Dec. 23, 2004
"Do not trust to the cheering, for those very persons would shout
just as much if you and I were going to be hanged." Oliver Cromwell

Merry Christmas.

Christmas gatherings of fitness folks are always an interesting
social occasion. Putting fitness folks together who have gutted and
grunted through workouts all year long, dressing them up, and then
actually talking when there is plenty of air to breathe is almost
too much at these runner/biker/swimmer holiday gatherings. The
common remark -- to the embarrassment of non-fitness spouses and
friends -- "Oh, I've never seen you in clothes" -- is just one
example of the uniqueness of our circle. People outside the circle
so often just don't get it. I've gone to a few of these gatherings,
and I have to say I so enjoy them. I especially appreciated the way
the Baton Rouge Triathlon Club handled its party. They had some fun
but meaningful awards given out and offered lots of back patting for
everyone in the group. It was an encouraging time meeting and
visiting with folks whom either I couldn't catch up with or stay up
with or just didn't see on the workouts I did throughout the year.

Check out the swim meet results:
http://home.earthlink.net/~dixiezone/Results/0412uno.html

If you've got any high-quality digital photos you care to share for
the printed edition of the Louisiana Multisport Report, email them
to me. Also, if you have any comprehensive results of any Louisiana
duathlon, I need those, too. I fear I don't have all the duathlon
results to complete the rankings we're doing for the 2005 report.
Email me or Ben Hawn at bwhawn@....

Don't forget, send me your own personal recommendations for who you
think should be Louisiana's multisporter of the year. Give me some
detail, but don't give me a book. I'm open to any and all
possibilities. It's not about being fast necessarily, it's just
about being in the sport.

One of Louisiana's few professional triathletes, Bo Bo Anderson, is
still in Charity Hospital in New Orleans. He's now been in the
hospital for months and doctors are concerned about the fact that
complications with his leg injury aren't healing well. He had an
accident while working.

Ladies: check this out
http://www.trichic.com/TRICHICCAMP.php

For all you old guys and gals out there involved in Senior Olympic
competition, Jairo Alvarez of Baton Rouge reminds those who want to
participate in the National Seniors Olympics must register on or
before Jan.
31, 2005.

I hear Jan. 22 is the big LaMBRA (Louisiana Mississippi Bicycle
Racing Association) winter convocation. This is a time when
competitive cycling event organizers gather to sort out schedules
and guidelines for the group's rankings for the coming year for
competitive cyclists.

Support La. Candidates for USA Triathlon Leadership Posts
From Houston Jones On behalf of the three other Louisiana candidates
and myself who are running for leadership posts with USA Triathlon,
allow me to encourage our fellow Louisianians to support our
candidates. Only annual members active as of Dec. 31, 2004 are
eligible to vote and the ballots must be postmarked by Jan. 15th if
mailed. You may also vote in person at the awards banquet on Jan.
29th in Shreveport before Frost Yer Fanny Duathlon.

All candidate bios and platforms can be found on the website at
www.smwtriathlon.org by clicking on "Voting Ballot" then clicking on
the names. You may vote for up to six candidates. I look forward
to, and value your support in this campaign!

Dec. 26th Ride Set for Folks in Northshore Area
From Bob Hodges
I'd like to invite you all to the Crescent City Cyclist northshore
ride on Sunday, Dec. 26th. The ride will start at 1 p.m. from Lee
Road Middle School. To get there, take U.S. 190 north through
Covington. After the four-lane highway becomes two lane (and you
cross the Bogue Falaya River), be prepared to take the first right
turn on to Lee Road/Louisiana Highway 437. Go about 7 miles north
until you reach the first stop sign (a 3-way intersection). Go
straight through and look for the school on your left
about 200 yards up.

There will be two ride routes for those hearty cycling folks who
happen to be in or around the Northshore this weekend. The long
route is shown below and is about 50 miles. If you want to cut the
ride short, you can return back to the ride start via Louisiana
Highway 40 and the total distance will be about 32 miles. We will
have maps available at the ride start. The weather forecast is for a
chilly but sunny day with the temperature at 1 p.m.hovering around
50 degrees so make sure you wear your layers.

Contact the Spokesman Bicycle Shop in Mandeville for more details.
Hope some of you can make it. Have a Merry Christmas!

