Published April 9, 2013 12:28PM
After 20 years with no triathlons on the Huntington Beach, the site welcomed triathletes back over the weekend.
On a breezy Saturday morning in the parking lot of Huntington State Beach, Jesus Trujillo was involved in some last-minute preparations before participating in the Huntington Beach triathlon and 5K.
The 23-year-old from Rowland Heights had half of his wetsuit on as he used a pump to inflate his bicycle tires before the “Surf City Sprint” started.
“I’ve always wanted to do a triathlon. I’ve been wanting to do it for years,” Trujillo said. “Then one day I was in a bike ride down in Long Beach and saw their poster. And there you go!”
He and 400 other triathletes and runners participated in the triathlon, sponsored by Tri the Beach, which required that they swim through 4-foot waves, bike down the Santa Ana River Trail and run through soft sand.
“It’s been over 20 years since Huntington Beach has had a triathlon,” Tri the Beach co-founder Kent Sommer said. “For a first-time event there, we’re definitely excited about the turnout.”
Triathletes swam 600 meters, biked for 10 miles along the bike trail and ran about three miles on the beach, Sommer said.
The Seal Beach-based group had its first event in October in Seal Beach and decided to expand south, said Joshua Rigsby, one of the founders of Tri the Beach.
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