In the final triathlon race of the 2017 season, several of the Pacific Northwest’s top athletes will be on full display for the 29th annual Aluminum Man Triathlon on Saturday, Sept. 9 at Riverfront Park in The Dalles.
In looking at the numbers from years past, there will be a group of nearly 300 penciled in for participation in two levels of competition – the Olympic and the Sprint Events. In the sprint, athletes need to complete 500 yards of swimming, 12.43 miles of biking and 3.11 miles of running.
The number of local competitors is usually high with triathlon enthusiasts spanning Goldendale, Hood River, Dufur, White Salmon and The Dalles, but there are a few from Vancouver, Portland and across the northwest.
The Sprint class participants traverse a course of three events like swimming (.5k), biking (25k) and running (5k), but the Olympic Triathlon doubles those distances in a much more challenging manner.
If one of these triathletes is to come out ahead, they need to be on expert status in all three sports, where different muscles are put through the grind.
A less-perfected regimen in any event could make the difference between a top-10 output and bottom-10 time.
On one hand, being well-trained in each event is critical, but dealing with the temperatures rising above triple digits, moving seamlessly from the bikes to the running is one of the most difficult challenges to master.
Maybe it is the thrill of it all or maybe an athlete chooses to sign up to cross off a bucket list accomplishment, no matter how difficult or punishing to the body a triathlon is, the popularity of the event has recently skyrocketed.
On the website getgoingnc.com, sprint events held across the United State grew from 818 in 2004 to 1,393 in 2009.
According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association, the total number of Americans who participated in a triathlon — USAT sanctioned and otherwise — in 2009 was 1.2 million.
The Olympic event starts at 9 a.m. and the sprint athletes hit the pavement at 9:30 a.m.
Both the start and finish are at Riverfront Park in The Dalles.
Costs are slated for $65 for individuals before Aug. 13, $75 between Aug. 14 to Sept. 3, and $90 from Sept. 8 until the day of the race.
If interested in participating on the team front, costs are $35 before Aug. 13, $45 from Aug. 14 to Sept. 7 and the entry fees swell to $55 after Sept. 4.
T-shirts are provided for participants who sign up before Monday, Aug. 14.
Awards will be offered for finishing races, based on the 16 age divisions, where runners from ages 12 to 80 compete.
For more information on upcoming events, call 541-296-9533 or e-mail info@nwprd.org.
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