Time is running out for Rio Rancho’s inaugural “Patriot Triathlon.”

Organizer and triathlete Andie Talmadge said she’s not expecting to get the 400 competitors she planned for at first, but about half of that number should make for a good field at 8 a.m. on Sept. 14.

Entries are due by midnight on Sept. 11, either by mail or online (www.fitfundamentals.com). Talmadge, 43, decided thinking about staying fit wasn’t the way to get it done, so she started running and has competed in close to five dozen triathlons over the past 15 years. She’s now a trainer/coach on a full-time basis.

Owner of FIT FUNdamentals, she received her Master of Science in Exercise Physiology in 1999. She has been a nationally certified personal trainer and group exercise Instructor since 1993.

“I’m not a competitive athlete in that term; I’m mentally competitive, but when the final numbers come out, I’m not that great of an athlete,” she admitted, “but I am a pretty darn good coach. You get me someone who’s not afraid to put their face in the water and something they can’t battle in training – I can get them through it.”

Training and coaching athletes, Talmadge said, “has connected me to other people that want to make fitness a part of their lives.”

The native of Iowa, who has lived in Rio Rancho since 1987 “when the roads were still dirt,” first thought about putting her city on the triathlon map two years ago, “when I decided I wanted Rio Rancho to have a race.

“I want Rio Rancho to be a special community,” she said, likening its qualities and proximity to Albuquerque to that of Scottsdale and Phoenix.

Good idea, but impractical: one of the key ingredients of a triathlon is a lake or swimming pool.

Once the aquatic center was completed – voila, the missing piece would be there.

With the aquatic center under construction last summer, Talmadge took advantage of expertise available at each of the 10 triathlons she ran in in 2007.

“I interviewed race directors, analyzed courses, took all kinds of information,” she said, “ and what needed to be improved. I also went to bigger races in Arizona and Colorado, where they had thousands of participants. I took away from that what I wanted the Rio Rancho race to be. And I hooked up with a partner who helped me.”

As of the end of August, Talmadge said there were 165 entries.

She’s the triathlon director, has secured a professional timing company for the event, and said she has enlisted the help of 90 to 100 volunteers “to help the course run smoothly.”

She said she could use more volunteers. If interested, send her an e-mail at andie@fitfundamentals.com

Entry fee for the triathlon, which begins at 8 a.m., is $46 for adults and $31 for those 18 and under, plus a $10 USA Triathlon one-day membership permit, unless the participant is already a USAT member.

There are 17 age groups for men and women, plus categories for “Clydesdales,” “Athenas,” the physically challenged, plus male, female and coed teams.

Here is the format:

SWIM: Using a seeded start and a serpentine swim, two lengths of each lane.

BIKE: The moderately hilly, paved road course starts at the aquatic center and heads west on Loma Colorado Drive to Broadmoor, north on Broadmoor to Northern, west on Northern to Unser, and then north on Unser to Cherry Road. Bikers will head north on 10th Steer from Cherry and head north to King Boulevard, then follow King past City Center to Paseo del Volcan and all the way to Iris Road. Bikers will turn right from iris on to Idalia Road, then south on 40th Street to Loma Colorado and back to the aquatics center. Traffic will not be held up, but there will be police support at major intersection.

RUN: The five-kilometer run starts at the aquatics center and heads west on Loma Colorado to Rio Rancho High School, cuts through the parking lot to Fruta Road, then goes north on 31st Street to Palm Road, then to Northern Boulevard, where they will head east to Loma Colorado and return on it to the finish line at the aquatic center.

Patriot sponsors are High Desert Bicycles, Defined Fitness, Rio Rancho Parks & Recreation Dept., Comfort Inn and Smith’s.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Rio Rancho police and fire departments.

“The point of the race is to honor our military, firefighter, police officers and EMS personnel,” Talmadge said.

Triathletes may want to mark Dec. 7 on their calendar: That’s when Rio Rancho will be the site of the “Jingle Bell Triathlon.” That event is limited to 400 participants.