New triathlon planned for Cape Breton in July
Running, cycling and swimming in and around the Mira River
A triathlon will be held this summer in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
Triathlon on the Mira is a new event scheduled for July 29.
"We really needed a local event, an event really localized in the Sydney area and in CBRM," said race director Jarret Gosbee, "to allow athletes to get to races easier with less costs and just to highlight the training areas that our athletes use every day."
Gosbee started doing triathlons himself in 2012.
He's competed across the province and throughout the Atlantic region.
Ingonish, in northern Cape Breton, hosted a triathlon for years, but it ended last year, opening a spot in the race schedule.
Close to home
Gosbee said there's a robust triathlon community in Cape Breton and the Mira event provides another fun option.
There's currently a duathlon in Baddeck in June and a triathlon in Port Hood in August.
"We thought it was important to have a local race, where people didn't have to travel, you know. They could sleep in their own bed the night before a race," he said.
The race will start and stop at the Mira Boat Club.
"The Hillside Road area and Trout Brook Road loop are really popular training areas," Gosbee said, "as well as the Mira River for swimming."
The event will offer three distance options: Olympic, sprint and the shortest, Try-a-Tri.
'I don't have a choice'
Denis Lanoe of Marion Bridge, just down the road from the boat club, already runs marathons and is looking forward to tackling his first triathlon.
"I've always kinda wanted to do a triathlon and I've always had excuses as to why I couldn't do it, and this one is so close to where I live, I don't have a choice. I have to do it," he said.
Lanoe said he's heard from other athletes who are going to "test the waters" of a triathlon event for the first time at the Mira Triathlon.
"Because of that, it'll increase the awareness about triathlon and a lot more people who were thinking about it or were on the fence will show up and do it that day."
While organizers are focusing their planning on local athletes, Gosbee said they do hope to see competitors from all over.
Registration for the triathlon opened Tuesday.