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ALL
TOGETHER
Nour
Life
Time
Fitness
Triathlon
Inspires Athtetes,
Volunteersand Spectators
Detcrmination, excitcmcnt
and
inspirationcomcto
a
crossroads
on
Saturday,
fuly
14,
whcn
2,800
ath-lctcsplungc
into
thc watcrs
o[
LakcNokomis.
With
morc
than
50
local triathlons
to choosc
from, thc
Lilc
Timc
Fitncss
Triathlon
riscs
nbovc
thc
rcst
in
bothp:lgcantry
and
com-
pctition.
Big
crowds
of
raccrs, voluntccrsand spcctiltors
trrns-
fornr
thc
nornrally
scrcnc
Nokomis
waterfront
into
an
cxciting r:lce
vcnuc
fillcd with
air
horns,
scrclming
fins,
and
rockingmusic.
It's
wl"lilt
racc
rnnounccrfcrry
MacNcil
calls
an
"cxtravaganza"
cclcbrating
fitncss,
activiry
and
the
Twin
Cities.
.
A
PHNTOMENOII IS BORII
The Life
Timc
Fitncss
Triathlon
was
designcd
to
cultivatea lovc
for
triathlon.
Bahram Akradi,
CEO
ofLife
Time
Fitncss,
organized the
first
racc
in
2OO2
in
an
cffort
to
take
partin
the increasing-
ly
popularsport.
Most
notably,
Akradiidentified
thc deficicncicsin thcprizc
pursesat many
exist-ing triathlons.Hcraiscd the barby
offcring
com-
pctitors
lar[tcmonetary
awards
morc
in linc
witlt
thcprizcsavailablc
at
othcrsporting
cvcnts.
22
I t*ln ciri!s
sp0rrs
I
JunG-Jrtu
200t
Thc
race
now offcrs
$500,000
in
cash
and
prizcs
and
attracts
a
high numbcr ofprofessional
racers.
According to
MacNcil, it
putsthe
racc
"in
thc
lcaguc
of
an Olympic triathlon
or
world
championship
triathlon."
.
III
A
LEAGUE OF
IIS
OWII
According toMacNcil,
the
Twin Citics'"won-
dcrlul
lcgacy
of
lctivity"
makcsMinncapolis
the
pcrfcct
placc
for thc
Lifc
Tirnc
Fitncss
Triathlon.
It
riscs above
thc rcst
in
tcrms
of its nationrl
cxpo-
surcand
trlent.
Manyof thcproshavc dccmcd
this
racc
thc
biggestandbcst
triathlon
both nationally
and
internationally,
othcr
than
thc Olympics.
"Thc
Equalizer"
is
pcrhaps
thc
most
talkcd
lbout
clcmcnt of thc
Lifc-
Timc
Fitness
Triathlon;
it's
something
that
makcs
menand
womcn"equal,
but not
scparate."
In
order
to
lcvcl
thcplayingfield,womcn
get
a
hcad
start, often
mak-
ing for
an
cxciting
sprintto
the finish.
It
is,
inevery
sensc,
a
battleof thc
scxcs.
The Equalizcr
isa
littlc
diffcrcnt
eachyear
and
is
calculatcdusing
the
rcsults
of
previous
LifeTime
FitnessTriathlons,personalrecords
of
the
professionals,
and results
from
various
World
and
American
Intcrnational
distance
evcnts.
Along
with
thc
compctition,this
racctouts
a
uniquely
urban coursc
that
starts and finishes
at
LakeNokomis.
Thcvcnuc
is
attractivc
to
raccrsandspectators
alikc-crowds
crn
scc
cvcry
lcg
of
thc
racc
ls
it
wcavcsthrough
thc
closcdcity
strccts
of
Minncapolis
and St.Paul.
Onc ofthc most exciting
aspccts
of
this
year'sracc
is
thc
ncwly
organizcd
race
scries
bctwccn
thc
Minncapolis,
Ncw
York,
[.os
Anglcs, and
Chicago
triathlons.
Thc topfivc
male and fcmalc
rmrtcur
elitcs frorn
cach
city
will
bc
flown to
Minneapcllisto
prrticipatc
in thc scrics
championship
on
fuly
14.
.
FACES
II{ IHE
CROWD
The LifcTimc
Fitness
Triathlonputs
highly
traincd
prolcssionals
and
ncw
triathlctcs
on
thc
srmc
course,
lclving
thcm
to fight fbr
thc
samc
goal.
Thc
racc cclcbratcs
athlctic
diffcrcnccs
and
honorsevcry
athlctc that
crosses
the finish
linc.
Thc
2,800
individual
reasons
for
participating
in
thc
rzrcc
arc
as
varicd
as
the athletcs
thcmselvcs.Scvcral
fathcr/daughtcr
tnd
mother/son
tcams
willfind
thcmselvcs
bonding
ovcr the
mutual cxperi-
encc of
competition
and
fitne
ss.
Agroup
ofvisual-
lyimpaircd
athletes
will
put
thc
challenge
into
per-
spective
for
other
raccrs.
And
an
89-year-oldwoman
will
dernonstrate
thc
endurance
that
life-
expericnccprovides
a
triathlete.Whcther
you
are
a
novice, an
amateur,
or
apro,
thcreis
aplaceforcvcryonc
amongst
this
diverse
groupof
athletes.
O
0PTIIi{ISM
With
12
marathons
underhis belt,
26-year-old
WinonanativcMichael
Stuart
wanted
a
ncw
chal-
lengc.
The
Life
Time
Fitncss
Triathlon
sccmcd
likcthc natural
choicc.
As a ncw triathlete,
Stuart
will
of 00

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