UPDATES:

Local triathlete Brian Carter going to Ironman Nice and running with the bulls in Spain.
Read all about it in today's El Paso Times. 

 

Here's your May "Bit's & Pieces" updates. Nothing earth shattering,  but well informed makes for well prepared.

First, don't forget that registration by mail for the White Sands, "Beat the Heat" tri closes on May 29, faxe/e-mail deadline is June 4. Registration forms for Milkman and the two Bottomless races have been mailed out. If you haven't received yours, go to the websites which can be found on our "Schedule" tab.

 

There is a lot of excitement building for the Memorial Day weekend race at Ruidoso. This is their inaugural year as part of the Southwest Challenge Series. It's the perfect three day weekend location for a race. Registration is still open, but lodging is filling fast. Delay at your own risk.

 

Besides Milkman & White Sands, June is a busy month. Gallup is on June 12, and the Chick-Fil-A tri in Amarillo on the 19th. Foodwise, Chick-Fil_A has GOT to be about the best sponsor on the planet. Last year, the rain drove everyone under tents and no one cared as we stuffed ourselves with chicken & stuff! Cool granite slab awards also.. They have a new website: www.chickfilasprinttriathlon.com

This is different from what is on our schedule. Use this new one to register.

 

And on the 27th, the BIG ONE! Buffalo Springs 70.3. Hope you've begun your training. This past weekend was their warm-up race of Buffman & Squeaky. A cruel wake-up call each year if anyone has forgotten how challenging this course can be. Actually, "warm-up" was a misnomer this year. Water temp was 62 degrees ( I think that's a lie, felt a lot more arctic than that, but then I'm not known for my body fat). Once out of the water racing conditions were idyllic.

 

Okay, down the road there is a change of which everyone should take note. There is some MAJOR roadwork going on up at Los Alamos. Biking is now out of the question. So rather than cancelling the event, the Los Alamos triathlon to be held on August 21, will be a run / swim / run. It's a 7K run, a 400 Meter swim (pool), ending with a 5K run.  This was an unexpected and unavoidable circumstance. Normally the Series does not sanction aquathons, but this situation developed very recently. So the race will still be points eligible and this format is for this year only.

 

In other events, our friends at Holloman Air Force Base will be holding a bike race on June 5. This is the same day as the Milkman. Of course, it is not a Series event,  and no series points will be attached. But if you are not planning on going to Milkman this might be a great training opportunity.  They've been a great friend to the Series, so we're glad to help them out. You can download the app for this here:

 

John LeRoy has the points tallied through the Atomic Man Duathlon. Please check out your individual points on this site and let him know of any errors.

 

I also want to notify everyone that our triathlon family must bid adieu to three of our great athletes. George Ferland, Mr Studly Clydesdale will be returning to Maine. George was with us for only one year, did eight races, and grabbed the Under 40 championship in 2009.

 

Kyle Wackenheim, also with us only a short time, will be leaving in June.Kyle also did eight races in and finshed 2nd in the 25-29 category.

 

Finally, our lady speedster and 30-34 champ, Trisha Stavinoha, is being transferred by the military sometime this year. She was also only with us for a year.

 

All three will be remembered as much for their affability as their athletic ability.

 

We'll miss you all and are always welcome back. Good luck from your friends in the desert!
URGENT UPDATE: 

 

Organizing races is a lot like running a small business, and these are the toughest of times for small businesses. Sadly, I have just learned that two more races have to fold their tents for 2010. Just a day after I posted a welcoming note for the return of the Defined Fitness events, I have been informed that they just couldn't make it work for this year.

 

So the Rio Ranco Duathlon, scheduled for May 23 is officially cancelled. Likewise, their sister event, the West Mesa Classic Triathlon, scheduled for August 29 is also cancelled.

 

Our webmaster, Sean Connery, will make the appropriate changes to our online calendar, and John LeRoy will likewise inform all those on his mailing list.

 

At this time every other event looks solid, so there are still PLENTY of chances to rack up those points!

UPDATES:

First off,.we are proud to welcome Athlete's Honey Milk as a new co-sponsor of the Southwest Challenge Series. A high carb sports drink, Honey Milk is ideal for the competitve athlete Our old friend, Mike Greer of Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 Ironman Triathlon, is the area representative. We'll be handing out free samples to participants  of the Southwest Chalnge Series events. You won't find a tastier drink with the added bonus of that uplift you'll need at just the right time. 

