3rd consecutive triathlon in West Valley is set for Saturday

WEST VALLEY CITY — Building on the resonant success of two previous triathlons, West Valley City Parks and Recreation and the West Valley Family Fitness Center will conduct the third consecutive West Valley City triathlon on Saturday.

Family Fitness Center aquatics coordinator Nathan Geving, Family Fitness Center aquatics coordinator and the driving force behind the triathlon, hopes this year's competition equals the success of last year's so the event can continue to be a yearly occurrence. Last year, a kids' minitriathlon mini-triathlon was thrown into the mix to generate more awareness.

"We just want to try to encompass more things for the family, and we thought with the minitri mini-tri we would get more people involved," Geving said.

Although there are a variety of triathlons that take place in and around Salt Lake City, the West Valley triathlon is unusual in that the swimming takes place in a pool at the fitness center, but the biking and running routes are mapped out and take place wholly within West Valley.

"As far as I know, it is the only one out on this side," Geving said. "It's also one of the few that's all in town, just because of traffic and you have to shut down roads."

The West Valley triathlon includes both a novice division and a standard division for participants. In the standard division, competitors complete a 400-yard swim, a 14.2 mile bike ride and a 5k run. The entrants in the novice division simply cut the race length in half, completing a 200-yard swim, 7.1 mile bike ride and a 1.3 mile run.

For athletes who only specialize in one event, there is also the option for competitors to register as a team, with a different person competing in each segment of the race, or one person completing two events for a two-person team.

For the kids' minitri, participants may use a kickboard and/or a life jacket for the swimming portion of the race. The minitriathlon is open to all competitors 12 and under and includes a 50-yard swim, a half-mile bike ride and a quarter-mile run.

With registration well underway, Geving expects that somewhere in the mix are the top winners from last year bidding to repeat.

Chris Daniels won the novice division last year with a 41:15, while Drew Purdy was last year's winner of standard division with a time of 1:02: 30. 12-year old Forrest Wilkinson won the kids mini-tri last year with a time of 8:08.

Race activities get under way at the Family Fitness Center beginning at 7 a.m., and people can continue to register up until race time.

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