With the cut-off still three weeks away, participation in the Chilkat Challenge Triathlon is nearly double that of last year’s inaugural event.
About 100 people from Anchorage, Haines, Whitehorse, towns across Southeast as well as Seattle, Vermont and South Carolina have signed up for the 37-mile paddle, run and bike race. “It’s really getting to be more of a statewide and, in fact, a national event,” race marshal Gershon Cohen said.
The race is sponsored by local organizations and by Patagonia, REI and Cliff Bar, Cohen said.
Cohen detailed several changes for the second annual triathlon. This year’s race starts on Sunday, July 1 as part of the Fourth of July celebrations. The paddle begins at 9 a.m. at Mosquito Lake, through the slough into the Chilkat River. Racers will pull out at the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center in Klukwan and bike to the barracks building at the Fort Seward Parade Grounds. The final leg is a nine-mile run to Chilkat State Park. An awards ceremony and banquet will be held at the Parade Grounds at 6 p.m.
Attending the pre-race meeting on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the parade grounds is mandatory, Cohen said, as racers will learn important information about road and river conditions.
Multiple paddlers can occupy a watercraft and racers can choose to use stand-up paddle boards this year. “We don’t have any takers on that yet,” Cohen said. “I personally would love to see a person go down the Chilkat River in a stand-up paddle board. I think it’d be a hoot.”
Entrants must be at least 14 years old. The entry fee is $75 per contestant. Cash awards, outdoor gear and other prizes will be awarded to top solo and team finishers.
More information, including race maps and online registration, can be found at chilkatchallengetriathlon.com.
Cohen said the race is organized to celebrate what the river provides to the community. “We talk about the food and we talk about the jobs that the river provides, but we rarely speak as a community to the recreational aspects of the river, and this is a wonderful river to spend time on.”
Registration deadline is June 15.