 

As for the Series, Spring is upon us and just about every weekend from now to October will offer a racing opportunity. We're putting winter behind us with two more races in the history books. Alpine's Super Sully Sprint was again cold and windy, but at least the snowstorm of the day before had blown through by gun time. Gonzo (Bobby Gonzales) added to his legend and file of "shake your head" stories by running the hilly course backwards, having a flat, ruining his Zipp rims, and still ekeing out a first overall win in the last lane of the pool. Coincidentally, I gave him a bottle of Honey Milk before the race!

 

For the first time that I can remember the Wind Triathlon at White Sands failed to live up to it's moniker as the athletes enjoyed light winds and moderate weather. We have a new player on the scene for this year. David Fairbanks is both a Clydesdale and a locomotive. He has been shredding all Clydesdale records, since his debut here in the Southwest, and now he has his first Series Overall title under his belt with an impressive win at the Wind Tri.

 

Coming up we have  an athlete's choice on Sunday, April 18. Most athletes will be converging on Rio Ranco for the Spring Fling Sprint, one of Mark Mico's always professionally run events. I will be there with all the 2009 Southwest Challenge Series awards that have yet to be picked up. I 'm sure Mark Mico will allow me a few moments to make an informal presentation to acknowedge the accomplishments of our Northern friends.

 

Further south at Holloman AFB in Alamogordo, the Raptor Duathlon will be taking place. While we make every effort here at the Series to prevent two races on the same date, this one took us by surprise and was unavoidable. Originally scheduled for the 11th, military matters made a change of date on short notice mandatory. The application for this race can be found by scrolling down on this page. Remember this is a military base so entry to the base is not flexible. Make sure your papers are in order, your guests names have been included with your registration, and you're at the gate early.

 

Lastly in April is the most viviously challenging duathlon in the Series. The Atomic Man in Los Alamos, offers a choice between the grueling Fat Man course, or the gentler, kinder Little Boy. For those of you who may not be history buffs, both races are named after the two bombs dropped on Japan at the end of World War II. Los Alamos was the site of the Manhattan Project which produced them. I wonder if the scientists at the time knoew they were laying the groundwork for one of the toughest duathlons on the planet?

 

May is full with exciting opportunities. Jay Bensonis first up on the 9th. Thsi race has been full for some time.If you still want to try getting in, you might call Angie Kandalaft at 505-837-9400, but don't get your hopes up.

 

The Greers kick off their 2010 slate of events with the dual offering of Buffman & Squeaky or the Dog House Sprint on the 16th. Buffman is the perfect warm-up for the 70.3 in June.

 

The following weekend Rio Rancho will have a USAT sanctioned Duathlon. This event welcomes back the old Defined Fitness outfit which has returned to the scene under a new name after an absence of a few years. They were always known for professional, challenging events, and I'm sure we can all expect the same this year. They will also have a triathlon in the fall which can be found on the schedule.

 

The last weekend in May brings another new race to the Series. The Ruidoso Sprint Tri should be a great new additon.  It should be pointed out that thhis race is on the Memorial Day weekend. As Ruidoso is a prime tourist destination, I suggest making you reservations early.

 

All information and registration forms for these May races can be found the respective websites as listed under the "Schedule" tab on this website.

 

Finally, remember to follow up on your points and alert John LeRoy of any errors. Other than that Happy training, try out Athlete's Honey Milk and we'll see you at the races!

 

Cheers,

Mark Balsiger

  RAPTOR DUATHLON:  Holloman has some kind of maneuvers going on or whatever the equivalent is called in the Air Force. So, the Raptor is moving to a week later than scheduled. It will be on Sunday, April 18. All other particulars are the same.  It seems along with date change the Holloman group forgot to add registration form to their website so here is the registration form - The form says 2009 but this is the form for 2010.  Please don't forget to register with your age as of Dec 31, 2010.  Any guests that will not be participating should be on a separate paper with the registration form.

Jay Benson (May 9) is already sold out. If you want to get on their waiting list, call Sport Systems in Albuquerque. Their number is 505-837-9400.

 

Registration for Elephabnt Man has just opened at: www.imathlete.com/events/elephantmantriathlon

 

The deadlines for the Wind Triathlon at White Sands are coming up fast. March 19 by mail; March 26 by fax or e-mail.

 

Also that same date in Albuquerque is the Spring Fling up north in Rio Rancho. Registration details on their website.

 

Finally, the new El Paso race "Eagle in the Sun" (September 5) has launched their website www.raceelpaso.com

 

I'll be hauling the unclaimed 2009 SWCS awards to each of these races. Be sure and run me down if you haven't picked yours up yet.

