wine is another perfect summer choice. Crisp and refreshing on a hot day, bubbly contains less than 100 calories per glass. While Champagne (made exclusively in the Champagne region of France) can be expensive, there are plenty of accessible sparkling wines made all over the world. Try a Prosecco from Italy, Spanish Cava or in keeping with the “locavore movement” (someone who eats and drinks food grown locally), a New Mexico sparkling made by Gruet.

Fall: The race season is wrapping up and most athletes are taking at least a small break after the last big race of the year. Now is the time to indulge a little and celebrate your accomplishments (or perhaps drown your sorrows).

Fruity cocktails are notoriously high in sugar, fat and calories (not to mention pretty delicious). What better to drink post-race on the beach in Kona or Clearwater? I have definitely been known to occasionally indulge in a pina colada or two. If you are in colder climates, amber ale is a suitable choice for fall; Bristol and New Belgium breweries in Colorado do it right, as does Alaskan Amber.

Another recent discovery on my part that I am very pleased with is the Kilt Lifter Scottish-Style Ale from Four Peaks Brewery. If you really feel like splashing out, try a rich abbey style such as Chimay or Fin du Monde from Unibroue (just remember to share one of these 9 percent alcohol bad boys).

As with training and spandex, remember: everything in moderation.

Coach Cliff English has more than 15 years experience coaching age-groupers to Olympians, first-timers to Ironman champions. For more on coach Cliff’s coaching services or 2009 training camps visit Cliffenglishcoaching.com.

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First Annual Sam’s Favorite Things Gift List

By Samantha McGlone

N

Normally I try to avoid buying into the blatant commercialism of the holiday season, but I am a sucker for a great gift idea just like the next person. So, with a nod to Oprah and Julie Andrews, and in observance of the upcoming non-denomination-specific holiday festivities, here is the first annual list of Sam’s Favorite Things. Some are products you can purchase for loved ones, some are presents for yourself and others are just cool ideas to enjoy with loved ones. But all are things I am jonesing over right now.

Tri Gear The perfect stocking stuffers for the Tri-Geek on your list.

Powerbar electrolyte packets (www. powerbar.com): They are high in electrolytes and low in calories and they make a tasty addition to water when you just can’t chug down another bottle of boring H2O. Need a snack too? How about the Powerbar Gel Blasts. Chewy and delicious, they are deceptively candylike. You’ll never go hungry during a long ride or boring movie again.

Brian Dorfman stretching DVDs: If there is one thing we all need to do more of, it is stretching. Brian Dorfman (www.Brian dorfman.com) has designed these short and easy DVDs specifically for triathletes to target all those woefully neglected tight muscles. Twenty minutes a day to Gumbylike flexibility? Sign me up. iPod Shuffle: These things are practically free and it’s been scientifically proven that you can exercise longer and harder with a great soundtrack blasting in your ears.

Destination races: The best way to get motivated to train hard through a long winter is to plan a challenging race in an exotic destination at the end of it. Some of my favorites are the Laguna Phuket Triathlon, Muskoka 70.3 in Canada, and Wildflower and Escape from Alcatraz in California. All of these beautiful venues make racing an adventure and a vacation all rolled into one.

Training camps: I always kick off my season with a training camp. A brief change in venue can reignite enthusiasm that has

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waned over the winter. It doesn’t have to be long or exotic. My favorite venues include Napa, Calif., San Diego and my newly adopted hometown of Tucson.

The point is to mix it up and train out of your comfort zone.

Stocking alternatives: Instead of a traditional Christmas stocking, just stuff a set of the new Zoot compression socks with goodies and hang them by the chimney with care.

Fun Stuff With all that training we’ve got to have a little downtime too.

On my bookshelf right now: When You are Engulfed in Flames, by David Sedaris, (a darkly cynical comedy), The Soul of a Chef, by Michael Ruhlman (an inside look into the world of professional chefs), The Filthy Rich Handbook (a guilty little pleasure and totally addictive).

Tunes on my iPod right now include: M.I.A, Metro Station, Mindless Self Indulgence, Jack Johnson, Xavier Rudd and Tiesto. A good mix will speed along even the longest indoor trainer ride. Just turn off the lights and pretend you are at the club.

Jeans: I have a weakness for premium denim. Jeans are about as dressed up as we triathletes ever get, so why not splash out? True Religion and Rock & Republic are always good, but check out my new faves, Earnest Sewn and William Rast (I know, I know, it’s Justin Timberlake’s line, but don’t hold it against me).

Caffeine: Intelligentsia Coffee from Chicago is my current buzz. They ship it to you within days of roasting, and for the coffee connoisseur on your list there is nothing better than fresh beans.

Coincidentally, Chicago is also home to my absolute favorite chocolate in the world, Vosges. Try the bacon-flavored bar. Seriously.

Splurges Wine Futures appeal to the risk-taker in me. Basically you buy a case of this year’s vintage now and the vineyard will ship it to you when it is bottled in a couple of

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BREAK OUT OF THE BOX years. The price might go up on release and you’ve got a great deal. Or it might be a bad year and you have a whole lot of expensive vinegar. But pick a good winery that you like and you almost can’t go wrong. Some of my favorite bottles right now are Nickel and Nickel single vineyard Cabernets, Williams Selyem Pinot Noir and Moet and Chandon Rose Champagne. Life’s too short to drink bad wine.

Pamper yourself. Mission Product (www.missionproduct.com) has a new line of skin care designed by athletes, specifically for athletes. I never leave the house without the lip balm in my bag.

Splash out on some fancy training tools like an SRM, the Cadillac of power meter systems. They ain’t free but they sure are fun to play with. And it’s all worth it when you get to dust your friends in a peak wattage competition.

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2 40 P

AT THE RACES

Greg Bennett crosses the Toyota Cup finish line in 1:46:52.

Bennett, Lavelle Score Inaugural Toyota Cup in Dallas

Bennett takes final race of the Life Time Fitness Series while Norden surprises womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s field.

By Jimmy Archer // Photos by Rober t Murphy In 2007 Greg Bennett won the Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon, thus sweeping the inaugural Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series and walking away with $420,000 ($60,000 for winning the race, $60,000 for winning the series and $300,000 for sweeping the 1 6 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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series), triathlonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s richest payday ever. The general consensus was that Bennett simply got lucky; there was no way he would be able to duplicate the feat in 2008. Even more pros would be attracted to the huge purse prizes in 2008, and, to further complicate his efforts,

AT THE RACES

Becky Lavelle placed sixth for the day, but took the series title.

Bennett was a surprise qualifier for the Australian Olympic triathlon team (note: Australia lost its third Olympic spot, and, therefore, Bennett did not race in Beijing).

With increased competition and the Olympic distraction, many thought the series would be up for grabs. And they were right. After a first round loss at the Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis, Bennettâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hopes of a repeat sweep of the series were over. However, Bennett rallied back, and with wins at New York and L.A. and a close second in Chicago, he came into Dallas with a commanding lead in the series points standings.

