WINONA LAKE – The Breakfast Optimist Club Sprint Triathlon returns to Winona Lake Saturday morning, with special guest participant “The Bachelor” Ben Higgins. Nearly 400 triathletes from all over Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois will descend on the event in Winona Lake Park, which starts at 8 a.m. According to a press release from Ron Donkers, race chair, the parking lot will begin its transformation into the transition area today as the Optimist Club brings in and assembles bike racks and fencing to designate the staging area for the race. The adult race, for 15- to 80-year-olds, provides a major source of funding for the Breakfast Optimist Club since all of the proceeds of the race are used to sponsor programs and activities that benefit local children in the Warsaw and Winona Lake area, the release states. The youth race, 11 to 14-year-olds, is a recent feature added to allow younger athletes an opportunity to get involved. All youth will compete by swimming, biking and running on a shortened version of the adult course. The myTEAM TRIUMPH athletes will have a guest celebrity on their team this year as “The Bachelor” Ben Higgins has volunteered to be one of the team members. This program was created to help children, teens, adults and veterans with disabilities – who normally would not be able to experience endurance events – participate in such as triathlons or road races. The athlete in the chair is the team “captain.” Each captain is surrounded by at least three volunteer “angel” athletes, who are their “wings.” Higgins will swim, bike and run the course while helping his captain “run like an angel,” the release states. The new “adult kayak wave” removes the swim portion, and instead athletes will use a kayak to navigate a separate course, which begins and ends at the beach. Then they continue with the normal bike and run portions of the race. Athletes are responsible to supply their own kayaks or make arraignments to rent or borrow a kayak before signing up for the race. All participants will wear a timing chip attached to their ankle that will record their “start times.” As each person returns to the transition area, they cross timing mats that let the organizers know that they are safely out of the water, and how long it took to complete each challenge. The race uses 14 certified lifeguards in the water, assisted by additional volunteers in kayaks and jet skis, as well as the Warsaw Police Department dive team to ensure course safety. Some of the fastest racers will take about one hour to complete the course but many will take between one and two hours from when they depart. After the race is over, food is provided in a picnic atmosphere for all the triathletes with chicken quarters, pizza donated by race sponsors, pierogis made by the volunteers in the Senior Center kitchen, fresh fruit and energy drinks. Over 100 Optimist Club volunteers, assisted by Winona Lake, Warsaw and Pierceton police and fire departments, will be out in force to help with the race.
