Dec 28 - The Bike St. Louis network of bike lanes and directional signs is undergoing a $420,000 expansion. This will nearly quadruple the current 20-mile grid. Stencil work is in-process and share the road signs are being erected along roads in south city, north city, and a corridor between Forest Park and Clayton. Project funding is a combination of federal grant money plus contributions by the Great Rivers Greenway and the City of St Louis... The growing list of sold-out WTC events now includes Ironmans: Arizona, Coeur d'Alene, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Lake Placid, Canada, Louisville, Wisconsin, and Florida. In the 70.3 series, current sellouts are still limited to California and the Eagleman. A comprehensive list of event along with current application status is available on the Ironman web... One event that won't take place in 2008 is Ironman Korea which had the plug pulled on it after an 8-year run. Recent year finisher numbers for that event are 800 in '05, 938 in '06, and 1024 in '07. While no specific reason was cited in the official press release, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that the IM power brokers in Tarpon Springs, Florida deemed that the race would be a stronger draw if moved to another part of the world... Surprisingly, Ironman Malaysia retained its spot on the 2008 calendar. This comes on the heels of a extraordinarily lackluster near history in which available Kona slots actually outnumbered raceday finishers in 2005. The WTC unsuccessfully litigated to halt production of the '06 race but settled for a small measure of satisfaction by reducing Malaysia's Kona slots to a mere handful (35). Despite word of an "easy" qualifier (if stifling humidity agrees with you), the '06 race still experienced only 242 finishers. The 2007 edition rebounded a bit but still sent just over 400 participants through the finish chute, another disappointing underperformance when judged against the high Mdot standard of one-day sellouts and 2,000-racer fields... 2007 USAT age group rankings are currently available online. Search results may not represent the final, official standings as some races may not have completed the reporting process, but rankings are still likely to be mostly accurate. web

Dec 26 - Primal Quest heads to Montana in 2008. The adventure race will begin on June 21 and run thru July 2. Route specifics have yet to be released but participants should expect to face a supreme challenge in this world class event. web... Hall of Fame triathlete Scott Tinley wrote a five part piece for Competitor Magazine that describes the ordeal of having his hip surgically resurfaced. web

Dec 23 - MacKenzie Riford is like other 13-year old girls in most respects, but what sets her apart is when she puts on her running shoes. She completed her first marathon this year in 4:37:50 amidst outcries that she shouldn't be running that distance and wouldn't finish anyway. After disproving skeptics, she set her sights on the JFK 50 Mile Ultramarathon. video

Dec 21 - Dan Emptfield of Slowtwitch.com reported the imminent and remarkable merger of high profile print media and an event management company. He stated that Triathlete Magazine, Competitor Magazine, and Elite Racing will be acquired by Falconhead Capital. Details of this immense consolidation haven't been forthcoming from from the parties involved, but the deal will purportedly be finalized by week's end. In an interesting sidenote, Falconhead's diverse investment portfolio includes a stake in St Louis based, Our 365, an exclusive provider of in-hospital infant photography services for 2,700 birthing hospitals in North America. web... In other acquisition news, Pam Reed has purchased the Tucson Marathon for $20,000. The race is not foreign to her as she has directed it since 1995. Reed was the overall winner of the Badwater Ultramarathon in 2002 & 2003, and female winner in 2005. She was the first person – male or female – to run 300 miles non-stop. Reed reaffirmed that the Tucson Marathon will carry on as usual in what should be a seamless transition... The status of the KATY Trail as longest rail-to-trail conversion in the country has been usurped in 2007 by the Cowboy Trail in northern Nebraska. Despite factoring in the 9-mile addition from St Charles to Machens on the eastern end and a soon to be constructed 42-mile segment from Windsor to Pleasant Hill on the western end, the Katy still falls well short of the 321-mile long Cowboy Trail. The C.T.'s eastern terminus lies in the rural community of Norfolk, NE then extends west all the way to Chadron, NE. In between, the crushed limestone pathway crosses 221 bike friendly bridges, including a 1,300' span over the Niobrara River and a 595' bridge above Long Pine Creek. One intriguing aspect of the trail is its western trailhead which lies within reasonably close proximity to the the Black Hills of South Dakota, Badlands National Park, Mt Rushmore, the Crazy Horse monument, Wounded Knee, Little Big Horn, Devil's Tower, and other sites of historical significance... The Madonna del Ghisallo must have been watching over a cyclist in China who was broadsided by a skidding bus, swept beneath it, and drug along until it skidded to a stop. Soon afterwards stunned witnesses watched as the rider emerged from under the vehicle. This is an amazing video.

Dec 19 - In a follow-up to yesterday's update about running streaks, we neglected to provide a link to the USRSA. This site maintains member running streak data. They define running as at least one continuous mile within each calendar day under one's own body power (without the utilization of any type of health or mechanical aid other than prosthetic devices, i.e. no treadmills). The St Louis area is represented by William S. Stark. The 60 year old professor of Biology at St Louis University is currently positioned at #17 on the list. His stats include: Running at least one mile every day from Sept 10, 1976 to the present. Running a minimum of 40 miles every week (except for 7 wks) Aug, 1984 - Aug, 1996. Fastest: marathon 3:21:16, 6-miler 38:00, 10-k 40:07, and mile 5:27... Holding onto 115th is 56 year old Larry Albertson from Ballwin who has kept his streak alive for more than 10 years. The Anheuser-Busch production technician began on June 9, 1995... If you have a swimming, biking, or running streak intact, we'd like to know about it even if it's just a couple of months... The Hundred Cols Tour offers a very significant challenge for cyclists as it takes them along 4,000k of French countryside while ascending 106 cols (mountain passes) and 85 cotes (hills). The route hits virtually every Tour de France climb and then some. Total elevation gain for the route is an unfathomable 56k (56,000m or 183,000'). Many have signed up, but just over 260 riders have completed the ride. web... While watching riders descend the steep and very twisty roads of Sa Calobra Mallorca off the eastern coast of Spain, you'll be squeezing phantom brake levers. Check out the near miss as the camera man tries to work his way around the slower moving cars... A well-polished video shows off epic roads on Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

Dec 18 - ESPN posted a piece about runners with decades-long running streaks. web... The USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships felt the brunt of a real Missouri winter over the weekend. It didn't slow faze Tim Johnson and Katie Compton who won the elite divisions. For Johnson it was his second title, the first coming back in 2000. He will head off to cyclocross Worlds in Italy before gearing up for another road season riding for the Health Net Maxxis Pro Cycling Team. Compton made it two national cyclocross titles in four years after taking her first in 2004.

Dec 15 - The proposed Tour of America has been revamped from its impractical 27 stage/ 4000 mile format to a more Grand Tour-like 21 stages/ 2200 miles. While it's a step in the right direction, the Sept 6-28 event will still attempt to muscle its way past the Tours of Missouri, Germany, & Poland, and the USA Cycling Prol Road & Time Trial National Championships by trying to wave $10 million at the peloton... Another Chinese product is being recalled. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is bringing back more than 5,000 Novara Afterburner Trailers. The children's trailer bicycle can detach from the adult bicycle, posing a fall hazard to children. Why is it that a country who built a centuries-old wall can't export simple, reliable consumer products?.. Seven new communities were bestowed with the League of American Bicyclists designation of Bicycle Friendly Community. At the Silver Level: Santa Cruz, CA; Steamboat Springs, CO. At the Bronze Lever: Lexington-Fayette County, KY; Liberty Lake, WA; Santa Clarita, CA; Spartanburg, SC, and New York City, NY... Huh, NYC?... In Salt Lake City, leaders at City Hall were on the verge of proposing a helmet law that would require all adults to wear a helmet while riding a bike. The proposal got a unanimous thumbs-down from the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Committee (MABC). The Committee Chairman stated that it wasn't so much that he was against the wearing of helmets, he just does not feel that it should be mandated... Finish line schwag at the 2008 GO! St Louis Marathon will include a mesh running cap. The race will also see a few minor course tweeks but remain largely the same... View the theatrical trailer for the documentary, Spirit of the Marathon, which is scheduled to be realeased on DVD in early 2008. video... Bicycling Magazine has a smart five minute bike check-up you can perform while waiting around for your next group ride to start. Plus take the mystery out of wheel truing with the short demonstration video.

Dec 14 - Local tri pro Jill Petersen has begun blogging her adventures... We've all heard of Christmas in July sales. Consider this a bit of July in December with two videos of famous Tour de France mountains, except that they are of riders descending them, not climbing these landmarks. This guy is scary fast on the Alp d'Huez, while this rider is tad more sane on the Col d'Izoard

Dec 13 - The Dallas White Rock Marathon welcomed several runners from the St Louis area. Finishers with chip times were: Nancy Hammond 3:25:32, Tommy Doias 3:40:33, Alex Oneil 3:51:52, Kevin Albert 3:54:34, Brock Hall 4:04:26, Donna Botkin 4:10:54, Eugene Belleza 4:21:18, Ray Kalbac 4:22:54, Melissa Peters 4:23:00, Terri Menghini 4:28:25, Deborah Tata 4:40:39, Emily Stolte 5:00:47, Betty O'Dea 5:22:35, Carolyn Parmer 5:32:45, Jane Moore 5:34:33, and Mary Lou Smith 5:34:33. Nice work by all... The 31st Annual Rocket City Marathon took place in Huntsville, Alabama. Five area runners made the trip. Bill Kotaska 3:04:43 , John Brenner 3:43:53, Keith Hulsey 3:55:51, Lindsey Phelps 4:12:38, and Pam Borger 4:27:47... Videos to provide a little inspiration for your winter training: Grand Canyon Trail Run, Mount Everest Marathon, and the Cross the Andes Race

Dec 12 - Bicycling Magazine posted a lengthy but compelling story about Ross Dillon who during a training ride was struck by an inattentive driver. web... Outside Magazine's interactive guide to the human body is an interesting diversion offering simple tests and useful tips on how to live better. web... Velonews did a nice story on St Louis native Dan Schmatz. web

