Dear Triathletes,
The YMCA in Brookville, PA has an excellent adventure-style race that is perfect for triathletes. The race combines long-distance running with some swimming, cycling, flat-water kayaking, and orienteering, making for an exciting and challenging event. Participants may enter as “solo” competitors; as a two-man team (completing the entire course together); or as a relay of up to six (6) people.
This year’s race is scheduled for June 12 and 13. The name of the event is “The Two-Day Tango.” However, most competitors finish in less than 24 hours. Visit www.twodaytango.com for more details, or reply to my email. I am not the event director, simply a triathlete and past participant from Brookville who finds this to be an excellent race.
The setting is in very scenic western-PA, and the race route takes in several different State Parks and state gamelands. Brookville is right along Interstate 80.
A short description of each leg of the race follows:
RUN: 21 miles. Opening 6 miles on pavement, then dirt road and well-groomed trails. Scenic. Hilly.
SWIM: 4.75 miles in the Clarion River. It’s downstream, and fins and a wetsuit are advised. The fins, in particular, make this swim very doable, even for poor swimmers.
BIKE: 36 miles. Moderately rolling paved and dirt roads. Some folks use mountain bikes. The die-hard competitors use road bikes with puncture-resistant tires.
CANOE/KAYAK: 24 miles downstream in the Clarion River. Beautiful scenery. Time to re-fuel.
ORIENTEER: 11 mile map-and-compass through wooded State Gamelands. Essentially, this is a trail run where you have to find 5 or 6 checkpoints. Hard-core navigation skills are not necessary, but the ability to read a topo map comes in handy!
FINAL RUN: about 10 miles rolling to the FINISH LINE.
I have done the race 4 out of the last 5 years, and am happy to answer questions and offer advice to folks who are interested. The YMCA has also
offered generous prizes AND prize money in the past. Visit their website or email me for details.
Ray