Triathlon winner puts fitness first

Ron Hill isn’t your average grandpa.

Married to wife Bobbi for 46 years and the father of two sons, who have produced seven grandchildren, the able-bodied Hayden resident is a testament to strength of will and the youthful effects of keeping fit. Hill is the kind of guy who, when he sets his mind to something, doesn’t let up until it’s in his rear view, pushing himself in a fight against the clock and the perpetual ramrod of our lives: time.

That attitude guided the 73-year-old to first place in the 70-and-older division at the XTERRA World Championship held on Maui on Oct. 24. Hill finished the off-road triathlon with a time of 5 hours, 44 minutes and 54 seconds.

“It’s an international competition with races in about 31 countries, Japan, Mexico, Australia – all over the world,” said Hill, who qualified for the world championship by placing second at the national competition in Ogden, Utah, in late September. “In XTERRA, it’s an off-road triathlon: a 1,500-kilometer swim, a 30-kilometer bike, and a 10-kilometer run. The 30k on mountain bikes is much more difficult than 40k on a road bike.”

Even though the division’s only other contestant dropped out more than halfway through the race, the feat represents a milestone in Hill’s rather short triathlon experience, which began just five years ago.

The secret to his fountain of youth? Exercise, lots of it.

“I did my first triathlon here in Coeur d’Alene in 2005 to see if I could do it. It went pretty well, so I trained a little harder and did it again the next year in ’06,” he explained.

Also that year, he read an article on a then-upcoming XTERRA race in McCall, Idaho. Hill was introduced to mountain biking through his sons in the early ’90s, and was drawn to the competition’s blend of off-the-beaten-path grit and traditional-triathlon endurance.

“Any excuse to go to McCall is a good thing,” he said with a laugh. “After that race, that was it, I was hooked on XTERRA. The next year I did six triathlons, and five were XTERRA. I found it very intriguing to be able to do all three sports. It’s a life sport. I think most people could do it, it just takes some determination and commitment.”

The XTERRA World Championship, which boasted some 550 participants from around the world in varying ability levels and ages, ranging from 16 to the 73-year-old North Idaho resident, was the culmination of a trying few years of training for Hill. The event marked his third world championship; the first, in 2007, he didn’t finish because of exhaustion, and last year he finished third.

At the XTERRA world competition, contestants started the race in the ocean, looping out of the water across a stretch of beach before plunging back in, sans wetsuit. Then, they transitioned to mountain bikes and powered over a punishing trail across loose rocks and mud that climb a steep mountainside before winding back down for the foot race and eventual finish at Makena Beach.

“It’s a much more difficult race in Maui,” he offered, adding that the bike and run routes tack on a few extra miles. “There’s a lot of climbing and a lot of the terrain is very difficult. You have to ride from the beach up to Haleakala, the volcano, right up the side, way up into the trees. It’s about 3,000 feet of climbing over basalt rock.”

Though triathlons are somewhat new to the septuagenarian, discipline is not.

A swimmer in high school who later raced motorcycles in the California deserts in the ’70s, Hill said he always appreciated endurance training and the rush of competition. So when he decided to take up mountain biking through the encouragement of his sons, he began downhill racing soon after.

About racing motorcycles, he said, “I found that to be so physically demanding I had to take up running to get in condition to do it, and five to six years later I was a pretty good runner. I started running marathons after that.”

In recent years, Hill has stepped up his training regimen, approaching multisports with a winner-takes-all mindset and hiring a personal trainer from a Colorado-based business. Throughout the winter and spring months, he works out six days a week, logging up to 12 hours each week during peak periods. Like other triathletes, his training is a mix of disciplines: he swims at the Kroc Center, runs just about anywhere, and rides his mountain bike on the often-grueling trails that zigzag across Canfield Mountain and Farragut State Park.

Hill has shed 15 pounds in the last five years. It’s a transformation that hasn’t gone unnoticed by his wife. Both are originally from California; he’s from Sacramento, she’s from San Francisco. The couple met at college in San Luis Obispo where he worked in the aerospace business. They moved to North Idaho 31 years ago and formerly owned AAMCO Transmissions, where they worked for 21 years.

“He has a young man’s body, he’s very fit now. He weighs now probably what he weighed when we got married,” she said. “It’s interesting, I’m 74 and I’m married to a man that has the body of a 25-year-old.”

Patrick Valentine, of Colorado-based Carmichael Training, met Hill at a bicycle climbing camp about a year ago. The two hit it off and Valentine has been coaching him since then.

“I think it’s phenomenal. To have a guy that’s 73 that can go ride with his sons and keep up with them and have three generations out riding together is a testament to his training and dedication,” Valentine said about his oldest client. “It doesn’t do him justice just to hear about his races. But to actually see the races and what they are racing is incredible. They are not easy courses …. And for his ability to be able to go out and work out almost every day is pretty impressive for someone that’s 73 years old.”

Hill’s sons, ages 44 and 41, are also big supporters. In fact, the whole Hill family traveled to Maui to cheer for Hill.

“They are his biggest boosters,” Bobbi said, adding that father and sons frequently take arduous bike rides during the warmer months.

Bobbi Hill also has a role on race days. “I don’t participate but I’m a good support system, help remind him of things to do, though it gets worse as you get older. But it’s kind of teamwork for us,” she said. “You get a real sense of family doing it.”

“She’s a great pit crew,” Hill added.

For the coming year, Hill plans on competing in the 2011 Coeur d’Alene Triathlon and has his sights set on several XTERRA events as well. He said he hopes to compete for as long as his body will allow.

“As well as I’ve done, I’m still an old man and I can’t compete with young guys …. But I have a lot more power than I’ve had in the past. To me, it’s much more impressive with the switch in training intensity,” he offered. “At my age, you never know when things are going to stop. Right now I’m real healthy. My arms, legs and joints feel pretty good.”