Dec 11 - In the women's division of the USATF National Club Cross Country Championships, the Big River Running Company placed 21st. The team was composed of: 50-Margaret Lyons 22:10,
70-Julie Lossos 22:31, 121-Jessica Flinn 23:21, 122-Maureen Conley 23:23, 131-Jennifer Tesmer 23:40, 139-Kris Pearce 23:56, 179-Allie Baker MO 25:26. Total Time 1:55:07

Dec 10 - Zac Freudeburg made it two in a row at the Pere Marquette Endurance Trail. His 48:21 finish was 2:10 faster than his winning time in 2006 and probably due largely to being pushed by runner up Adam White of Peoria who ran 49:19. Stephen Yates took 3rd place in 54:29. The top three women runners were Judy Dorpinghaus (59:24), Debbie Kerber-Rehr (1:04:51), and Laura Scherff (1:09:20). In all, 255 runners took part in the steep, 7.5 mile off-road run made even more challenging by slippery conditions. results... Big River Running fielded two teams at the 2007 USA Track & Field National Club Cross Country Championships this past weekend. They came home with 7th and 34th place finishes in the 50 team event. The breakdown for team #1: 16-Ben Rosario 32:31, 33-Justin Kunz 33:09, 44-Brian Lyons 33:24, 63-Matt Helbig 33:58, 71-Adam MacDowell 34:07, 108-Christopher Haag 34:44, 130-Tim Bradley 34:59, 184-Jeremy Doherty 36:00. Total time: 2:47:11. Team #2: 121-Carter Snow 34:50, 156-Drew Wyant 35:30.7, 216-Brian Whitehead 36:36, 253-Trey Robinson 37:16, 287-David Gutekunst 38:21, 289-Joseph Porter 38:28, 299-Dustin Pearce 39:34, 305-Jeremy Hammer 39:47. Total time: 3:02:34. The top five finishers on each team scored.

Dec 7 - The U.S. Olympic Triathlon Trials will not be held in Honolulu, Hawaii as previously planned, but instead will be staged in that other tropical paradise known as Tuscaloosa. Alabama. As far as the athletes are concerned, they wouldn't care if it were staged on Mars as long as they make the team.

Dec 6 - And you think traveling by plane with your bike is a hassle. Check out the tale of a man who purchased an 1886 Victor Light Roadster, refurbished it, and then flew from San Francisco to Scotland for a century ride. web... USA Track & Field awarded its Masters Athlete of the Year to Lois Ann Gilmore of Janesville, Wisconsin. This 77-year old has completed more than 54 races in 2007 including an American record of 26:01 for 5k. She is a survivor of two life-threatening illnesses and a great exemplar of determination... The Hawaii Marathon is bracing for the 28,000 runners who will descend upon Honolulu streets this weekend amidst tropical heat and humidity. Race directors are hopeful that they've learned from afar after the seeing the debacle that was the Chicago Marathon this year. The weatherman calls for chance of showers and a high of 83.... The Tour of Georgia was in the news with its 2008 course announcement. This year the tour begins April 21 on the Atlantic coast at Tybee Island near Savannah. The tour climaxes on April 27 in Atlanta. In between a few changes were made with new stage routs and host cities. Of course the climb up Brasstown Bald is an annual fixture. web... Katy Trail lovers got their wish when the Taum Sauk disaster settlement included linking the popular bike path to Kansas City. When work will begin on the 46 mile connector from Windsor to Pleasant Hill has not been announced. Having it ready for the summer of 2008 seems a rather unrealistic expectation. The city of Clinton can't be blamed if they are disappointed in the news as the former endpoint of the Katy will be relegated to a spur that most end-to-end trail users will likely bypass.

Dec 5 - Unfortunately the Bike & Rack Shack is having a Going Out of Business Sale. They are offering progressively deeper discounts on everything in the store until closing day on Dec 30. They are located at 8135 Big Bend Blvd in Webster Groves. 963-3339... The 180 Energy Runners (Zac Freudenburg, John Aerni, Tyler Small, and Dusty Lopez) won the men's open division of the SLTC Marathon Relay last weekend with their race-best time of 2:16:28. The mixed open title also went to the 180 Energy Runners (Bill Owens, Mindy Petersen, James Marino, and Lisa Wycoff) in 2:48:17. The female open division was captured by team Southern Sass (Jenna Griffith, Kenya Garner, Olga Aranzubia, and Laura Johnston) with their combined 3:08:46. complete results... It was just another day in the Tour d'Afrique. Captured on video are the riders trying to cope with torrential rain and muddy road conditons. web

Dec 4 - The USA Triathlon Halfmax National Championship moves to a new venue in 2008. The race is set for October 18 in Boulder City, Nevada located just 10 miles southeast of Las Vegas. The weekend will also determine the USAT Club Championship following a three-race format just as in 2007. Saturday offers racers the Halfmax Triathlon (Ultramax Events) and Sunday they are greeted with the Pumpkinman Triathlon (BBSC Endurance Sports) at 1500m-40k-10k and 750m-20k-5k... Bicycle dealers who may be reading this should know that the NBDA is offering up to $1,000 each to NBDA dealer members who have not attended a previous National Bike Summit. Application deadline is Jan 16, for the March 4-6 Summit in Washington, D.C. web... The XTERRA American Tour was just released and St Louis area triathletes are again faced with the prospects of driving to Arkansas or Indiana to find the nearest events in that off-road triathlon series. web... After many months and tens of thousands of miles, the 2007 ITU World Cup series has finally reached its conclusion. Congratulations to Sarah Haskins for ending a productive year ranked #7. Following is the final top ten, listed with the number of World Cup races in which they participated. 1-Vanessa Fernandes (8), 2-Emma Moffatt (8), 3-Samantha Warriner (9), 4-Emma Snowsill (4), 5-Debbie Tanner (8), 6-Laura Bennett (5), 7-Sarah Haskins (6), 8-Annabel Luxford (6), 9-Magali Di Marco Messsmer (6), 10- Anja Dittmer (6)... Check out the wicked drops these guys make in their kayaks in this short trailer for the film Burning Time 2. web

Dec 3 - Ironman Western Australia brought triathletes to the town of Busselton for a day of racing in the southern hemisphere's late spring. The weather was conducive to fast times, however the $50,000 world record challenge went unmet. Patrick Vernay (8:06:00) captured his second Ironman title of the year. In the women's division, Charlotte Paul (9:00:55) won her first Ironman race ever with a course record... In the 2007 Eilat BG Triathlon World Cup, Swiss triathlete Nicola Spirig earned his first World Cup win with a 2:02:42 effort. The top U.S. finisher was Julie Ertel (2:04:11), who was followed by Amanda Stevens (2:05:28), Mary Beth Ellis (2:08:33), Jill Petersen (2:09:07), and Heidi Grimm (2:15:45)... 30 year old Belgian runner, Rik Ceulemans, was on holiday with his wife in Negril when he saw a notice for the Reggae Marathon. He decided to jump in the race and ended up winning it with a time of 2:31:43. The first place check of $75,000 may have helped defray his vacation costs.

Dec 2 - The USARA national rankings find two local teams in th top twenty. At #8 is Team Alpine Shop comprised of Jeff Sona, Carrie Sona, David Frei, and Doug Nishimura. Perched at #20 is Team Dynamic Earth with Jason Coleman, John Bradly, and Cynthia Petty. web

Nov 30 - The NBC highlight package of the 2007 Ironman Triathlon World Championship will be aired tomorrow. This year's coverage will be spend customary time at the front of the race and of course document the iron-efforts of some remarkable individuals. The three human interest stories this year may be the best the multiple-Emmy winning show has ever offered. They include the Lazarus-like Brian Boyle, double above-knee amputee Scott Rigsby, and blind triathlete Charlie Plaskon. Tune in at 3:30pm and prepare to be inspired... One of the more interesting age groups at this years USATF National Club Cross Country Championships is the men's 70-74. Typically a bracket fortunate to find a runners, the Snohomish Track Club is bringing four and the GCS Triad Racing Team has entered three. It may be actually be academic for both clubs because the Western Pennsylvania Track Club's Roger Brockenbrough looks to run away from all of them. The three-time Ironman World Champion still looks 20 years younger. web... The Tour d'Afrique is ready to roll on January 12 from Cairo, Egypt and head for the finish line 7,438 miles away in Cape Town, South Africa. The event sold out quickly, dispelling any thought that its $9900 fee was a barrier to entry. The event is a race for some riders, but for most it is simply an expedition as well as experience of a lifetime. Web

Nov 29 - A part of the $179.7 million settlement in the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse includes an agreement for Ameren to lease 46 miles of its Rock Island Railroad to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to connect the Katy Trail from the town of Windsor to Pleasant Hill...The Gateway Off-Road Cyclists group celebrates its 10th year this month... The sudden death of 40-year old pro mountain biker Mike Janelle comes as a shock to the endurance sports community nationwide. He was a 3-time RAAM team winner and a 24 Hours of Moab team winner. Janelle apparently suffered a heart attack last Friday at his home in Colorado. A news item such as this isn't the preferred way we'd like to be reminded to live fully, but for what it's worth, Carpe Diem... Bicycling Magazine posted a recent interview with George Hincappie (Nov 23). It came before the recent sponsorship withdrawal by T-Mobile. web... Karl Bushby is in the middle of a 36,000 mile walk that began from the tip of South America and which will end in the UK. Before you write him off as just another publicity hound with Forest Gump-like ability, check out his website. His diary provides readers with an articulate narration of his remarkable experiences. An excellent excerpt describes the challenge of crossing the danger-filled Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama. web... The following is a sad but revealing excerpt from a French cyclist's blog as he sees America for the first time during a transcontinental ride. "Eating is easy. Americans eat all the time. As a result, you can get served regardless of the time. It's not dear. Yesterday lunch time, for example, getting here, I had lunch in an 'all you can eat': salads, hot dishes, fruit salad, water, for $6. And you can help yourself to as much as you want and as much as you can manage. Obesity is a phenomenon that I hadn't imagined. One morning, in a food bar, I couldn't sit at the stool at the bar because it was fixed between two lorry drivers who between them took the space of three. You see whole families who struggle with difficulty out of their cars to go and drink their sugary drinks. The size of clothing these enormous people wear is impressive."

