The sixth annual Auburn Triathlon on Sunday May 18th was a hotbed of exciting activity with four events held concurrently and some 550 athletes racing from across the USA. Steve Larsen solidified his reputation as one of the most durable and versatile endurance athletes in history, joining an all-star list of World's Toughest Half champions (Bjorling, Byrn, DeBoom, Neveu, Plata) with an convincing victory. Larsen delivered a phenomenal 2:36 bike split on a course that is widely regarded to be the toughest on the planet for the 70.3 mile distance. Anissa Sequin returned after a five-year absence to take the title from defending champion and IMH age group world champ Diana Hassel.

Auburn also hosted the USAT National Long Course Duathlon Championships at 3k-56mile-13.1mile distance. In the closest race in the history of the event, only 29 seconds separated super amateur Nick Thompson from Pennsylvania's Josh Beck. Beck (3rd at Zofingen in 2005), who missed a turn on the bike course and started the run nearly 5-minutes back, stormed the run course despite the unseasonably hot weather (97 degree high vs. the historical average of 77 on May 18th) and nearly pulled even before Thompson - coming off an all-time Wildflower course record of 4:15 two weeks prior - delivered a surge on the final climb to the finish to earn his first national title. Kathryn Kasischke of San Diego was the fastest female duathlete with a 5:08:26.

The Auburn International (1.5-40-10k) event was won by legendary Pete Kain, showing magnificent form in his final tuneup before attempting a 5th ITU Amateur World Championship next month in Canada. Kain combined a stellar 1:12 bike split on a course with 16 miles of steady elevation gain before a return to T2, followed by a sub-40 10k on the hilly course hugging the edge of the American River canyon. Ageless wonder Katrin Tobin, former professional cyclist and Tour de France Feminin veteran, was comfortable on the hilly course and enjoyed an overall win at the age of 46.

The West Coast Collegiate Triathlon Conference selected Auburn as their 2008 championships and attracted some outstanding talent. UC Berkeley's John Dahlz smoked the course in a stunning 2:12, besting Stanford's Noah Sakamoto by one minute. Alexa Merz of UC Davis enjoyed a five-minute victory over the women's collegiate field.