LOGAN FINISHES FIFTH IN WORLD DUATHLON RACE

Injuries last year kept Bill Logan from once again proving that he is one of the top duathletes in the world for his age group.

But a healthy Logan made his mark last weekend when he finished fifth in the 55-59 age division of the World Duathlon Championships held in Charlotte, N.C.

In a duathlon, which is similar to a triathlon without the swimming, athletes run 10-kilometers, bike 26 miles and then run another 5-kilometers.

"I had some injury problems last year and I didn't compete, so I was glad to get back," said Logan, who also finished fifth in the world duathlon meet in 1997.

The trim and fit Logan, who is manager of respiratory care at Saint Francis Medical Center, was one of 840 competitors from 26 nations who qualified for the World Duathlon Championships.

"This is the first year the worlds have been held in the United States since 1992, so it made it a lot more convenient," he said.

Logan, 57, said he never knew much about duathlons until five years ago when some friends turned him on to the grueling sport. But now he's pretty well hooked.

"I was originally a bike racer, but some of my buddies got me to running and they taught me how to do duathlons and triathlons," he said. "I don't do triathlons because I don't swim, but I really love duathlons.

"It's the ultimate in cross training. You run some, you ride some, you use different muscle groups. It's great.

And Logan not only enjoys the actual competition but the intense, virtual year-round training that goes along with it.

"I pretty much train year round," he said. "A typical training week is 30 to 40 miles of running and 120 to 160 miles of bike riding. I pretty much do it six days a week, but I enjoy it."