Triathlon planners put Marble Falls on the map
MARBLE FALLS — A new triathlon series is coming to town next year.
HITS Triathlon Series will have one of its 12 meets April 28-29 in the area thanks to Lake Marble Falls and the hills surrounding the city.
"It’s such a friendly town," race director Mark H. Wilson said. "We were actually going to Lake Travis. There were too many boats."
That’s when Marble Falls was suggested.
Once the duo came here, they saw everything they needed — challenging hills, a constant lake and a business base to support what they wanted to do, Wilson said.
"Everyone was so friendly and helpful," he said. "You’re 40 minutes from Austin, which is a hotbed for triathletes."
President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Struzzieri and Wilson talked about forming the series three years ago.
Their thought was to create a series of races across the country where athletes accumulated points based on their finish at each one.
The first race is Dec. 3-4 at Palm Springs, Calif.
The event has five divisions.
The first is an open division that allows children and newcomers to compete. The race lengths include a 100-meter swim, a 3-mile bike ride and a 1-mile run. There’s no entry fee.
The next division is the sprint division, which is a 750-meter swim, a 12-mile bike ride and a 5-kilometer run. Cost is $90.
The Olympic division has a swim of 1,500 meters, a 24-mile bike ride and a 10-kilometer run. Cost is $150.
The HITS half triathlon has a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run with an entry fee of $250, while the HITS full triathlon has a 2.4-mile swim, a 106-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run. Cost is $600.
The race director said the series has drawn "several hundred entries already. We’re anticipating that to grow. We will cap the event at 900 entries."
He said athletes should register now.
Texas ranks as the third largest state for triathletes, Wilson said, behind California and Florida. Part of the Lone Star State’s popularity can be attributed to seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong of Austin, as well as the weather and natural landscape of the state.
"They can ride their bikes, swim in April," Wilson said. "That’s a big deal."
The series also will have a stop in Corpus Christi on Feb. 18-19. The national championship will be back in Palm Springs on Dec. 1-2.
For more, visit http://hits triathlonseries.com.
jfierro@thepicayune.com