'Tin Foil Man' triathlon

Anyone who’s ever dreamed of participating in a triathlon might just have their dreams come true next weekend. It won’t be an Iron Man race: it has been dubbed the Tin Foil Man Race.

Several Endicott residents have organized a triathlon event in Endicott set for Aug. 29 at 8 a.m. It will be an informal relay-style small triathlon.

Jamie Misner, who earlier this summer participated in the Coeur d’Alene Iron Man race, said she was looking for some people to do a triathlon with her, but for various reasons, no one was able to do it. That’s when the idea for the Tin Foil Man surfaced.

“Well, let’s just do our own,” Misner said.

Misner said the group brainstormed ideas for the triathlon and how to make it so anyone could participate.

“We wanted it to be feasible for people who maybe are not in the best shape,” she said. “We wanted something that anyone could come in and do.”

The triathlon will include a 250-yard swim (10 lengths in the Endicott pool), a six-mile bike ride and two-mile run or walk.

“The whole point of this is to get people together to be active,” Misner said. “You don’t have to be a hard core athlete to get out there and do the events.”

Misner said for anyone wishing to participate, she does recommend at least preparing a little.

“Get out there a couple times a week if you’re planning on coming,” she said. “If you’re doing the swim, it’s good if you could swim more than the length of the pool.”

The event will start at 8 a.m. at the Endicott pool. The swim will be the first event, and lifeguards will be present.

From the swim, the competitor will find their teammates in the parking lot at the pool and the next participant will take off on the six-mile bike ride. The bikers will take off toward Winona and turn around at about the Mike and Mary Harrison house, which is approximately three miles up the road. The biker will return to the pool parking lot and relay to the runner/walker, who will take off on the two-mile run/walk in the same direction as the bike course. The run/walk will turn around at approximately one mile up the road.

Misner said the course is basically flat.

“There’s one tiny downhill,” she said. “It’s a very short, probably a quarter mile, very low grade decline on the way down and a low grade incline on the way back. We did the course to accommodate entry level abilities.”

Misner said anyone is welcome to participate, with or without a team. Individuals can participate and do the entire triathlon by themselves if they wish, or teams or two can participate and do multiple legs. Misner said individuals or groups of two without a second or third participant can also show up that day of and a second or third participant can be found.

“We can be flexible,” she said. “If you don’t have a team, still show up!”

Misner noted the triathlon is so informal that teams must keep their own time, if they wish to do so. She also said there is no registration or sign-up, and it’s completely free. Additionally, there will be no aid stations throughout the event.

“You just show up the morning of and we’re going to go for it,” she said. “That’s the point, to get active. Let’s get together as a community and do something active.”

Misner said she is looking forward to the event for the community and is not sure where it will go from here.

“We’ll see how this year goes,” she said. “At this point, we’re going to take it one year at a time.”