Moab Triathlon Festival offers choices of distances
by Steve Kadel
staff writer
Jun 06, 2013 | 1817 views | 0 0 comments | 35 35 recommendations | email to a friend | print
There will be opportunities for those of every fitness level during the third annual Moab Triathlon Festival on Saturday, June 8.

“We’ll have between 300 and 350 entrants,” said race director Dan Aamodt, adding that people don’t have to be top athletes to participate.

“There is a 5k trail race that will be great for the citizens of Moab to take part in,” he said.

The XTERRA Moab Full Triathlon begins with a 1,500-meter swim in Ken’s Lake. That’s followed by a 15-mile bike race on the Steelbender Trail, and the event concludes with a two-loop 6.8-mile run to Faux Falls with a finish at the Ken’s Lake day use area south of Moab.

Race organizers urge participants to ride the Steelbender Trail before competition day to be ready for the technical skill and strength it requires.

The XTERRA Moab Sport Triathlon covers the same trails, although the distances are cut in half.

The Moab Road Olympic Triathlon is the biggest challenge of the day. It starts with the same 1,500-meter swim in Ken’s Lake, but then competitors embark on a 40-kilometer bike race on Spanish Valley Drive with an out-and-back leg to Pack Creek Ranch. Olympic triathlon contestants finish with the two-loop 6.8-mile run to Faux Falls and back to the day use area at Ken’s Lake.

The Moab Road Spring Triathlon covers the same road to Pack Creek Ranch. However, the swim, bike and run segments are all half the distance of the Olympic triathlon.

Aamodt called the road triathlons among the most scenic of the courses.

Children have their event, too. The Moab Kids Triathlon for ages 7 through 10 starts with a 25-meter swim, followed by a 1.5-mile bike ride, and a one-half mile run.

Children ages 11 to 14 will swim 200 meters, bike six kilometers, and run one mile.

“We have the kids triathlon again, and there are more kids entered this year than in 2011,” Aamodt said.

The special XTERRA Moab Trail Run is offered for those who want to do only one fairly short event. The run goes along the trail leading to Faux Falls and back, with a final leg around Ken’s Lake for 3.4 miles total.

The trail run kicks off the day’s activities at 7 a.m. along with the XTERRA Moab Full Triathon, which starts at the same time.

The Moab Olympic Road Triathlon starts at 7:05 a.m., followed by the XTERRA Moab Sport Triathlon at 7:30 a.m. and the Moab Sprint Road Triathlon at 7:35 a.m.

The XTERRA Moab Kids Triathlon begins at 10:30 a.m.

An awards ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at Ken’s Lake. Awards will be given to the top three overall winners in each race, and to the top three finishers in each age group.

The event also presents awards in special divisions for the physically challenged, and the Athena and Clydesdale divisions. The Athena division is for women who weigh more than 150 pounds and Clydesdale is for women weighing more than 200 pounds, according to the event website.
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