Desert Classic Duathlon: by Victor R

Hello everyone:
It's that time of the year once again, dust off the ol' equipment, time to get in the pool, hit the road on wheels and sneakers and get ready for the upcoming triathlon season. I hope you all had a good recovery winter, well deserved after a grueling end of the year which culminated, for most of us, with the Silverman full and half. Now it's time to get back to biz, get serious about our training and set a few goals for the '09 year.

It was a pleasure seeing everyone at the club social held on Jan 24 at O'Aces Bar and Grill, I personally had a great time chatting with all of the club members and had the pleasure of meeting several new ones. I'd like to thank our main sponsor, Dr. Lobato for providing us with the finest tri club around. Also many thanks to our club president, Dave Carlson for all of his dedicated time and effort, Dave Reichert for his unselfish dedication to succeed, Nich Gallagher, Curtis Chin, Dave and Julie Hosea and the many others who make it possible to operate such a great organization....................

The Desert Classic Duathlon took place on Sunday, Feb 22 in Fountain Hills, AZ. Fountain Hills is a community located about an hour northeast of Phoenix in the beautiful Sonoran desert. The event consisted of a 3.5 mile run, a 21 mile bike, and capping it off with a 2.7 mile run. The initial trail run took the athletes through a gorgeous, smooth trail snaking its way around the saguaros, the bike course headed out of the McDowell Mtn Park into the highway, pretty hilly to say the least, and the final run caught everyone by surprise, a rocky trail, deep sand, a pretty steep hill and gnarly descent, ruts included.

Overall, it was a great event, perfect to start the season. The organizers did a superb job to provide the entrants with the best, safest possible venue. Plenty of food and drink awaited the weary racers, the volunteers were exceptional and the weather was ideal, low 50's in the morning and by noon, LOW 80's!!!..........Club members making the trip were, Jeremy Wallace, Annette Powell, Chris Matlock, Reenie Griffin and myself, plus a few others. For results please go to: www.desertclassicduathlon.com, and for event photos go to: www.fotojack.com.

There are a few events coming up both locally and out of town. March 21, Lake Havasu tri, March 28, Showdown at Sundown (Lake Las Vegas), April 18, Rage in the Sage, April 19, Newport Beach tri, May 2, X-Terra West Championsips, (Lake Las Vegas), May 9, St. George tri, Big Rock tri, Perris, CA, Iron Girl (Lake Las Vegas), May 17, Tempe tri, Tempe, AZ, May 30, 31, Dueces Wild, Show Low, AZ, June 13, Utah Summer Games tri, June 21, Ford Ironman Coeur d'Alene. For more information on upcoming triathlon events please go to: www.trifind.com............

Oh, by the way, our next club social will take place on Saturday, March 7 at the Fireside Inn, corner of St. Rose and Spencer on the east side of town, hope to see everyone there for a great time!!!...........For more info go to: www.lvtriclub.com.......

It's been nice getting in touch with everyone once again, keep an eye on the 'blog' as I will bring you the latest on upcoming events, results, and a few anecdotes about members and their experiences............Take care.........Victor.........