The local season has ended. Abruptly.

Many of us living in the Baltimore-Washington area are totally spoiled by the abundance of local races, both multisport and in the individual disciplines of multisport. Few areas of the country offer the variety and frequency of competitions that we have here. After all, this is the region where the intrepid Ted Poulos set his record of 200 plus footraces of a mile or more-- and he continues to approximate that number each year. Thus, it was a complete surprise this year to have the local tri/du season end in October. I've been around a long time and I can't remember the last time that we haven't had a local duathlon available in November and December. It wasn't that long ago that we even did a duathlon within a week of Christmas!

One group that we could always count on for a late-year duathlon is the Triathlantic (nee Tri-Maryland) organization. The organization and its races have been featured regularly in this column. They provide more opportunity to do multisport competitions than any other group in the area. Their seemingly indefatigable leader, Brad Jaeger, has been a major force providing an indelible stamp on the multisport character of this region. He even kept things going a few years back when he was quite ill. He has been doing this for a lot of years and that's a pretty good way to define love of the sport. He has staged a great many races at minimal cost and with minimal help. He canceled this year's winter duathlon, saying in a statement on his Web site, "We couldn't find a suitable site....

We are tired.Our staff is completely worn out after 20 events this year - all with record numbers - and we sincerely need a break - nothing left in the tank." Please remember to give Brad (and other RDs in our region) your thanks for the considerable effort that is put out in race after race to assure that we have venues for testing our fitness. Also, volunteer for some of the races when you can. The availability of multisport challenges depends on avoiding burnout in those who love the sport enough to work hard to put on these contests. Thanks, Brad--and thanks to all the RDs in our locale that have helped make this area a great place for multisporters to live.

Triathlantic put on the last area event of the season, the...

GREETING OF THE GEESE DUATHLON

On October 27, the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary (MWS) in Prince George's County, MD hosted this contest, resurrected from a few years back, that allowed parents and kids to race in this idyllic resting spot for geese heading south in anticipation of our premature winter. Mom and Dad (and the other adults) embarked on their initial three-mile run through the fields and roads of MWS at 8:30 AM. (The kids' races followed about two hours later.) A tough, 15-mile bike on the roads surrounding the sanctuary preceded the final three-mile run.

Tommy Nelson (22) of Hyattsville averaged well over 24 miles-per- hour to earn the fastest bike split and hold off faster runners as he won the race in 1:10:46. Bowie's Bill Schultz (24) parlayed the fourth-best bike time and second-place on the second run to an overall second place in 1:12:02 to best Kensington's Solomon Kobes (27). Kobes, following the fastest initial run (at a 5:23-mile pace), was 21 seconds back in 1:12:23.

A trio of 50-year-olds nearly swept the masters honors among males. Jeff Timm (51), the ageless veteran from Bethlehem, PA, was the fifth individual competitor to cross the line with a strong fifth-place on the bike and a 1:13:29 showing. Steve Ruckert (53) of Woodbine, MD was second master (11th overall) in 1:16:20. A scant eight seconds barred Jean Pierre Bacle (52) of Alexandria from the third masters slot as he finished 17th (in 1:18:19), just behind Silver Spring's Thomas Glista (45), 1:18:11. Arlington's Phil Mitchell (61) took grandmasters honors in 2:13:12.

The women's race was won by a master. Jeanne Grillo's age (41) matched her overall place as the Potomac, MD resident used an excellent second run (6:05-mile pace) to run down second-place woman Andrea Marsh (36) of DC for top honors and a 1:24:14 clocking. Marsh's strong bike brought her across the line in 1:26:36, good enough for 52nd place overall. King George, VA's Whitney Johnson (32) took the show position (and 57th place) 1:22 later in 1:27:58.

Clarksville's Janet Jones (44) and Abingdon's Deanna Perry (43) duked it out for second-place master as the two Maryland residents used their very different strengths to make their marks. Jones was up by over two minutes after the first run, but Perry's strong bike (beating almost two-thirds of the mostly- male field of 214) left her with a lead of about three minutes entering the second run. Jones's come-from-behind win was based on her slightly faster time on the second run than the first. Jones finished in 1:34:42, in 92nd place overall. Perry was one place and 39 seconds back in 1:35:21. Clarksville's vet Judi Carbary took top grandmaster (50+) honors with a 1:37:31 clocking in 106th place.

NOTES AND NEWS

It's that time of year. Multisport championship time! See the article by Mary Kuta and Steve Smith in this issue about the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Duathlon Championships... Congratulations are also due to participants both at the Ironman World Championships in Kona and the ITU World Triathlon Championship in Cancun...

In Cancun on Nov. 9, despite brutal 95-degree temperatures and 70% humidity, US age-groupers garnered more than half of the medals. The medical tents were very busy. The US took all but one of the gold medals in women's age groups (AG)...

In Cancun, special kudos to two Annandale women at opposite ends of the age spectrum: Margie Shapiro and Marge Stahl (third in the 70+ AG). Shapiro continued an awesome year by finishing as the third woman in Cancun and second (31 seconds behind another US athlete) in her AG (25-29). Rockville's Christy Underdonk (featured in an earlier column) finished 12th in the tough 30-34 AG. McLean's Andrea Dvorak was 15th among women 20-24. Among men, Timonium's Otho Keller finished sixth overall and second in the 25- 29 AG. DC's Brian Leske won the above-knee amputee male race. I hope we didn't miss anyone!

Well, Poolesville's Bill Riggs (33) is Iron. Superbly done, Bill! Riggs did the Great Floridian, an Ironman distance (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) race on October 19th -the same day as the Kona race. Despite what were, at times, daunting temperatures, darkness, and passing very near the finish several times on the marathon, Riggs finished in 16:07:02, a great result. This is all the more remarkable because, as noted in earlier columns, Riggs has Charcot-Marie- Tooth disorder, an inherited neurological disease with progressive degeneration of muscles in the limbs (notably the extremities of the limbs) and both loss of sensation and impairment of function...While jogging the first mile of the Montgomery County Road Runners' Turkey Burnoff with Bill, he notified me that he is the Multisport representative on the Board of the All-American Bicycle Club. They are planning both a duathlon and a triathlon for next year at Black Hills Regional Park in Montgomery County...

Send me your Notes & News: Jim.