Changes are a brewing for the new Triathlon One O One series. The inaugural Triathlon One O One event scheduled to take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2007 has been postponed until 2008. The event was originally scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 2, 2007 but has now been rescheduled for Sunday, August 31, 2008. It was stated in the press release that the postponement was a result of the recent resignation of the local race director.

Athletes registered for the 2007 Triathlon One O One Halifax race can request a 100% refund of their entry fee, receive a $100 gift certificate for use at any future Triathlon One O One event, or they may transfer their entry to another Triathlon One O One event.

The only race left on the 2007 Triathlon One O One schedule is the championship event which is scheduled for Sunday, November 11, 2007 in The Woodlands, TX which is just North of Houston. The championship event will feature age group and professional athletes, as well as a $150,000 professional prize purse.

In an effort to attract more athletes to their events, the race promoters have expanded their distance offerings. They will now feature a 25.5 mile sprint triathlon and 50.5 mile middle distance triathlon besides their original 101 mile distance. The new distances will be available for the November race in The Woodlands, TX and for all of the Triathlon One O One events in 2008.

The Life Time Fitness Triathlon is scheduled to take place next weekend, Saturday, July 14, 2007 in Minneapolis, MN and based on the race schedule and the prize money it appears that the "Battle of the Sexes" format is over for now. As a spectator, it was exciting to see the men play catch up with the women all day, the real excitement came down to the run as they looped the lake twice.

In 2002 the Life Time Fitness Triathlon introduced big prize money and a new and exciting race format to the sport of triathlon for the pros. The new format was called the "Battle of the Sexes" and it paired the best women and best men triathletes from around the world against each other in a head-to-head competition. The race format featured an equalizer, a unique timing structure that allowed the professional women and men to compete on equal ground. Basically, the equalizer allowed the pro women to start ahead of pro men by a predetermined amount of time, which resulted in exciting and dramatic races to the finish.

In the inaugural race the pro men started 9 minutes and 39 seconds after the pro women; Barb Lindquist finished ten seconds in front of Becky Gibbs and 15 seconds ahead of the first male, Australian Greg Walton to win the $50,000 first place prize. In 2006 the women's handicap was 9 minute and 49 seconds and Hunter Kemper not only battled the women but the heat to take first place and the $200,000 first place prize ($170,000 and a $30,000-value 2006 Toyota RAV4). In it's five year history, the women lead the men 3-2 in overall victories. We'll have to see if they bring it back some day.

In 2006 Life Time Fitness introduced the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series which links four premier Olympic distance triathlons in the United States together (Nautica New York City Triathlon, Accenture Chicago Triathlon, Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Triathlon, Life Time Fitness Triathlon) for a prize purse of more than $1,000,000. Any professional male and/or female triathlete (or both) who wins each of the four Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series events in a given Series year will win the Series bonus of $200,000 in addition to the prize money offered by each respective event. The 2007 Life Time Fitness Triathlon will be the 2006 Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series Championship. The Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series was expanded earlier this year to include a new Championship event, the Toyota U.S. Open Triathlon in Dallas, TX in October.

Ironman Arizona which is schedule to take place on Sunday, April 13, 2008 in Tempe, Arizona is close to selling out. It's an early season Ironman event for us in North America but It's hard to believe that this event is not sold out as other Ironman events in North America sell out in a matter or hours. Ironman Coeur d'Alene which just took place on June 24th, 2007 is already sold out for 2008. The fourth annual Ford Ironman Arizona triathlon (2.4mi Swim, 112mi Bike, 26.2mi Run) has quickly become a top-rated event and currently has 1949 athletes signed up with a race cap of 2000 triathletes.

The Arizona race course is very spectator friendly. The swim which takes place in Tempe Town Lake looks more like a river than a lake. Spectators can follow the entire swim race from the Mill Avenue bridge or by simply walking along the shore. The three-loop bike and run courses are close to the transition area and gives spectators a better chance of seeing the athletes throughout the entire race.

Registration is currently open for the Ironman Arizona event but not for long as it's close to selling out. The entry fee for the 2008 Ironman Arizona race is $475.00 (plus an Active.com service fee). You can register for the event here (link).

Marino Vanhoenacker, who melted in the hot and humid conditions two months ago at the inaugural running of the Triathlon One O One race in Bradenton, Florida excelled today in Klagenfurt at Ironman Austria. The mild weather conditions helped the defending Belgian champion seal the deal for his 2nd consecutive title at Ironman Austria with a time of 8:06:39. Vanhoenacker had a blazing 4:21:14 split on the bike and a 2:53:28 on the run to finish 13 minutes ahead of Norbert Langbrandtner of Austria. Max Longree of Germany had the fastest marathon split with a time of 2:43:51 but trailed Vanhoenacker on the bike by 20 minutes, Longree finished in third place.

