Mike Preston
I’m off to my 3rd XWC. I started triathlon when Xterra came to Crested Butte in ’06 . After taking a break, I picked it back up on a vacation to Oahu in 2012. I punched my ticket to World’s this year with a trickle down qualifier from Xterra Mexico. I started working with Jenny Smith Coaching thru the gO Initiative to train for Maui. I’m racing the M 45-49 AG and looking to finish in the top half.
Steve Colburn
I grew up in California and joined the ranks of road triathletes in the early 1990s, racing International to Ironman distances through my 20s and 30s, along with marathons, the occasional trail ultrarun, a handful of road races, and half a dozen 12-hour adventure races.
By the time I hit my early 40s, I was feeling a little bored and looking for a new challenge. I enjoyed mountain biking and was decent at the technical stuff, so I got into cyclocross and endurance mountain bike racing for a few years. I loved the added unpredictability and tactics required for off road racing as well as the supportive camaraderie that often seemed missing in road races. With my swimming and running background, bringing all three disciplines together into an off road triathlon played to my experience and strengths and intrigued me.
I did my first Xterra race in 2014 in Buffalo Creek and was immediately hooked. I first qualified for Worlds in 2015, but was unable to go, and in 2016 I was plagued by calf injuries that forced me to miss several races. This year, things came together and I was extremely happy to qualify again. I’m thrilled to have the chance to represent Colorado and the Mountain States Region at the 2017 Xterra World Championships in Maui. The fact that the race falls within a few days of my 50th birthday is an added bonus–and the perfect way to begin my second half century.
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