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KINDERHOOK--Imagine, competing in a 26.2-mile race and asking yourself, OK, now what? That is what Valatie resident Ed Oldrich asked himself after completing a marathon in October 2008. The next July, he found his answer. After volunteering at the Ironman Triathlon in Lake Placid, he registered for 2010 event.

Mr. Oldrich, 37, is one of four local athletes who recently began a 24-week training regimen leading up to what the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) dubs “the world's most challenging endurance event.” The other three area athletes are Jack Nabozny, 53, also of Valatie, Ed Hamilton, 41, of Kinderhook and Kari Gathen, 41, of Albany. Less a team than a support group, they tend to train individually, averaging 10-12 hours a week working out in the early spring, progressing to 20-25 hours a week as race day approaches. During a group discussion at an Albany area restaurant right after the holidays, Ms. Gathen noted, “If this was March, we wouldn't be here.”