Extereme athletes flock to the Grande Ronde Valley

Are you tough enough for an extreme event?

So far 115 people have said yes to that question and entered the Solstice Triathlon, an XTERRA event, hosted in

La Grande this weekend. The previous high for registration was 85.

People from nine states will travel to the event.

The extreme event begins at Morgan Lake with a one-kilometer swim. Next comes the 25-kilometer biking course and contestants end with a grueling 10-kilometer run.

This season has LaBerge a little more excited — more local people have entered the event.

“It’s great to see people from the area realize what we have in our own backyard. It’s a international race that draws top-notch athletes to our area. It’s something a lot of us take for granted.”

One of those people is 57-year-old Tim Elliot.

He didn’t plan on getting into anything like the Solstice Triathlon, but it kind of grew on him.

“I started riding a bike just for exercise,” Elliot said. “Soon I saw I was dropping weight. The people at Moutain Works, a La Grande bicycle shop, told me about the event, and so I began training for it.”

The life-long railroader is typically stuck in Nampa, Idaho, during the week. So he swims, runs and bikes at a fitness club there.

“I’ve put a lot of work into getting ready for this event.

“I know I’m not going to keep up with the people in their 20s. My plan is to just finish the event.”

 People travel to this event for another reason — a chance to move to the next stage. XTERRA athletes can compete in as many as three events,

hoping to accumulate points toward a regional championship title. So with the smaller number of participants in each event at this Solstice Triathlon — compared to other XTERRA events — there’s a better chance of accumulating points.

The more points, the better chance of competing at the XTERRA USA Championship in Lake Tahoe, Nev. And the better chance to compete at the World Championship in Maui, Hawaii.