The Life Time Fitness Series is the gold standard in American Olympic-distance racing and attracts the best pro fields in the world. In Dallas, Bennett was joined by recent Chicago Triathlon 1 6 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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champ Stuart Hayes of Great Britain and a slew of current or past Olympians, including: Courtney Atkinson (AUS), Brent McMahon (CAN) and Simon Thompson (AUS). Also present in the field was 2004 Olympian and 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Champion Andy Potts, who was also scheduled to race the Ironman World Championship only six days after Dallas. In Hawaii, Potts went on to finish eighth overall and was the first American to cross the finish line.

Not to be outdone, the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s race featured arguably the best triathlon field assembled anywhere in 2008. Among the women were several Olympians, the reigning World Champions from XTERRA and Ironman 70.3, the ITU World Cup Series Champion and the defending U.S. Open champion. Complimenting this stunning list of champions was pre-race favorite and series points leader Becky

AT THE RACES

Olympian Matt Reed was strong on the bike but faded on the run Lavelle, who came into Dallas fresh off back-to-back series wins at the Chicago and L.A. Triathlons.

The swim began in the warm waters of Joe Pool Lake to the familiar tune of Andy Potts taking an early lead in hopes of breaking away and staying away from the hungry pack. However, Potts wasn’t able to get too far away, emerging from the lake with Atkinson hot on his heels and seven other athletes less than 30 seconds behind.

The women’s swim played out much the same, as American Sarah Haskins took the early lead out of the water with Sarah Groff and Joanna Zeiger only 20 seconds back. Haskins, who, like Potts, is a strong all-around triathlete, needed to come up with something special on the bike to stay away from a field that included many of the sport’s top cyclists.

On the flat and fast bike course, which takes athletes from Joe Pool Lake straight to the heart of Dallas, Potts’ 56:30 split held off everyone but a blazing Bennett (55:49). Bennett came into T2 with only a scant five-second lead separating him from a stellar chase pack of Potts, Atkinson, Hayes and Germany’s Michael Raelert.

Unfortunately for the chasers, Bennett is widely known to be the fastest runner in triathlon—a title Bennett once again earned on the hot streets of Dallas as his 30:29 run-split put nearly 30 seconds into Potts and over a minute into the rest of the pack.

Bennett broke the tape in 1:46:52, which was more than two minutes slower than his winning time from a year ago but enough to win by 37 seconds. Potts crossed the finish in second with Hayes another 30 seconds back.

The women’s race played out in a nearly identical fashion.

Swedish superstar Lisa Norden put together the fastest bike and run-splits of the day, overtaking Sarah Haskins and winning by over a minute with a time of 1:57:30. Norden remained separated from the pack throughout the bike and run, and Haskins needed to pull out everything she had to secure second. The American was passed

by Lavelle and super-biker Julie Dibens of Great Britain but pulled 1 6 8 T R I AT H L E T E

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off a 35:22 10K to regain second place on the run. ITU standout Nicola Spirig of Switzerland ran her way into third, 50 seconds behind Haskins. Lavelle, who had already secured her series title, faded to sixth on the run.

Just as in 2007, Bennett’s incredible bike-run strength proved untouchable bringing home a healthy payday of $120,000 for the race and series win. Things weren’t so cut-and-dried for the women.

Norden took the $60,000 first-place prize, but Lavelle walked away with $64,000 for sixth and the series win. Lavelle and Bennett will have their hands full defending their Toyota Cup titles in 2009, as the Olympic focus will be removed from short-coursers’ minds and the competition will tighten.

Life Time Fitness Series Championship Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon Dallas

Oct. 5, 2008 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run

Men 1. Greg Bennett (AUS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:46:52 2. Andy Potts (USA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:47:29 3. Stuart Hayes (GBR). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:47:59 4. Michael Raelert (GER) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:48:15 5. Courtney Atkinson (AUS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:48:53 Women 1. Lisa Norden (SWE). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:57:30 2. Sarah Haskins (USA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:58:40 3. Nicola Spirig (SUI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:59:31 4. Sarah Groff (USA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:59:49 5. Laura Bennett (USA). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:00:01

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Calm waters in the Gulf of Mexico made for a fast swim and helped Canadian Tom Evans post an 8:07:59 finish.

Evans, Comerford Brilliant In Panama City Beach Canadian destroys course record, Scot wins Ironman Florida for a fifth time.

By Brad Culp At 40 years young, Canadian Tom Evans is just reaching his athletic prime. Taking full advantage of the near-perfect conditions in Panama City Beach, Fla., on Nov. 1, Evans had a near-perfect race en route to a record-breaking 8:07:59 performance. His time, which included a jaw-dropping 4:18:59 bike-split, shattered the existing course record by more than 13 minutes. Scotland’s Bella Comerford was equally as impressive in the women’s race finishing in 9:07:49, and netting her fifth win in North Florida.

The men’s race got off to a quick start, as conditions in the Gulf of Mexico were pool-like at 7 a.m., allowing Evans to blitz through the swim in 48:15. Not far behind was Denmark’s Torbjorn Sindballe, the only man in the race with the ability to out-bike Evans. Less than a minute later, Germany’s Andreas Boecherer and Belgian Bert Jammaer were out of the ocean and looking to give chase to the leaders.

During the early miles of the bike it became clear that there would be no chase and Evans and Sindballe easily stretched their advantage. Only 10 miles into the bike their lead was almost two minutes and growing by minutes instead of seconds.

By mile 70, Evans was in front, one minute ahead of Sindballe, who said before the race that he wouldn’t go full throttle on the bike.

The chasers, led by Boecherer, were almost 10 minutes back.

Evans entered T2 with a three-minute gap on Sindballe and set off on a blazing pace. During the early miles of the run it looked as though the Canadian would have a chance of breaking the eight-hour mark. Sindballe didn’t seem concerned with chasing down Evans, and just ran to secure second place and his Kona slot for 2009. The only man making up any ground on the run was uber-Ironman Petr Vabrousek of the Czech Republic, who was competing in his 12th Iron-distance race of 2008.

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With the result never really in doubt, Evans crossed the line 10 minutes in front of Sindballe and recorded the fastest Ironman ever by an athlete more than 40 years old. Vabrousek ran his way into third after posting the best run of the day (2:55:36).

In the women’s race, Comerford emerged from the Gulf a little more than 90 seconds off the pace set by defending champion Nina Kraft of Germany, American Bree Wee and Brit Rachel Joyce.

In typical fashion, Kraft looked to lead from start to finish and began building an advantage during the early miles of the bike. Kraft’s moment in the sun would be short-lived, however, as her saddle broke near the 20-mile marker and she was unable to continue.

Comerford found her way to the lead and looked comfortable on the flat roads of the Florida Panhandle. Ninety miles in, Comerford was almost three minutes up on Joyce, with Wee another minute behind.

The real story of the bike was being written another minute back, as American super-biker Jessica Jacobs rode her way up to fourth place, after exiting the water 14 minutes behind the leaders.

