Multisport makes splash in Utah as more athletes try triathlons

Swim. Bike. Run.

For a growing number of athletes, those aren't just sports options to choose from on a given day — that's the order they do them in.

Back-to-back-back.

Three sports in one event at one setting for the price of one word: triathlon.

According to USA Triathlon, the national governing body with 100,000-plus members, the multisport activity is "one of the fastest growing sports in the world" and that's despite — or perhaps because of — the fact triathletes have to swim anywhere from 300 yards to 2.4 miles, then bike between 12 and 112 miles and then cap the day's busy to-do list off with a run that ranges from a 5K to a full marathon before hitting the finish line.

That, by the way, can take anywhere between 50-some-odd minutes and 14 hours, depending on the race and the athlete.

In this era of multitasking, combo meals and bigger-is-better mentalities, it really isn't all that surprising that triathlons are making a splash, so to speak, in the sports world.

And Utah is no exception.

Look at a summer event calendar, and it's easy to see the sport is thriving in the Beehive State.

"It's definitely growing quick (in Utah)," said Alex McKinley, an avid triathlete and the publisher of a regional multisport magazine and Web site called www.trihive.com. "In the last two or three years, it's gone absolutely nuts."

That's especially the case with the "sprint" races, which are the shortest and usually consist of a 400- or 800-yard swim, a 12-mile bike ride and a 5K run. Next in the length and popularity line is the Olympic or International distance (about 1-mile swim, 25-mile bike, 10K run).

Kelly McPherson, who is the membership officer of the Desert Sharks Triathlon Club based in Salt Lake City, has definitely noticed how "huge" triathlons have become in Utah during the five years that she's been involved in the sport. She predicts that the sport in the state likely is only "going to get bigger," too.

TriUtah co-owner Sheri Anderson's multisport-event promoting company will put on five of the state's bigger triathlons this year. She believes the sport has never been as popular as it is now. TriUtah first did the well-known Jordanelle Triathlon 10 years ago, and that event experienced from 100 to 200 percent growth in participation in each of its first five years. It's expected to sell out of its 1,000-athlete slots for the sixth straight year before the Aug. 23 race.

Other races across the state are also experiencing a surge. Anderson said the popularity and participation rates are having �"just exponential" growth.