Large field set for 23rd Sunfish Triathlon

Published 11:21 pm Thursday, July 9, 2009

After being ‘blown away’ during its first running at Bonita Lakes last year, the 23rd annual Sunfish Triathlon field is bursting at the seams.

With the final registration available tonight during packet pick-up from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., the field is rapidly closing in on the registration limit of 350 participants, co-race director Stacy Barr said. The race begins Saturday at 7 a.m.

“It’s going really well,” Barr said. “The numbers are up from last year. Right now, we have over 320 and we always have a good number of walk-ups on Friday night. It’s looking like we’ll reach our maximum, so that’s a good thing.

“(It’s the largest we’ve had) in quite some time. As the sport of triathlon has grown, it’s been tough because there are so many races to compete against. With the cost of them, people just can’t afford to do all of them.”

That large turnout is due, at least in part, to the change of venue from Lake Okatibbee to Bonita Lakes, according to Barr. After making the move in time for last year’s race — which begins with a 1/3 mile swim before the triathletes climb aboard their bicycles for 17 miles and then a 5K run — Barr said the feedback was enthusiastic.

“Last year was our first year to move it to Bonita Lakes and we saw an increase in number with that,” he said. “We had a lot of great reviews because of the venue — Bonita Lakes is an absolutely beautiful place.

“Everybody that came last year that had never seen that place, they were just blown away at what a nice place we have to go exercise and train.”

While the beautiful backdrop is guaranteed, the outcome is definitely not. Neither of last year’s winners — overall champion Clay Curtis of Plantersville (1:13.52) and female champion Stephanie Smith (1:21.58) — have registered, leaving the titles up for grabs.

“As of right now, the male and female winners have not signed up, so it looks like they won’t be returning,” Barr added. “But it looks like a strong field. We have people from all the surrounding states — from New Orleans to Pensacola to Atlanta and Birmingham — it looks like a lot of states are represented and some great athletes.”

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