This retired Richland engineer is about to compete for Team USA

Mark McLean is about to have the adventure of a lifetime, and he has his wife, Linda, to thank.

McLean, 63, a retired Battelle engineer, will compete in the duathlon for Team USA in the upcoming Fynske Bank Multisport World Championships Festival, which starts Friday in Denmark.

The race is comprised of a 10-kilometer run (6.2 miles), 40-kilometer bike ride (24.8) and a 5-kilometer run (3.1) caps off the event.

"In general, I do a little better in the running than the biking," McLean said. "In a lot of races, I end up passing people in my age group in the run."

McLean, of Richland, qualified for the event by placing fourth in a duathlon in Bend last June. He'll will be joined by 10 other Americans in the race, which features 33 competitors from eight countries.

It's all Linda's fault

McLean wasn't always into running, let alone multipart races.

He and his wife graduated from Deer Park High School north of Spokane in 1974. They knew each, but went their separate ways after high school.

McLean, who wrestled in high school, went on to get a mechanical engineering degree at Gonzaga, while Linda McLean went into the Army and later got an education degree at Eastern Washington. They reconnected years later, and just celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary Friday.

Linda McLean, who was a longtime P.E. teacher in Finley, was the one who got McLean into running. She has run in every Bloomsday race in Spokane since 1981.

He runs the race now too, and finished third in his age group this year.

"At that time, I got these $20 Converse shoes at JC Penney and got shin splints," he said. "She told me I needed better shoes and they were going to cost more than $20. I bought the better shoes and there were no more shin splints. I pay the money for good shoes now."

McLean and Linda did their first triathlon at the urging of friend Tom Schall of Spokane. They formed a team and entered the local Titanium Man Triathlon in 1990.

They finished third.

"Linda did the swim, Tom biked and I did the run," McLean said. "That got me hooked. I wanted to do one on my own, but I didn't know how to swim."

McLean then joined Columbia Basin Racquet Club and took swim classes.

"It took me 6 months to learn to breathe correctly," he said.

Linda McLean, on the other hand, is a good swimmer.

"I was in the Army and they taught me how to swim," she said. "They needed a female lifeguard."

With swimming mastered, McLean has done triathlons, duathlons and other races, including several in the Mid-Columbia.

"I like the friendly competition," McLean said. "It's fun to race against the local guys."

McLean also has competed in two Ironman triathlons — 2003 in Coeur d'Alene and 2001 in Penticton, British Columbia, where Linda also competed.

Ironman races consist of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and a full 26.22 marathon at the end.

"We finished," McLean said of the Penticton race. "I had a dream time."

Training is done year-round

One thing McLean did not have to do for his race in Denmark was get in shape.

He runs 10 to 15 miles per week, cycles and even saves time for a bit of swimming. He meticulously logs his workouts and tracks the lifespan of his shoes — about 450 miles.

In the winter, the McLeans like to cross country ski.

"Now that I'm retired, I can do my training in the morning instead of after work," he said. "I train about three times a week. The reason I have been able to do this so long is because I don't overtrain."

With the event a year away, McLean had plenty of time.

But even with the care he puts into training, things happen. He fell off his bike in October, hit a tree and busted his arm.

McLean didn't slow down — too much. A few screws and a little rehab, and he was back on his bike in January.

"I didn't get serious on the bike until March," he said.

His 17-year Mongoose, with a titanium frame, is his trusted steed on the road. It already has been shipped overseas.

"I can't wear it out," McLean said of his aging bike.

In Denmark, McLean is hoping to improve on his 2-hour, 25-minute time that he posted in Bend last summer.

"The one in Bend, the bike course was hilly," he said. "It's supposed to be more flat in Denmark."

While the honor to compete for Team USA is nice, the trip also comes at McLean's expense.

He's OK with that.

"It's my first USA team I have made, and it might be my last," he said. "I'm going to enjoy it."