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This is Sal Ruibal's most recent article, originally appearing Friday, March 12.

Mr. Bunn's opus: Swim, ride and run

In most high school physical-education classes, dodge ball is considered an extreme sport.

In Denny Bunn's P.E. class, however, students dodge trees while ripping through the 1,600 acres of woods on mountain bikes. They can also be found swimming laps or pounding out trail runs.

Mr. Bunn's triathlon class is now in session.

The private Maclay School in Tallahassee, Fla., has offered triathlon as an elective for two years. For the first semester, only 10 students signed up. The class is now filled to capacity with 15 budding triathletes.

"If we had any more, there wouldn't be enough room in the woods for us to ride," says Bunn, 49, a three-time finisher in the Hawaii Ironman triathlon.

Maclay is one of the few secondary schools in the USA to offer nontraditional sports as part of their official curriculum. In addition to triathlon, Bunn teaches an aquatics sports class that includes kayaking, life saving and underwater hockey, played in a pool with short sticks and snorkels.

The former commercial diver came up with his alternative sports ideas while studying for his teaching certificate. He wrote a paper on teaching "lifetime" sports.

"Lifetime sports can be played no matter your age or physical prowess," Bunn says. "Even though triathlon is now an Olympic sport, cycling, swimming and running can be enjoyed by anyone at any age."

Triathon is no easy "A.'' Students must learn about nutrition and physiology. And a pop quiz could be a 1-mile cross-country race or sprints in the pool. At the end of the semester, students will compete in a sanctioned triathlon (500-meter swim, 11-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run).

"It's different than any other P.E. class I'd ever taken," says Brianne Javlon, 16, a junior who took the class last semester and finished third in her age division in the graduation triathlon.

"It was tough. During the run, my legs felt like jelly. But it's a great way to develop my sports abilities."

Bunn says his triathletes stand out on the Maclay campus, even when they aren't riding their mountain bikes at breakneck speed: "There's sort of an aura about them that the other students admire."

For now, competition against other schools and clubs has to be done on the Internet, comparing team times over measured distances.

Mike Moody, 16, a junior, says Bunn's class has opened his eyes to the potential of alternative sports.

"People who run triathlons are a different breed," he says. "They're healthy and positive."

IronKids: There is a triathlon series for athletes ages 7-14. The IronKids Bread Triathlon has events in six cities with kid-sized distances. For more information call 1-888-IRONKID or online at www.ironkids.com.