Nov 28 - The St Louis metro got a significant influx of state money for the purpose of enhancing five area trails. The Bicycle Path Grant Program reimburses local agencies up to 50% of trail construction costs with a $200,000 cap per project. Ironically, the funds are generated by fees applied to motor vehicle the title transfers. One million dollars will be evenly divided among the Six Mile Prairie Trail System, Chain of Rocks Canal Levee, Nickel Plate Trail, Watershed Trail, and Chouteau Island... The Mesa Cycles Racing Team received a $2,500 development grant from Slipstream Sports. The money is one facet of their Argyle Jersey Award bestowed upon four teams throughout the country. In addition, a Felt bike will be awarded to the outstanding junior, along with exclusive access to an online forum with select Team Slipstream/Chipotle riders... Ladies are cordially invited to attend a special holiday Trunk Show at Little Shark Athletic Company featuring SkirtSports on Wednesday, Dec 5. For those not familiar with the product line, it was created by pro triathlete Nicole DeBoom. 314-862-1818... Next up on the auction block are a Team CSC Cervello ridden by Carlos Sastre, a two day training trip for two with Team CSC, and a signed team jersey. web... The USAT got into the bidding game with its own auction offering an array of items including a CompuTrainer, frame set, bike box, and much more. web... In cycling news, T-Mobile cut the cord on their $12 million pro cycling team sponsorship. The German telecommunications giant felt it was time to distance itself and shareholders from the sport of pro cycling. The team still plans to move forward with its 2008 season... Ironman Western Australia is set to go this weekend with an added incentive. The race will pay out US$50,000 to any racer who betters the Ironman record. For the men that would be going under 7:50:27, and the women 8:50:53. The course may be flat and fast, but the short list of candidates capable of performing such a feat will not be at the swim start... The "world's most dangerous road" is not Clayton Road as some St Louis area cyclists may be inclined to believe, but rather is the 35-mile long stretch between La Paz and Coroico in Bolivia. Estimates vary on how many vehicles each year plunge into the extreme chasm from its edge, but the Yungas Road offers a harrowing experience for vehicles and mountain bikers alike with its narrow single lane and complete lack of guard rails. In fact it has become an adrenaline junkie tourist destination. Mountain bike riders first enjoy a high speed descent on the paved section before the real fun begins. This is just one of many videos about the road.

Nov 27 - Area runners can dig a little deeper into the menu of annual cold weather running events with the return of the Snowball Series. It kicks off this Saturday with a 15k at Queeny Park. The following day features the popular St Louis Track Club 4-Person Marathon Relay at Forest Park. Then just a week later on December 8, the long sold-out Pere Marquette Endurance Trail Run dishes out steep off-road climbs at the aforementioned park. Lastly, the SLTC Frostbite Series begins on Dec 15 with a 12k, the first of its 5 runs on offer... You may recall the recent story of Rosie Swale-Pope's effort to run around the world. (She's actually not the first to complete a fully-documented effort. That distinction belongs to Jesper Olsen.) Now consider those obscure but amazing Monks of Mount Hiei. They are spiritual athletes from the Tendai Sect of Buddhism, based at Mount Hiei overlooking the ancient capital city of Kyoto. Their ultimate achievement is the completion of the 1,000-day challenge, which to date just 46 have successfully accomplished. It requires seven years as the monks also undergo Buddhist training in meditation and calligraphy, and perform general duties within the temple. The first 300 days are basic training during which time the monks run 40km per day for 100 consecutive days. In the 4th and 5th years they run 40km per day for 200 consecutive days. In the 6th year they run 60km for 100 consecutive days and in the 7th year they run 84km for 100 consecutive days. A long trailer to the film entitled the Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei can be previewed here.

Nov 26 - Area runners can dig a little deeper into the menu of annual cold weather running events with the return of the Snowball Series. It kicks off this Saturday with a 15k at Queeny Park. The following day features the popular St Louis Track Club 4-Person Marathon Relay at Forest Park. Then just a week later on December 8, the long sold-out Pere Marquette Endurance Trail Run dishes out steep off-road climbs at the aforementioned park. Lastly, the SLTC Frostbite Series begins on Dec 15 with a 12k, the first of its 5 runs on offer... You may recall the recent story of Rosie Swale-Pope's effort to run around the world. (She's actually not the first to complete a fully-documented effort. That distinction belongs to Jesper Olsen.) Now consider those obscure but amazing Monks of Mount Hiei. They are spiritual athletes from the Tendai Sect of Buddhism, based at Mount Hiei overlooking the ancient capital city of Kyoto. Their ultimate achievement is the completion of the 1,000-day challenge, which to date just 46 have successfully done. It requires seven years as the monks also undergo Buddhist training in meditation and calligraphy, and perform general duties within the temple. The first 300 days are basic training during which time the monks run 40km per day for 100 consecutive days. In the 4th and 5th years they run 40km per day for 200 consecutive days. In the 6th year they run 60km for 100 consecutive days and in the 7th year they run 84km for 100 consecutive days. A long trailer to the film entitled the Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei can be previewed here.

Nov 25 - The annual Great River Road Run found its customary massive field gathered at the starting line in Alton, Illinois on Saturday morning. A total of 832 runners braced themselves for both the flattest and perhaps most scenic 10-miler in the metro. After a notable retreat from the local running scene in 2006, Mike Farrell has used this year to gradually reassert his presence by picking races here and there in which to stretch his legs. But the Illinois resident found his old stride by putting in a dominating performance at the GRR to win by more than a mile. The gun times of the top five men: 1-Mike Farrell 50:16, 2-Brian Weiss 56:54, 3-Justin Wieduwilt 57:03, 4-Bruce Nie 57:13, 5-Andy Brendel 57:41... The women's race drew a strong field topped by Stephanie Hood. The Principia College grad and school record holder in both the 5k and 10k felt right at home on the River Road, and it showed. She was the only female to go under the hour mark, coasting home by two minutes over the runner-up. The top five ladies were: 1-Stephanie Hood 59:00, 2-Margaret Nakintu 1:01:02, 3-Candace Caveny 1:02:36, 4-Kristel Adler 1:04:42, 5-Jackie Pirtle-Hall 1:06:23... 15-year old Brett Conway of Troy, Illinois may be a name to watch in the future, finishing 29th overall in a time of 1:04:10... Complete results... A very handy listing of 2008 Ironman races, complete with registration status for each event as of Thanksgiving day, was posted at Ironman.com... Best of luck to Jill Petersen this weekend at the 2007 Eilat BG Triathlon World Cup in Israel. The St Louis area pro will go up against the likes of Julie Ertel, Annabel Luxford, Samantha Warriner, Kathy Trembley, and 61 other top pro women. Live audio webcast begins at 3am on Saturday. web... What are the most visually compelling landscapes you've seen from the seat of your bicycle? We've put together a montage of photos that will blow your mind. All of the images are just as they were shot with no croppings or Photoshop enhancements. Photo credits must go to Jeff Kruys, Peter Gostelow, and Victor Weinreber the three of whom are currently in the midst of adventure cycling tours in various parts of the world. The selected images, culled from their respective blogs, were shot in remote parts of Alaska, Mexico, Tibet, Death Valley, Vietnam, and Colombia. web

Nov 21 - The GO! St. Louis Marathon Weekend announced that it has installed participant caps for its races on April 6. They are: 3,000 for the marathon, 10,000 for the half-marathon and 500 four-person teams for the marathon relay. This was due to increased interest in the events and Nancy Lieberman's commitment to a quality experience for runners... Lawrence, Kansas is aggressively establishing itself as a sports hub. On Saturday, Dec 8, the city will host the 2007 USATF National Jr Olympic Cross Country Championships. Over 3000 kids are expected in five brackets: 10&U, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18. web... The Boston Athletic Association will host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Women's Team Trials on Sunday, April 20, the day before the 112th running of the Boston Marathon. St Louis resident, Colleen Casey, is the sole local runner to have met the qualifying standard with her 2:46:23 performance at the St George Marathon back on October 6... Going fast on a bike is a relative term that can mean different things to different riders. But most rationally thinking cyclists would probably agree that descending a snow-covered mountain at 222kph or flying down the smoothed surface of a volcano at 172kph are not only fast, they are insanely fast. Eric Berone does both. But before you check out the video, on which surface do you think he took a death-defying spill?

Nov 20 - St Louis area runners at the Philadelphia Marathon were led to the finish by Aron Rauls in 3:05:06. Great job by he and the other local folks completing the 26.2 miler: Rebecca Brooks 3:27:43, Jennifer Behm 3:43:17, Jeff Vomund 3:48:41, Johnetta Delli-Zotti 4:07:42, Rae Mohrman 4:12:24, Caitlin Boehne 4:26:22, Rachel Hartman 4:28:56, Erin Newmann 4:49:32, and Ravi Sundara 4:56:18... Team Every Man's Dream (Ken DeBeer, Laura Scherff and Vicki Vojak) won the Masters Division of the Lewis and Clark Ozark Adventure Race in Fayetteville, AR last week. They overcame a few early race miscalculations but recovered in time to finish on top of the Masters podium with a time of 19 hrs 4 mins... OK, so you've run an ultra-marathon. Maybe you've even run 50-marathons in 50-days in 50-states. What's next Forest? How about running 24,000 miles? Rosie Swale-Pope has more than halfway completed her run around the world. She began the odyssey in Oct, 2003 and hasn't stopped, despite losing part of a toe and breaking a rib. Rosie is still in the U.S., now approaching Portland, Maine. web... From the millions of personal blogs spread out across the world wide web, we've singled out a few favorites that we felt are worth a look. The first is Life Cycle. It is written by an Australian fellow who claims to have never owned an automobile. Along with its occasionally insightful text, you'll find some eye-popping photographs of his personal training ground Down Under... Imagine living in Alaska and training for the upcoming 350 Invitational Iditarod Race (in the bicycle category). Up In Alaska is both well-written and peppered with astonishing images of that last American wilderness... The third blog takes us to the jungle, the concrete one that is. Start with a passion for bikes, mix in equal measures of New York attitude and a great sense of humor, and you get Bike Snob NYC

