SURPRISE: TRIATHLETES TURN OUT TO BE AMBITIOUS TYPE As

Marathoning and triathlon are on a huge upswing in participation: The number of U.S. marathon finishers increased from about 300,000 in 2000 to 525,000 in 2011, and roughly 2.5 million people participated in a triathlon in 2011, a huge leap from just under 1.5 million in 2008. And, organizers argue, runners and triathletes are successful rat-racers, not just joggers: Mary Wittenberg, CEO of the group that stages the New York City Marathon, told the New York Times that her average runner’s household income was $130,000. USA Triathlon says their average racer’s income is comparable: $126,000. And behind the numbers is a personality type, say sports psychologists, who argue that the dogged persistence (as well as an addiction to successfully seeing a hard effort through) are consistent with high achievers regardless of task. Successful people seem to crave success everywhere, even, as this piece notes, if the boardroom types weren’t originally gifted jocks in their younger years. Via Fortune.

POWERFUL FORCES WORKED BEHIND THE SCENES TO KILL MAINE’S NATIONAL PARK EFFORT

Although heirs to the Burt’s Bees family fortune, the Quimbys, want to give 70,000 acres of private land to the state of Maine for creation of a national park in Penobscot County, the County Board of Commissioners formed a committee to oppose the park. After they conveyed their opposition to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, it’s now clear that any potential movement on the park is dead, despite the fact that more than 60 percent of Mainers are in favor of the park. Under federal law citizens groups can achieve legal standing equal to federal agencies within a local precinct — effectively what the committee has done. However, it’s largely understood that the real push behind preventing the park, which would adjoin Baxter State Park, is a timber industry that fears encroachment. After the board made its sentiment known, the Quimbys withdrew their proposal. Via Bangor Daily News.

RESCUE CREWS STILL SEARCHING FOR B.C. SNOWBOARDER

Search and rescue crews resumed the search Tuesday morning for a 33-year-old Vancouver man who went missing while snowboarding out-of-bounds on Cypress Mountain Sunday. Cypress is a West Vancouver ski area and although it’s pretty close to civilization, it’s also been pounded by snow this year, with rescuers facing neck-deep conditions in the backcountry. The boarder is believed to be in the Montizambert Creek drainage on the west side of Mount Strachan, an area that’s extremely dangerous, with waterfalls and steep terrain. North Shore Rescue team leader Tim Jones said he was confident the boarder was still alive because he had sent voice mail and text messages, but Jones also didn’t mince words: “I just really want to say to the public: this is what happens when you go out of bounds. This guy potentially could die.” Authorities have had no qualms expressing their frustration at the snowboarder, whom police said must have passed by fencing and posted warning signs before losing his way in the Montizambert Creek area. But just a note to rescuers: This is NOT what happens to most people who venture out of bounds. Via Vancouver Sun.

FISHING GUIDE FINED FOR SAYING HE CAUGHT A CHUPACABRA

Twenty-one-year-old Alaska fishing guide Matthew Terry kept his required logbook tracking his catch while guiding on the Kenai Peninsula’s Kasilof River this summer, but state troopers found themselves doubting the validity of his claims. Specifically that he took a tuna, jack beluga, blue whale, and chupacabra on sport tackle. Expert anglers have confirmed the troopers’ suspicions. The guide is back in Alabama for the winter, though he’s been summoned to return to Alaska within 30 days to respond to accusations of “failure to complete logbook as required by Alaska Department of Fish and Game.” Via The Goat.