 

Hope the training is going well and we'll see ya'll at the races!

 

Cheers,

Mark Balsiger

First some major and minor announcements. The MVTC Triathlon scheduled for March 28 has been cancelled. You will all remember that Don Shepan suffered major health problems last year which necessitated the cancellation of the race in 2009. He & Genia are still not feeling  up to the stress of orgainising a major race. We wish the Shepans all the best and thank them for all their years of work and dedication. In recognition of their past service and the heath challenges of last year, the Series recognised Don & Genia at the recent awards ceremony with a special tribute to express our thanks.

 

Some minor changes to the scedule involve a weekend swap between the Polar Bell and Jingle Bell triathlons. The Polar Bear will now be on Saturday, December 4. The Jingle Bell will be on Sunday, December 12. Remember that thises races will count for the 2011 season.

 

The awards ceremonies for 2009 have come and gone. The first was a semi-formal dinner held in El Paso on January 16. As noted before, this was an extraordinary bringing together of two generations of triathletes. The guest of honor was our sportsmanship award winner, Diane Proud. One of the great multi-sport athletes in the entire country, she originated from El Paso and was here for the beginnings of the Southwest Challenge Series way back in the inaugural year of 1991. Diane was much loved by all those athletes of that era. She was recently diagnosed with ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Her old friends flew in from all over the country. We also had a nice showing of 2009 award winners. These were presented with a great deal of humour and the recipients proved to be not only great athletes, but great sports, as well. It was a poignant and delightful meeting of young and old who had in common the love of our sport.

 

Another less formal presentation was made after the White Sands Duathlon on February 13. Our thanks to the White Sands staff for allowing us the venue for our celebration.

 

The 2010 season is now well on it's way. John LeRoy, our pointskeeper, is already up to date and has the results for the first three races tabulated. Access the page on our website. As always, please check your points often and notify John or myself immediately if you suspect any errors. Sean Connery, our webmaster, has the schedules up and is about to be even busier with some new features we hope to have up soon. Hopefully, we can get some pics up of the awards dinner, as well.

 

Next up is the Sully Super Sprint on March 21 in Alpine, Texas. This is one of my favorites and pound for pound one of the most challenging races on the circuit. The run, particularly, is a real "chase the rabbit" thing. Over hill and dale, through the valley, around the tree, and under the branches. Toughest 5K I've ever encountered. The town itself is also a delight. Reeks with wild west flavor. Great race to bring the family and make a two day holiday out of it.

 

I'll have more to report shortly, but have already taken too much time out of my training schedule!

 

See ya'll at the races!

                           

The anticipation can end! The schedule is for 2010 is here! More races than ever. By my count 37 races with the possibilty of doing 33 as four of them are on the same day.The Buffalo Springs offerings from the Greers still give the athletes a choice beteen the Toughie and the Shortie for Buffman and Squeaky  (Dog House Sprint) and the BSLT Ironman 70.3 (Tri-Raider Sprint). In the other two instances, the respective races are so geographically distant there shouln't be any reasonable conflict. Sadly we lost Ransom Canyon, but welcome back the Defined Fitness folks from Rio Rancho with both a duathlon and triathlon. Mark Mico's Spring Fling race is also an addition this year.  El Paso's Labor Day weekend race has been updated with a new location and an official USAT race director. Some of the dates have changed, but you'll recognize your old favorites returning.
 
 Printable 2010 Southwest Challenge Series Race Schedule
 

Most exciting to me is that I feel that my long time ambition of sanctioning an ample number of quality races in each of the three sectors of the Southwest Challenge territoryare now available. All athletes should have a fair chance now at being competive for year-end honors.

 

The scoring and rules for 2010 will remain the same, except the qualifying number of races for eligibilty for post-season honors will be raised to five. We will still take your best eight scores with a quarter point awarded for each race after eight. This opens the competiton to both the studs and the blue collar folks who like to race as many as possible. Every one has a chance.

 

There is in the works for next year a Championship race open only to the year-end podium finishers with no age group classifications so that the top three men and women in all the Southwest can be determined. There were a lot of requests for such a race, and while not yet official, we're getting close to making it happen.

 

Stay tuned for the Awards presentation. The Saturday of the White Sands President's Day Duathlon is looking prime right now. For those interested, there may be some evening festivities in addition for those who want to partake and enjoy a little extra fanfare.

 

This should be an exciting year, as we here at the Southwest Challenge Series have several ideas. innovations, and projects working to make 2010 a real year to remember.

