DeGray Lake region to flood with athletes

The DeGray Lake Triathlon Fest will celebrate its 20th anniversary weekend this Friday through Sunday at the DeGray Lake Spillway Area, 420 Skyline Drive in Arkadelphia.

There will be an Aqua Bike, a 1,500-meter open-water swim and the Tri Arkansas and Spillway Super Sprint triathlons Saturday. Also, a DeGray Lake Sprint Triathlon and DeGray Duathlon will take place Sunday.

For the unfamiliar, “sprint” triathlons involve shorter distances than regular triathlons. The Tri Arkansas Triathlon (the proverbial big brother of the bunch) rings in with a 1,500-meter swim, 42.5-kilometer bike ride and a 10K run.

The Aqua Bike event drops the 10K. The Spillway Super Sprint is the shortest, with a 225-yard swim, six-mile bike and 1.5-mile run. Sunday’s DeGray Duathlon skips the swimming and calls for a twomile run, 16-mile bike ride and a 3.2-mile run.

Online registration is available until 9 a.m. Friday for Saturday’s events and until 11 a.m. Saturday for Sunday’s events. Fees range from $30 to $99 per event. There are options to register for two events or to register as a relay team.

There will be packet pickup on site from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. There will also be packet pickup and race-day registration from 6 to 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Pre-race meetings are set for 7:30 a.m. and transition areas will close at 7:45 both mornings. The events will begin between 8 and 8:15 a.m.

Awards will be given in each event by sex, age group and category. Combo awards will go to the fastest participants in the Tri Arkansas and DeGray Lake Sprint, the Spillway Super Sprint and DeGray Lake Sprint triathlons.

Participants must hold an annual USA Triathlon membership or buy a one-day permit for $15.