Comerford looked solid on the early miles of the run, as Wee and Joyce faded back. The Scot’s only real competition for the win came from the 2008 Ford Ironman Ukraine’s Tamara KozuFlorida lina, who was 10 minutes Panama City Beach, Fla. Nov. 1, 2008 back at T2, but was the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run only woman in the race out-pacing Comerford Men on the marathon.

1. Tom Evans (CAN). . . . . . . . . . 8:07:59 Comerford’s advan2. Torbjorn Sindballe (DEN). . . . 8:17:51 tage proved too much, 3. Petr Vabrousek (CZE) . . . . . . 8:23:00 however, and she crossed 4. Christophe Bastie (FRA). . . . 8:24:41 the line seven minutes 5. Uwe Widmann (GER). . . . . . . 8:25:34 ahead of Kozulina. Jacobs, who out-rode the Women women’s field by almost 1. Bella Comerford (GBR). . . . . 9:07:49 10 minutes, finished 2. Tamara Kozulina (UKR). . . . . 9:14:15 comfortably in third, 3. Jessica Jacobs (USA) . . . . . . 9:17:51 less than four minutes 4. Bree Wee (USA) . . . . . . . . . . 9:26:46 behind Kozulina.

5. Rachel Joyce (GBR). . . . . . . . 9:37:50

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Austin, Texas, considered the music capital of the world, played host to its first Ironman event on Oct. 5.

Cunningham, Bentley Win Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin

By Liz Hichens

The State of Texas quietly plays host to numerous top-of-the-line triathlons, and features a hotbed of competitive athletes. In 2008, the City of Austin became the second venue in Texas to host an Ironman 70.3 event. The Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin reflected the personality of the “Live Music Capital of the World,” featuring local musicians along the entire 13.1-mile run course. While race organizers aimed to make the event fun and spirited, they didn’t go easy in terms of course difficulty.

Competitors began the day with a 1.2-mile swim in Decker Lake, followed by a one-loop bike course through rolling farmlands. Once off the bike, athletes took to the run course and were faced with the challenge of the Quadzilla. The Quadzilla challenges competitors to climb a steep and lengthy hill, and with a two-loop run format, athletes faced the Quadzilla twice in order to complete the race.

With the Ford Ironman World Championship in Hawaii less than one week away, the event featured a unique pro lineup of athletes not planning to compete in Kona. The men’s race included Australian Richie Cunningham and Americans Simon Lessing and Tim Deboom.

On the women’s side, top competitors included Canada’s Lisa Bentley and Australia’s Pip Taylor. The race served as the first opportunity for both pros and age-groupers to qualify for the 2009 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Fla. American Mark Van Akkeren led the men out of the swim with an exceptionally fast time of 18:28 (note: the swim course was a bit short of 1.2 miles). He was followed by Australian Joseph Lampe and Kiwi Kieran Doe. American Ben Hoffman posted the fastest bike time on the 56-mile course with a time of 2:09:17.

The run leg proved to be the most important key to success in Austin, as the men with the top-five run times earned the top-five final positions.

After posting middle-of-the-pack times on both the swim and the bike, 1 7 2 T R I AT H L E T E

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Cunningham posted a half-marathon time of 1:15:19, which earned him the win and an overall time of 3:49:45. Australian Joe Gambles and Italy’s Alberto Casadei also posted strong run times to round out the podium with times of 3:50:41 and 3:51:50 respectively.

On the women’s side, Taylor lived up to her reputation as one of the top female swimmers in triathlon and came out of the water first with a time of 19:39. The Czech Republic’s Tereza Macel and the U.S.’ Andrea Fisher followed Taylor out of the water as the only women to finish the 1.2-mile swim in less than 20 minutes. Macel looked to be a strong contender through the first two legs of the race, Longhorn Ironman posting a bike time of 70.3 Austin 2:26:52. While several Austin, Texas Oct. 5, 2008 athletes posted stronger 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run swim and bike times than Bentley, she, like Men Cunningham, posted 1. Richie Cunningham (AUS). . . 3:49:45 the strongest run time 2. Joe Gambles (AUS) . . . . . . . 3:50:41 of the field to overcome 3. Alberto Casadei (ITA) . . . . . . 3:51:50 her competitors. Bent4. Simon Lessing (USA) . . . . . . 3:53:20 ley’s half-marathon 5. Timothy Deboom (USA) . . . . 3:54:03 time of 1:25:09 earned her the win and a final Women time of 4:20:15. Taylor 1. Lisa Bentley (CAN) . . . . . . . . 4:20:15 managed to hold on to 2. Pip Taylor (AUS) . . . . . . . . . . 4:23:50 second with a time of 3. Annie Gervais (CAN) . . . . . . 4:28:13 4:23:49, with Canada’s 4. Lauren Harrison (USA) . . . . 4:29:11* Annie Gervais finishing 5. Kelly Handel (USA) . . . . . . . . 4:29:41 third at 4:38:13. *Age-Group athlete

Dan Herron

AT THE RACES

Canadian Melanie McQuaid powers up Tunnel Creek Road in pursuit of the early leaders.

Canadian Spoiler At XTERRA USA Vine, McQuaid capture titles in Tahoe; both credit Whitmore for inspiring victory.

By Brad Culp Jamie Whitmore may no longer be the queen of the XTERRA USA racecourse, but she’s still queen of XTERRA USA and this year’s female champion, Canadian Melanie McQuaid, would be the first to tell you just that.

“This is her race,” McQuaid said afterward. “I wanted to win it for her.”

Men’s winner Mike Vine, also from Canada, echoed McQuaid’s sentiment after the race.

“I just kept on thinking about Jamie during the race,” Vine said.

“That carried me through the day.”

Whitmore, who has won XTERRA USA five of the last six years, was sidelined for the 2008 season, suffering the after effects of a baseball-sized tumor in her pelvic area. She endured severe nerve damage to her legs after two surgeries to remove the tumor, but vows 1 7 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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to return as a challenged athlete as soon as possible.

Whitmore served as the official color commentator for the race, held Oct. 5 in Incline Village, Nev., on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. Weather was the greatest concern for the athletes pre-race, as a cold front brought sub-freezing temperatures, rain and even a bit of snow to the Sierra Nevada Mountains on the eve of the championship race.

Six hundred athletes awoke to frigid temperatures on racemorning, but clear skies helped the sun warm things up a bit as racers readied themselves for the 1.5K swim in Lake Tahoe.

The Men As is the case with any race he’s competing in, all eyes were on South African Conrad Stoltz, who won XTERRA USA and the XTERRA World Championship in 2007. Stoltz had his work cut out for him after the swim, however, emerging from the lake one minute behind the lead pack of Americans Seth Wealing, Craig Evans and Branden Rakita. More importantly, Vine, who is certainly not known for his swimming prowess, exited the swim on the defending champion’s heels.

Once the top men had made their way onto the grueling 32K bike course it became clear that something wasn’t right with Stoltz.

The big South African made up ground on the leaders during the early miles of the climb up Tunnel Creek Road, but was quickly forced to back off.

