The first time Ed Maruna competed in the world duathlon trials, he was 78, and he took sixth place.
“I was happy to be there, happy to represent the United States,” said Maruna, an Arvada grandfather who won the national title that year in his age group, 75 to 79.
“I was just happy to finish.”
Maruna, 80, never planned on becoming a duathlete. His son, Dean, a duathlete and triathlete who coaches other competitors in Boulder, persuaded him to try a race — a 10-kilometer run, 40 kilometers on a bicycle, followed by a 5-kilometer run.
“Friends think I’ve lost my mind,” Maruna says cheerfully.
“They tell me, ‘I know the first thing that’s gone in your old age. It’s your brain.’ But they’re just joking. They’re supportive.”
He trains daily throughout the year. Mondays are recovery days, when Maruna goes hiking with a group of friends.
A sample schedule of a training week:
On Tuesdays, he attends an hour- long indoor cycling class and another hour of road bicycling afterward.
On Wednesdays, he might go for a 6- to 9-mile run, or run a half-dozen sets of quarter-mile wind sprints.
On Thursdays, he rides a bicycle for an hour to 90 minutes (at the gym in inclement weather, but he prefers to ride outside), and sometimes instead takes two indoor cycling classes.
On Fridays, Maruna might run, and then go for a bike ride, and another run or speed work. In inclement weather, he sometimes does an indoor workout his son gives him.
Recently, he did pyramids — intervals that increase, one minute at a time, for a maximum of seven minutes, before scaling back down again, with a one-minute recovery period between each sprint.
On a Saturday, if it’s a non- competition weekend, he goes for a long bike ride (90 minutes to two hours).
On Sundays, he goes for another long run, 6 to 9 miles, on the Ralston trail. Then he does it all again, with variations, the next week.
In summer, the high season for duathlons, he competes at least twice a month.
This month, he’s looking forward to events in Wiggins (July 18) and at the Aurora Reservoir (July 25).
“It’s inspiring that he’s competing and racing around the world at age 80,” says duathlon coach Eric Schwartz, who has watched Maruna race.
“There are a few guys racing at his age, and they all seem to be having a great time.”
Ellen Hart-Peña, who reinvented her own athletic career when she became an elite champion triathlon and duathlon champion in her 40s, is among the athletes who see Maruna as an inspiration.
“He uncovered this latent talent,” she said.
“I feel a real camaraderie with him.”
Unlike younger athletes who push beyond their physical limits, Maruna avoids risking an injury.
Occasionally, that means not finishing a race. Heat stroke prevented him from completing the second running stage of this year’s national duathlon competition at Richmond, Va.
It’s an unlucky town for him. Last year, he wrecked his bike in a Richmond duathlon.
But in most cases, he finishes. His chief competition in the 80 to 84 age group — “There’s no category for age 85 and up, not yet anyway,” he said — is an Ohio man, also named Ed.
“He’s very good,” Maruna said.
“He took first in the world duathlon last year, and I took second. I tried to beat him, but he’s a very good runner, and good on the bike.”
Pyramid intervals for stationary bike
1 minute: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
2 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
3 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
4 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
5 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
6 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
7 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
6 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
5 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
4 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
3 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
2 minutes: Sprint hard
1 minute: Slow/recover
1 minute: Sprint hard
5 minutes: Slow/recover
What is a duathlon?
Not to be confused with a biathlon (usually skiing and shooting), the duathlon involves running, cycling, then running some more. Timing begins at the start of the first phase, and ends at the finish line. Transitions from running to bike are included. Some athletes use racing cycles, others use mountain bikes, and some races allow relay teams.
Where to compete:•Pagosa Duathlon Do the Du, Saturday: 6-mile trail run, 12-mile single-track bike, also a half-duathlon and kids’ fun run. In Pagosa Springs, benefits the Archuleta County Victim Assistance program, 970-264-9075, .
•Cabbage Head Duathlon , July 18: 5K run/30K bike/5K run, Wiggins. Third event in the Mile High Duathlon series, 303-642-7917, racingunder .
•Du-It-High Duathlon , July 19: 5K run/20K bike/5K run, Leadville, 719-486-7484.
Lots more duathlon info and training tips: .; .. Kristen Browning-Blas
