Paulina Lake Mountain Duathlon
Sunday June 29th, Bend OR
Meet at 9am, Paulina Lake Lodge
Join The Balanced Athlete community for the First-Ever Paulina Lake Mountain Duathlon!
Bring your trail runners and your mountain bike and get ready for an epic day of movement, mindset, and community near beautiful Bend OR.
This isn’t your average ride-and-run. The Paulina Lake Mountain Duathlon combines mountain biking and trail running in one of the most stunning parts of Central Oregon—and it’s more than just a workout. It’s a celebration of the power of sport to support mental health, and of mental health journeys that, in turn, fuel performance.
If you’re an endurance athlete who uses your sport to stay grounded—or if you coach, parent, or care about someone who’s on that journey—this event is for you. Show up, bring your awesome sauce, and let’s move together with meaning.
💡 Why This Event?
I’m using this event to officially launch The Balanced Athlete blog (published on Substack) and my website—an idea born over a year ago when I began pursuing a Master’s degree in Sports Psychology. Since then, I’ve been applying those insights not just to my training and mental health, but also to how I support my patients as a pediatrician.
The core belief behind The Balanced Athlete is this:
“Your sport can help heal your mental health—and your mental health journey can transform your sport.”
Whether you’re pushing through a foggy season or riding a high, we’re here to support each other, learn together, and find strength in the struggle.
💡 Important Details
UPDATE 6/23: Today with a friend of mine we rode the Crater Rim trail, removed a bunch of trees and cleaned up the trail. It is riding really well and the views are incredible! In shady portions at higher elevations there is still some snow which requires a few “hike a bike” portions but they are not too long and can be easily navigated with a gps map and/or following bike tire and footstep markings. Additionally, I will try to further mark the route in ways to make it easier to navigate the snow sections if they still exist next week. See you on 6/29!
ROUTE: The start of this day is at Paulina Lake Lodge. From there we’ll ride Crater Rim trail clockwise and return back to the lodge to fuel up (~20mi around). Then strap on your trail running shoes for a fun and moderately strenuous trail run around the lake clockwise along the Paulina Lakeshore Loop trail (~7mi around). After fueling up yet again, we’ll head back out for another big MTB lap on Crater Rim trail, reverse direction this time. If you’re feeling energetic enough, you can punch up to Paulina Peak to get the epic views! This should make for about 40 miles of challenging “fun hard” mountain biking and another 7 miles of trail running, which will be an epic day! **NOTE: for those doing HC100, this will be phenomenal "peak week" training. Kids welcome, my son will probably join for the first MTB lap. Make sure your kids are strong enough for each leg they start.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS. You don’t have to do all three legs of this mountain duathlon (although you’ll feel pretty badass if you do!). This is a fun-oriented group ride/run. If you don't want to do the run, consider just doing the MTB portion(s) and kicking your feet up and chilling at the lake during the run, it's gorgeous! You may want to do the first two legs and skip the last leg?… or maybe you just want to run? … or perhaps you want to ditch the whole thing and paddleboard on the lake … all are welcome! :)
NOTE ON SUPPORT: This is an unsupported fun-oriented group ride, not a race or organized event. Look out for one another on the trail and I encourage group and 1:1 conversation along the way. Think carefully about your fluids. It's not the hottest time of summer but in central OR it will be hot in the afternoon and you need to plan accordingly. I suggest that you head out for each MB leg with 1.5-2L of fluids and bring at least a water bottle when you do the trail run. Therefore bring extra water. You'll have access to water at Paulina Lake Lodge (you can fill up in bathrooms or there is also a snack shack that I encourage patronizing for that much needed Snickers bar + Gatorade combo (forget your fancy nutrition!)
PARKING: Bring your northwest forest pass or other park pass, you’ll need it (or you can buy a day pass when entering the park area). Also, there may be a small charge for parking in the lot closest to Paulina Lake lodge which can be paid at the snack shack, however this group outing is otherwise free.
See you at 9a on Sunday 6/29 at Paulina Lake Lodge ready to roll, run, smile and thrive!
Amidst the imbalance, strive for balance.
Jud
PS Click below to RVSP on The Balanced Athlete Strava Club, or feel free to just show up…
