TRI-Palooza, billed as ‘the ultimate endurance sports weekend’, will premiere in San Diego on 20-21 February. Put on by Ironman Triathlon and USA Triathlon Hall of Fame inductee Bob Babbitt, the event schedule is jam packed with multisport fun including an expo, clinics, and awards gala at the Hilton San Diego Resort and Spa, which is located less than a mile from Fiesta Island, the site of the very first triathlon back in 1974.
The weekend activities will kick off on Friday morning with a group run from the TRI-Palooza Expo led by ultramarathon man Dean Karnazes, two-time Ironman World Champion Tim DeBoom, the 2014 second place finisher in Kona, Ben Hoffman, two-time XTERRA World Champion Lesley Paterson, plus other endurance sports stars.
During the two-day expo, Babbitt will be interviewing endurance sports greats such as Dean Karnazes, six-time Ironman champion Dave Scott, the iron icons Kathleen McCartney and Julie Moss, Olympic silver medallist in the match sprint Nelson Vails, Tim DeBoom, Ben Hoffman, and other special guests.
Additionally, at the expo there will be clinics featuring Coach Jim Vance from Training Bible, Coaches Felipe, Luke and Chris from Breakaway Training, PT and Active Release Expert Gino Cinco from FunctionSmart, and Coach, Cyclist and Ironman Champion John Howard.
The TRI-Palooza Expo and Clinics are free and open to the public.
The ‘ultimate endurance sports weekend’ culminates with the grand TRI-Palooza Endurance Sports Awards Gala on Saturday evening, 21 February. The gala will feature a star-studded parade of athletes that will include Ironman World Champions Heather Fuhr, Greg Welch, Kathleen McCartney, Dave Scott, Scott Tinley and John Howard, plus Olympic medallists Joaquim Cruz and Nelson Vails, among others.
The awards evening will be co-hosted by Bob Babbitt and Mike Reilly, the Voice of Ironman. The theme for the awards is Great American Performances from Great American Athletes, and honourees will include:
- The woman who broke her own American Record Holder at 5,000m in 2014, Molly Huddle;
- The 2014 US Pro Ironman 70.3 Champion Meredith Kessler;
- The 2014 US Time Trial National Champion Taylor Phinney;
- Two-time Ironman World Champion and triathlon legend Tim DeBoom;
- The Breakthrough Athlete of 2014 Ben Hoffman; and
- The TRI-Palooza Endurance Sports Athlete of the Year, 2014 Boston Marathon champion Meb Keflezighi.
Other awards to be presented during the evening include the Southern California Tri Club Members of the Year and the Event of the Year.
The TRI-Palooza Awards Gala is expected to sell out with 400 attendees and participants are told to ‘Dress to be Noticed!’
The TRI-Palooza Expo, clinics and Q&A’s are free and open to the public. The host hotel is the Hilton San Diego Resort and Spa on Mission Bay.
At the TRI-Palooza Awards Gala tables of 10 are priced at US$1750, and individual tickets are US$200; but this is for a limited time, use code FOB2015 for a 10% discount. Half tables are also available.
Sponsors for the weekend include Kaiser Permanante, EAS Sports Nutrition, FunctionSmart, Ashworth Awards, RACEPLACE, Headsweats, Nytro, MPA Graphics and Babbittville Radio.
For TRI-Palooza related questions, contact Bob Babbitt at babbittbob[at]gmail.com.
