Five Cal Poly students will participate in the longest running off-road triathlon, Scott Tinley’s Adventures 14th Annual Triathlon, at Lake Lopez from Oct. 1 to Oct. 3.
The multi-sport competition, sponsored by Tri-California Events, Inc., features six triathlon events for beginning, intermediate, expert and young athletes. The races include open water lake swimming, single track and fire road mountain bike trails, a road bike course through the campgrounds and open fields of Arroyo Grande and both on- and off-road running trails in the hills.
“It’s going to be a huge event,” said Chris Blake, public relations representative for Tri-California Events. “(It is) a great local event for people of all ages, and definitely college students.”
Approximately 1,000 people are expected to participate in the triathlons, including five Cal Poly students from the Cal Poly Triathlon Team: Steven Arms, Jonathan Harmse, Gavin Pruitt, Alex Warring and Tyler Wetzel.
Head coach Dave Sullivan said although most of the team isn’t participating in the Scott Tinley Triathlon, around 50 to 60 people will volunteer with Tri-California for the event.
Assistant race director for Tri-California Colleen Bousman said Lake Lopez was chosen as the location for the triathlon because Tri-California “saw it as a community accepting of the outdoor and fitness lifestyle.”
The grass-roots triathlon is “based on the SLO community with the fitness lifestyle in mind,” Bousman said. There’s a race or event for everybody, whether it’s a college student, a child or adult seeking a healthier lifestyle.
On-road and elite triathlons will occur on Oct. 1 and the off-road triathlons will take place on Oct. 2.
Registration will be available for all three days from noon to 6 p.m. on Oct. 1, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 2 and from 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. Oct. 3, given the events are still open.
Early registration for the events is available online at tricalifornia.com.
Lake Lopez is located about 40 minutes from Cal Poly and has an $8 entrance fee.