Nov 19 - A pair of teenagers pulled off wins at the St Charles Runners Club McNair Cross Country Run. It was 16-year old Nick Happe who ran a race best 16:25 for the overall and 19-year old Courtney Ayers from Maryland Heights as the first woman to the line with her 19:56 effort. The event drew 87 runners to McNair Park, a longtime venue for high school cross country meets... Earth City was the site of the annual Jingle Bell Run yesterday. The very popular event saw Keith Robertson (18:00) and Kate Schwetye (19:57) respectively win the men's and women's divisions. 14-year old Jake Bast finished just eight seconds back in second place overall in the field of 669... A episode of the CNN show, Revealed, featured one of the greatest runners of all time, Haile Gebrselassie. A three-part video looks at the man, his life, and his world record attempt at the Berlin Marathon. web

Nov 16 - A Wisconsin woman recently gave birth to her new son on a Madison bike trail. She and her husband were driving near the trail as she went into labor, all five minutes of it. Realizing that they weren't going to make it to the hopital, the husband immediately stopped the car, and quickly escorted her to the trail. While no passing runners or cyclists witnessed the blessed event, it does give new meaning to the term multi-use trail... The story of Robert Stewart has gone viral in chat rooms across the world wide web after the 51-year from Scotland was caught half-naked and in a compromising position with his bicycle. It all began when a cleaning crew surprised him and themselves as they unwittingly caught him in the act when they entered his room at the hostel where he was staying. Stewart eventually copped a plea of sexual breach of the peace which resulted in three years probation. The whole sordid scenario opens up a world of double entendre possibility with such evocative cycling terms as: chain lube, head set, bottom bracket, cadence, and crank arm— but we're not going there... The Utah Department of Health has lifted its ban on diapered children in pools now that an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis is under control. Since August, the state had logged 1,912 cases of the potentially fatal, parasite-induced disease that results in severe, chronic diarrhea. The re-opening is good news for pool owners who had seen revenues decline sharply. Owners hyperchlorinated their water and put the "L" back in P-O-O-L... When NBC airs the 2007 Ironman World Championship show on Dec 1, one of the featured athletes will be Brian Boyle. USA Swimming posted an article that details Brian's remarkable recovery from the verge of death. web... Tri-Cal TV posted a highlight video of the SF Tri (Du) elite women's race. Get a good look at Sarah and Jill as they race near the front. web... The 2007 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships will be staged in Kansas City on Dec. 13-16. You can preview the course with this video. It looks to be a very fast track if conditions are dry on race day.... Bicycle Boulevards is concept that changes the hierarchy of the road. It's probable that most motorists naively believe automobiles have the total right of way. Actually nearly every state in the U.S. has legislation endowing bicycles, under most circumstances, with equal right to the road. Bicycle Boulevards on the other hand, while allowing simultaneous use by both bicycles and motorized traffic, grants the right of way expressly to bicycles. Have they lived up to the hype? Will they appear in St Louis? video

Nov 15 - Potosi, Missouri welcomed the 2007 USARA National Championship and 70 coed teams who traveled from all over the country to the Show Me state. Team M.O.A.T. proved for a day at least that they were indeed the mother of all teams when they crossed the finish line first in 17 hours and 3 minutes. Also making a great showing was the St Louis trio of Jeff Sona, Carrie Sona, and David Frei (Team Alpine Shop) who finished 4th overall with a time of 19 hours and 14 minutes. Congrats!... Great work by Bryan Calloway of St Louis who ran 2:38:52 at the Outer Banks Marathon in North Carolina, finishing 7th overall. The top performance was delivered by Mike Wardian who churned out a 2:24:16. That came just a week after his 2:30:54 in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. The chip times of other St Louis area runners were: Desmond Kirchhofer 3:44:20, Faith Tyler 4:17:00, Terri Menghini 4:36:41, and Jaye Shyken 5:46:53... Great job by Terri Menchini of Fenton for running back to back marathons. The day before her 26.2 miler at Outer Banks, she completed the Richmond Marathon in 4:17:49.... The Center of Clayton was a convergence point for St Louis area runners on Sunday with 1,004 showing up for the SLTC Half Marathon and another 223 taking part in the 5k. Ideal weather conditions no doubt encouraged the strong turnout. In the half, Dusty Lopez went out strong and never looked back while holding 5:21 pace. His 1:10:00 finish provided a comfortable 3-minute and 47-second cushion over runner-up Tyler Small and whopping 8-minutes and 41 seconds over third place finisher Jonathon Lanterman. The women's division was led to the finish by Amy Fruland (1:22:37). On her heels were Judy Dorpinghaus (1:23:44) in second and Mindy Hochgesang (1:26:52) in third. results... Lawrence, Kansas will host an Ironman Triathlon 70.3 race on June 15, 2008. Registration opened yesterday for what may be a surprisingly challenging course for racers anticipating stereotypical, flat, Kansas terrain. web... A long-standing argument has hung over endurance sports for decades, namely, which event is the toughest. However, when discussing endurance mountain biking, few would argue that they don't come any more challenging than La Ruta de los Conquistadores. The 2008 version of this Costa Rican pain-fest is currently underway with its largest field to date— nearly 600 entrants. Of last year's 483 starters, 239 failed to finish the brutal 59-mile opening stage with its 15,000' of climbing. VeloNews filed an absorbing stage-1 report. Web

Nov 14 - SBR wishes to thank four website sponsors who recently agreed to extend their banner ads thru 2008. They are Sports Enhancement Group, Momentum Cycles, Big River Running Company, and TriSmart. We urge you to support these and all of our fine sponsors without whom this site would not be possible... The XTERRA Trail Running World Championships will makes their debut next year. The event takes place Dec 7, 2008 at Kualoa Ranch on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It will draw participants from runners who qualify thru a series of half-marathon (21km) trail runs. These "Xduro" runs, as they've been dubbed, are tentatively scheduled to take place in venues around the world: New Zealand, Japan, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and of course the U.S. To earn for a slot, runners need to place in one of the top spots in their age group (10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, 80+) at any of the qualifying races or they may enter an open lottery. web... Some product manufacturers sponsor triathlon teams as a means of giving back to the sport as well as marketing themselves on a grassroots level. They can vary greatly in philosophy. Some are highly selective seeking only the most qualified athletes as members while others open themselves to all who apply. For interested athletes, a few affiliations to consider are: Team Timex, Zoot Sports, Team Javelin, Team TriChic, Team Sport Beans... Are you a streak rider or runner? Conventional wisdom suggests that we take time off from training to let our bodies recover and grow stronger. Running contrary to that advice, some athletes run up remarkable consecutive day streaks of training. Scott Dickson is one such athlete. In 2006 he wrote "I have ridden every day (outside) for 8,645 consecutive days. My minimum mileage is 3, but for almost 10 years from 1988 to 1998, the minimum was 20. I still remember doing 20 miles on the mountain bike in Iowa City when the high temperature was -15. There was a 15mph NW wind, but at least it was sunny. Since my last day off the bike, I have logged 549,000 miles, 1,472 centuries, and 381 race wins. Over the past 25 years (1982-2006) my shortest year was 2001 at 21,397 miles. My biggest year was 1987 with 27,513 miles, 171 century days, and 42 race victories (including PBP). My 25-year average is 23,200.” ... Bicycling Magazine originally published an interview back in 1990 with the then 99-year old Alf Goullet, a bicycle racer from the 1920's. The resulting article transports readers back to a fascinating era when cycling was by far the number one spectator sport in America and Goullet was its top dog. Web

Nov 13 - Good luck to the group of St Louis area cyclists participating in the El Tour de Tucson this weekend down in Arizona. The event draws 5,000 cyclists annually for the nearest thing to a gran fondo found this side of the Atlantic.... When it comes to high-end winter triathlon camps, there's a lot more choice than you might think. Here are some great choices: Counterpart Coaching (web) features Chris McCormack as guest professional triathlete and coach Feb 1-10 in Palm Springs, CA... P.R. Peak Performance Coaching (web) holds a training camp each winter in Tucson. Participants can swim, bike, and run with Peter Reid. Dates as yet unannounced... Multisports.com (web) offers a five-day getaway to Encinitas, CA where you train with triathlon greats Paula Newby Fraser and Heather Fuhr. Feb 6-10... Epic Camp (web) is an exclusive and demanding week spent with Scott Molina and Gordo Bryn. If accepted, you'll spend Jan 27-Feb 4 in New Zealand... If you don't require the presence of a tri legend, then Playtri (web) may be for you. Spend Jan 27–Feb 1 in the warmth of Kona, Hawaii... For something completely out of the ordinary, the Hypoxico Altitude 10-Day Triathlon Training Camp (web) in Clermont, Florida offers amateur triathletes the first simulated altitude training camp. Mar 13-23 (Sleep High/Train Low)... Solvang Triathlon Camp (web) brings you to the amazing training grounds surrounding Solvang, CA. Feb 19-24... EuroCycler (web) stages their triathlon camp across the big pond in Gerona, Spain. Different weeks offered for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Learn from German pro Olaf Sabatschus... Long Distance Triathlon Camp (web) takes place at the world famous Club La Santa located on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. Feb 29-Mar 14. Two-time IM Lanzarote winner Ain-Alar Juhanson joins you in the 2nd week of your 14-days of training Nirvana... L'École des Facteurs (School for Postmen) is an amusing 1947 film in which French actor/director Jacques Tat plays a postman out to prove that he is as efficient as American postmen. This Chaplin-esque film centers on his bicycle, with which the nimble Tat performs several clever stunts... Part-1... Part-2... Follow Ryan Hall on a 15-mile training run (1:16:17) around Mammoth Lake. The effort was part of his build-up for Olympic trials. As most running fans may know, Hall is a devout Christian athlete. But religious aspects of the 8-minute video aside, it's a joy just watching him click off the sub-fives in apparently effortless fashion. web

