Best of the US Championships and XTERRA Worlds

The Best of the US Championships are tomorrow. The BoUS is a race series that takes the top amateur, regardless of age group, from each state and pits them head-to-head in an Olympic distance race. It's a great opportunity to see who's who and to race against the best...if you can qualify.

I qualified and raced the championship in 2006, and it was one of the highlights of my triathlon career. The series championship was an outstanding event, and Jerry and his crew do stellar work to make the athletes feel like royalty.

There are two very cool things about this year's BOUS: 1) the championship is in Phoenix, right up the street so I can go and watch; and 2) one of my athletes is on the starting line for AZ. Kathy Rakel has a great shot at placing top 3 in the race but there are some very fast girls here that should not be underestimated. It'll be a fun race to watch and we'll be cheering on Kathy. She's proven herself with a 5th at collegiate nationals, but we're hoping she does better than her coach did at BoUS...I was 20th in 2006 after a terrible swim.

The other thing going on this weekend is XTERRA Worlds. Brian Barrett is there, with a very good chance to take the men's 25-29 podium. The unknowns are the Aussies and Europeans, but he should be one of the top American amateurs. I also did this race in 2006, but had issues with flat tires (4 of them) so, again, hoping Brian outshines coach.

This is a fin weekend for me: two athletes racing at events I have a history at. Good stuff. It's time for the new crew to take over from the old guard. Is this the weekend?

Good luck also to Brian N and Brad at Soma. Brian's due a good race and Brad is on a killer streak. More on this later...

Brian