Nils Nilsen

AT THE RACES

AT THE RACES

“Once I started climbing my lower back got tight, and I can usually work it out and get going, but today it got worse and worse,” Stoltz said. “I knew something was off—I had no power in my legs.”

Stoltz quickly faded out of contention, but battled the pain on the run to finish eighth, securing the U.S. Pro Series title and the $14,000 that comes along with it.

Vine assumed the lead as he made his way onto the infamous Flume Trail and went on to post the fastest bike split of the day with a time of 1:31:32.

“Once I had the lead I just rode within my limits,” Vine said. “I knew I’d need something for the run because all the guys behind me can fly.”

The ever-fearless Wealing made up a bit of ground on the ripping descent to T2, but still had over two minutes to make up on the run.

American Josiah Middaugh posted the second-best bike split of the day and entered transition in third.

Wealing was able to make up a minute on Vine during the 10K trail run, but Vine’s advantage proved to be too much. The Canadian crossed the line in 2:32:38, the fastest time ever turned in on the XTERRA USA course. Wealing secured second place a minute later, with Middaugh picking up the final spot on the podium.

The Women While nearly everyone pegged McQuaid to pick up the win, it was hard to ignore the presence of American Susan Williams, who 1 7 6 T R I AT H L E T E

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A tight back forced Conrad Stoltz to fade back on the bike.

Photos by Nils Nilsen

Mike Vine’s lead off the bike was too much for anyone to catch up during the 10K run.

AT THE RACES

won a bronze medal in triathlon at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Williams was competing in her second XTERRA event, and while she may lack the technical skills of the XTERRA veterans, few questioned her fitness.

American Seth Wealing leads during the early miles of the bike.

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Williams was the third woman to exit the swim, 40 seconds behind countrywomen Christine Jeffrey and Linda Gallo. McQuaid, who typically swims with the lead pack, had three minutes to make up on the leaders after the swim.

“I had a bad swim today,” McQuaid said. “I have no excuse for it. I just didn’t feel good.”

Williams looked strong on the first climb, easily assuming the lead as she headed toward the Flume, but her advantage was short-lived.

McQuaid took over the lead as soon as the course became truly technical and began to stretch the gap as Williams faded well out of contention. Further back, Switzerland’s Renata Bucher was also making up huge chunks of time en route to the fastest bike split of the day (1:43:49). Bucher’s swim deficit meant she had to settle for second at T2, with McQuaid one minute ahead.

McQuaid, who is the first to concede that the run is her weakness, XTERRA USA set off on a torrid pace Championship out of T2 and essentially Incline Village, Nev. Oct. 5, 2008 sealed up the win after 1.5K swim, 32K bike, 10K run the first of two 5K loops.

McQuaid crossed the line Men in 2:56:17, more than 1. Mike Vine (CAN). . . . . . . . . 2:32:38 three minutes ahead of 2. Seth Wealing (USA). . . . . . . 2:34:03 Bucher, who held off Aus3. Josiah Middaugh (USA). . . . 2:35:12 trian super-runner Carina 4. Dan Hugo (RSA). . . . . . . . . 2:36:14 Wasle for second.

5. Branden Rakita (USA). . . . . 2:37:00 “I raced like Jamie was there pushing me,” Women McQuaid said. “She 1. Melanie McQuaid (CAN). . . 2:56:17 pushed me to race at 2. Renata Bucher (SUI). . . . . . 2:59:34 such a higher level and 3. Carina Wasle (AUT). . . . . . . 3:00:30 I’ve tried to race like that 4. Lesley Paterson (GBR). . . . 3:02:24 all year.”

5. Jenny Smith (NZL). . . . . . . . 3:02:36

Photos by Brad Culp

McQuaid crosses first with her friend and former rival, Jamie Whitmore, holding the finishing banner.

AT THE RACES The inaugural Beach2Battleship full-Ironman and half-Ironmandistance triathlons took place on Nov. 1 in Wilmington, N.C., with nearly 1,000 athletes racing from Wrightsville Beach to the Battleship North Carolina Memorial in Downtown Wilmington.

There is always a bit of uncertainty that comes with a first-time event, but athletes here gave the organizers stellar reviews. Bjarne Moller of the Netherlands, the winner of the men’s full-distance race, praised Set Up Events, said that they “took care of every detail, making this event as close to perfection as possible.” First-time age-grouper John Whitmire echoed Moller’s sentiments. “It’s the greatest race I’ve ever run in,” he said.

Around 7 a.m., the Ironman-distance athletes entered the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway at Wrightsville Beach, swimming to Seapath Yacht Club where they hopped on their bikes. The 112-mile bike took them into surrounding rural areas before reaching the Battleship North Carolina Memorial. Once there, the athletes ran twice around the Memorial Marathon course before crossing the finish line at Battleship Park. The half-distance athletes began in the same place an hour and a half later and also finished at Battleship Park after completing a shorter version of the full-distance course.

In the men’s full-distance race, Moller dominated the field, posting a time of 8:47:25, a personal best and more than 30 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Mike Coughlin of Sudbury, Canada, who finished with a time of 9:21:09. George “Jorgezz” Worrell of Goldsboro, N.C., finished third with a time of 9:31:01. Zach Winchester of Winter Garden, Fla., won the men’s half-distance race with a time of 4:22:08.

In the women’s field, Sara Tussey of Winston-Salem, N.C., won with a time of 10:12:55, also more than half an hour before the next finisher. Rebecca Dewire, another North Carolina native (she hails from Hillsborough), came in second with a time of 10:44:58, and Maggie Freeman of Manalapan, N.J., finished third with a time of 10:55:04. Melanie Muise-Fessenden, also of Sudbury, won the women’s half-distance race with a time of 4:53:56.

All proceeds from the event went to the Wilmington Family YMCA, a partnership that energized organizers, competitors and benefactors.

Dick Jones, executive director of the Wilmington Family YMCA, said, “The local economy will benefit from these visitors and the event proceeds will benefit local families.” Competitors shared similar feelings about the community, such as local athlete Adam Rose, who stated, “Wilmington has been unbelievable as a Beach2Battleship community supporting Triathlon all the athletes.”

Wilmington, N.C. Following the success

Beach2Battleship

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Nov. 1, 2008 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run

Men 1. Bjarne Moller (NED). . . . . . . 8:47:25 2. Mike Coughlin (CAN) . . . . . . 9:21:09 3. George Worrell (USA) . . . . . . 9:31:01 4. Curtis Straub (USA) . . . . . . . 9:51:59 5. John Behme (USA) . . . . . . . . 9:52:15 Women 1. Sara Tussey (USA) . . . . . . . 10:12:55 2. Rebecca DeWire (USA) . . . . 10:44:58 3. Maggie Freeman (USA) . . . 10:55:04 4. Deborah Battaglia (USA) . . 11:01:30 5. Grace Wallenborn (USA) . . . 11:11:17

Bird’s Eye View Inc.

