The top amateur run-bike-run athletes from all 50 US states and Washington DC, are set to compete for national titles and world championship spots this Saturday and Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina, at the 2018 USA Triathlon Duathlon National Championships. More than 1,100 are registered for the weekend of racing from April 7-8 at Lakeside Park, making this year’s event the third-largest in USA Triathlon’s Duathlon Nationals history.
Racing begins on Saturday at 07:30 ET with the Draft-Legal Sprint Duathlon National Championships, which feature a 5K run, 18K bike and another 2.85K run. The fast-paced draft-legal format, which encourages athletes to ride in packs and work together on the bike, is common in elite-level racing and is growing in popularity at the amateur level.
The action continues on Sunday at 07:30 with the Non-Drafting Standard Duathlon National Championships, featuring an 8.45K run, 39K bike and 4.5K run. Concluding the weekend are the Non-Drafting Sprint Duathlon National Championships, which cover a 5K run, 18K bike and 2.85K run.
Saturday’s draft-legal race is being held as a National Championship for the first time, having been considered a World Championship qualifier in previous years. Defending champions include Marcus Alexander (M50-54), Valerie Eipper (F55-59), Jeff Dorrill (M55-59), David Burkhart (M60-64), Judi Carbary (F65-69), Jo Schmidt (F70-74), Bill Arnerich (M70-74), Dick Morgan (M75-79) and Kenneth Fleischhacker (M80-84).
Nine athletes will defend their titles in the non-drafting standard-distance race, including Albert Harrison (male overall and M25-29, aging up to M30-34), Wade Cruser (M30-34), Kirsten Sass (F35-39), Erica Ruge (F45-49), David Engstrom (M50-54), Kirsten Chapman (F50-54, aging up to F55-59), Burkhart (M60-64), Colleen Rebant (F60-64) and David Lowe (M70-74).
Finally, eight defending champions in the non-drafting sprint will compete in Greenville, including Sass (M35-39), Thomas Woods (M45-49), Kerry Farrell (M55-59), Burkhart (M60-64), Phil Anderson (M65-69,) James Noonan (M70-74), Donald W Moore (M75-79, aging up to M80-84) and Fleischhacker (M80-84).
For all three races, top finishers will qualify to represent Team USA in duathlon competition at the 2019 ITU Multisport World Championships Festival in Pontevedra, Spain.
Duathlon Nationals participants, their families and friends can access event information and track athletes’ progress on course via the USA Triathlon Events App. The app, which features detailed athlete tracking, live leaderboards, event schedules and more, is available now for free download on iPhone and Android devices. The new app completely replaces last year’s USA Triathlon National Events App. Users of the 2017 app (with the blue icon) must delete it from their phones and download the new app (orange icon).