 

Thank all your Race Directors at every chance and stay tuned to this website for new announcements regarding the Awards.

 

Best of luck to everyone.

Merry Christmasand Happy New Year!

 

1st Southwest Challenge Series Awards Presentations for the 2009 season completed 

  
There will also be a presentation of awards immediately following the White Sands President's Day Duathlon on February 13 which is the first race of the calendar year. Remember that registration for this race closes January 29 for mail-ins, and February 5 for fax and e-mail. If you're unable to attend that race, we will have the awards at each succeeding race this spring available for pick-up. 
Click here for a complete list of this year's award winners

 

This years Sportsmanship Award went to Diane Proud.  Diane was an El Paso native in the nineties and one of the original regional Greats of our sport. Dianne raced in the innagual SouthWest Challenge Series and all during the early years of triathlon.  A truly gifted athlete with a personality that was a gift to others she was both the envy of and inspiration to her competitors. Diane moved to Dallas with her husband and family in the late nineties, so is unknown to many Series competitors today. She went on to become a regular member of countless Team USA squads in both duathlon and triathlon, and was a regular on the All-American rolls for many years. Returning often to El Paso over the years, she joined in many of our training sessions and has remained a favorite amongst all the Old Southwest Challenge Series original core athletes. 
 

This past year Diane was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. She continues to be an inspiration with her courage in this last great challenge. Needless to say her travel abilities were the the prime consideration in choosing a time and place for our ceremony.  Click here for link to recent article in Dallas Newspaper about Dianne's ongoings http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/dfetterman/stories/121209dnspofetterman.3b24b75.html

 

Cheers,

Mark Balsiger

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Also, we have this update from John LeRoy concerning our friend and long-time fellow competitor, Ken O'Connor who was diagnosed this past winter with prostrate cancer. Your prayers and good wishes are requested.

 

Many of you have asked about Ken O'Conner, one of our more experience competitors (in the 70+ age group), since you haven't seen him at the races since last winter. Ken has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and has been undergoing radiation treatments. He has been having to make daily drives from Grants to Albuquerque but has recently completed the last treatments. I am anxiously awaiting word from Ken as to the status of the cancer and whether additional treatments will be necessary. I am hopeful that he will be back competing in the fall races; there is a huge vacancy at the races without him. You can send Ken your regards at oconnor@7cities.net

That leaves us with eight races to go in the 2009 season. Still time to rack up plenty of points to capture a podium spot in your respective age group. If you liked the awards last year, we have even bigger expectations for this year.

 
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This is a call for everyone's prayers in response to some very sad news regarding one of our band. Dianne Proud is one of the original athletes from the days of the inception of the Southwest Challenge Series. At that time, she was an El Paso native. One of the finest athletes to ever come out of our area, she was a perenial Series age group winner, and went on to become a familiar face on many TEAM USA groups in countless world championships. She is a repeat All-American over the years, and one of this area's most beloved personalities, especially amongst those early athletes.

This week Dianne received her tragic diagnosis of ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. She is the second of our number in recent years to come down with this horrible and debilitating  condition. We all remember John Stermer, who after a two year battle left us in 2006.

This is a call for everyone's prayers in response to some very sad news regarding one of our band. Dianne Proud is one of the original athletes from the days of the inception of the Southwest Challenge Series. At that time, she was an El Paso native. One of the finest athletes to ever come out of our area, she was a perenial Series age group winner, and went on to become a familiar face on many TEAM USA groups in countless world championships. She is a repeat All-American over the years, and one of this area's most beloved personalities, especially amongst those early athletes.

Dianne moved from El Paso several years ago, but has always kept her El Paso connections current and vibrant most recently celebrating her 30th wedding anniversary where she was married in Soccorro, TX.  . She has communicated an optimism and fighting spirit that we, in the realm of triathlon, are all too familiar with, and hence,she is becoming an inspiration to us all.  Dianne currently works at the Cooper Aerobics fitness center in Dallas, TX.  Read more about Dianne on the Copper Clinic Website.

This disease seems to prey on the athletic. Indeed, it bears the name of one of the most famous baseball players to ever step up to the plate. It has been featured in recent Kona Ironman races as afflicted athletes have had friends competing in their name and on their behalf.

We, here at the Southwest Challenge Series, rally around Dianne in this time when she is searching for sources of strength from all quarters, and on her and her family's behalf, we ask the prayers and support of you all.
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Attached is the list of award winners for each age group for 2008 Season.

 

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