Bjarne Moller of the Netherlands took full advantage of the flat and fast ride en route to an 8:47:25 finish.

of this year’s event, Set Up Events is planning to increase the cap on entrants in both races from 500 to 750 for next year. The 2009 Beach2Battleship full and half-distance races are scheduled to take place on Saturday, Nov. 7.

For more information and to view the full results from this year’s event, visit Beach2 battleship.com

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CALENDAR COMING THIS SPRING

Triathlete endeavors to present the most comprehensive calendar of tris and dus. However, because event dates are subject to change, please check with race directors to confirm event information before making plans.

See Multi-Event Contacts for contact information for promoters that have multiple listings.

Listings printed in red indicate Triathletesponsored races. USA Triathlon-sanctioned races are designated with a #. Register at active.com for events designated with @.

RACE DIRECTORS: For online race listings, please go to triathletemag.com and post your races under our Calendar link. Allow one week for your events to become live.

For listing in our print calendar, e-mail your information to bculp@competitorgroup.com.com or fax it to (858) 768-6806. Entries submitted before May 31 have been included in the August issue. All entries that were submitted after that date will be in the September issue.

Please note that most XTERRA global tour events consist of approximately a 1.5K swim, 30K mountain bike and 10K trail run.

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South Atlantic

2/1/09- Pembroke Pines, Fla. Groundhog Triathlon. 400m swim, 10-mile bike, 3-mile run 2/22/09- Fort Worth, Tex. TMS Duathlon. 2-mile run, 15-mile bike, 2-mile run 3/15/09- Miami, Fla. Miami International Triathlon. 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run 3/21/09- Moultrie, Ga. Tri @ the Y. 400-yard swim, 15-mile bike, 3.1-mile run 4/18/09- Lubbock, Texas. 2009 Collegiate Nationals. 1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run usatriathlon.org/news/article/7168 8/22/09- Tuscaloosa, Ala. Age Group National Championship. usatriathlon.org/event/event/47

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North Atlantic

6/06/09- Delavan, Wis. Delavan Lake Triathlon and Adventure Race. Olympic, Sprint, and Super Sprint Triathlons. Lakegenevasports.com 7/11/09- Kenosha, Wis. Lake Michigan Triathlon and Duathlon. Olympic-distance and sprint triathlons. Lakegenevasports.com 7/26/09- New York, N.Y. Physically Challenged National Championship.

7/26/09- New York, N.Y. Nautica New York City Triathlon.

1500m swim, 40K bike, 10K run. Nyctri.com 9/12/09- Fontana, Wis. Lake Geneva Triathlon Series. Olympic, Sprint, Super Sprint and ½ Extreme Triathlons. Lakegenevasports.com

AVIA.COM

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10/30/08 10:12:12 AM

Mountain Pacific

1/17/09-Bakersfield, Calif. Glinn and Giordano Rio Bravo Rumble Duathlon. 6.2-mile run, 16-mile bike.

1/17/09- Bend, Ore. USAT Winter Triathlon National Championship. http://usatriathlon. org/event/event/363 2/21/09- San Diego, Calif. Tritonman Triathlon.

500-yard swim, 12-mile bike, 3.1-mile run.

Tritonman.com 3/14/09- Pasadena, Calif. Pasadena Triathlon.

3.1-mile run, 9.2-mile bike, 150m swim 3/21/09- Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Havasu Triathlon.

Intermediate: 1500m swim, 40K bike, 10K run Short: 500m swim, 20K bike, 5K run 4/04/09- Arroyo Grande, Calif. March in Motion Triathlon. 1500m swim, 24.9-mile bike, 6.2-mile run 4/4/09-Oceanside, Calif. Ironman California 70.3.

1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run.

4/11/09- San Rafael, Calif. Vineman Showdown. .25-mile swim, 9-mile bike, 3-mile run 6/13/09- Midway, Utah. Battle at Midway Triathlon. 1.5-km swim, 40-km bike, 10-km run.

7/26/09- Newport Beach, Calif. Pacific Coast Triathlon/Sprint National Championship. .5-mile swim, 12-mile bike, 3-mile run.

Pacificcoasttriathlon.com 8/08/09- Colorado Springs, Colo. Youth and Junior National Championship. 7-10-year-olds: 100m swim, 5K bike, and 1K run. 11-15-year-olds: 200m swim, 10K bike, 2K run. Youth Elites: 375m swim, 10K bike, 2.5K run. Junior Elites: 750m swim, 20K bike, 5K run. http://usatriathlon. org/event/event/100

INTERNATIONAL

2/8/09-Geelong, VIC, Australia. Snap Ironman 70.3.

1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run.

2/22/09-Huskisson, NSW, Australia. Australian Long Course Tri Championship. 2-km swim, 82-km bike, 20-km run.

Reminder: If a race’s contact information is not listed with the event in the preceding section, refer to the Multi-Event Contacts listings below.

There you will find a list of race organizers who put on either multiple races or series events.

For more events and online race registration, be sure to check out triathletemag.com and active.com. Both sites offer up-to-date racing and training information, as well as the most recent news and coverage of triathlon’s most popular events. To list your event in our online calendar, please go to triathletemag.com.

CALENDAR

Multi-Event Contacts 3 Discliplines Racing:www.3disciplines.com; 866.820.6036 5430 Sports: Barry Siff, 1507 North St., Boulder, CO, barry@5430sports.com, www.5430sports.com; 303.442.0041.

AA Sports: 503.644.6822; www.racecenter.com; events@racecenter.com.

Blue Sky Sports, LLC: 678.237.0308; director@tribluesky.com; www.tribluesky.com.

Bradventures LLC. Producer of Auburn International Triathlon. www.auburntriathlon.com; 530-888-9911; info@bradventures.com.

By the Beach Productions: 5153 Soquel Dr., Soquel, CA, 831.465.6517; www.bythebeachproductions.com; info@bythebeachproductions.com.

Capri Events: 773.404.2372; www.caprievents.com.

CFT Sommer Sports: 838 W. DeSoto St., P.O. Box 121236, Clermont, FL 34712; 352.394.1320 (p); 352.394.1702 (f); info@triflorida.com; http://greatfloridian.com.

CGI Racing: 856-308-7522; www.cgiracing.com.

Cutting Edge Events: 217.347.3739; www.cutingedgeevents.net, beccakoester@yahoo.com, www.signmeup.com.

Danskin Women’s Triathlon Series: 800.452.9526, www.danskin.com, triathlon@danskin.com.

Elite Endeavors: Jim & Joyce Donaldson, 8963 Stoneybrook Blvd., Sylvania, OH 43560; 419.829.2398, jdjp@sev.org.

Emerald Coast Events Commission: 850.784.9542; www.emeraldcoasstevents.com; jlynch@knology.net.

EndorFUN Sports: 603.293.8353, 512.535.5224; www.endorfunsports.com, keith@timbermantri.com.

Envirosports: P.O. Box 1040, Stinson Beach, CA 94970, 415.868.1829 (p), 415.868.2611 (f), info@envirosports. com, www.envirosports.com.

