By Bonnie Adams
Government Editor
Not only will you get a great workout, you'sl be helping the two sponsoring organizations – the Westborough Rotary Club and Sun Multisports Events – raise funds for the American Diabetes Association (ADA), as well.
The event will start the day at 8 a.m. with a 0.25-mile swim in Lake Chauncy. Athletes will then transition to a 13.9-mile bike course and then finish up with a three-mile run.
“The nice thing is you can either do all three portions or work as a team with two others,” Rotary Event Chair Gerry Gross said. “So if you are a strong swimmer but maybe not biker, another teammate could do that part. And the whole thing only takes about an hour and a half.”
The course for the bike and running portions are pleasant and easy to compete on, he said. The bike course goes through portions of Westborough, Northborough, Marlborough and Southborough. The third part of the event, a three-mile run, is mostly on a flat course along the shores of Lake Chauncy and then finishes on a grassy field.
“It's really a fabulous venue,” Gross said of the Westborough State Hospital site. “For our inaugural event last year, the promoter (Sun Multisports Events) got lots of praise for how well it was run. We had 260 people that day. It was also perfect weather conditions, which, of course, we hope we have this year, too.”
Monies raised from the event will go to help the Rotary fund a number of programs it sponsors in the community. This year, they have also chosen the ADA to receive a portion of each registration fee.
“We have a couple of Rotarians who have children who have diabetes,” Gross said, “so we thought this would be a good cause to support.”
Gross said the Rotary is grateful for the support of the event's grand sponsors – UMass-Memorial Health Care and the UMass Medical School – as well as its other sponsors – the Westboro Tennis and Swim Club, Grace Bicycles, the YMCA of Central Massachusetts, Roche Bros., K&B Sportswear, Central One Federal Credit Union, Boston Sports Clubs and Kathy Wilfert of Coldwell Bankers.
The entry fee is $85 per individual and $135 per relay team. Gross said participants are urged to register ahead of time by going to www.sunmultisportevents.com but may also register the day of the race. In addition, since the event is USA Triathlon (USAT)-sanctioned, participants must either show a valid, current USAT Annual Membership Card or purchase a one-day USAT license for $10 that morning.
Athletes will be grouped by standard USAT age divisions in five-year increments (e.g. 20 to 24, 25 to 29, etc.) and will be placed by the age they will be Dec. 31, 2011. The minimum age for the event is 16 as of Dec. 31. There will also be a “Clydesdale” (men, 200+ lbs), “Athena” (women, 150+ lbs), and open divisions.
USAT rules will apply throughout the event. All athletes are urged to review those rules at www.USATriathlon.org.
More information and the specifics regarding registration and what to expect on the day of the event are available online at www.sunmultisportevents.com.