Key West Triathlon

BY MAGGIE OLIVE KLEIN
KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER AND EDITOR 

On December 11th, the Key West Triathlon will occur, granting participants a warm swim in the Atlantic Ocean in full view of watchers on the Higgs Beach Pier, a bike course along US1 by Smather’s Beach, and a run along the boardwalk along Smather’s Beach. Friends and family welcome the athletes through the finish line, along with lively music to celebrate their triumph. In addition to the Olympic-distance and sprint-distance triathlons, other racecourses are offered. These include a Duathlon, which is a ½ mile run, a 12-mile bike, and a 4-mile run, as well as an Aquabike, which is a 600-meter swim and a 12-mile bike. 

The Key West Triathlon has become one of the most famous triathlons worldwide, and only continues to spike in popularity. It is nationally recognized and is the last sanctioned triathlon of the year that has been officially sanctioned by U.S.A. Triathlon. And let’s be real, what better place to utilize the outdoors for physical activity than Key West?

As for timing and scoring, the Triathlon utilizes the latest cloud based timing system from triathlonscoring.com, which immediately displays results throughout the race on HDTV monitors near the finish line. Pretty impressive and convenient! Receipts will be available to all athletes immediately upon their conclusion. Detailed race results are also emailed to all participants after the race, which include links for finisher certificates, award mailing, and photos. There are different categories that participants register under for the race. More details regarding the categories can be found here. Awards are given in all categories, and special recognition will be given to the Top 3 Overall Females and Males, as well as the Top Master Female (40+) and Male (40+). 

The opportunity to volunteer is also something to consider, if you’re not necessarily interested in participating in the races, or you want to support athletes! Volunteers can raise funds for a charity of their choice or earn money for each hour volunteered in Race Credit. Volunteers are also able to do so for community service hours. There are volunteers needed for setup, on-course tasks such as water stations, finish line, back-up timing and more, and breakdown and cleanup. More information regarding volunteering can be found here. 

So, if this sounds like an absolute blast, find the registration link here, and get ready, because the race is almost here! Happy Triathloning!

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