Event Power: 22 Jagger Ln., Southampton, NY 11968; 631.283.7400; eventpower@aol.com; www.swimpower.com.

Exclusive Sports Marketing & Nestle Sprintkids Series: 1060 Holland Dr., Ste. 3-L, Boca Raton, FL 33487; 561.241.3801; 888.ESMSPORTS (3767767); tjcesarz@exclusivesports.com, www.familyfitnessweekend.com.

Fat Rabbit Racing: Craig Thompson, 614.424.7990, 614.306.1996; craigthompson@fatrabbitracing.com; www.fatrabbitracing.com.

Field House Athletic Club: 166 Athletic Drive, Shelburne, VT 05482. 802.985.4402; rayne@fieldhouseraceseries.com; www.fieldhouseraceseries.com.

Finish Line Productions: 475 Tinker’s Trail, Boulder Creek, CA. 831.419.0883; info@finishlineproduction.com; finishlineproduction.com.

FIRM Racing: 66 Bruce Rd., Marlboro, MA 01732; P: 508.485.5855, F: 508.229.8394; bill@firm-racing.com, www.firm-racing.com.

Firstwave Events: P.O. Box 321269, Los Gatos, CA 95032; P: 408.356.0518; F: 408.356.0534; www.firstwave-events.com.

Georgia Multisport Productions: Jim Rainey, 4180 Liberty Trace, Marietta, GA 30066; 770.926.6993, 770. 928. 9292 (F); jim@gamultisports.com, www.gamultisports.com.

Great Smokey Mountains Triathlon Club: www.gsmtc.com; tri2000@dnet.net.

Greater Knoxville Triathlon Club: Kevin Mahan, 205 Cross Creek Private Ln., Lenoir City, TN 37771,

POSTERS

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O R D E R O N L I N E AT

trimagstore.com T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

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CALENDAR

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421052, San Diego, CA 92142; 858.268.1250; www.kozenterprises.com; info@kozenterprises.com.

Lake Geneva Extreme Sports: P.O. Box 1134, Lake Geneva, WI 53147, www.lakegenevasports.com; lgsports@lakegenevasports.com; 262.275.3577.

Lakeshore Athletic Services: 847.673.4100, lakeshoreinfo@aol.com.

Mattoon Multi-sport: mattoonbeachtri.com; ltgarrett@hughes.net.

Maui Multi Sports Club: P.O. Box 1991, Kihei, Maui, HI 96753; trimaui.org.

MESP, Inc. Racing Series: 29395 Agoura Rd., Ste. 102, Agoura Hills, CA 91301; 818.707.8867 (p); 818.707.8868 (f); www.mesp.com.

Mountain Man Events: P.O. Box 255, Flagstaff, AZ 86002; www.mountainmanevents.com; admin@mountainmanevents.com.

New York Triathlon: P.O. Box 50, Saugerties, NY 12477-0050; 845.247.0271; www.nytc.org.

North Coast Multisports, Inc: P.O. Box 2512, Stow, Ohio 44224; 330-686-0993; NCMultisports@aol.com; www.NCMultisports.com.

On Your Mark Events: 209.795.7832;

info@onyourmarkevents.com; www.onyourmarkevents.com.

Pacific Sports, LLC: 1500 S. Sunkist St., Ste. E, Anaheim, CA 92806; 714.978.1528 (p); 714.978.1505 (f); www.pacificsportsllc.com.

Palmetto Race & Event Production: P.O. Box 1634, Bluffton, SC 29910; 843.815.5267 (p); 843.785.2734 (f); andy5267@ aol.com; www.palmettorace.com.

Personal Best Performance: Michael Hays, 808 Saturn Ave., Idaho Falls, ID, 83402-2658.

208.521.2243; Michael@PB-Performance.com.

PCH Sports: www.pchsports.com; 2079 Cambridge Ave., Cardiff by the Sea, CA 92007; 760.944.7261.

Piranha Sports, LLC/ Greater Atlantic Multisport Series/Greater Atlantic Club Challenge/Escape from School Youth Triahtlon Series: Neil Semmel, P.O. Box 150, Kirkwood, DE 19708; nsemmel@piranhasports.com; www.piranha-sports.com.

PR Racing, Inc., P.O. Box 56-1081, Miami, FL, 33256; 305.278.8668. trimiami.com, trimiami@gmail.com.

Premier Event Management: P.O. Box 8764, Metairie,

Page 1

Patent Pending

865.675.BIKE (2453) (p), 865.988.9250 (f), www.knoxtri.org; kevinmahan@chartertn.net.

Green Brook Racing LLC: Joe Patanella, P.O. Box 825, Green Brook, NJ 08812-825, 732.841.2558; greenbrookracing@aol.com, www.greenbrookracing.com.

HFP Racing: P.O. Box 375, Thornville, OH 43076; shannon@hfpracing.com, 740.743.2418; scott@ hfpracing.com, 440.350.1708; www.hfpracing.com Ironhead Race Productions: Jack Weiss, P.O. Box 1113, Euless, TX 76039-1113; 817.355.1279; ironjack@ironheadrp.com; www.ironheadrp.com.

HMA Promotions: 216.752.5151; www.hmapromotions.net Ironman North America: 4999 Pearl East Circle Suite 301, Boulder, CO, 80301; 518.523.2665; 518.523.7542; imanusa@capital.net.

J&A Productions: www.japroductions.com; info@japroductions.com.

JMS Racing Services: P.O. Box 582, Marion, IN 52302, 319.373.0741; www.pigmantri.com jmsracing.html; jim@pigmantri.com; john@pigmantri.com.

KOZ Enterprises: San Diego Triathlon Series. P.O. Box

Photo by Jay Prasuhn

404s, 808s,1080s, Disc, Sub9, Zed Tech, Power Tap, Clydesdales

1 8 4 T R I AT H L E T E

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T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

5 IM wins in a row!

2 World Titles!

NUFF SAID! Thank you Chrissie for Choosing HydroTail!

Add Balance this Off Season!

Search and register for triathlons, find training plans, read tips, and connect with millions of athletes like YOU!

April 2009 Featured Events

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from Coach Gale Bernhardt

“Foundation fitness, which determines how the rest of your season will unfold, is called base or general preparation training.

Athletes that want to perform at personal best levels in the race season, invest time in getting or maintaining base fitness in the off-season.”

- Gale Bernhardt World Triathlon Championships and 2004 Olympic Triathlon Coach

Find the Right Plan for You!

Red Hills Triathlon Tallahassee, FL Saturday, April 4 2009 Ironman 70.3 California Oceanside, CA Saturday, April 4 Ochsner Ironman 70.3 New Orleans, LA Sunday, April 5 Escape From Ft. Desoto Triathlon XXIII St. Petersburg, FL Sunday, April 11

All Levels: Sprint | Olympic | Half Ironman Ironman | Base

www.ActiveTrainer.com

Tri for the Cure - Phoenix Affiliate, A Women’s Triathlon to Benefit Susan G. Komen For the Cure Chandler, AZ Sunday, April 19 Windman IX Triathlons Los Banos, CA Sunday, April 19 Playtri Festival International Tri, Sprint Tri and My First Tri Irving, TX Sunday, April 26

Find thousands more at www.active.com/triathlon

EVENT DIRECTORS: SAVE TIME AND MONEY, with Active’s online registration tools, volunteer management, merchandise sales, training plans and more. U.S. Toll-Free: 888.543.7223, x1 The Active Network, Inc.

