Race Previews

"A Perfect Course For Beginners"...

Friday, 17 June 2016 00:10

Photo By Ken Klotzbach

By rochestermn.com/outdoor

When the airhorns sound at 8 a.m. on Sunday, June 19 at Foster-Arend Park, it’s not because you’re about to hear a reggaeton banger or experience a tornado, it’s because the Rochesterfest Triathlon, presented by Toyota and organized by Final Stretch, is going down.

Competitors in this time-honored Rochesterfest race will compete in one of two classes – sprint or Olympic. The sprint course consists of a quarter-mile swim, a 10-mile bike and ...

a 5k run. The Olympic course features a 1.5k swim, a 40k bike and a 10k run.

“This is a perfect course for beginners…with the nice smooth water for the swim, the ten mile bike, the run is off from the roads, so it’s a nice comfortable, fairly shaded course for the three mile run,” says Mark Bongers of Final Stretch.

This year, to make first-time participants more comfortable, a Rookie-Triathlon wave has been initiated with separate start times, and mentors available for advice and support.

Brad Mitchell, a serious amateur with aims to break into Minnesota’s elite bracket, took second at last year’s Rochesterfest Triathlon and competed in this year’s World Championships. He is a mentor for the Rookie-Tri experience.  READ MORE