From left: Sage Smiley, Angie Flickinger and Kate Thomas prepare to swim in Shoemaker Bay on June 10 as part of their Tongass Toughman Triathlon training. The event takes place on July 2.
From left, Angie Flickinger, Kate Thomas and Sage Smiley get ready to swim out. The Tongass Toughman Triathlon takes place on July 2.
Fitness buffs looking to challenge themselves in Wrangell don't have far to go to go far.
Two different events in July will test the mettle of endurance athletes seeking to swim, bike, run and run some more.
The Tongass Toughman Triathlon on July 2 pits people against sea, pavement and dirt in a combined 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 15-mile run. The Bearfest marathon on July 31 gives racers the option of running a full marathon (26.2 miles), a half (13.1 miles) or a 5k (3.1 miles).
Nicholas Howell, an endurance athlete and the race director for the triathlon, created the event four years ago.
"He wanted to bring a challenging endurance event to Wrangell that would push people to explore their limits and feel their hard work pay off," said Ceona Koch, the organizer for both events.
Triathletes can either tackle the entire Toughman, competing in all three legs, or they can assemble teams in which each one will swim, one will bike and one will run. Such is the case with Caitlin Cardinell and her friend Sabrina Smith.
Cardinell will swim the 1.2 miles to City Dock, while Smith will finish the race with the 15-mile run. They had someone to ride the 56 miles, but the person had to drop out. Cardinell competed in the running portion a few years ago, but admits she thrives more in chaotic sports like softball where the outcome is uncertain.
She also said she hasn't done much training for the swimming portion.
"I had been a lifeguard for a few years at Parks and Rec, and it was part of our required physical maintenance and upkeep to swim a mile every week," Cardinell said. "I feel very comfortable in the water, and I'm not worried about doing it."
Other athletes preparing for the Toughman entered the height of training last weekend, as they wind down or taper before race day. Kate Thomas and Angie Flickinger, who are both competing in all three legs of the Toughman, spent about an hour in Shoemaker Bay last Friday. They were joined by Sage Smiley, who is competing in the swim portion as part of a team. Flickinger and Thomas still had running and cycling training to complete over the weekend.
"We bike for two hours on Saturday and then run for an hour and 40 minutes," Thomas said. "Then, on Sunday, we bike for four to four-and-a-half hours."
Training conditions can be quite adverse, like the rain and wind and cooler temperatures the trio faced on their swim. However, that can be a benefit if conditions are more welcoming on race day. Thomas said they anticipate the swim portion of the triathlon to take an hour, the biking to take around five hours and the running to be about four hours. The cutoff time for the event is 12 hours.
All three are planning to run the half-marathon distance of the Bearfest less than a month after competing in the triathlon.
Koch is an endurance cyclist, having finished an 80-mile ride on the island last year. Though she won't be competing in the triathlon, she is planning to complete a 100-mile ride this year.
The Toughman Triathlon is half the distance of an Ironman-brand triathlon, which is a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, and a full marathon run of 26.2 miles. The closest Ironman will be in Juneau on Aug. 7.
If endurance races aren't to people's liking, but they'd still like to support the Toughman, Koch said they are looking for additional financial help since they haven't taken any registration fees for a couple of years.
"We don't need much, but what we're trying to cover is food and drink for the athletes, race swag like T-shirts and medals, and then we have some new safety equipment, including a swim ladder and buoys for the swim course," Koch said. "We're trying to reach $2,500."
More information on the Tongass Toughman Triathlon can be found on the race's Facebook page @TongassToughmanTriathlon.
Though the triathlon hasn't taken any registration fees, the Bearfest marathon does. The full marathon is $50, the half is $25 and the 5k is free. T-shirts are an additional $25. For start times and additional information on the race, visit alaskabearfest.org and click on the "Marathon" link.
The marathon draws people from all over Alaska and the Lower 48.
"We have these guys come in who are (running) the 50 states and they always really enjoy it," Koch said. "It's a beautiful course. It's very small and intimate, so it's a wonderful community feel. You don't have hundreds of people at the starting line."
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