In the women's race, Edith Niederfriniger of Italy won in a time 9:08:47, edging out Veronika Hauke of Austria by 46 seconds. Niederfriniger who trailed Lisa Hütthaler by nine minutes after the bike managed to chase down Hütthaler, Rebecca Preston and Hauke with her 3:07:26 marathon split, the fastest of the day to take the lead during the last 10km of the run. Hütthaler faded on the run and did not finish the race. Desiree Ficker had the 2nd fastest bike split of the day 4:58:59 but had to serve a six minute penalty in T2 for drafting, she ultimately finished in seventh place behind Hillary Biscay who finished in sixth place.

Ironman Austria Results:

Coach Troy Jacobson releases a new 'Virtual Reality' training ride DVD. While it's a little too late for this year’s 2007 Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon, scheduled to take place on July 22, 2007, it's just what you need to have to train for next year’s race if you can get a entry once registration opens.

From the Spinervals "On The Road" virtual reality series comes On the Road 2.0 - Lake Placid Training Ride (MSRP: $34.95). Filmed in a 'Virtual Reality' format, you'll feel like you're actually riding with Coach Troy, on his wheel, as you see the scenery whisk by. He coaches you along the way on proper gearing and technique in a training session designed to make you a faster and stronger on the Lake Placid course.

DVD Description:
Enjoy incredible scenery as you ride on Troy's wheel as he coaches you on proper technique, gear selection and intensity during this high aerobic endurance training ride of about three hours in duration. As this ride covers much of the race course for the famous Iron distance event in Lake Placid, you'll hear tips and suggestions on race day nutrition, pacing strategy and more!

Starting in Lake Placid, the ride takes you down the hill to the town of Keene then over rolling hills to the sleepy town of Jay. The climbing really starts on the way to Wilmington, with an out and back section on Haselton Road that shocks the legs. Once back in Wilmington, the last leg of the ride includes a 14 mile uphill jaunt back to Lake Placid with the incredible White Face Mountain and the Au Sable River on your right side. Overall, this is a cycling workout for the record books and a fantastic training workout!

Visit www.spinervals.com to order your copy of this new DVD from Coach Troy Jacobson.

The largest and most popular lake in New Mexico, Elephant Butte Lake gets a new Olympic distance triathlon.

Triathlon: Elephant Man Triathlon
When: Sunday, September 30, 2007 @ 8:00 AM
Where: Elephant Butte Lake State Park, Elephant Butte, NM, USA
Divisions: Age-Group
Website: www.mannonmotion.com/emt

This intermediate distance triathlon will perhaps be the longest and most challenging course in the state left this year. This is due to the fact that one of the other Olympic distance triathlons in New Mexico this year, the Las Vegas Triathlon scheduled for Sunday, July 29, 2007 at Storrie Lake State Park, appears to be canceled. The Elephant Man course will be scenic and be one of the only times Elephant Butte Dam is open to the public. This will be a USAT sanctioned triathlon event.

Course Description:
 • The swim is a one mile loop in Elephant Butte Lake (water temperature averages 74° F; wet suits will be allowed).
 • The bike course will be hilly and challenging, but beautiful. The 26.5 mile loop travels north through the city of Elephant Butte and along the perimeter of the lake before a climb up and out to the other side of I-25.
 • The six mile run provides a unique opportunity to cross Elephant Butte Dam. The initial and final portions of the out and back run will be along graded trail just steps from the beach and campsites.

Bangkok, Thailand (July 10 2007) - Pranburi International Triathlon will be the first international sporting event to be held in the central southern Thai town of Pranburi located close to Hua Hin.

The race will take place on 20th October at Evason Six Senses Resort & Spa and will consist of a swim in the warm waters of the Gulf of Thailand, a bike course close to Sam Roi Yot National Park and a run through the fishing villages and along the coast of Pranburi with a beach finish. There will be an Olympic distance course with individual and relay competitions (1.5 kilometer swim, 40km cycle, 10 km run) as well as a sprint distance race (750 m swim, 20 km cycle, 5 km run).

Six Senses Evason Hua Hin Resort & Spa will host the event and is offering a first prize package consisting of a three night stay in a two-bedroom pool suite villa at the super deluxe Evason Hideaway resort. Awards will also be given to the first three finishers in each age group category.

A pre-race dinner will be provided at Evason Resort and the race will be followed by an extravagant awards ceremony around the swimming pool overlooking the beach on the evening of 20th October.