10th Annual Toyota Desert International and Sprint Triathlon La Quinta, CA Sunday, April 19

La. 70011. 504.454.6561. www.pem-usa.com.

Race Day Events: P.O. Box 31333, Knoxville, TN 37930; 865.250.5948; www.racedayevents.net; Kevin@racedayevents.net Score This!!!, Inc.: 15 Ranch Trail Ct., Orchard Park, NY 14127; 716.662.9379; www.score-this.com; info@score-this.com.

Set-Up, Inc.: P.O. Box 15144, Wilmington, NC 28408; 910.458.0299; set-upinc.com; billscott@set-upinc. com.

TBF Racing: Bill Driskell, 5209 Blaze Ct., Rocklin, CA 95677; 916.202.3006; bill@totalbodyfitness.com; tbfracing.com.

Team Magic, Inc.: Therese Bynum, Faye Yates; 205.595.8633; www.team-magic.com; races@ team-magic.com.

Team Unlimited: XTERRA Series; 877.751.8880; www.xterraplanet.com; info@xterraplanet.com.

The Pumpkin Triathon Festival: Kat Donatello; 20 Doe Drive, Eliot, ME 03903; (207)-451-7437; pumpkinmantri@yahoo.com. www.xterraplanet.com; info@xterraplanet.com.

Time Out! Productions: Rich Havens, P.O. Box 543, Forestdale, MA 02644; 508.477.6311 (p);

508.477.6334 (f); timeout@ capecod.net; www.timeoutproductions.com.

TriAthlantic Association: 410.593.9662; www.triath.com.

Triathlon Canada: 1185 Eglington Ave., East Suite 704, Toronto, Ontario M3C 3C6; www.triathloncanada.com; 416.426. 7430 Tri-California Events, Inc. Terry Davis, 1284 Adobe Ln., Pacific Grove, CA 93950; 831.373.0678, www.tricalifornia.com.

Tuxedo Brothers Event Management: Don Carr, 317.733.3300; tuxbro@indy.rr.com; www.tuxbro.com.

UltraFit/USA: P.O. Box 06358, Columbus OH 43206, 614.481.9077, www.ultrafit-usa.com.

Updog Sports LLC. www.updogsports.com, info@updogsports.com.

Vermont Sun Triathlon Series: 812 Exchange St., Middlebury, VT 05753; 802.388.6888; www.vermontsun.com/triathlon.html, vtsun@together.net.

YellowJacket Racing: 6 Regent St., Rochester, NY 14607; 585.244.5181; www.yellowjacketracing.com, yellowjacketracing@hotmail.com.

SWEEPSTAKES RULES 1. No purchase necessary. To enter without ordering, send an index card to: Triathlete Blue Sweepstakes, 10179 Huennekens St., 100, San Diego, CA 92121, with your name address and phone number.

2. This sweepstakes is sponsored by Triathlete, 10179 Huennekens St., 100, San Diego, CA 92121.

3. All entries must be received by March 31st, 2009. Triathlete is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, damaged, illegible or postage-due mail.

4. Prize winners will be selected no later than April 15th, 2009 from among all entries received. Winner selection will take place under the supervision of Triathlete, whose decisions are final. Each entrant consents to the transfer of all information contained in the completed entry form to other companies.

5. The odds of winning are determined by the total number of eligible entries received.

Taxes, where applicable, are the sole responsibility of the winner.

6. Potential winners will be notified by mail, telephone or e-mail. Potential winners must follow the directions contained in any correspondence and return all forms correctly completed within 7 days of the date of correspondence. Non-compliance will result in disqualification and the naming of an alternate winner.

7. All entrants will be eligible to win the Blue Competition Cycles Wind Tunnel package complete upgrade. There is no cash exchange for this prize.

8. Employees of Blue Competition Cycles, Zipp, SRAM and Triathlete or anyone affiliated are not eligible. Sweepstakes subject to all federal, state and local tax laws and void where prohibited by law.

9. For the name of the winner, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope and letter of request to: Triathlete Blue Sweepstakes, 10179 Huennekens St., 100, San Diego, CA 92121.

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John Segesta/johnsegesta.com

CALENDAR

TO ADVERTISE HERE 800.677.0030

SOLD HERE ­­­­­UNITED STATES

ARIZONA

Bear Family Distributors Tucson 520.325.8187 Run AZ Gilbert 480.507.0002 Runner’s Den/Walking Room Phoenix 602.277.4333

CALIFORNIA

Armadillo Distributors Inglewood 310.693.6061 B&L Bike and Sport Solana Beach 858.481.4148 B&L Bike and Sport San Diego 619.294.9300 City Bicycle Works Sacramento 916.447.2453 Fleet Feet Sacramento 916.442.3338 Forward Motion Sports Danville 925.831.3745 Metro Sport Palo Alto 916.933.2627 Metro Sport San Francisco 916.933.2627 Nytro Multisport Encinitas 760.632.0006 or 800.697.8007 Runner’s Factory Los Gatos 408.395.4311 Transports Oakland 510.655.4809 Triathlon Lab Redondo Beach 310.374.9100

COLORADO

Adrenaline Tri Sport Niwat 303.482.2007

FLORIDA

Bob’s News and Books Fort Lauderdale 954.524.4731 Foot Works Miami Miami 305.666.7223 Gear for Multisport Inc. Clermont 352.394.7434 Orange Cycle Orlando 407.422.5552 RB Cycles Coral Gables 305.666.4898 Southlake Bicycles Minneola 352.394.3848 The Triathlon Store Miami 305.668.5650

GEORGIA

All3Sports Atlanta 770.587.9994

Beacon Stores Northfield 609.641.9531 Cycle Craft Parsippany 973.227.4462 Cyclesport Park Ridge 201.391.5291

HAWAII

NEW YORK

Boca Hawaii Honolulu 808.591.9839 McCully Bicycle Honolulu 808.955.6329 Yasu Corp. DBA Running Room Honolulu 808.737.2422

ILLINOIS

Get a Grip Cycles Chicago 773.427.4747 Runner’s High ‘N Tri Arlington Heights 847.670.9255 Village Cyclesport Elk Grove 847.439.3340

INDIANA

Athletic Annex Run Shop Indianapolis 317.872.0000 Runners Forum Carmel 317.844.1558

IOWA

Action Accents Inc. Des Moines 515.277.7365 Fitness Sports Ltd. Des Moines 515.277.4785

