Ben Hoffman
They call me Hoff.
My life in triathlon began when I was a university student in Missoula, Montana, in the fall of 2003. Looking for a way to get some fitness back from the halcyon days of youth when I played soccer, basketball, golf, and rock climbed, I jumped in with the squad and began the arduous journey of learning to swim. Cycling came fairly easy from the days of riding tours with my parents across the American west, and I had run enough playing ball sports and two years of track in High School that I was able to get that back to a respectable level. After a couple of seasons with decent results, and a trip to South America to study for 6 months, I returned to get serious about the sport in late 2005. 2006 was the Summer of Glory, in which I lived out of a car with my friend while racing across Canada and the Pacific Northwest, earning enough money to put gas in the vehicle and pay for food. Upon returning to Missoula that fall, I had spent all of my money in Europe during a month-long adventure by rail, and I took care of a cabin high in the woods for a month. During the weeks of simple living, and running in the snow, I had the time I needed to figure out what I wanted to do next.
And what to do next was move to Durango, Colorado, where I could commit to the pursuit of professional triathleticism, logging the miles at altitude and even scoring a 3rd place at my first pro race at Wildflower in 2007. After a few years of doing the part-time work gig, I bagged my other job and went all-in with racing and training, winning an Ironman and 70.3 in 2010, and spending winters in Tucson, AZ. Feeling the need for a change of scenery and a boost to the training resources, I moved to Boulder in 2011, and have made it my summer base. I always told myself that I would only keep racing triathlon as long as it was fun, and so far I’m not too worried about that. The camaraderie amongst athletes, the challenge of training and competing, traveling to new places, helping develop the best equipment, and dedicating my days to health are all reasons why I have the best job around.
Here are some super interesting facts about me, and some not so interesting ones too, depending on your outlook!
Favorite Rides:
Mt. Lemmon, Coalbank and Molas Passes, Engine Creek Trail, Lefthand Canyon
Favorite Races:
Grizzly Triathlon, Boise 70.3, Wildflower, Ironman Lake Placid, Ironman St. George
Favorite Foods/Beverages:
Good pizza, fish tacos, bacon, chocolate, bacon chocolate, COFFEE, Pellegrino, wine.
First Bike:
Huffy with tiger stripes, but I still consider my 2001 Specialized Allez Elite M4 (a.ka. The Green Machine) the first bike I really rode hard, touring Colorado and other places, racing my first triathlons, and then converting to a fixed gear that caused me to crash on my face once when I tried to answer a phone call from my mom while commuting to work.
Future Goals:
I would like to keep winning races, and then win some bigger ones, like world championships. I like the half distance, but Ironman is where you always see the most potential for improvement, and the biggest stage, Kona.
What I ride:
Shiv- Wicked fast, comfortable for the long distances, and damn sexy!
Tarmac SL4- My go to for long road bike training rides. Incredibly light and stiff, yet plush for the miles ahead.
Venge- With a name like Venge, you know it’s good! Fast, fast, faster.
S-Works Epic 29er- Best mountain bike. Ever. Lighter, stiffer, and rolls over anything. Love me some trail shreddin’!
Specialized saddles (Toupe, Phenom, Romin), Shoes (S-Works road, S-Works MTB, S-Works Tri), and Helmets (TT, Prevail).
Support Crew:
Specialized has the best support around for its athletes, and it’s only getting better. Big shout out to ace wrenches Joe and Jeff, Mal and Sean, and all my teammates.

3rd Place Ironman Kansas 70.3
June 21, 2012This past weekend I traveled to the Ironman event in Lawrence Kansas to compete for the first time since racing St. George. I usually give myself six weeks after doing a full-distance event before I jump into another one, but this year the span between the two was only five weeks. Still, after spending the last four years going to Boise, I was eager to get out and try a new course and test myself again before the bigger goal of defending in Muncie. Turns out I made the right choice, as Boise was hit with some cold weather that forced a change to the bike leg, and even saw some pros wear their wetsuits on the bike!
Even though Kansas is the next state over, it’s still 600 miles of driving. This was not a fairy tale story, and I could not just click my heels to get straight there. Not to complain though, because armed with my radar detector and wide-open roads, I made good time in the VW. Really good time. Arriving at the reservoir in the evening, I shook the legs out with some of the race crew on the awesome trails that run all around the Clinton Lake State Park. I really dropped the ball by not bringing my mountain bike, but won’t make the same mistake next year. After some great barbecue and beers with the carnies, I called it a night.
Photo courtesy of Jessica Gammey, Pravda Photography
Photo courtesy of Aaron Bougher
Friday and Saturday were some course recon, a visit to a local school (4 and 5 year olds) to talk about triathlon and lifestyle, and more hanging with the race crew and family at the park. In hindsight, I definitely spent a little too much time on my feet and in the sun leading up to the race, but I was there with the primary objective of enjoying myself (and revealing the new kit!), which I did.
