Tongass ToughMan triathlon this Sunday

Nicholas Howell has a bit of a reputation as the guy around town who runs a lot. Last December he ran 100 miles in a single day to celebrate the new year. He said that he also competed in an Ironman triathlon down in California last year. Howell enjoys "ultra events" because it gives him the opportunity to test himself, and better his training and discipline, he said. Now, he is giving other Wrangell residents the opportunity to see what it is all about, by organizing the Tongass ToughMan triathlon.

"For me, it's been a tool in life for a lot of things, and I just kind of wanted to pass that on," he said.

A triathlon is an event with three parts: Swimming, biking, and running. The Tongass ToughMan will begin at 6 a.m. on Sunday, June 30, at the community pool. There, participants will swim laps for 1.2 miles. This will be followed by a 56-mile bike ride, beginning at approximately 7 a.m. According to a route map on the triathlon's Facebook page, bikers will start at the community pool, and will next bike counterclockwise around the airport loop road. Then they will go down Zimovia Highway, where they will turn onto Nemo Loop Road. After biking down Lower Salamander Road and back to complete Nemo Loop, they will bike back up the highway into town. The bike ride will be followed by a 14.5-mile run. T-shirts and medals will be waiting at the end of it all, Howell said. The run will start on Reid Street, above the community pool. Runners will go up Bennett St. to the spur road, where they will run out to Rainbow Falls. Runners will then climb the summit, and go back down on the other side of the trail. Next they will take Zimovia Highway back into town where the finish line will be in front of the community pool entrance. True to form, Howell ran the entire course twice on Monday, June 24, to raise funds for the event.

"I'm still looking for volunteers, they can contact me for that," he said. "There will be three aid stations. Two on the bike, which one of them you'll hit twice, so kind of three, and then one at the top of Rainbow Falls."

As of Friday, June 21, Howell said that 30 people had signed up. The majority of these people signed up as teams, with one person taking an event before tagging off to the next person. There are six solo participants, however, who Howell said will complete the entire triathlon themselves.

There will be a spaghetti dinner at the community gym on Saturday, June 29, free to everyone registered for the triathlon, to help them bulk up on calories before the big day with a fee for everyone else. Registration for the triathlon closed on June 15. However, Howell said that anybody still interested in participating or volunteering to help out should get in touch with him. Howell also had a request for the public to be aware and try to keep roadways clear for all the bikers and runners on Sunday.

"If you're going to watch, hopefully they can find a spot or pull over somewhere, and just kind of stay put for a while," Howell said. "That's what I'm trying to avoid is a lot of unnecessary traffic out off the pavement."

To learn more, visit "Tongass ToughMan" on Facebook.