Australia's Greg Bennett and Vanessa Fernandes from Portugal played catch up on the run to win their respective divisions at the 2007 Life Time Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Olympic distance race featured a top caliber field of international professional's including defending champions Hunter Kemper and Emma Snowsill. For the win they each take home the first place prize of $60,000. Greg Bennett also received a separate $60,000 bonus check for winning the 2006 Life Time Triathlon Series points championship. Just last month his wife Laura took home the $200,000 first place prize at the ITU World Cup race in Des Moines, Iowa. Laura raced but finished in sixth place and took home a check for $4,000 for her effort.

The weather conditions for this year’s race were ideal, in the mid 60's at the start of the race. This was a contributing factor in the blazing times in the men’s division as Bennett set a new course record with a time of 1:48:49, breaking Craig Walton's old mark of 1:49:33 set in 2003. Bennett wasn't the only one to beat the old record, both Bruno Pais of Portugal (1:49:13) and Craig Alexander of Australia (1:49:24) were faster than the old record.

This year’s race didn't have much of the hoopla or buzz that previous races had when the Life Time Fitness Triathlon hosted the big prize money and the "Battle of the Sexes" format for the professionals. The format paired the best women and best men triathletes from around the world against each other in a head-to-head competition with a big prize purse. While maybe controversial, the equalizer format was unique and exciting and it gave the age-group athletes and spectators bragging rights at the end of the day depending on who won. Now the focus and prize money has shifted towards the new Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series now in its second year of existence. We will have to see if this race continues to invite the top professionals from around the world to race now that's this is just another triathlon.

Men’s Race Summary:
Two guys on the comeback trail exited the water at the front of the pack. Craig Walton who has been battling glandular fever for the last couple of year was first with a time 17:50 and Hunter Kemper who's lower back injury has limited his racing this year was second with a time of 18:05. Bennett emerged in eight place but only 26 seconds behind Walton. Local professional and Triathlon One O One double winner David Thompson emerged in a time of 19:27 and was about 2 minutes, 30 seconds down when he set off on his bike. Thompson pretty much knew everyone was already out on the course, but that wasn’t something that would faze him.

• David Thompson coming into T2 in first place • Matt Reed coming into T2 • Julie Dibens coming into T2 in first place • Bruno Pais in first place on the run • Craig Alexander half way into the run • Hunter Kemper and Rasmus Henning on the run • Bevan Docherty on the run • Greg Bennett celebrating his victory at the finish line • Greg Bennett celebrating his victory with the spectators • David Thompson finishing his run • Vanessa Fernandes smiling towars the finish line • Emma Snowsill coming in for 2nd place • Julie Dibens and Becky Lavelle after finishing 3rd and 4th • Vanessa and Greg talking after getting their prize money

Nautica New York City Triathlon
Defending Champions Bennett and Snowsill Repeat as Champions

Just a week ago, Greg Bennett, Hunter Kemper, Craig Walton, Julie Dibens and Emma Snowsill raced in Minneapolis at the Life Time Fitness Triathlon. Bennett won the men's title and the Snowsill finished in second. Last year this pair won the Olympic distance Nautica New York City Triathlon and today against another quality field of professionals they won again. Hunter who finished fourth and Walton who DNF'd because of a cracked bike frame in Minneapolis are looking strong on their comeback trail. Dibens who had the fastest bike split in Minneapolis was again ahead on the bike in New York, coming in almost 2 minutes ahead of Snowsill. For their win Bennett and Snowsill each take home a check for $8,000. This is the second race in the Life Time Fitness Triathlon Series. Bennett who was the point’s leader after his win in Minneapolis extends his lead while Snowsill who was in second place in the point standings take over first place.

2007 Nautica New York City Triathlon Results:

- For more results and coverage of the race in New York check the Nautica New York City Triathlon website (link).

Ironman USA Lake Placid
Pre-Race Favorite Belinda Granger Wins

Today's other race in New York was the ninth running of the sold-out Ironman USA Lake Placid triathlon which featured 2,000 athletes from around the world. This year’s race was a women’s only professional race, meaning no professional men raced because the $50,000 prize purse was only for the women. It's assumed that the 2008 race will alternate back to a professional men's only prize purse since it was that kind of race in 2006. Today's pre-race favorite was four-time Ironman Champion Belinda Granger against a decent field of other Ironman race champions; Karen Holloway (Ironman Canada in 2005) and Tereza Macel (Ironman Korea in 2006) and others. Karen Smyers was scheduled to race but did not. After the swim Granger hammered on the hills and took a controlling lead with her 5:14:48 bike split. She entered T2 with almost a sixteen minute lead over Tyler Stewart. Granger's was strong on the run but struggled in the last half as Stewart was cutting down the deficit. Stewart was eight minutes faster than Granger on the run but Granger's lead was too much, Stewart ended up finishing in second place six minutes in front to Erika Csomor. Just a week ago Csomor finished in second place at the Lorient ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in Europe. For her win, Granger takes home a check for $14,000. On the men’s side, 26-year-old and fourth year medical student Alex Mroszczyk-McDoanld surged during the last half of the run to win the men’s title.