Well, I enjoyed myself before and after the race! During it was a little different story. Race morning found us staring out at a very choppy lake, with high winds hitting from the southeast. This wasn’t exactly a flashback to St. George, but with a non-wetsuit swim, it was certainly challenging. I got off to a decent start, and swam right where I should have. Clayton, Joe, and Gavin were gone, but Paul and I took turns and came out about a minute down. After I gumbied around in T1, Paul was gone, and I took off chasing alone. The bike course in Kansas is an honest one, and was made more so by the strong winds. I pushed and pushed, but the power and extra snap simply weren’t there. The Shiv was the perfect bike for the crosswinds, but the engine was not primed for the task, and I found myself down about 4-5 minutes starting the run.
At this point I was a little demoralized and physically just didn’t feel that good, but I had been working hard to put myself in contention for the podium, so I fed off the crowd, and the support of my mom and Kelsey to keep on the gas. There was a short time near the end when I felt 2nd was a real possibility, but I came up short, finishing 3rd about a minute back of second and about 4 minutes off the winner from start to finish, Clayton.
Even though I would have rather won the race, I am happy with my effort on the day, and making a podium with one of the fastest runs was encouraging. With more energy focused on Muncie in 3 weeks, I hope to defend the title and feel a little more spry. A huge thanks goes out to the whole Silverback/Carnie crew for some memorable times in Lawrence, the Robinson family for taking great care of me, all the volunteers, my parents (who celebrated their 34 year anniversary at the race), girlfriend, and all my sponsors who give me the support and equipment to compete race after race. I’ll be back next year with an eye on the top step…
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Back [But Not Back to Back to Back] in Branson.
September 27, 2012 -
Putting the "W" in Wisconsin
September 17, 2012 -
Season Update
August 30, 2012 -
3rd Place Ironman Kansas 70.3
June 21, 2012 -
Ironman St. George Victory at Last
May 9, 2012 -
Oceanside
April 12, 2012 -
Desert Classic Duathlon Disaster
March 12, 2012 -
Doing Work
March 11, 2012 -
Chile
January 26, 2012 -
1st Place Ironman Branson 70.3
September 27, 2011 -
1st Place Ironman Muncie 70.3
August 9, 2011 -
1st Place Ironman Boise 70.3
August 9, 2011 -
4th Place Ironman St. George
May 24, 2011 -
Oceanside 70.3
April 14, 2011 -
4th Place Desert Classic Duathlon/ 2011 Kickoff
March 24, 2011 -
12th Place Abu Dhabi International Triathlon
March 24, 2011 -
Almost to Mexico...
December 28, 2010 -
Running.
November 10, 2010 -
Seasons of change
November 8, 2010 -
Island time... Pt. 3/Back home
October 25, 2010 -
Island Time... Pt. 2
October 20, 2010 -
Island Time... Pt. 1
October 19, 2010 -
Kona Race Report.
October 19, 2010 -
Aloha!
October 13, 2010 -
1st Place Black Canyon Sprint Triathlon
October 3, 2010 -
The Gathering.
September 29, 2010 -
Kona.
September 29, 2010 -
1st Place Ironman Branson 70.3
September 21, 2010 -
The past few weeks...
August 23, 2010 -
1st Place Ironman Lake Placid
August 16, 2010 -
Activation Energy.
July 7, 2010 -
3rd Place Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3
June 30, 2010 -
2nd Place Ironman Boise 70.3
June 18, 2010 -
1st Place Xterra Four Corners.
June 7, 2010 -
Iron Horse Weekend
June 7, 2010 -
I am Specialized.
May 11, 2010 -
2nd Place Ironman St. George
May 10, 2010 -
Spring Campaign
April 22, 2010 -
St. George.....
April 6, 2010 -
7th Place Oceanside 70.3
April 5, 2010 -
Happiness as Survival
March 10, 2010 -
2nd Place Desert Classic Duathlon
March 2, 2010 -
Triathlon Bootcamp/San Diego
February 22, 2010 -
Tucson Training
February 1, 2010 -
2010 Kickoff
January 21, 2010 -
Arizona Weekend/Offseason....
November 30, 2009 -
Winter Running
November 16, 2009 -
Perth/Offseason
November 10, 2009 -
Kona Report
October 23, 2009 -
Kona Week 3
September 28, 2009 -
Past the Illusion
September 24, 2009 -
Kona Week 2
September 22, 2009 -
1st Place Lavaman Keaohou Triathlon
September 15, 2009 -
Aloha!
September 14, 2009 -
Lake Stevens 78.3
August 22, 2009 -
2nd Place Ironman Calgary 70.3, Montana/Canada Roadtrip
August 3, 2009 -
6th Place Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3
July 5, 2009 -
4th Place Ironman Boise 70.3
June 15, 2009 -
Know your limits... and then change them.
May 26, 2009 -
Another solid week of training
May 12, 2009 -
9th Place Wildflower
May 6, 2009




