Miles Pile Up in USAT’s National Challenge Competition

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - If the performances of the 90 sanctioned clubs and 1,980 athletes that participated in USA Triathlon's National Challenge Competition are any indication, there really is no offseason for U.S. triathletes.

Designed to get triathletes excited about offseason training at the club level, the NCC saw its triathletes rack up nearly one million miles - 939,076 to be exact - over a three-month stretch from December through February.  

Clubs across the country went head-to-head to see who could log the most training miles during the competition. The NCC featured three sessions, each one month in duration. Clubs recorded their training miles and submitted them on NCC site for automatic calculation and ranking.

For the second straight year, the Triathlon Club of San Diego logged the most combined overall miles with 62,998.69, followed by the Buffalo Triathlon Club (Amherst, N.Y., 52,313.24) and the Hammerhead Triathlon Club (Jacksonville, Fla., 48,023.11).

"The athletes of the Triathlon Club of San Diego have proven again and again that they are not only dedicated to the advancement of their fitness, but also to that of the sport, the community and the club itself," said Buck Williamson, NCC team manager for the Triathlon Club of San Diego. "For a sport that is generally about individual athletes reaching their own personal goals, our athletes sure make a great team. It must be all the incredible event organizers and volunteers that bring us all together.

"We're glad to see that more and more clubs across the nation have joined the National Challenge Competition and are giving us a run for our money."

Individually, Pam Gudenau of Team Fraser Multisport in Fraser, Mich., posted 3,716.19 miles to top the female standings, while George Marck of Tri ATX in Amarillo, Texas, claimed the men's title for the second straight year with 4,683.38 miles.   

USA Triathlon would like to thank the following sponsors of the NCC: Hammer Nutrition, Gatorade, Yankz!, Endurance Films, Halo Lane Gainer and NuBound.

2010 Overall Session Award Winners
Club: Triathlon Club of San Diego, 62,998.69
Division I Club (250+ members): Triathlon Club of San Diego, 62,998.69
Division II Club (130-249 members): Pikes Peak Triathlon Club, 25,578.55
Division III Club (80-129 members): Boulder Triathlon Club, 29,500.13
Division IV Club (30-79 members): Tri-ATX, 20,832.51
Division V Club (2-29 members):  Team Fraser Multisport, 44,921.37
Individual Female: Pam Gudenau, Team Fraser Multisport, 3,716.19
Individual Male: George Marck, Tri ATX, 4,683.38

2010 Swim Session Award Winners
Club: Triathlon Club of San Diego, 1,017.28
First to Swim Benchmark: Triathlon Club of San Diego, 750 miles by Dec. 27
Individual Male: Rich Long, Tri ATX, 118.08
Individual Female: Kimberly Rodriguez, Triathlon Club of San Diego, 136.61

2010 Bike Session Award Winners
Club: Triathlon Club of San Diego, 19,916.45
First to Bike Benchmark: Triathlon Club of San Diego, 10,000 miles by Jan. 17
Individual Female: Pam Gudenau, Team Fraser Multisport, 1,623.1
Individual Male: George Marck, Tri ATX, 1,926.2

2010 Run Session Award Winners
Club: Hammerhead Triathlon Club, 4,929.08
First to Run Benchmark: Triathlon Club of San Diego, 3,000 miles
Individual Female: Laurie Kearney, Triathlon Club of San Diego, 298.2
Individual Male: Hunter MacLean, Jet City Tri, 349.94

For complete NCC session and overall results, please visit http://www.racetracker.ca/usat/index.cfm.

About USA Triathlon
USA Triathlon is proud to serve as the National Governing Body for triathlon - one of the fastest growing sports in the world - as well as duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 3,100 races and connects with nearly 130,000 members each year, making it the largest multisport organization in the world. In addition to its work with athletes, coaches, and race directors on the grassroots level, USAT provides leadership and support to elite athletes competing at international events, including World Championships, Pan American Games and the Summer Olympic Games.