Triathlete shows will of steel

Going the distance: More women are taking on the challenge of ultraevents

In the spring of 2003, Bree Wee decided to run to the beach to check the surf. Her home was two miles from Kona's nearest breaks and she couldn't make it to the water without stopping to rest. She set a goal to run the four round-trip miles without stopping and, with the support of friends, she completed her first marathon later that year. Six years and thousands of training hours later, 27-year-old Bree has a new career - she's a professional triathlete - and a new goal: finishing this year's Ironman World Championship in under nine hours and 26 minutes. That's less time than it took to deliver her son three years ago.

When Pat Gallant-Charette started swimming 11 years ago at age 46, she couldn't swim 15 consecutive minutes in the YMCA pool. But, the Maine native was determined to swim the 2.4-mile Peaks to Portland in memory of her endurance-swimming brother who had recently died. It took her more than a year to qualify for the open-water event. Since then, the longest she gone without stopping is 16 hours

Masters swimming provides a second wind

In the two decades that Georgette Winton hardly dipped her toe in a pool, she had three kids and gained 20 pounds.

Winton still has her three kids. But those 20 pounds are a distant memory, thanks to Masters swimming.

"Getting back in the pool was like riding a bike," said Winton, who swam competitively in high school. "It felt so natural, I was like, 'Why have I waited so long to do this?' "

Local mountain biker takes a wild ride

For a decade, Steve Ray has been one of the Fresno area's top mountain bikers, winning a slew of expert-level races against local competition.

Fresh off his victory in Saturday's Big Sandy race on the San Joaquin River Trail, The Bee's Marek Warszawski spoke with the 34-year-old Ray, an employee at Steven's Bicycles in Clovis, about his fat-tire passion.

Question: Do you remember your first mountain bike?

Hendrick's goal is to get Dale Jr. back on track

Some weekends you don't know if 88 is the number on Dale Earnhardt Junior's Chevrolet or his position on the track.

He's 20th in the Sprint Cup standings, 724 points out of first place and 277 out of the 12-car playoff chase. Although he is by far NASCAR's most popular driver, he has become beloved for who he is and not what he does.

But why isn't he successful?

LikeMe.Net’s Celebrity Guest Recommendations Let You Discover the World Through the Eyes of Your Favorite Celebrity

When you travel to a new city, you want to get recommendations from people just like you. Why should celebrities be any different? Those who travel the most – professionals in entertainment, team and action sports, and the media - now have a new resource in LikeMe.Net , the lifestyle social recommendation engine and community that offers personalized suggestions for the best places to eat, sleep, drink, dance and explore around the country.

LikeMe.Net uses a cutting edge algorithm to match you with people who have similar tastes and deliver you their best recommendations. LikeMe’s Guest Recommender program introduces your favorite celebrities into the network that powers your search results. It allows you to discover new places to see and things to do –- whether in your own city or some place you’ve never been before – through their eyes. Each of their recommendations comes with their inside scoop on why they like a place and tips on how to get the most out of an experience there.

Do want to know the