Camarillo, Calif., March 21, 2006 – Marc Aten of Moorpark, a Web developer at California State University Channel Islands who placed second in the handcrank or hand cycling event in last Sunday’s Los Angeles Marathon, will be competing in this Sunday’s local Strawberry Fields Triathlon event in Oxnard.
Aten, 32, who led most of the 26.2 mile race in Los Angeles, was overtaken at the end by John Scott Gilger of Lagrange, Ohio by two seconds. Gilger recorded the winning time of 1:27:14. The two placed at the top of a 25-person field.
In this Sunday’s Strawberry Fields Triathlon, Aten will swim a quarter mile in Mandalay Bay, then handcycle for 11.5 miles, and then conclude with a wheelchair run of two miles.
In June, Aten, who has been handcycling since 2002, plans to compete in a half-marathon event in Lubbock, Texas. The top three performers in the handcycling event will be invited to the premier triathlon competition in the world, the Hawaii Iron Man event held in October.
Aten has participated in two other Los Angeles marathons. In 2003, he placed seventh and in 2004, he placed fourth. He currently trains with 20-mile wheelchair runs, 60-mile handcycle runs, and 2-mile swims per week.
