Published March 18, 2010 07:13PM
For serious tri addicts some masochist long ago created the tri festival. A tri fest offers participants the opportunity to race one more event throughout a weekend. It’s also a great way to travel with a family or group of people each racing a different event. We feel any weekend-long celebration of tri is great, but the greatest of all takes place the middle of Nowhere, California on May 1-2. Lake San Antonio, which is quite literally smack dab in the middle of nowhere, is home to the world-famous Wildflower Triathlon Festival, an annual party celebrating why triathlon kicks ass.
This year’s festivities kick off with a half iron-distance race on Saturday, followed by an enormous party on Saturday night, followed by a mountain bike tri and Olympic-distance race on Sunday morning. Grab your camping gear or rent an RV; just be sure to bring plenty of beer.
Wildflower Triathlon Festival
Location: Lake San Antonio, Calif.
2010 Date: Apr. 30-May 2
Distances:
Long course tri: 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Olympic-distance tri: .93-mile swim, 24.7-mile bike, 6.2-mile run
Mountain bike tri: .25-mile swim, 9.7-mile bike, 2-mile run
Website: TriCalifornia.com
Lonestar Triathlon Festival
Location: Galveston Island, Tex.
2010 Date: April 24-25
Distances:
Sprint: 0.3-mile swim, 12.5-mile bike, 3.1-mile run
Olympic: .93-mile swim, 24.7-mile bike, 6.2-mile run
Ironman 70.3: 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Website: Ironmanlonestar.com
Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival
Location: Show Low, Ariz.
2010 Date: June 5-6
Distances:
Youth Deuceathlon: 0.5-mile run, 3-mile bike, 0.35-mile run
Aquabike: 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike
Deuceman: 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, 13.1-mile run
Olympic: .93-mile swim, 24.7-mile bike, 6.2-mile run
XTERRA Deuces Wild: 0.5-mile swim, 15-mile mountain bike, 5-mile trail run
Website: Trisportsracing.com
Neapean Weekend of Triathlon (Australia)
Location: Sydney, Australia
2010 Date: Nov. 13-14
Distance: .6-mile swim, 18.6-mile bike, 6.2-mile run
Website: Nepeantriathlon.com
Saipan Sports Festival
Location: Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
2010 Date: March 13-20
Distances:
XTERRA Saipan: 1-mile swim, 12.4-mile MTN bike, 7.4-mile trail run
Tagaman Triathlon: 1.2-mile swim, 37.3-mile bike, 9.3-mile run
Website: Saipansports.com