Tinker Tri tomorrow Published Sept. 24, 2010 By John Stuart Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- "You never know who's going to show up," said Travis Newton, reminding himself of Saturday's unpredictability. Newton is a champion, true, but there's always the possibility of a coup. It's an impressive showing for anybody -- the advent of winning a triathlon amid stiff competition. But for the last three years, Newton has done that very thing as he's shown himself a force to be dealt with in the Tinker Triathlon, taking first place overall in the men's senior category for his running, biking and swimming hat trick. But it wasn't always so easy. Newton was a greenhorn once, just like the dozens of others who show up at the annual Tinker Triathlon with no previous experience. Newton's first Tinker tri was in 2005, when about 60 people competed in the inaugural endeavor. Now, with tomorrow's race just hours away, more than 100 competitors are hoping for a chance at paddling, rolling and running glory. A civilian on base, Newton represents the top of the Tinker tri food chain. With his trio of championship trophies, he's looking for a four-pete. He came in last year with a time of 39:00, but was followed closely by Jon Dalrymple, who had recently PCS'd to Tinker just months before competition. Newton didn't know Dalrymple was going to be in the running last year, emphasizing the roster mystery that abounds before race-day registration. Dalrymple finished less than a minute after Newton in the 2009 race, earning second place. A deployment will keep the lieutenant out of the running this year, but race day could still hold a surprise. "(Dalrymple) had just PCS'd here from Florida and I'd never heard of him and obviously he's really good," Newton said. "But I feel pretty confident. I've put more training than ever in. If last year I did it in 39 minutes I feel good that I can do it even faster this year. I just want to break that 39." Newton's been no slouch. His numbers are a sobering reality to the competition: 3,000, 80, 25. These are his weekly pearls of endurance, representing meters of swimming, miles of biking and miles of running. With an improved stride to help an arthritic left knee, Newton's feeling better this triathlon season than ever before. And what started five years ago as a last-minute decision to compete spurred his full fledged venture into the sport while unlocking some untapped endurance potential. So who knows, for those 100 or so competitors of this year's Tinker tri, they might get addicted too.