Stephanie Howe made the most of her few opportunities to cross-country ski this past winter, winning several local races in Central Oregon.

Busy completing her doctorate in exercise physiology at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Howe did not have many chances to get on the snow.

“I probably skied 10 times total, and three or four of those were races,” Howe said this week. “It was amazing to just come back (to Bend) and race for the weekend. I was able to just hop in. That was kind of cool. I raced just as well as last year.”

Despite living away from her hometown of Bend since last fall, Howe has not missed a beat in her preparation for Saturday’s 36th annual U.S. Bank Pole Pedal Paddle.

The 28-year-old will try to win her third consecutive elite women’s title in the multisport race that has become Central Oregon’s signature sporting event.

Howe is one of just four women registered in the elite category. The other three are Bend’s Mary Wellington and Bella Smith, and Brooke Blackwelder, of Boise, Idaho.

Howe, who defeated runner-up Wellington by more than six minutes last year, appears to be the clear favorite once again — not that she has been thinking much about the PPP.

“I’m in great shape right now, but I have a lot going on,” she said. “I just want to have fun and do my best. If anything, I’ve gotten faster since last year … just not as much time on the skis.”

Howe said she does not mind the women’s field being so small, because she can still race against the elite men, who start at the same time as the elite women as the first wave of competitors. Last year, with just three females in the elite division, Howe finished before two of the eight elite males.

“Since we start with the guys, you’re always surrounded by people,” Howe said. “There’s always people around me, so (the small women’s field) doesn’t bother me too much.”

Howe plans to return to Bend in mid-June to begin writing her doctoral dissertation at Central Oregon Community College, where she teaches classes.

Dabbling more in ultra running of late, Howe finished third at the Lake Sonoma (Calif.) 50-miler last month and won the Gorge Waterfalls 50K east of Portland in March.

Most of Howe’s PPP training has been in the form of running, but she has returned to Bend on recent weekends for some skiing and paddling. Last year, she even bought a surf ski (a fast, narrow kayak).

“I’m finally starting to get my own equipment and don’t have to borrow,” Howe said.

Although as of Monday she was still looking for somebody to lend her a time-trial bike, which reduces the wind resistance in nondrafting bike races like the PPP cycling leg.

Howe said the most challenging aspect of the PPP is managing the logistics of organizing the gear and support volunteers.

“Going fast racing, that’s the easiest part,” she explained. “It’s more rounding up people to help you … making sure you have someone who will show up with your shoes. It gets easier the more times you do it.”

Bend’s Suzanne King holds the record for most consecutive PPP women’s victories with four (2004-2007). Win on Saturday, and Howe will be one away from tying that mark — and it seems she might have her eyes set on breaking it.

“We’ll see,” Howe said. “There’s always something that keeps drawing me back to it.”