Athletes ready for a challenge

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 athletes is usually high with triathletes spanning Hood River, Dufur, White Salmon and The Dalles, but there are some from Vancouver, Portland and across the Northwest Territories.

Just like any triathlon, these athletes train year-round to ensure they are in peak condition for such a grueling test.

Whether a person winds up in first place, 40th place or last, crossing the tape is a big accomplishment.

The Sprint participants go through a course of three events like swimming (.5k), biking (25k) and running (5k), but the Olympic Triathlon doubles those distances.

No matter how difficult or punishing to the body a triathlon is, the popularity has skyrocketed recently.

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 number of Americans who participated in a triathlon — USAT sanctioned and otherwise — in 2009 was 1.2 million.

Aside from just running or swimming or playing hoops or windsurfing, triathletes embrace the difficulties of mastering three events.

The real test to one’s self is one of the element of completion.

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 set at $65 for individuals before Aug. 28, $70 between Aug. 29 to Sept. 7 and $85 from Sept. 8 until the day of the race.

If interested in participating on the team front, costs are $35 before Aug. 28, $40 from Aug. 29 to Sept. 7 and the entry fees swell to $50 after Sept. 8.

Awards will be offered for finishing races, based on the 16 age divisions, where runners from ages 12 to 80 compete.

For more information, call 541-296-9533 or e-mail info@nwprd.org.

Parties can also sign up at www.racecenter.com/ aluminumman/#course.