"I'm still young and still getting fitter. But this is it for me,” he said. “It's my last chance to try to make the Olympics.”

Though he admits he's a long shot, sometimes long shots surprise.

"I need to improve my swim, take a minute off in a 20-minute race," he said.

Considering he was on crutches this time a year ago, he's definitely optimistic.

Relay Teams Add Family Dimension

While some of the 251 athletes competing were using the competition as a kickoff to their season, others saw it as a way of closing out a fine career.  Brock Logan, a senior on the Cadet triathlon team, joined his parents in a relay earlier in the morning.  His mother, Stephanie, started things off in the pool and handed off to Brock on the bike. He then let his father, Fred, finish the run—joining him for the last lap on the track.

"They've been so supportive of me the last few years, I really wanted to get them involved in one of my races. I thought it'd be fun for my last triathlon on the Air Force team to do a relay. I proposed the idea and they jumped at it,” Brock said.

They didn't disappoint.  Their team took third in the coed relay competition (1:24:19).

"It was exciting," said Stephanie Logan, 49. "I just didn't want to embarrass (Brock), so I trained a lot."

The former Master's swimmer would turn in her best time ever, even though she hasn't competed for 24 years.  Fred Logan, who graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1982, competed on the water polo team years ago.  But he was happy to anchor the run portion of the relay.

"Getting in the open air and getting to race with my wife and son, it's going to be a highlight of my life," said Fred Logan, who only previously had run a half-marathon with Brock in Florida.

Additional Race Notes

In other results, the 40’s Black and Bloods won the squadron relay competition in a time of 1:15:50.8.  Swim team member Anthony Chiaro, a freshman cadets, started the race, sophomore Chris Reith took over for the bike portion and John Lohr, a former high school track and cross country competitor, brought it home in the run.

Buff Em Up, with Courtney Clark and University of Colorado teammate Matt Hudson, took first in the coed relay competition (1:18:05.4).

Grace Higgins was the top female cadet (1:49.00.4), while Juan Rojas Camacho was the top male cadet (1:22:07.2)

The youngest competitor was 11-year-old Haley Fortin of Albuquerque, N.M., still sporting pink, blue, green and orange braces on her teeth.  She attended an Air Force graduation ceremony a few years ago with her parents, and made it her goal to graduate there herself one day.  It was her second straight year in the event, and she improved her time by 5 minutes (2:56:05), even after a 15-minute mechanical delay.

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