Nov 12 - The San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island favored the landlubbers when an ecological disaster precluded swimming in the SF Bay. Staged as a duathlon instead, an opening 4-mile run was added to the 40k bike and finishing 10k run. Julie Ertel made the adjustment best as she captured the title in 2:08:47. The St Louis connection fared well when Sarah Haskins (2:09:44) placed 2nd, and first year pro Jill Petersen (2:09:52) finished 3rd. For Petersen, it represented her biggest payday thus far as she pocketed $3,250 for her morning of work. Congratulations to both ladies. results... The Ironman Triathlon World Championship 70.3 in Clearwater, FL crowned a new king and queen on Saturday. ITU professional Andy Potts (3:42:33) bookended his early season 70.3 win in California when he edged out Oscar Galindez by 4-seconds for the title. By contrast Mirinda Carfrae (4:07:25) put over 4-minutes on runner-up Samantha McGlone for the women's title... The St Louis area produced three finishers. They were Kristin Moore (4:42:31), Chris Arnold (4:46:00), and Jennifer Cunnane (5:13:39). The top Show Me state performance was turned in by Rodney Adkison of Lohman, Mo in 4:22:03. In all, 1,422 competitors made the finish line. results... You're Not a Real Cyclist Until You've Puked in a French Ditch. That is the evocative title of an entertaining essay by Eric Fergusson which recounts his enlightening experience at the 1999 Paris-Brest-Paris. web... Virgin Vacations posted a article listing the eleven most bike-friendly cities in the world. They cited the five E's as their criteria: engineering, encouragement, evaluation & planning, education, and enforcement. Equally as interesting though were the reader responses following a Wired article that cited the list.

Nov 11 - The San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island was forced to drop the swim leg of their event due to the recent 58,000-gallon oil spill into the San Francisco Bay. The event will be staged this morning as a duathlon. web... The Ultraman World Championship takes place on the island of Hawaii on Nov 23-25. The event employs a stage race format that pushes racers to their limit with three days of racing. Stage one: 10k swim/ 90 mile bike (7600'), Stage two: 171 mile bike (8600'), Stage three: 52.4 mile run. The event is limited to 35 invitees. web... Lance Armstrong racked up another win last Tuesday but this time with Texas voters who passed Proposition 15, a $3 billion bond issue. It establishes the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas which will distribute up to $300 million a year in grants for 10 years to public and private educational institutions... 2007 Ironman World Champion, Chris McCormack, is auctioning his bike on e-Bay. Winning bidder will be personally fitted by Macca and spend a day training with him in Boulder. Proceeds from the sale benefit a Junior Triathlon Development Team. At last look, the bid was up to $6100. Auction expires Nov 16. web

Nov 8 - The Silverman Triathlon enters its third year continuing to bear the reputation as one of the toughest full-distance tris in the world. Sure, there was Ironman Malaysia (heat and humidity), and there is Ironman Lanzarote (heat, wind, and hills), both of which could shred your legs and sap your soul. But residing outside the realm of M-dot racing is the independently produced Silverman and its brutal bike course with nearly 10,000' of climbing. Gone is the $100,000 relay challenge for any team breaking eight hours, but this year's half distance event will see the presence of current Ironman World Champion Chris McCormack and triathlon living legend Dave Scott. Listen to an interview with Dave... GL to SBR reader James Glickert of Osage Beach racing in the full distance event. web... The Bass Pro Shops Marathon drew 256 participants to Springfield, Missouri. The race was part of a 3-day Outdoor Fitness Festival. Spectators cheered hometown boy, Matt Wegenka, across the finish line comfortably ahead of all chasers with a time of 2:34:40. Becky Lowrance, 50-year old masters runner from Branson, captured the women's division in 3:15:57. Former world class marathoner Dick Beardsley, now 51, cruised to 4th place overall in a very respectable 2:54:16. web... While pro cycling continues to shake itself out of a nearly two-decades-old drug stupor, the state of the sport in the U.S. continues to climb to dizzying heights. American cycling fans can already recite the names of three domestic Tours, and they can look forward to a 2008 Tour of Utah revival. New for '08 will be the Colorado Stage Race and the Tour of Pennsylvania ($250,000 prize purse for 25&U riders). 2009 will debut the Tour of Colorado along with whatever else that develops between now and then... The Tour of Georgia will announce host cities and routes on November 14... We failed to mention yesterday in our report on the New York City Marathon that celebrity runner Lance Armstrong completed his sophomore effort in 2:46:43. It wasn't clear however if his 10 minute improvement over 2006 was a result of better training or if he was simply running fast to remove the stale traces of Ashley Olsen's perfume. In either case, nice time and good job raising $.5 million in the fight against cancer... Good Luck to Sarah Haskins & Jill Petersen tomorrow in the San Francisco Triathlon at Treasure Island. The top ten pro women will split $20,000. web... As a senior member of the cycling community, SBR most often rides with younger guys. So when we came across the very entertaining article, Punish Me, Young Man, we readily identified with its author, Dana Albert. web... OK, so you feel you have good skillz on the bike. You may want to rethink that after viewing this video of a game of Radball. The sport has been around since 1893 and is popular in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Sweden, and Switzerland. The game is played by teams of two, riding fixies with no brakes. Its first World Championship was held back in 1929. And if you think P-A-T-R-I-O-T-S spells dyanasty, consider that the Pospíšil brothers of Czechoslovakia won the Radball World Championship twenty times between 1965 and 1988.

Nov 7 - Adventure racing legend, Ian Adamson, is drawing upon his vast experience to create a new event for September of 2008, the Terra Traverse. 75 four-person teams will cover 600km and a wide range of challenges through the Canadian province of Quebec. Disciplines included may be orienteering/navigation, mountain and road biking, running, trekking, hiking, mountaineering, canoeing, kayaking and/or white water rafting, technical climbing, big wall rappelling, split course, horseback riding, river swimming, canyoneering, coastaleering, as well as other technical disciplines to fit the terrain, course and incorporate the local culture. All this can be yours for the low, low price of $10,000 per team. No website is available yet... Construction on the Monarch-Chesterfield Levee Trail is zipping along with the first 3.5 mile segment now complete. Last month the Chesterfield City Council voted to approve a contract with Kuhlmann Design Group re: Phase 2 of the Monarch-Chesterfield Levee Trail Project... What happens when a couple of young American cyclists head for Belgium to compete in the U-25 Six Day Track Racing Series? David Wiswell and Jackie Simes have begun blogging their way through Europe as they live their dream. web... Suspended pro cyclist, Patrik Sinkewitz, testified for over five hours to the German cycling federation as he provided details of his doping practices during the 2003-06 seasons. German magazine Der Spiegel published their interview with a very frank Sinkewitz... Looking for an off-season fitness alternative? STLToday posted a story on Circus Fitness classes offered by the City Museum. web

Nov 6 - That was none other than Duschene High School graduate, Jason Lehmkuhle, who finished 5th at the recent U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Lehmkuhle smashed his previous best (2:16:27 set in 2004) by running the trials marathon in 2:12:54. Runners World profiled this world class athlete in late September.

USAT announced its 2008 National Championship Race schedule.

• Winter Triathlon - February 9, Bend, Oregon (qualifier for 2008 Worlds)

• Collegiate - April 19, Tuscaloosa, AL

• Short Course Duathlon - April 27, Richmond, VA (qualifier for 2008 Worlds)

• Long Course Duathlon - May 18, Auburn, CA

• Physically Challenged - July 20, New York, NY

• Sprint Triathlon - August 3, Trumansburg, NY

• Youth Triathlon - August 9, Colorado Springs, CO

• Age Group Triathlon - September 20, Portland, OR (qualifier for 2009 Worlds)

Nov 5 - Bicycling Magazine recently posted a how to article entitled, Never Get Dropped. Among the riding tips offered, we liked the final one best— take a shortcut. web... VeloNews European correspondent, Andrew Hood, conducted an interview with newly signed Astana rider Levi Leipheimer. Web... Yesterday the 2007 Cancun BG Triathlon brought ITU triathletes to Mexico to close out this year's World Cup series. The wind created a chop in the warm Gulf waters and added challenge to the bike. Simon Whitfield (Canada) narrowly won the men's elite race with a time of 1:52:05 over fellow countryman Paul Tichelaar (Canada) in 1:52:06. Third place finisher Volodymyr Polikarpenko (Ukraine) finished just another two seconds back, 1:52:08. In fact, the men's top five were separated by only seven seconds. Julie Ertel (USA) topped the women's elite field in 2:03:22, as Carole Peon (France) took silver in 2:03:34 and Sarah Haskins (USA) won bronze in 2:03:37... Ironman Florida witnessed the resurrection of Nina Kraft's iron-distance career when she won the women's race in 9:05:35. Stephan Vuckovic carried on the great German tradition of Ironman racing with an 8:21:29 performance to grab the men's title... St Louis area finishers were led by the strong effort of Todd Glass (10:16:55). Behind him were Kent Smith (11:07:52), Greg Frankenfeld (11:32:56), Dennis Disch (11:44:25), Ryan Coleman (12:43:06), Regina Raineri (13:19:42), John Mazurk (13:34:17), and Michelle Patrick (15:33:11). Nice work all... After participants and spectators at the 2007 Ironman Florida took advantage of their advanced registration privilege for the 2008 race, online registration opened for most of the remaining slots. It closed in just minutes. As frustrating as the process may have been for many prospective entrants, there is an expensive ray of hope thru Community Fund slots. Also, one could race their way to a slot at the Ironman California 70.3 and Ironman Florida 70.3... The U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials found 104 qualified runners at the starting line. Spectators along the New York City course or watching the live webcast saw Ryan Hall of Mammoth Lakes, California stamp his authority over American distance running. His 2:09:02 may not be good enough for gold in Beijing, but it was 2:05 faster than the next best finisher, Dathan Ritzenhein of Eugene, Oregon (2:11:07). Brian Sell from Rochester Hill, MI secured the third and final Olympic team slot with a 2:11:40 finish. results. The event was marred by tragedy when Ryan Shay collapsed and died at the five-mile mark.

