LONG DISTANCE CHAMPIONSHIP SET FOR SATURDAY : trifuel.com

LONG DISTANCE CHAMPIONSHIP SET FOR SATURDAY

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The top national event for long course triathletes, the USA Triathlon Halfmax National Championship, is set for Saturday, Sept. 16 in St. Louis, Mo.

The 500 competitors, who earned their spots at this championship by competing in qualifying events held throughout the country from April to September, will be racing for age group championship titles and up to $23,000 in gift certificates in the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run event.

They will also be racing for a spot on Team USA, with the top-5 athletes in each age group qualifying for the 2006 ITU World Long Distance Championship in Canberra, Australia in November. Slots will roll down to 10th place, if necessary.

Race director Mark Livesay of Ultramax Events expects a competitive race with Tim Hola (Boulder, Colo.) getting the nod as the person to beat in the men's race. Hola won the U.S. Half Triathlon Championship* a year ago with a time of 4 hours 10 minutes 39 seconds. He was named the2005 Amateur Athlete of the Year by Triathlete Magazine after earning age group wins at several Half Ironman and full Ironman events and a third-place age group finish at Ironman Hawaii.

In the women's race, look for Elizabeth Fedofsky (Naperville, Ill.) to be the favorite after winning the overall female title at the 2005 Ultramax Championship Series. She, too, is a defending champion from last year's U.S. Half Triathlon Championship. This year, she earned the overall female title for the Quartermax Triathlon.

Joe Friel will serve as guest speaker at the awards ceremony following the race, where he will talk about Gaining and Using Confidence in the sport of triathlon.

For more information on the event, visit http://www.halfmaxchampionship.com/raceinfo.php

*The Halfmax Triathlon and the U.S. Half Triathlon Championship were combined to form the new USA Triathlon Halfmax National Championship with a three-year partnership with USAT.

USA Triathlon is the national governing body for triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and winter triathlon in the United States. USAT sanctions 1,800 races and connects with more than 70,000 members each year, making it the largest multi-sport organization in the world.

Please visit USA Triathlon's web site at www.usatriathlon.org.