Fiona Docherty, 2003 Powerman Zofingen Duathlon world champ, and Heather Fuhr, 1997 Ironman World Champion, finished 1-3 at the 2009 XTERRA Trail Running Worlds. Max King took the men’s title.

The 171.4-mile bike on Day 2 of the Ultraman goes from Volcanoes via the 3,600-foot Kohalas to Hawi. Photo Gallery by Timothy Carlson

Attention budding race directors: Here’s yet another attempt at quantifying how much it costs to put on a triathlon, and what it breaks down to by line item.

In today’s What We Have Noticed we feature a few stocking stuffer / inexpensive Christmas gift ideas. Hand warmers from LL Bean, a yoga mat from Gaiam, a funky transition towel from Target, a water bottle from Kor and a book about racing weight.

Your long swim week under your best (you did do this, didn’t you?), how ’bout let’s try switching to another event, and we’ll try to make some progress on the bike?

Patrick Vernay wins the 2009 Ironman Western Australia in Busselton and takes the title back from Timothy Berkel. Gina Ferguson repeats in the women’s race after also having won that event in 2008.

The 25th triathletic circumnavigation of the Big Island of Hawaii day 1 gallery. Photo Gallery by Timothy Carlson

Aid stations can be cost centers, profit centers, or neutral centers. No matter of the size of your race, they can be done well, and cheaply. I like to think of them as stationary parade floats.

People come and people go, but there’s always a story within each beating heart of the folks that tackle the 320 daunting miles of the Ultraman trail.

This is, of course, Asics answer to its own Kayano 15, and, no, it’s not the same shoe as the 15; it’s more to your liking, or less, depending on your foot and ankle structure.

Have you ever considered where bike racks come from? I hadn’t, until I decided to run a triathlon. Now I suddenly need a million of them, and sadly they don’t show up in the Sears catalog.

Asics is shipping some 2010 product out to stores like ours, and we availed ourselves of the chance to run in next year’s version of the famous Asics GT-series.

Swimming is a big fat hassle, until you’re good in the pool, and then swimming is the easiest leg of the triathlon, and when I say easy, I mean by far it’s the easiest.

With Thanksgiving behind us we can now think about gifts for friends, family and ourselves. Along those lines we noticed a Capo Forma jersey, Überhund aero bars, Bontrager tri shoes and a couple of interesting books.

Shanna Armstrong takes 6th Ultraman title, comes within 2:57 of 20-year-old race record; Ann Heaslett smashes run record; Alexandre Ribeiro takes 4th win.

As an intellectual exercise I asked myself who, over the course of their lives, have made the most money in, or from, the sport of triathlon. It’s not who you probably think.

Want to be a race director? Here’s the skill of it: mapping out your traffic plan. Regrettably, even the casual racer discerns when an RD gave his traffic plan short shrift.

Rutger Beke bounces back from an injury that forced him out of Kona to win Ironman Cozumel in 8:18:40; Yvonne Van Vlerken cruises home 10th overall to take women’s title in 9:06:58.

Shanna Armstrong smashes Day 2 bike record and leads Swiss Gigathlon champ Trix Zgraggen by 16:53; Ribeiro’s bike gives him with 23-minute lead over Mike LeRoux and 37 minutes over Peter Kotland.

Five-time Ultraman women’s champion Shanna Armstrong leads Kathy Winkler; Richard Roll leads Mike Le Roux, Alexandre Ribeiro on Day 1 of Ultraman

In the sport of triathlon there’s no brand like Ironman. Here, iron is wealthier than gold. Funny how much love Ironman doesn’t get from the very entities that ought to love it the most.

The sponsorship tactics for the Musselman Tri could have been lifted straight from Kids as Customers, in which James McNeal classifies juvenile nagging tactics into seven major categories.

Every now and then you’ll have an easier week, and some will be harder. Like this week. You are a bona-fide athlete now, and I’ll be treating you like one.

Three-time champion Alexandre Ribeiro of Brazil should duel with 1997 champion Peter Kotland; 5-time winner Shanna Armstrong faces strong challenge by 2007 runner-up Ann Heaslett.