2007 Ironman USA Lake Placid Results:

- For more results and coverage of the race in Lake Placid check the Ironman USA Lake Placid website (link).

As expected, the 10th anniversary running of Ironman USA Lake Placid scheduled to take place next year on Sunday, July 20, 2008 is a sell out! This popular race is one of the seven Ironman branded triathlons in North America, not including the World Championship race in Hawaii. The only other race in North America that is currently sold out is Ironman Coeur d'Alene. In Europe Ironman Austria and Ironman Germany are sold out for 2008 as well. Ironman Arizona which is scheduled to take place in April of 2008 is still accepting applications and is very close to being sold out (Register for Ironman Arizona).

It seems that on-site registration for next years race in Lake Placid was in high demand which caused a one-hour delay in the scheduled on-line registration process. Only 800 spots were available online and those sold out in a matter of minutes after opening.

Here are two methods to register for next years race if you were unable to do so today.

North America Sports has announced it will offer 150 Community Fund entry slots for the 2008 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid race. What is a Community Fund entry?

The Ironman Community Fund provides a financial opportunity for North America Sports to help those in the community who support our events, with a heavy emphasis on providing sports opportunities for children. Athletes who compete in Ironman events help to raise resources for the Ironman Community Fund through the purchase of Ironman Community Fund spots. A Community Fund Entry is $1000.

The entries will be available starting Thursday, July 26th at 9:00 am EST. Basically you end up donating $550 to the Community Fund after paying the $450 race entry fee. If you are interested in securing a Community Fund spot go to www.nasports.com/commfund.

Triathlon: Powell³ Triathlon Challenge
When: Saturday, October 13, 2007 @ 9:00 AM
Where: Wahweap Bay, Lake Powell, Wahweap, AZ, USA
Divisions: Age-group
Website: www.powell3.com

Scenic Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in North America with its red sandstone rocks, tall canyon walls and deep blue waters is set to host a new triathlon for the state of Arizona. The First Annual Powell³ Triathlon at the Stateline Marina in Wahweap on the Utah-Arizona border will offer Sprint and Olympic distance races, making it the perfect event for everyone from beginners to experienced triathletes. The Sprint triathlon will consist of a 750me Swim, 12mi Bike, 5km Run while the Olympic distance triathlon will be 1500me Swim, 24.85mi Bike, 10km Run. The swim will be in Wahweap Bay, and the bike and run will travel through the scenic beauty surrounding the lake. This will be a USAT sanctioned triathlon event.

Awards will be given 3 deep in each age group category as well as top 3 men and women overall in addition to Fastest Split awards! Additional awards will be given to the top Clydesdale (men over 200 lbs) and Athena (women over 145 lbs) categories for each distance.

If you are looking for a perfect end of the season race in a scenic location then check this race out. The even it being produced by Gold Medal Racing, a group of experienced triathletes who recognize the need for professionally managed, athlete-focused, destination-oriented events.

Here are a couple of products to help you stay hydrated this summer while it's hot out during your training or longer distance races. These triathlon related products are unique in the sense that they offer dual chambers for you to store a mix of products.

Swigz Dual-Chamber Sports Bottle

Here is a new 24oz dual-chamber water bottle just released. The Swigz Dual-Chamber Sports Bottle features two independent 12oz intertwined chambers with corresponding dual color coded sport tops. You can use it to store any combination of drinks, for example water on one side and your favorite electrolyte replacement drink on the other side or a pre-workout drink on one side and your recovery drink on the other. No matter what combination you mix, you'll have what you need to stay out on the road. The Swigz sport bottles are made from durable and recyclable materials, and are designed to fit all standard bike bottle cages. Get your SWIGZ Endurance Dual Hydration Sports Bottle (MSRP: $14.95) at Amazon.com or GoldsGear.com.


