MANAS AIR BASE, KYRGYZSTAN -- One of the first things KC-135 Stratotanker pilots 1st Lts. Craig and Catherine Christ packed when coming here were their running shoes. The second was their stationary bikes.

Just a little after 6 a.m. here in the Nevada desert. The sun has been up for an hour, and I'm running around this luxurious comfort kingdom of a hotel room throwing stuff in my old Raid Gauloises duffle as we prepare to head out. There will be camping tonight, somewhere far away and off the beaten trail. The folks at Land Rover have secured permits to race vehicles far into the Nevada outback as part of the G4 Challenge, which starts in, oh, 38 minutes. I am waiting on the room service breakfast and still need a shower, but there's always time to post.

Mark Warkentin edged out the competition in a grueling test of mental and physical toughness this weekend in Seville, Spain to earn a chance to compete in the first ever Open Water Swimming 10k race at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. As the first American in History, Mark navigated the daunting 10k course in the Seville rowing basin with precision – clinching the only American position for the final Olympic event with a time 1:53:37.80.

Still recovering from a bizarre accident, Andy Bailey hopes to return to sprint-distance triathlons.
Photos by Rich Cruse

Middle-distance star Shalane Flanagan will be tough to beat in Eugene.

After winning her third Ironman in eight months, England’s Chrissie Wellington is an IronWoman on a roll.
Photo: What does it feel like to win your third Ironman title in a row without a loss? Check out the emotion from England’s Chrissie Wellington as she wins Panthers Ironman Australia on April 9. by Delly Carr/Sportshoot

We arrive in the mountains east of San Diego and unload our beasts. It is our usual threesome: Larry White, king of the flats and the downhills; 70-year-old Jack Wilson, king of the mountains; and yours truly, the king of lunch and hanging on for dear life.

"Why do you do these things?” my father asked the other day. It wasn’t a facetious question. I’d been telling him that, despite an iffy ankle, I had decided to have a go at the U.S. National Snowshoe Championship early in March at Snowbasin Resort in Utah. It’s an event for which I had taken the effort to jump through the hoops required to qualify.

I was concerned there might be a potential scheduling conflict between the Easter morning church service, the 5K race, and the war. As for the war, not much I could work with on that, but I went to the Base Chapel to confirm “Separation of Church and Race.” I met with fine old Father Kennedy, one of the Chapel’s Lordly Liturgical staff tending to the diverse religious flock in Camp Fallujah. Fit, but not a runner himself, he confirmed that not only would Easter Sunday services not commence until later that morning, but Major General Kelly, the Multi-National Force-West (MNF-W) Commanding General himself would be running that morning as well!

“The greatest thing about [the Ironman 70.3 series] is that it gives virtually any serious triathlete the opportunity to compete in an Ironman-branded event, side by side with the greatest athletes in the world.”
Top Photo: The Vineman Ironman 70.3 by Jerry Meshulam