20th Annual Breakfast Optimist Club Triathlon Adds Youth Race
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
WINONA LAKE – The Breakfast Optimist Club is preparing to sponsor the 20th annual Optimist Triathlon in Winona Lake June 29. The adult race event provides a major source of funding for the Optimist Club since all of the proceeds of the race are used to sponsor programs and activities for local children in the Warsaw and Winona Lake area, according to Ron Donkers, race director. This event draws almost 600 participants from across the U.S., but primarily from Indiana and surrounding states. A new feature this year is the addition of a youth race. “We want to expose younger athletes to the health advantages of a multi-sport lifestyle, so the last two waves that we will launch into the lake will be for youth only,” Donkers said. Applications will be accepted from 11- and 12-year-old and 13- and 14-year-old participants. The race will continue to allow 15 and older athletes to race in the adult classification. “The youth race nicely fits our mission to provide healthy activities to the youth of our community,” Donkers said. The youth race course will be the same as the adult course but, depending upon the age group, youth participants will be turned around sooner and directed back to the finish line for that event. The 13- and 14-year-old group will be expected to swim 110 yards, bike 4.8 miles and run 2.8 miles. The 11- and 12-year-old group will be expected to swim 110 yards, bike 2.8 miles and run 1.5 miles. Regardless of age, all athletes will start with a swim, then bike and finally run. More than 100 Optimist Club volunteers, assisted by Winona Lake, Warsaw and Pierceton police and fire departments, will be out in force to provide traffic control. “Our main goal is to provide a competitive yet family friendly fun activity that has safety emphasized in every event,” Donkers said. “For example, we will have 14 lifeguards in the water during the swim event.” The race will start at 8 a.m. and a wave of about 60 people will launch into the water every three minutes. After the last adult wave is launched, the youth races will be released. All racers will have an electronic timing chip strapped to their ankle to record their progress for each event and for overall time. Last year there was a new classification called the “Half Swim” wave for those adults that would like to participate in the Optimist Triathlon, but were reluctant to sign up because they did not feel that they were strong enough swimmers to complete the swim portion of the event, immediately followed by a 13.5-mile bike and 3.7-mile run. Less accomplished adult swimmers can compete. They will only swim one half the normal distance, or 1/8 mile (660 feet total) and they can elect to use a lifebelt or other floatation device as long as it does not interfere with the progress of others. The Optimist event is sanctioned by USA Triathlon, an athletic association that has more than 140,000 members worldwide and sanctions more than 3,500 races in the U.S. each year. Pre-registration for the event is required. To register for the race and to see the course map for the adult, 13- and 14- and 11- and 12-year-old events, visit warsawoptimist.org or for questions about the race, contact Donkers at 574-267-7226.