Nov 4 - North Carolina Blog - For security purposes no public wireless networks are available on the Camp Lejeune military base (Jacksonville, NC), so my two and a half days at the Naval hospital there resulted in no website updates. However, my stay did bring the birth of my first grandchild (boy). Look out IronKids in the summer of 2014... Tuesday - The morning delivered a bright, sunny day with a high of 70, perfect for a 50-mile ride along the flat, rural roads east of Jacksonville. On this day, my trusty Blackberry with its GPS capacity stayed behind plugged into the charger. No worries, my jersey pocket held a cue sheet with mileage markers. One could reasonably expect that to be enough to prevent me from getting lost, but I didn't anticipate the apparent disdain for street signs displayed by rural North Carolinans. The number of intersections I encountered with no signage was both astounding and disconcerting. A few errant turns transformed my planned half-century into a metric. Still, it was all good, just turning the crank arms on this 30th day of October... Wednesday - Before I head for the mountains, I felt that a taste of the cool, clean ocean breeze was a must. After yesterday's navigation lesson, I made it a point to stow cue sheet and GPS device in my jersey pocket, and wouldn't you know it, the century I set out upon was already street-marked with huge turn arrows! A portion of this particular route took me along nearly twenty miles of oceanfront roadway up the North Carolina outer banks. At one point, my altimeter indicated that I was a hundred feet below sea level and it made me wonder if this asphalt might be completely submerged in fifty years. It would be just one tragic consequence of global warming. Sadly I didn't have adequate time for the combination of pedal strokes and ferry rides necessary to reach Virginia Beach or points beyond, but perhaps I can do so on a return visit. After two days and 160 miles of flatland riding, the legs are ready for the road to turn sharply upward. I can hardly wait... Thursday - Today is a travel day and what a special one at that. The trees have found their peak fall colors making the mountain sides a spectacular sight... Friday - The mountains in western North Carolina were more amazing than I had anticipated, and winding its way through them is the Blue Ridge Parkway. This two-laned, 469-mile long strip of asphalt prohibits trucks and enforces a 45mph speed limit. Furthermore, the 50-mile section I rode/drove nearly always curved left, bent right, steeply nose-dived, or reached skyward. I was instantly enamored and quickly found myself contemplating the logistics of an extraordinarily challenging, epic, end-to-end ride (Tennessee to Virginia) next summer. I snapped out of that reverie upon my arrival at the entrance gate to Mt. Mitchell State Park, situated at 5100 feet above sea level. All that remained was to grind my way up the final 4-miles and 1500' to its summit. For a few moments I owned the highest grounded bike east of the Mississippi. The sweat-fest slog to the top gave way to a fast and freezing-cold coast back down to my waiting car, but wisely (luckily), I was properly dressed. Afterwards, the drive to Asheville climaxed with at least five miles of descending switchbacks. I enviously passed a dozen or so oncoming cyclists making the slow, arduous climb. Soon thereafter I reluctantly put the Appalachians in my rearview mirror and drove west.

Oct 27 - Betty Jo Ullrich of Davenport, Iowa was awarded a $350,000 settlement for the death of her husband Kirk who died during the 2004 RAGBRAI. He was thrown from his bicycle when his wheel became stuck in the center-line joint of a roadway. Crawford County, where the unfortunate incident took place, quickly passed a resolution prohibiting RAGBRAI (or any such event) from using secondary roadways in that county. Most Iowa counties are expected to follow suit which could jeopardize the the future of that long-standing event. web... The Ironman World Championship Award Banquet video. web... Post-Dispatch reporter, Kathleen Nelson, published an article about local elite runners, Ben Rosario and Zac Freudenburg, as they head for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. web

Oct 26 - Tempe, Arizona has their own weekly radio show devoted to bikes. It's called, appropriately enough, Bicycle Radio. The shows are high-cadence, welcome have a variety of guests, and address issues well beyond their local riding scene... The news out of Paris yesterday was the announcement of the 2008 Tour de France route, a tour that can be summed up as one favoring the climbers. Can you say Alberto Contador? We knew you could. web... Before the Tour of California and the Tour of Missouri, there was the Tour of Utah. The 2007 event was canceled for financial reasons, but race officials have announced that a downsized version is definitely on for Aug 13-17, 2008. Condensed from 7 to 5 stages, the ToU promises to test riders legs with 342 miles of road and 30,000' of climbing. web... Speaking of Utah... If you assumed that the southern portion of that state was suited strictly for mountain bikes, then check out this short promo video for the Red Rock Canyon Resort and Lew wheels. web

Oct 25 - The ITU announced its 2008 World Cup triathlon calendar. The sole U.S. stop remains the cash-rich Hyvee race in Des Moines, Iowa on June 22. Also included, of course, is the World Championship, to be staged in Vancouver, British Columbia the weekend of June 7-8. The $2.5 million World Cup series begins on March 30 and extends to Nov 2. And you thought the baseball season was long! web... China is no longer the 21st century's sleeping giant for a number of reasons, and among them may be the opening of its borders to the international sport of triathlon. After persistent efforts, the WTC finally managed to expand its Ironman series into that country. China has also welcomed the ITU World Cup series to Beijing, and will host the 2008 Olympics. In addition, it was announced last month that Beijing will welcome the 2011 ITU Triathlon World Championships.... Professional cycling appears to be on the cutting edge of the anti-doping effort with a new protocol being agreed upon by the once-squabbling trio of the UCI, WADA, and ASO. The organizations will embark upon a CSI-esque program that will compile an electronic record of each riders' various blood and urine tests, along with parameters collected in the past to create what they've termed a "biological passport." The essence of this method is that it establishes a personal profile for each rider for comparison purposes rather than relying upon the range of norms found in the general population. If proven successful, this method could well be emulated by other sports. Web... Okay, so you've run in the big city, atop mountains, across deserts, thru jungles, and maybe even at the North Pole. So, what's next you ask?. How about running across the ocean floor? On TrailRunnerMag.com, one participant provides his personal account of a very unique race staged in Canada, the Not Since Moses- Run on the Ocean Floor. web... Good luck to St Louis area runners taking part in the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday. The weather looks to be very un-Chicago-Marathon-ish, with the forecast calling for sunny skies and a high of 64 degrees.

Oct 24 - St Louis area CrossFit training coach, Laurie Miller, demonstrates three unique movements in an exercise video posted by STLtoday.com... Local runner/multisport athlete, Robert Klenk, was featured recently in a nice article in the St Louis Post Dispatch. At 72, the "Colonel" is still going strong. web... Read a pre-Ironman Triathlon World Championship interview with with local triathlete, Nicole Burdge by Post-Dispatch Health & Fitness Editor, Amy Bertrand. Web... Many Ironman observers know that current IM World Champion, Chrissie Wellington, also won IM Korea a mere four weeks before her victory in Kona. But most triathlon fans have probably forgotten that she also was the overall ITU Age-Group World Champion in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2006. We came across an interview with her on YouTube... Also make time to read a bit of Chrissie's blog. She has a splendid sense of humor.

Oct 23 - The Berryman Adventure Race drew 27 four-person teams and 16 two-person teams for the 36-hour bracket. Team Eastern Mountain Sports showed why they were the 2006 U.S. Adventure Racing National Champions. The New Hampshire/Massachusetts residents needed just over a day (24hr 59min) to complete the course and make all checkpoints in 1st position, an hour up on 2nd place finishers Team Wedali (Minnesota/Iowa). St Louis area's Team Alpine Shop (Jeff & Carrie Sona, David Frei, Doug Nishimura) finished a very respectable 4th in 27hr 48min. The two-man team division was won by Phoenix-based Monster Energy in 29hr 38min. A total of 62 teams started the 12-hour race. St Louis area team Two Bad (Ken Debeer, Vicki Vojak) made it to the line first in 8hr 54min. web... The Race Across America will stage a separate 1000-mile race within its coast to coast, 3000 mile epic event. The 1000-miler will start in Oceanside, CA alongside the full RAAM riders and finish in Taos, NM. RAAM organizers recognize that there are aspiring RAAM rookies who find the necessary commitment for a 1,000-mile race to be less overwhelming than a full RAAM. There are only a few races in the world of that distance. This will be the first in the US... The 2008 Race Across America will showcase a new finish city. It was recently announced that Annapolis, MD will replace Atlantic City, NJ as the eastern terminus... The 10k Open Water World Championship Trials took place over the weekend. Mark Warkentin and Chip Peterson succeeded in advancing to 2008 FINA Open Water World Championships next April in Seville, Spain. Warkentin completed the 10k swim in 1:57:01, just two seconds ahead of Peterson's 1:57:03. The top ten finishers at the World Championship will earn automatic berths at the 2008 Olympic Games... Outside Online posted a very entertaining piece written by Hampton Sides in which he tells the story of his swim across the Mississippi River. web

Oct 22 - Looking for a good deal on sportswear? Pearl Izumi is having a sale, as in the company itself is up for sale. Parent corporation, Nautilus, who purchased the company in 2005 for $75m is shopping the profitable apparel maker... In other corporate news, Honda announced the discontinuation of their sponsorship of Team G Cross Honda. Honda Racing Corporation's surprise entry into the world of mountain bike downhill racing back in 2004 made quite a splash. They relied on their motorcycle technology to create the RN-01, a bike that utilized a sealed, 20lb, transmission instead of derailleurs. The internal workings of the gearbox have remained a closely-guarded secret while the riders have gone on to win the UCI World Cup team ranking the last two years... Last month, 13-year-old Hunter Lussi completed the ChesapeakeMan Ultra Distance Triathlon in Cambridge, Maryland, in 15:27:26, to make him the youngest person to finish a full, iron-distance race. The 8th grader already has 7-years of triathlon racing under his belt. This year he won the the under-17 age group at the Ironman 70.3 Eagleman but was not granted a slot at the 70.3 World Championships because of his age. The previous Ironman record was held since 1979 by Michael Collins, who at 14-years of age completed Ironman Hawaii... Race Across America veteran, Danny Chew, has chewed up one-million kilometers (621,371 miles) on his bike. His goal is to surpass one-million miles of lifetime riding. Danny is currently 45 years old and predicts he will reach the milestone by age 70, in the year 2032. All of this leads us to wonder if anyone has actually already pedaled 1,000,000 miles? Check out the surprising answer. web... Joerie Van Steelent of Belgium (3:06:42) and Catriona Morrison from Great Britain (3:34:56) won the the ITU Long Distance Duathlon World Championships over the weekend in Richmond, Virginia. They did so in convincing fashion, each putting more than six-minutes on their respective second place finishers. The top U.S racers were David Thompson for the men who came across the line in 3:24:02 (16th), and Amy Kloner, an age-grouper who clocked the fastest time for the ladies in 3:48:32 (8th), just ahead of the elite U.S. women. Team USA dominated the overall awards by winning 51 of the 70 medals up for grabs... The 24 Hours of Moab mountain bike race was won by Chris Eatough and Jeri Kirkland. Each completed 14-laps, or the equivalent of 210 miles with 19,030' of elevation gain. It was Eatough's first go at this race. For Kirkland it was her third win in a row. web

