Ben Hoffman

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Born and raised in Grand Junction, Colorado, I was a member of numerous athletic teams in high school, running track, playing golf, basketball, and soccer. I moved to Montana for continued education, and got my start in triathlon in 2004 as a university student racing for the school team in Missoula. After my first year of racing, I took a year off to live and travel in Argentina. During my second season of racing, in the spring of 2006, I was crowned USA Triathlon Collegiate National Champion in Reno, leading the way to a National Title for the university team. That summer, I hit the road to race with a good friend throughout the Northwest, gaining enough experience and results to earn my pro card and begin training more intensely for the challenges of racing against the best triathletes in the world.

Looking for a place that would satisfy my need to train at altitude and surround myself with like-minded world-class athletes, I made the move to Durango, Colorado. Nestled in the beautiful San Juan mountains, I began a rigorous training regimen that would eventually bring me some promising results. My professional debut was at Wildflower, near San Luis Obispo, California. Known as one of the largest, most difficult and competitive races worldwide, I finished 3rd (first American professional), and captured yet another accolade, being crowned the USA Triathlon Elite Long Course National Champion for 2007. This earned me a berth for the ITU Long Course World Championships in France, setting the tone for a series of excellent results in my first year as an elite.

Since that first professional season, I have continued racing and training at a high level, notching some top finishes at 70.3's and posting an 8:24:13 debut Ironman at Arizona last year. This season will be focused on racing Ironman Hawaii in Kona this fall, but will still see a full schedule of shorter distance racing to prepare me for the World Championships. Follow my blog for all the latest race reports and updates from my season.

Perth/Offseason

November 10, 2009

After a long year of racing hard, I've finally arrived at the brief window of time known as the offseason. It's been a whirlwind year with a lot of racing, traveling, and meeting new friends. I decided to pull the plug on my plans to race Ironman Arizona, as it seemed a little hasty to try and rebuild and really focus on the race after traveling to Australia for ITU Long Course Worlds in Perth. My energy was high after a disappointing race in Hawaii, but after coming back to the states, flying to Australia via Asia, racing poorly in Australia, and then coming back on another epic series of flights, I was cooked.

The race in Australia was supposed to be in celebration of a good year-end effort in Kona, so it was somewhat anticlimactic. Still, I had the majority of my flight paid for by USA Triathlon, so I decided to throw my hat in the ring and see what the legs had left two weeks post-Ironman. After arriving about 3 days before the race, I settled into some nice spring weather in Western Australia and tried to reset the sleep pattern. Perth is a nice, clean, modern city, close to the ocean and right on the Swan river. It was my first time to the world's biggest island, so everything had the appeal of a novelty. I did some short workouts, and went into race day feeling pretty relaxed.

The swim start came without much warning, and I immediately missed the group. Big swells kicked up by high winds in the river channel made navigation difficult, and I struggled through the swim alone. Onto the bike, I pushed as hard as the legs would allow, but they were still heavy with Kona and travel, and I felt sluggish. Finally, I arrived at the run, and already well out of contention, I pushed as hard as I could to maintain my position, and ended up picking off a couple runners when my laps got faster near the end. It wasn't anything special, but I came 22nd, and was glad I had completed another race against some of the fastest distance guys in the sport.

Afterwards, I spent a little time with some new friends in the Margaret River area, tasting some wines, spotting Kangaroos, and enjoying a sunset on the spectacular coastline near Yallingup. All said, the Australian trip was a great experience, and I look forward to my next visit...

I'm back in Durango now, getting settled in the new place and enjoying some incredible fall temps in the southwest. I have opted out of IMAZ, but plan to attend the race to support friends and volunteer for the athletes who will undertake the considerable challenge of Ironman. After that, it will be time to settle in for old man winter, and get my skis tuned for some backcountry in the San Juans. More to come from my offseason soon.

Stats for Ben Hoffman are coming soon.
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