PodiumQuest Hydration System

If you you need more than 24oz of fluid to stay hydrated on your ride then you might want to check out the PodiumQuest Hydration System. This 50oz water bottle unit is designed to slide on to your aero bars. It's a double chamber water bottle unit that has a 23oz upper chamber and a 27oz lower chamber which is the equivalent of 2 normal sized water bottles. Like the Swigz water bottle, this unit allows you to have your favorite mixture of fluids on your bike whether it's a training or race day. Each fluid compartment has a separate straw that extends for drinking. The unit is translucent so you can see your fluid levels at all times. You can buy this product directly from CEE GEES (MSRP: $46.95).

In the sport of triathlon and others sports, hydration is key especially in the hot days of summer. Our performance and well being is directly related to how well we replenish our body with fluids. In my previous post "Triathlon Training or Race Day Hydration Gear" I talked about specific gear you can use while you are out training or racing to keep yourself hydrated. The post did not talk about what you should do to keep yourself well hydrated, like what you should drink, how much should you drink and so on. There are is a lot of information out there, but sometimes it just too technical for the average triathlete to follow.

The Running Wild with Coach Joe blog has put together a simple, non-technical, list that covers the basics of hydration. Here is preview of the "Ten things runners and triathletes need to know about hydration" post, make sure to check out his post for the rest of the list:

1. You need to be well hydrated before you start your run or workout. If you start partially dehydrated, it only gets worse from there.

Ten things you need to know about hydration [via Running Wild with Coach Joe]

Joe English is the author of the Running Wild blog as well as Head Coach of American Endurance Sports Coaching and the Team in Training Marathon Program in Portland, Oregon. He is also the running coach for the Portland Triathlon Club. He is also an expert level marathon runner and triathlete and also runs ultra-marathons.

On back-to-back weekends Craig Alexander, the 2006 Ironman 70.3 World Champion has done it again, this time winning his 4th Ironman 70.3 title at the inaugural running of the Newfoundland Ironman 70.3 race in Deer Lake, Newfoundland. Last weekend Alexander was in California where he pulled of a come from behind win at the Vineman Ironman 70.3 race. Alexander was the pre-race favorite but he faced stiff completion all day from fellow Aussie Richie Cunningham as their splits show. Cunningham crossed the finish line 28 seconds behind Alexander for second place. Marcel Vifian and Leon Griffin were in the hunt but lost ground to Cunningham and Alexander on the run.

Six days is all that Alexander needed between half ironman distance triathlons to recover and race hard and pull off another victory, amazing. On the women's side, fellow Australian Melissa Ashton was the pre-race favorite. She gets the win over Canadian Magali Tisseyre by seven minutes.

2007 Newfoundland Ironman 70.3 Results:

- For more results and coverage of the race in Newfoundland check the Newfoundland Ironman 70.3 website (link).

Denver, Colorado (July 28, 2007) - Ironman China Ltd. (ICL), announced today that it has entered into a hosting agreement with the City of Haikou, Hainan for the staging of the inaugural Ironman China triathlon. This first-ever Ironman in China will take place on April 20, 2008 in Haikou, the capital city of Hainan Province.

"After several years of planning, including two postponements, we're extremely pleased to announce that Ironman China will at last be staged next year on April 20," said Robert D. Vernon, president of ICL. "We have cemented our relationships with both the World Triathlon Corporation and the China Triathlon Sports Association, and we've moved the event to Haikou where we have the enthusiastic support of the City and Provincial governments. Everything is signed, sealed and delivered, and we are already months into the preparation of what we expect will be an extraordinary Ironman experience."

"The race course is 100% world-class," said Murphy Reinschreiber of PCH Sports, a partner in ICL. "The City is re-designing a beach front area to host the swim start and transition area. The two-loop bike course provides athletes with at least two full lanes available to cyclists at all times, and the run course, which traverses Haikou's beach front, city parks and downtown city streets, is flat with the exception of two crossings of Haikou's signature New Century Bridge. While we expect the weather to be hot, a good deal of the run course will be shaded by palms."

ITU star Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal claims another victory, this time at the 2007 Salford BG Triathlon World Cup race in Salford, England. This was her 17th ITU World Cup win of her young career. She finished 19 seconds ahead of Samantha Warriner of New Zealand and 25 seconds ahead of third place finisher Kate Allen of Austria. Local favorite Andrea Whitcombe finished in fourth.

On the men’s side top ranked Javier Gomez of Spain used a fast swim and run to win the men’s race at the 2007 Salford BG Triathlon World Cup. He finished 12 seconds ahead of Brad Kahlefeldt of Australia. Simon Whitfield of Canada, the winner of last weeks Kitzbuhel World Cup race finished in third 18 seconds behind Gomez.

2007 Salford BG Triathlon World Cup Results:

For more results and coverage of the race in Salford check out the International Triathlon Union's website (link).