The ninth annual Bootlegger Triathlon, hosted by Five Star NTP in Dawsonville, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 8:00 a.m.
The race is open to all ages and is usually a popular race for both adults and children, according to Event Manager Lowell Starr.
“The first year we did it was 2011, I think, and every year it’s pretty popular,” Starr said. “We usually have between 125 and 170 people that participate, both kids and adults.”
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The triathlon will start at Veteran’s Memorial Park with the swimming portion of the race, then participants will bicycle the riding course and finally run to the finish line. Each leg of the race is a different length for different ages.
Adult participants will swim 250 yards, bike 9 miles and run 2.25 miles. Children participants will have different distances for different age groups, ranging from the 12-13 year age group’s 125-yard swim, 5 mile bike ride and 3/4 mile run all the way down to the 5 and under age group’s 25 yard swim, 1 mile bike ride and 1/4 mile run.
According to Starr, the triathlon is a good way to participate in a race while still being careful of social distancing restrictions. Race coordinators will be taking additional precautions to help ensure the safety of all participants as well.
“The way we normally do a triathlon is pretty socially distanced as it is, so everything we already do normally is spread out,” Starr said. “But we’re also doing things like spreading more people out across bike racks, so like usually we’ll have 7 people on a bike rack and this year we’re cutting that down to 4.”
So far, pre-registrations for the race are slightly lower this year than usual, due to COVID-19 and people’s uncertainty whether the triathlon is still happening.
“People are waiting a little bit more until the last minute to sign up this year, just to make sure it’s not cancelled,” Starr said. “But they can even sign up the day of the race if they want to.”
For more information or to sign up for the Bootlegger Triathlon race, visit the event’s website at https://www.fivestarntp.com/races/Bootlegger-Triathlon.