Tim Sheeper Captures 24 Hour Triathlon Title

Tim Sheeper was the overall winner at the 3rd annual 24 Hours of Triathlon race held in Aurora, Colorado, over Labor Day weekend. The event was staged in a spectator-friendly venue with a 1/4 mile swim, 11.2 bike ride, and 2.6 mile run course in Cherry Creek State Park. Triathletes completed the course over and over as many times as they could in a continuous 24 hour period.

The event is heavily promoted by Ian Adamson, a veteran ultra-long distance racer in many of the world's toughest events: Eco Challenge, Raid Gauloise, and Primal Quest are just a few. Adamson has designed adventure race courses all over the world, including the Mild Seven adventure stage race in China. Now, he believes strongly that the 24 hour (or longer?) triathlon format could be a bit hit, especially when the course construction makes it easy for friend, family, and other triathlon enthusiasts to view the race.

While Sheeper captured the overall win, there were other divisions for teams: 2-person, 3-person, and 4-person races were tightly contested. In fact, the 4-person event, after 24 hours of racing, was decided by a mere 15 seconds! The winning team of 4 completed 20 loops of the triathlon course and 1 swim - that's 5.25 miles of swimming, 224 miles of biking, and 52 miles of running, basically two Ironman distances. Individual winner Tim Sheeper covered 252.96 miles - that's the equivalent of 1.8 Ironman courses - and handily won by 28 miles over second place.

Visit the 24 Hours of Triathlon web site for photos, results, and more.

Tim Sheeper is a triathlon coach in Northern California. He coaches Team Sheeper as well as the Menlo Masters Program in Menlo Park, California.