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Rockport hosting second annual XTERRA rugged triathlon today

For the second straight year, Rockport State Recreation Area will host the XTRERRA Rockport Rugged Triathlon, offering runners, bikers, marathoners other athletic enthusiasts a unique experience.

The race begins Saturday at 8 a.m.

The event puts a twist on the traditional triathlon by challenging athletes to traverse the terrain of Rockport. The event offers olympic, sprint and relay options along with separate kayak and stand up paddleboard races. While swimming, biking and running, participants will deal with everything from uneven trails to dirt, trees and rocks among other natural obstacles.

Rockport features an area of more than 4,000 acres and includes a limestone quarry, sinkholes, a shipwreck and the ghost village of Bell.

Proceeds will go to Friends of Rockport. President Carol Dodge Grochowski said the event was very well received last year and raised more than $6,000.

“Oh my gosh, we blew them away, because it’s an extreme race rather than your normal triathlon,” she said. “We had people who have done Ironmans and other triathlons and they said it’s the toughest race they’ve ever done.”

This year’s race features an open water swim course in Lake Huron and bike and run courses over roots and rocks and part of the race going through forest off of designated trails, including the Quarry Rim Trail.

The event was held for the first time last year after Casey Stutzman of Performance Locker got together with the Department of Natural Resources and Friends of Rockport and came up with the idea. Rockport Rugged has been given an XTERRA designation and the event coordinators have worked with 3Disciplines, a race management company, to help with the race logistics.

In addition to the triathlon being a true test of endurance, several of the athletes competing are competing for XTRERRA points in order to qualify for nationals.

“I think the neat part is it gives a lot of people a chance to participate,” Dodge Grochowski said. “It also gets them out in the park and they get a sense of how special a place Rockport is.”

Last year’s event featured an olympic triathlon, a sprint triathlon, an Olympic Aquabike, a sprint Aquabike and a sprint KayaTri, which is a two-mile kayak/paddleboard race combined with an eight mile mountain bike ride and a 5K trail run.

The challenge of competing on natural terrain brought out roughly 60 participants last year and Dodge Grochowski expects more the second time around.

“It’s a real challenge and everyone loved it,” she said. “They came off (at the end) and they were pretty whipped.”

Those wishing to still participate in the race can sign up by 7:30 Saturday morning. The fee to resister is $115 and includes a $15 fee.

James Andersen can be reached via email at sports@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5694. Follow James on Twitter @ja_alpenanews.

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