South Mid West USA Triathlon Report
From Fred Phillips, USAT South Mid West Regional president
South Mid West regional Rankings
A preliminary copy of the rankings was published in the December
issue of Runner/Triathlete News. The rankings are also available on
line at www.SMWtriathlon.org.

Please take the time to review them. They are still open for
adjustments due to errors, through Dec. 30th. If you have a question
or believe there is an error please feel free to Ed Whitcomb our
rankings guru at ed.whitcomb@.... If you see
something in your own rankings information that you believe may not
be correct, please contact Whitcomb. The rankings will be finalized
as of Dec. 30, 2004. No changes will be made after Dec. 30th.

Year of the Rooster Noted for Chinese New Year 5km
The Chinese New Year marks the "Year of the Rooster" with a 5km run
on Saturday, Jan. 22 at LaFreniere Park in Metairie. The Chinese New
Year race begins at 8 a.m. at the park just off Veterans Memorial
Boulevard in Jefferson Parish.

The cost is $14 to pre-registered NOTC members by Jan. 17th and
rises to $18 for all entrants after Jan. 17. There is a $15 no-t-
shirt registration option as well for race-day entries. For more
information, contact the New Orleans Track Club, P. O. Box 52003,
New Orleans, La. 70152-2003. Get more details at runnotc.org.

Frost Yer Fanny Banquet and Duathlon Set for Shreveport
Frost Yer Fanny is just around the corner; scheduled Dates are Jan.
29 and 30. The banquet and clinics and race packet pick-up will be
on Saturday Jan. 29 and the duathlon will be hosted by Matt Brown of
Sportspectrum. The duathlon itself will use the River Cities
Triathlon course. For on-line registration (race or banquet), please
go to www.SMWtriathlon.org or look it up on www.signmeupsports.com

This annual USAT/SMW event will be held in Shreveport/Bossier this
year. The 3-mile run, 18.2-mile bike, 3-mile run will be at Cypress
Park -- which is the same challenging course of River Cities
Triathlon.

Dinner starts at 6 p.m. Jan. 29, 2005 at the Holiday Inn Bossier
City, 2015 Old Minden Road, and Karen Smyers will give the key note
address. The regional awards presentations will follow the key note
address. Award ceremony is open to all at no charge. Seating for
this portion will start at about 6:45 p.m.

Other activities on Jan. 29 associated with Frost Yer Fanny:
*Race officials clinic: 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
(contact Ed Cheatham directly: echeatham@...)
*Race directors meeting: 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. - open attendance
*Club presidents' meeting: 2 p.m. to 3 p.m - open attendance
*Karen Smyers clinic: 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. - open attendance
*General membership meeting: 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. - open attendance

Smyers will be featured as a speaker and will also be racing on
Sunday.

RTN's 5th Annual T-shirt / Poster Design Contest
Jan. 31, 2005 is the deadline for the Runner/Triathlete magazine
event t-shirt and poster design contest.

We'll select the Southwest's best and brightest in the following
categories:
T-shirts
Posters
Entry forms/Flyers
Awards
Finishers Items
Web Sites
Miscellaneous (got something cool that doesn't fit into one of these
categories? Send it in -- we just might make a category for it!)

More than $2,500 in complimentary advertising is up for grabs! The
top three entries in each category will receive advertising credits
for online banner ads on the RTN web site.
First Place: $200
Second Place: $150
Third Place: $100

Who Can Enter?
Any event, held in 2004, in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New
Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas is eligible. Entries may be submitted by
race directors, organizers, ad agencies, PR firms, art director --
just about anyone!

How Do I Enter?
For all categories except web sites, send at least one of each item
entered.

Mail items to:
Runner Triathlete News
P.O. Box 19909
Houston, TX 77224

or if shipping via UPS, FedEx, etc.

Runner Triathlete News
14201 Memorial Dr., Ste. 204
Houston, TX 77079

To enter the web site category, e-mail the URL to
lance@...
(please make sure that you indicate that you wish to enter this web
site into the RTN contest).
I Need More Info? No problem -- e-mail lance@... --
we'll answer any question you
may have!

++++++++++

Kenny Dunaway
2325 Weymouth Drive #D
Baton Rouge, LA 70809-1481
USA
225/296-7490
Isaiah 40:31; John 3:16