The Mana is the shoe for those who might want to run in the Adizero, but, need a bit of medial posting. Just keep in mind that posting comes at a price: a slightly harder feel.

This more “substantial” cousin to the Adios differs from the Adios in the thickness of the midsole. It’s the thickest among the lightweight trainers from Adidas. Its weight is 9.7 oz.

The Ace, at 7.3oz in a size-9 men’s, is a very lightweight trainer that gives a reasonable amount of cushioning and stability in a neutral shoe. Keep in mind, it’s a neutral shoe.

I was educated as a computer science engineer. I spent long nights searching for misplaced semicolons and fussing over finicky EPROMs. Thank the Good Lord I am now a race director.

This is your final week. Your race is upcoming, you’re in the “taper” and the training is mostly done. Let’s talk a little bit about where you go from here, shall we?

This Germany company is a behemoth, making shoes for athletes in sports many people have never heard of. They were on the right track with their ’09 running collection, and their ’10 Spring line is even more promising.

Last year this time Joao Correia was working behind a desk as the associate publisher of Bicycling Magazine and raced domestically – now he is racing in Europe as a member of the Cervélo Test Team.

Craig Alexander has won the Aussie Long Course championships for the 6th time now. The women’s title in Huskisson, Australia went to Carrie Lester who held off a hard charging Pip Taylor.

Top multisport athlete Dan Hugo and ITU star and Rhodes Scholar Mari Rabie took top honors at Xterra South Africa Saturday

We visited the 2007 ITU World Champion Daniel Unger in Southern Germany where he resides with his young family.

The US Naval Academy athlete who ruled the military triathlon championships traveled a tough road to rise to world class status at the Ironman 70.3 distance. Part 1 of 3 covers the early years to a gut check at Navy diving school.

SRAM has added another group to their offerings and we certainly noticed. The new SRAM Apex group offers a wider gear range plus trickle down technology from the more expensive siblings.

Virginia Berasategui, the 2009 Ironman Hawaii third place finisher and Wildflower champion had three teeth knocked when hit by a car while cycling in Mallorca.

USAT inducted Paula Newby-Fraser and Barb Lindquist, pioneer race organizers Valerie Silk, Jim Curl and Carl Thomas.

Rebecca Dussault of Gunnison Colorado won gold at the ITU Winter World Championship Saturday at Eidsvoll, Norway – the first US woman to win the title. Andreas Svanebo of Sweden took the men’s title.

Rebecca Dussault, Emma Garrand and Heather Best of the USA dominate women’s ITU Winter Triathlon world championship team gold; Norway takes the men’s title, US men 7th.

ITU President Marisol Casado was formally elected as one of six new members of the International Olympic Committee in a meeting prior to the Vancouver Winter Games.

The new 2010 Nike LunarElite is one of the best updates I’ve seen this season, and it may be a favorite for all but the heavy runners who can run with success in a neutral shoe.

At the 2009 Ford Ironman Word Championships a female Brit rocked into the top ten of whom many folks had not heard of before. She has now joined Team Abu Dhabi and is ready to show that the performance in Kona wasn’t a fluke.

The next stop on the Thinkers and Tinkers express is in Salt Lake City, UT for a chat with First Endurance co-founder Robert Kunz. Robert shares what led him to leave the world of weight lifting muscles heads to create a company for folks like himself – scrawny pencilnecks who like to swim laps, ride bikes, and run for hours.

The 2009 ITU long course world champion and multiple Ironman 70.3 winner Timothy O’Donnell during February training in Boulder.

Ironman announced and retracted a set of swim apparel rule changes over a 24 hour period, reminiscent of a compression sock incident during 2009.

Last week we chatted with Funky Dude Bob Babbitt right after a very busy weekend in San Diego, and today we are continuing our interview with the man of many talents and passions. Enjoy part 2 of the conversation with Bob.

Where do you think most American triathletes live? In which states? Cities? Metro areas? If your best guesses are based on what you thought a decade, or even five years, ago, you’ll be surprised.