MASSACHUSETTS

Landry’s Bicycles, Inc. Natick 508.655.1990

MARYLAND

TriSpeed Timonium 410.823.7000

MICHIGAN

Gazelle Sports Grand Rapids 616.940.9888 Hanson’s Running Shops Royal Oak 248.616.9665 Running Fit Ann Arbor 734.769.5016 Team Active Cycling and Fitness Battle Creek 616.962.7688

MISOURI

Fleet Feet Sports- St. Peters Saint Charles 636.939.0161

NEVADA

Eclipse Running Reno 775.827.2279

NEW JERSEY

RHODE ISLAND

Brickwell Cycling 2 Multisports Great Neck 516.482.1193 Fleet Feet Syracuse 315.446.1444 Jackrabbit Sports Brooklyn 718.636.9000 New York Running Co New York 212.823.9626 Runner’s Edge Farmingdale 516.420.7963 SBR Multisports New York 212.399.3999 Shawangunk Running Co. New Palt 845.256.8448 Sunrise Cyclery West Babylon 631.587.6200 Super Runners Huntington 516.549.3006 Ubiquity Distributors Brooklyn 718.875.5491 Westchester Road Runner White Plains 914.682.0637

NORTH CAROLINA

Camire’s Athletic Soles Wakefield 401.782.8353 Caster’s Bicycle Center Warwick 401.739.0393 East Providence Cycle East Providence 401.434.3838

SOUTH CAROLINA

Try Sports Mt. Pleasant 843.849.9292

TENNESSEE

Acme Multisports Goodletttsville 615.855.1760 Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville Knoxville 865.675.3338

TEXAS

Austin Tri-Cyclist, Inc. Austin 512.494.9252 Hill Country Running Company Austin 512.731.4766 Richardson Bike Mart Richardson 972.231.3993 Tri On The Run Houston 832.673.0600

UTAH

Salt Lake Running Company Salt Lake 801.484.9144

VIRGINIA

Try Sports Charlotte 704.544.4626 Try Sports Wilmington 843.849.9292

Gotta Run Running Shop Arlington 703.415.0277

WASHINGTON

OHIO

Bob Roncker’s Running Spot Cincinatti 513.321.3006 Frontrunner Columbus 614.486.0301 Tri Tech Multisport Columbus 614.846.1516

OKLAHOMA

Fleet Feet Sports Tulsa Tulsa 918.492.3338 Runner Oklahoma City 405.755.8888

OREGON

Runner’s Soul Spokane 509.624.7654 Speedy Reedy Seattle 206.632.9879 Super Jock and Jill Seattle 206.522.7711 Train or Tri Bellingham 360.647.8048

CANADA ALBERTA

Mud Sweat & Gears Sherwood Park 780.449.2453 The Runner’s Den Red Deer 403.341.4446

BRITISH COLUMBIA

All Tri Sports Portland 503.408.8303

La Biciletta Vancouver 604.872.2424

PENNSYLVANIA

Tri-Athlete Authentic Fitness Fredericton 506.455.7946

NEW BRUNSWICK

Aardvark Sports Shop Bethlehem 610.866.8300 Cadence Philadelphia 215.508.4300

T R I AT H L E T E M A G . C O M

ONTARIO

Runner’s Life Peterborough 705.876.8960

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T R I AT H L E T E 1 8 7

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Where Do the Children Play?

“But they never kept score. They never picked sides … it was like a dream game.”

—Scottie Smalls, The Sandlot

T

There are few things more uplifting in the vast world of sport than the smiles of child athletes as they move across their chosen field of play. The youthful innocence reminds adults of the joy we used to feel, the times that we would willingly smile just for the thought of our arms and legs moving at speed.

Of the many ironies inherent to youth participation in endurance sport, the fact that it’s tougher for them than it is for adults, might be the most suggestive. Tough as in not enough events; tough as in too many helicopter-parents hovering and smothering; tough as in rising costs, receding open space, increasing rules and a declining focus on the ludic notion of play for the sake of itself.

It can’t be easy growing up in a post-millennium world when each time a subculture of creative kids develops a new form of physical expression it is soon enough watered down and resold to the masses: surf wear on the streets of Salt Lake City; the language of skateboarding appropriated by CNN talking heads; alternative or non-mainstream sports have their style stolen, their creeks paved over and their individuality repackaged and sold at Wal-Mart in the “extreme” aisle. It’s enough to stir both anomie and angst within the most stable of youthful minds.

Still, the youth of America are mostly unphased. They still build their BMX tracks between high rises, epoxy-fasten river rock to concrete tunnel sides in the shape of climbing walls and they now embrace running, swimming and triathlon events.

Youth endurance sports have been, for the most part, value-added events tacked on to adult weekends. Ironkids as a viable entity was unsustainable and future-looking groups such as Tri-Cal Kids, Kids of Steele, Squamish Youth Tri and Longmont Kids Only struggle to keep the young dreams alive.

Yeah, it’s about the sponsorship money, but what does that say about our sport’s values when we only support demographic sections based on target markets? At least some organizers are trying.

The deal with kids is that if you get out of their way—maybe give them a few tools to work with—they’ll show you how it’s done. There are now kids in Florida who will swim after hours in golf course lakes, race their bikes along cart paths and run a fairway-homestretch while claiming to be the next Dave Scott or Mark Allen.

There are kids outside of Sydney, Rio and Munich who can find an unused backyard pool better than Canadian geese. They can tune a policeauction single-speed better than a le Tour techie and will run with reclaimed shoes or thickened skin with an intent and purpose that would rival a Julie Moss rerun.

They do it simply. They do it substantively. And they do it while sporting that universal code of the crescent smile. They know that if it ain’t fun, it ain’t worth doing.

Endurance sport, and triathlon in particular, has battled and lost the forces claiming the need for homogenization. We now exist in the post-standardization war that ITU waged polemically and waged well. We drank from the purple Kool-Aid that put us on the Olympic program. We have safe and sane transition areas devoid of nudity, personal footbaths and hip-hop music. Long dead is the “what-is-afair-distance” rhetoric. But if we are to retain any semblance of the rebellious origins upon which the sport was founded, we must turn to the only group who cares nothing about Fiesta Island (where the first-ever triathlon was held in San Diego), the origin of aero bars and John (or was it Tom) Collins.

I am suggesting here that the most subjugated of groups in multisport—the youth—are perhaps our best leaders for getting back all that might have been lost while we were so damn serious about ourselves. Remember that what pulled the running movement from its first-wave doldrums were kids realizing that they didn’t need to be on the high school track team and make four left turns the rest of their lives to reap the joy of running. What rescued swimming from being sunk along with other Olympic-only sports was something called open water events populated with age groups. And what saved cycling from a certain Euro-death was BMX, mountain biking and bike companies realizing that there are real cyclists under six feet tall and less than 25-years old.

And what might save triathlon from its own narcissistic plunder will be kids who realize we all produce and consume in the same breath, we all negotiate with ourselves, we all need to create and we all should have a hell of a lot more fun than we sometimes appear to be having.

—Scott Tinley

Triathlete (ISSN08983410) is published monthly by The Competitor Group, 10179 Huennekens St, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121; (760) 634-4100.

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