HARLINGEN — Break out your bicycle shorts, it’s time to party.
Bicycle World will host its 4th Annual Tri-Girls Sprint Triathlon Sunday, Aug. 13.
But, don’t get too excited.
If you haven’t signed up, you are out of luck.
The event has become so popular, registration has closed with all slots filled.
The female only triathlon includes a 10 mile bike ride, three mile run and a 300 meter swim.
Ana Adame, manager at Bicycle World, said the event has grown in the short time since it started.
The first year 60 women participated.
This year, the event was capped at 150 women for safety reasons.
Adame said the first year was a learning experience and did not cap registration.
After that, they learned how many women the course could accommodate safely.
The group of women currently signed up is a mix of first-timers and those who have been there since the beginning.
“A lot come back the next year to improve their personal best,” Adame said.
She said the triathlon is the only one of its kind in the Valley and provides a space for women.
“More people are becoming more active for healthy reasons; mental and physical,” Adame said.
Competitor Delores Garza is entering her second year and said interests in races like these have become more popular since she started.
“It’s becoming a much healthier community, especially here in South Texas,” Garza said.
With the help of her husband, Garza had only recently learned to swim at 48 and began to push herself to enter the Tri- Girl Sprint Triathlon, her first.
“The all girl was the best and I didn’t feel intimidated,” Garza said. “That’s what I like the most, that I felt comfortable.”
The women-only triathlon provided a unique take on the event.
“Women like that,” Adame said.
Bicycle World hosted a kid’s triathlon last month.
The triathlon is a United States Triathlon Association sanctioned event.
The results from the race are recorded and women looking to enter national triathlons will be able to use the times they finish to enter other races.
* Triathlon is of Greek origin, treis meaning three and athlos meaning
competition
* The first modern triathlon was held in San Diego, California, in 1974
* Triathlons were added to the Olympics in 2000
* The swim/bike transition is known as T1 and the bike/run transition is known as T2
To prepare the women, Bicycle World and Lone Star Pacesetters are hosting a Mock Tri Run this Saturday.
The Mock Tri Run is only open to the women registered for the Tri-Girls Sprint and the Lone Star Pacesetters members.
The mock run starts at Victor’s Pool and will help first-timers understand the transitions between the different parts of a triathlon and understand the pacing.
WHAT: Tri-Girls Sprint Triathlon
WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 13
WHERE: Begins at Victor Park Pool
TIME: 7 a.m.