Oct 19 - Inside Triathlon posted a highlight video of Sarah Haskin's win at the U.S. Open Triathlon last weekend along with a very nice post-race interview. web... The Furnace Creek 508 is an ultramarathon bicycle race that sends riders through Death Valley and up a total of 35,000' of elevation gain. As difficult as the race is, it's almost equally challenging getting one of the 100 solo slots. The application process is akin to college matriculation. Prospective participants must submit a respectable race resume and biographical application. Michael Emde had no difficulty registering for the race with his status as defending champion. He made it two years in a row by winning with a time of 27:32:30, taking nearly an hour from his 2006 finish (28:23:21). Karen Armstrong won the women's division in 36:58:24. Last year's women's winner was female endurance sports legend Shanna Armstrong who also happens to be Karen's daughter. web... The eyes of the triathlon world will shift from last weekend's Ironman World Championship on the Big Island of Hawaii over to Maui for the XTERRA World Championship on Sunday, October 28. Now in its 12th year, the off-road triathlon assembles a select field of pro and age-group athletes thru more than 100 qualifying races all over the world. The race also draws the cameras of CBS television who traditionally air the event on Super Bowl Sunday. The XTERRA web offers a comprehensive race preview.... Ironman Florida is readying for a November 3 start from the white sands of Panama City Beach, Florida. Good luck to the dozen St Louis area triathletes who are putting the final touches on their preparations. web

Oct 18 - SBR wishes to welcome and thank its newest site sponsor, Edward Jones. As is the case with all of our generous sponsors, we only align this site with companies that provide outstanding products and/or services. Please click thru the banner at right to contact Ken Dorn for answers to all of your financial planning questions. In his spare time, Ken has participated in a number of endurance events at Marathon, Half-Ironman, and Quartermax distances, several century bike rides, and numerous team adventure runs in Southern California... The Berryman 6/12 Hour Duathlon drew 23-solo racers and 4-teams for a day spent either running a 4.5-mile out and back or mountain biking a 12.5-mile loop, each on the Berryman Trail. Racers had their patience and their endurance tested with two days of rain making the trail sloggy in places. Lullel Hickman took home the 12/solo title with 4 laps (9hrs 27min) and Beau Mooneyham won the 6/solo by going 2 laps (4hrs 47min). The 12/team honors went to Team Skeezix with 3 laps (7hr 50min) and the 6/team was taken by team Liability Llamas who completed 2 laps (5hrs 33min). Erica Crowell-Hoffman was the only female in the 6/solo division she and finished 1 lap (3hrs 17min)... There seems no shortage of once-in-a-lifetime events in exotic locations worldwide. Yet another such epic trip to consider could well be the Inca Trail Run. This 27.5 miler is equal parts grueling effort at altitudes of 8,000’ to 13,779’ and fascinating immersion into the Inca culture. Check out their very interesting web

Oct 17 - The O'Fallon Fall Fest 5k was run last weekend. Congratulations to Jeremy Collins and Beth Schueler for capturing the overall titles. The men's top three were Collins (16:47), Neehall Philogene (17:09), and Brian Schoenholz (17:45). The ladies top three were Schueler (20:08), Angie Haddock (20:22), and Kristen Van Horn (20:53). Finishing 26th among the 274 runners was 9-year old William Zoughaib with a time of 21:39... Does sponsoring a pro triathlete pay dividends for a bike company? If he/she has success on a big stage, then the answer is probably yes. A good case in point would be Normann Stadler riding a Kuota. That once obscure brand saw 128 athletes atop their frames in Kona last weekend, an increase of 66% from 2006. The 2007 scorecard is as follows: Cervelo 344, Kuota 128, Trek 128, Scott 89, Cannondale 75, Orbea 71, Felt 66, Kestrel 66, Litespeed 61, Specialized 61, Quintana Roo 60, Giant 59... Belgian cyclocross rider, Ben Berden, tested positive in 2004 for EPO. He was subsequently suspended for 15 months and ordered to pay 60,000 euros to cover the cost of his doping control. Whether the fine is unduly harsh or not is a matter of opinion, but one has to love the quote it elicited from the rider. "I don't know what to do anymore, this is almost unachievable... I am being punished for my honesty..." Um, correction Ben, you are being punished for your dishonesty... The Long-Course Duathlon World Championships take place this weekend in Richmond, VA. More than 500 age group and elite athletes from around the world will tackle a tough course. The race will be absent the late and great defending champ Benny Van Steelent who tragically passed away just a month ago as a result of a training accident. Joerie Van Steelent will look to improve upon his bronze medal in 2006 when the Belgian contingent dominated Worlds with a 1-2-3-4 finish. web... Looking for a new adventure? The inaugural GORE-TEX Trans Rockies Run took place on Sept 16-20. The event gathered 55 teams of two-runners who began a 125-mile multi-day stage race from Beaver Creek to Aspen. In between they crossed the Continental Divide twice, climbed more than 18,000', made their way through driving snow, endured torrential rain, ran at 12,000', and had a hell of a good time. Web

Oct 16 - Read the Inside Triathlon recap of the U.S. Open Triathlon and/or Sarah's race report on her blog. Triathlete Magazine's online report on the race focused completely on the men's side. In reporter Brad Culp's very brief mention of the women's race, he chose to quote 4th place finisher Emma Snowsill's post-race excuses rather than give the winner her props. Unreal... The 19th Annual Denver Veloswap is scheduled for Saturday, October 27 from 9am until 4pm at the National Western Complex in Denver, Colorado. This event is essentially for consumers what Interbike is for dealers. Booths are occupied by individuals, clubs, shops, manufacturers, and sales representatives. web

Oct 15 - The 2007 Ironman World Championship became a process of attrition that began before the cannon sounded and continued well afterwards. Faris Al-Sultan was the first to drop when a persistent stomach virus reduced him to DNS status. He was followed to the sidelines by defending champion Normann Stadler, Cameron Brown, Mathias Hecht, Thomas Hellriegel, and Luke Bell who all became DNF's. The strongest man on the day proved to be Chris McCormack (8:15:34) who made good on his promise to win the event. Fellow countryman and Ironman newbie, Craig Alexander (8:19:04) brought his dominating 70.3 speed to the full-Iron distance and pulled off a remarkable coup placing second. Torbjorn Sindballe (8:21:30) parlayed his 4:25 bike split with a sub-three hour marathon to secure third place. The expected battle royale between Natascha Badmann and Michellie Jones never materialized when they, as well as Katja Schumacher, could not finish. The race for the women's podium looked to become a wide-open affair among several supremely talented athletes— Samantha McGlone, Kate Major, Joana Lawn, Leanda Cave, and others. However, in a "made for the movies" bit of drama, first-year pro Chrissie Wellington (9:08:45) took control of the race near the end of the bike and never relented. Coming just four weeks after her surprise win at Ironman Korea, the 30-year old from Great Britain did her best Badmann impression by flashing an infectious smile while shredding the legs of those behind her. Samantha McGlone (9:14:04) could never quite bridge the gap on the marathon and finished runner-up... Congratulations to St Louis area participants who made a great showing. Tom Jackson had a simply superb day with his 9:35:44. Great job by Rick Mann (9:51:17) and Beat Bartlome (9:51:56) who went sub-10 hours. Tina Stiles (10:34:44) and Nicole Burdge (11:51:04) got their first taste of the big dance and performed well. Very nice work by Columbia resident Andy Pele (10:02:43), and to Chicago friends Christian Waterstraat (10:24:13) and Elizabeth Waterstraat (10:32:10). Liz managed an AG top ten... Interestingly among the finishers was former professional bike racer Laurent Jalabert (ONCE 1992-2000, CSC 2001-2002). Jaja ripped a 4:45 bike split, passing 1,030 racers on his way to a 9:19:58 finish and 76th place. Perhaps the best finish of all belonged to Scott Rigsbee who will no doubt be one of the featured athletes in the NBC highlight package airing in November. The double-leg amputee beat the clock and the odds when he crossed the line just ahead of the cut-off in 16:42:46... When racing outside of the ITU umbrella, Sarah Haskins is forced to rely strictly on her own multisport talents rather than work in tandem with her USAT teammates. But that seems to suit her just fine. Yesterday the American Olympic team hopeful posted a 1:55:45 in a winning effort at the U.S. Open Triathlon. Her strong time in the international distance race provided a two-minute winning margin over second place finisher Julie Dibens. The win was huge for Sarah's career in many respects, but perhaps none bigger than the $60,000 winner's check she took home. St Louis native Jill Petersen cashed in as well with a 9th place finish (2:04:55) earning her a $1,500 payday. Congratulations to both athletes!... A quick peek at the registration fees for the U.S. Open Triathlon was a bit of an eye-opener. Age groupers paid the same for either the Olympic (1500m-40k-10k) or sprint (800m-40k-5k) races. Individuals were charged $115 thru July 1, $140 thru Sept 15, and $175 after Sept 15 (plus $10 for one-day USAT license). Note: If you anted up $185 for a sprint race, we've got some slightly used bike wheels we'd love to sell you.

