Local Ironman Chad Holderbaum is preparing for another summer of racing with some vigorous workouts and events. The Penn-Trafford graduate and Irwin resident has had good success so far this year in various races leading up to Ironman Lake Placid on July 20 where he hopes to qualify for Ironman Worlds for the second straight year in Kona, Hawaii, later this year. In addition to training for between 15 and 23 hours per week, Holderbaum has battled in marathons, swims and bicycle races.

Kicking off the season in March, he raced in the elite division and took ninth overall at the Miami International Olympic Triathlon with a personal best of 2 hours, 6 minutes. In April, he ran the Big Sur California Marathon and finished 18th overall and third in the men's 25- to 29-year old division with a time of 2:55.59. "In May, I did a pretty crazy race in Portsmouth, Ohio. It was four triathlons in three days called the Triple T Challenge," he said. Friday began with a sprint triathlon, including a 250-meter swim, five-mile bike ride and one-mile run. Saturday included two Olympic distance races with a one-mile swim, 25-mile bike ride and 6.55-mile run. Sunday finished off the weekend with a half Ironman, including a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run. "I treated the weekend like a long training weekend, so placing high in this event wasn't a top priority for me," he said.

Holderbaum's most recent success was earlier this month at the Eagleman 70.3 half-Ironman race, which included a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike ride and 13.1-mile run. At this race, he qualified for the Foster Grant Ironman 70.3 World Championships held annually in Clearwater, Fla. "On one of the hottest days in the race's storied history, the race was both challenging and included a very competitive field," he said. "Temperatures were in the mid 90's, and humidity numbers matched. Conditions were just like Kona."