Endurance Events This Weekend

There are a couple of big endurance events this weekend that are worth mentioning, as both garner plenty of attention and are popular amongst outdoor athletes and arm chair racers alike.

First up, we have the 24 Hours of Moab, taking place in Moab, Utah of course. This year, this iconic mountain bike race will host more than 4000 riders from around the world in an endurance biking event that will test even the strongest of athletes. As the name implies, solo and team riders will be peddling for 24 hours straight, starting tomorrow, Oct. 10th, at 11 AM local time. The course will wind through the remote and rugged backcountry near Moab, and will continue through the night. The object is to complete as many laps of the 15 mile course as you can within the 24-hour period, weighing in any sleep strategies, pacing, and so on.

The other major endurance event taking place tomorrow is of course the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. This is, of course, one of the most demanding triathlons on the planet, with the top athletes from around the globe swimming, biking, and running their way through a tremendously challenging course. The competitors will face a 2.4 mile swim to get things started, and once they're out of the water, they'll proceed to their bikes, where they'll tackle 112 miles of riding. When they're done on the bike, if they're still standing, they'll then go on a full marathon, 26.2 miles.

There are 1800 participants in this year's race, and they've either earned their way in by winning qualifying events around the planet, or they were lucky enough to get a spot through a special lottery. Tomorrow, few of them will actually feel "lucky" at all. Should be another great race.

Good luck to the competitors in both events. Race strong and race safe, but don't forget to have some fun along the way.

Lance Armstrong To Race Ironman (Eventually!)

Outside Online asked seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong several reader submitted questions and have posted them, along with the answers, online for us all to enjoy and speculate over. They ask Lance about his motivations when he bonks (answer: Lance doesn't Bonk!), his favorite workout music, what he loves about being a dad, and probably most interesting of all, whether or not he'll ever do the Ironman.

In answer to that last question, Lance answers with a definitive yes! He is however, waiting until after his comeback before giving the Ironman a go. He's currently in Adelaide, Australia preparing for the first race of that comeback at the Tour Down Under, which gets underway this Sunday.

In recent years, while in retirement, Lance has taken up running marathons, and doing quite well at it. He posted a 2 hour, 46 minutes, 43 seconds time in his most recent New York City marathon run. Of course, he's never strayed far from his bike either, which leaves just swimming as an obstacle to overcome for the Ironman, whose championship is held annually in Kona, Hawaii and consists of a 2.4 mile swim, followed by 112 miles on the bike, and a standard 26.2 mile marathon.

For now, we'll have to sit back and watch Lance's cycling comeback, but we have this to look forward to in the future. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he'll probably be pretty good at this too.

Father, Paralyzed Son Prepare For Ironman

The Ford Ironman Triathlon is only two days away (Oct. 21st), and some of the greatest athletes in the World are descending on Kona, Hawaii for the event which consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and a full 26.2 mile marathon. ESPN.com has posted a great story on the event about a father and his paralyzed son, who will be doing their fifth, and final Ironman. The two have been competing for years, first starting with a short five mile run, and building up to marathons, and branching out from there to triathlons and eventually Ironman triathlons. It's a very inspiratonal story, and I'll be watching this weekend to see if they can finish again this year. Good luck guys!