Oct 12 - The Denver Marathon, scheduled for Sunday, Oct 14, will waive its entry fee for Chicago Marathon participants who were unable to complete their race. They will need to present proof of registration for the Chicago Marathon and a photo ID at packet pick-up. web... Chinese triathlete, Hongni Wang, tested positive in both her A and B samples for exogenous metabolites of testosterone. She has been suspended until Oct 5, 2009. Wang was 29th in 2007 World Cup rankings... Many runners and triathletes pursue trail running in the off-season as a means to maintain fitness and/or add some diversity to their training regimen. We stumbled upon a few short videos that may provide you with some useful tips the next time you hit the trail. getting started, running uphill, running downhill... Solo winners in last weekend's Burnin' At the Bluff 12-Hour Mountain Bike Challenge were: Dwayne Goscinski (9 laps) and Jenny Goldstein (7 laps). The top performing team was: Up 2 Norfolk N Good (11 laps). web

Oct 11 - Hundreds of runners sound off about the problem-plagued 2007 Chicago Marathon. web... Each year the UC Santa Cruz swim team bonds together by swimming a 26-mile relay from Santa Cruz to Monterey. Two groups of six swimmers each forego wetsuits as they take 20-minute shifts in the 50°F water of the Pacific Ocean. Read a shivering first-person account of the experience. web... In another watery tale, but from a surprising source, Dean Karnazes recounts a death defying windsurfing experience. Read it on his blog. Scroll to the Sept 5 entry, "Riders on the Storm."...When you begin to feel that Ironman registration might be getting, shall we say, a tad expensive, check out the entry fee for Race Across America. Solo Entry $1995 (after 12/15/07 $2295), 2-Person $2995 (after 12/15/07 $3395), 4-Person $4795 (after 12/15/07 $5695), 8-Person $7995 (after 12/15/07 $8995).

Oct 8 - With the unseasonably warm weather, yesterday's Rec Plex Fall Triathlon could have mistaken for the June edition of the race. In fact, the same could be said for the result of the men's division which was won once again by Shawn Oneal in 1:27:53— exactly the same as his 2006 Fall race winning time. Second place finisher, Dana Riderer (1:28:34), posted better swim and run splits but it wasn't enough to offset Oneal's near, sub 50-minute bike split. Brian Schoenholz (1:31:39) took third place. Over in the women's division, a newcomer made her presence felt. 25-year old Kate Laverdiere (1:40:52) won in convincing fashion. Lisa Lewis (1:45:14) and Andrea Roberson (1:45:59) rounded out the the top three. Up and coming 15-year old, Matt Owens, finished 10th overall with a time of 1:37:53. In all, nearly 400 individuals and 37 teams made for a full slate of racing... Missouri native Brad Huff recovered sufficiently from his Tour of Missouri crash to compete in the 2007 USA Cycling Elite Track National Championships. As the top seed in the individual pursuit title, Huff was surprisingly bested by the rapidly rising star of Taylor Phinney. In one of the more remarkable stories of 2007, the 17-year old Phinney has re-stamped his famous last name on a sport in which the high schooler has been competing for a very short time. This cycling prodigy is the son of cycling greats Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter... The Chicago Marathon experienced a tragedy yesterday when one runner died from the effects of record heat and stifling humidity. Reports indicate that over 49 runners were taken to area hospitals, while another 250 were treated onsite. Three people remained in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital late Sunday evening. About 10,000 of the 45,000 registered runners didn't start the race, while 10,934 started but didn't finish. The high heat index essentially forced race organizers to halt the event at 11:30am. Runners who hadn't reached the halfway point were diverted to the start and finish area, and those on the second half of the course were advised to drop out, walk or board cooling buses.

Oct 5 - Inside Ride Cycling Performance Systems is the company that brought us the Super Trainer, an actual bicycle treadmill. Now on a more practical level they offer E-Motion Rollers. At $800 a set, they are on the expensive side but will provide a superior indoor riding experience. Their web has a nice video gallery which enables viewers to see just how this product works.

Oct 4 - The XTERRA St Louis Trail Series advanced a pair of runners to the XTERRA Trail Running National Championship who found success on the national level. Congratulations to Robin Linfield of O'Fallon (F 30-39) and Deb Schopp of Ballwin (F 50-59) for winning their age groups. Way to go!... The Texas Time Trials bike races took place in Cleburne, Texas last week. Among the events staged was the Tejas-500. Last year St Louis area riders finished 3-4 in the 500-miler. This year's race saw Midwest riders capture the top three spots: 1-Paul Carpenter (IL) 30:57, 2-Larry Idle (IL) 32:58, 3-Dru Dixon (MO) 33:21... Making note of the team changes in the professional cycling scene these days is like trying to keep a scorecard through a 21-inning baseball game— there are plenty of player changes. The latest news came as no surprise when Johan Bruyneel, Alberto Contador, Benjamin Noval, and Sergio Paulinho moved en masse from the late Discovery Channel team to Astana. The word on the street is that former Disco teammates Janez Bragkovic, Levi Leipheimer, and Tomas Vaitkus are not far behind as well... Each October the Ironman Triathlon World Championship pits some of the best athletes in the world in a struggle against one another and the elements. In recent years the process of analyzing the increasingly deep men's field has proven to be complex. This year is no exception. In the old days, one could pick Dave Scott or Mark Allen as the front runner, and even more recently Peter Reid, and be reasonably certain your prognostication was accurate. Each have been multiple winners of the most coveted title in the mulitsport world. But a look at the 2007 men's field may yield more questions than answers. For example, how much leash will the men give defending champion Normann Stadler on the bike this year? And is Chris McCormack ready to finally take charge of the race? Can Simon Lessing effectively display his prodigious talent in an Iron-distance race? Is Faris Al-Sultan to be more than just a one-hit Kona wonder? Can Cameron Brown win an Ironman race not staged in New Zealand? Is half-Iron master Craig Alexander ready to double his distance and compete? Whatever happened to two-time champion Tim DeBoom? Can XTERRA star Eneko LLanos improve upon his surprising fifth place finish last year? Will Torbjorn Sindballe show he can run with the big boys? Will someone have an unexpected career-day on the big stage, such as Rutger Beke, Timo Bracht, Chris Lieto, Viktor Zyemtsev, or Luke Bell? And what is the once-proud, course record-holder Luc Van Lierde (8:04:08 in 1996) doing still racing with the pros? While the questions are nearly endless, the wait for October 13 is not. In little more than a week's time, it will be game-on in Kona and many of the answers will be learned.

Some athletes looking to jumpstart their 2008 seasons will take part in training camps. These are generally well-organized and structured getaways. While they can vary greatly, most lean toward the all-inclusive end of things which allows the athletes to focus primarily on training rather than logistics. Below is a very short list of camps from among the great many to choose.
Training Camps
Carmichael Training Systems	various	various	various	web
Multisports.com	triathlon	Encinitas, CA	February	web
La Loma Altitude Training Center	swim	San Luis Potosi, Mex.	year-round	web
Chris McCormack Triathlon Performance Camp	triathlon	San Diego, CA	July	web
Floyd Landis Power Training Camp	cycling	Temecula, CA	January	web
Epic Camp	triathlon	New Zealand	January	web

Oct 3 - There are signature races in most sports. For example, triathlon has Ironman Hawaii and running has the Boston Marathon. For mountain biking it may well be the 24 Hours of Moab, an event has grown to world-class proportions. On October 13-14, more than 5,000 racers, support crews, and spectators assemble in the MTB mecca that is southern Utah. web... The 2007 XTERRA National Trail Running Championship was held over the weekend at Incline Village (Lake Tahoe). Those who participated found conditons to be quite different from the heat and humidity they had often experienced in the summer-long, national qualifying series. The northern Nevada venue saw the thermometer dip to 40° and early snow laid along the trail. Drew Casselberry (34:38) and Giovanna Mandy (38:31) captured the titles and earned roundtrip airfare to Hawaii... Participants in the 2007 XTERRA USA Championship had to be shaking their heads about the freezing weather and snow just the day before their triathlon. What diference a day makes! On Sunday they were blessed with, albeit 58° water, a beautiful, sunny, 70° day. After missing last year's race due to a training ride crash, Conrad Stolz raced with a mission and won for his 4th time. In the women's division, Jamie Whitmore also returned with a 2006 frustration driving her. A series of flats in last year's race derailed her effort to win her 5th straight championship. The 2007 race was a different story as she continued her dominance in the event by making it 5 in 6 years. Former St Louis resident Kelly Hovland won the W 30-34 national title... If you are a fan of professional cycling and gaming, then VeloGames offers an appealing combination. This internet fantasy cycling page has been around for eleven years, gaining both in popularity and game-play sophistication. The next session begins in 2008. web... Pro cycling team Slipstream/Chipotle announced the winner of its team kit design contest. Joe Yule, a graphic designer and avid cyclist from Redondo Beach, CA will not only enjoy the unique satisfaction of seeing his design concept worn by the top U.S. cycling team, but also earned himself a Felt team issue bike, full team kit, and team autographed jersey... As the daylight dwindles, those after-work rides are becoming shorter unless you have a lights on your bike. The cost of a reliable and well-performing light system can set you back between two and four-hundred dollars, unless of course you buy the Betty. Gizmodo bills it as the world's brightest bicycle lamp. Check out the specs (and price). The comments are fun too, especially the guy who taped a mag light to his handle bars. web

Oct 1 - The Berryman Adventure Race, promoted as a real "ass kicker" on the event website, lived up to its name with just 5 of the 44 teams earning an official finish time. Team Eastern Mountain Sports won the 4-person co-ed divison. The St Louis area's Team Alpine Sports (Jeff Sona, Carrie Sona, David Frei, Doug Nishimura) finished 4th in that division. The 2-person open division was won by Team Monster Energy. web... Even though the UCI World Road Championships were staged in Stuttgart, Germany, they concluded with a distinctively Italian flavor. Paolo Bettini and Marta Bastianelli captured the men's and women's titles