The 2007 AZ is scheduled for October 14. Both long and short course registration is now open at www.americanzofingen.racesonline.com Thank you.
I’m in for the short course. Love New Paltz and I hear the course is brutal - can’t wait.
Hey! Rappstar,
Are you going this year to get your crown back?
Lisa, have you entered yet? I don’t have you on my list. Short course entry is open. Good luck.
im in and super excited. cant wait to try my hand at my first long course duathlon
rappstar or anyone else who has done this in the past, would love any sort of advice you could give. i need as much help as possible. especially with nutrion with a race like this. are the run legs trail?
For training advice, I would head for any hills you have near your home and get real comfortable with them. When you think you can’t climb anymore dig a little deeper into your suitcase of courage and climb some more.
The first run at AmZof is more or less a formality. You have to be able to run up hills and on tecnical trails, but not burn up too many matches. For the bike, toss on a 25 and you should be able to scale the mountains on the bike course. Start your nutrition plan early. I have stuck with 250 calories per hour via gels with gatorade washing it all down. Even though it’s cold you have to get those calories in because you’ll need every bit later.
A factor than you may not be use to is the weather. You have to be able to carry extra clothes or shed layers quickly. it sounds trivial, but getting used to tearing off or putting on clothes on the bike can help your time. I had one set of gloves for running, a set of gloves for riding, and another set of mittens for the bike just in case. I had two jackets stuffed in my back pocket on the ride too. I looked like a Sherpa and my aerodynamics were probably that of a shoebox, but I was prepared!
The second run is brutal. It’s worse than the real Zofingen. All the uphills are technical, with rocks and roots. right when you don’t want to think about your step you need to pick your way through a graveyard of boulders. The downhills are sweet and smooth. John does a great job of having aid stations right where you need them and if you are lucky you’ll see him bouncing around the woods in his land rover with some goodies.
I kinda doubt I’ll be there this year but you never know. If you need anything else. let me know!
Josh
Just registered! I hope this’ll serve as motivation to find the sickest hills around where I live (Darien, CT-not very hilly) and stay on my bike this fall! :o)
Damn you JM…I was hoping to be a slug after SOS, then you go ahead and post this! Just signed up for the short course. 
lisa michele,
Last year we had a few “recon” workouts in the weekends leading up to the race. I imagine we’ll do the same this year if you, or anyone for that matter, are looking to preview the race course. Also do a search on active.com for the Pfalz Point Challenge. It’s a 10 mi trail run race at Mohonk. Another great tune up for AZ…
Week before LC Worlds…I was hoping you had moved that date.
I run hills by default, and I always like to see other people’s idea of ‘hilly trail runs’
maybe next year (I said that last year, too)
I’d definitely be interested in some tune-up workouts. I’ve only ever driven over the “hills” of New Paltz, never biked. When it comes to hills though, I say the more grueling the better, bring em on!!
As for the run, I will definitely check out that race. As long as the AZ course isn’t quite as bad as the Lemon Squeeze, I think I’ll be okay… then again, I’m not sure it’s not! 
i too run very hilly trail runs by default (at least when i don’t have a pulled calf). last year in training for AmZofingen i did the generally-agreed-to-be-insane HalfWit trail 1/2 marathon on Mt Penn, near Reading PA (the only race in PA that is rated harder is the Conestoga, generally assigned an 11 on a scale of 0-10). the HalfWit is a tougher, hillier, rougher course than AZ, but not by a whole lot. AZ features less steep hills, but it really doesn’t matter after you’ve just crushed your soul on 3 loops of the bike course. i wouldn’t rank AZ as the hilliest trail running i’ve seen out east, but do not underestimate it. This is absolutely not a finely-ground gravel path wandering over some rolling ups and downs through the woods, as featured in some tris and dus.
In case you don’t realize it, Joshjan is AZ course record holder Josh Beck. That’s some good advice. Josh is leaving soon for Switzerland to improve upon his 3rd overall at Powerman Zofingen, the race which inspired AZ.
john, any ideas on how to get AmZofingen to have more visibility and stature in the duathlon world? is it just “too hard” to ever get popular?
Tyler, it’s great that you’re racing AZ. That’s good advice about Pfalz Point. It starts and finishes at our transition area, and shares some of the same trails. I definitely think we’ll need to organize some recon runs and rides. The run is especially helpful, as course knowledge will keep you on the right path.
Dawhead, it’s thanks to racers such as yourself that AmZof enjoys the little popularity it has. It’s all about word of mouth. I can’t create an ad that will convince people to torture themselves. It takes like-minded friends telling friends that this is one race they must experience. The signature line you’ve been employing on Slowtwitch says more about my race than I ever could. Hell, I haven’t even raced it! In that respect, I defer to you and the other veterans to get others to the start line.
well, its not going to help much, but i’ve started with a letter to USAT’s Triathlon Life about their description of some other duathlon as “the hardest in the country” :).
I won’t even try to roger up on this one, John, for reasons I stated in my PM to you last week. Hope the race is great this year because it is on my list for next year. If I’m REALLY good I’ll con some of my old Charleston, SC crew into racing.
I am in for the big one
gulp
dnf last year
dirt/cheyou/thom
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