The triathlon is real, even if it is 'unofficial'

Try telling the competitors who swim 1.2 miles in open water, bike for 56 miles and run for 15 miles that they are “unofficial.”

Nicholas Howell organized the inaugural Tongass ToughMan Triathlon in 2019 as an official event, but the COVID-19 pandemic and health protocols knocked down attendance from more than 30 participants that first year to just three last year: Nicholas, his brother, and one other person.

“Last year, with COVID happening, it just kind of became unofficial,” Howell said Monday. Unofficial meaning no permits or insurance or registration fees for the triathlon, which will start at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the city dock.

“I know of about 20 people right now” who are looking to enter this weekend’s event, he said. All participants are local, Howell said, though several traveled to Wrangell from out of town for the 2019 race.

Howell wants to return next year as an official event. “I want to make this a big event for Wrangell,” drawing competitors to the community for the holiday. “Next year we’re really going to ramp it up.”

He hopes to add a children’s triathlon next year.

“I’m the kind of person who makes things up and just does them,” said Howell, who said he has been covering the event’s expenses out of his pocket.

Though he has competed in only one triathlon outside Wrangell, Howell is an ultra-marathon runner, with a 100-mile run in Wrangell on Dec. 31 a few years back. He said he is planning a 260-mile run in Hawaii next winter — competitors have 96 hours to complete the course.

Anyone interested in competing in the Tongass ToughMan this weekend should attend a free pre-event dinner 6 to 9 p.m. Friday in front of Alaska Vistas, near the city dock, Howell said. Participants will receive briefing materials and can sign up unofficially at the dinner.

They also can drop off gear bags and bicycles for the next day.

The event will start at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the dock, and is open to solo competitors and teams.

Boats will take the swimmers 1.2 miles from shore for the swim back to the dock. That’s a change from last year, when competitors swam out from the dock and back, Howell said.

The 56-mile bike ride also will start at dock and head out the road, along logging roads to the Lower Salamander Creek Campground and back. The route gains — and loses — almost 4,800 feet in elevation.

The runners will go from city dock to the Rainbow Falls Trail, over the top of the trail and coming out on the other side of the island, connecting to the Spur Road and back to downtown, Howell said. The route climbs almost 3,000 feet in elevation.

An aid station will be available at the dock for the beginning and end of each leg. There will also be an unmanned aid station at Lower Salamander Camp (25 miles into the bike ride) and a manned aid station at the High Country Shelter (7 miles into the run). Each station will have water, Gatorade, energy gels, candy bars and fruit.