GOV. ECSTATIC OVER HAWAII TRIATHLON INVITATION

SANTA FE - A grueling training regimen for the past nine months won't go to
waste for Gov. Gary Johnson as he prepares for his fourth Ironman Triathlon
World Championship.

The fitness-crazed governor has been invited to compete in the triathlon's
most prestigious event in Hawaii this October, though he narrowly missed
qualifying for the 2002 meet.

"I am really ecstatic about that," Johnson said Monday, sporting a new crew
cut in preparation for the triathlon.

Johnson, a veteran of more than 100 triathlons, said he has been training
three hours each morning for the past nine months as well as cramming
afternoon and evening workouts into his daily schedule.

The Ironman Triathlon World Championship, held at Kailua-Kona, Hawaii,
requires competitors to swim 2.4 miles in the ocean, bike 112 miles and run
26.2 miles within 17 hours.

Participants are also required to qualify for the event by competing and
finishing at certain ranks in other triathlons.

In June, Johnson competed in the Ironman Utah Triathlon to qualify for the
Ironman Triathlon World Championship. But that event was scaled back when a
competitor drowned in the Utah Lake during the swimming part of the event.

Johnson, 49, said he came in 153rd out of all finishers and ninth in his
age group in Utah. The governor needed a seventh-place finish in his age
group to qualify for the Hawaii meet.

Because of his busy work schedule, Johnson said he could only participate
in one qualifying event.

Priscilla Fraiegari, a spokeswoman for the Ironman Triathlon World
Championship, said Monday that Johnson was invited as a guest.

"He's a friend of Ironman. Each year, we reserve the right to invite our
guests and this year we choose Gov. Johnson," Fraiegari said in a phone
interview from Tarpon Springs, Fla. "He's actually a good publicity vehicle
for us."