Volunteers still are needed for Saturday morning’s popular 10th annual Pesky Piranha Youth Triathlon in Huntsville.
The event is put on each year at Piedmont Pool by the Team Rocket Tri Club and Piedmont Recreation Association. It’s a fun way to get youngsters active and interested in biking, running and swimming. Activities are staged at the pool and surrounding streets, with assistance from the Huntsville Police Department, HEMSI and volunteers. It’s sponsored by The Orthopaedic Center and Fleet Feet.
Pesky Piranha includes distances for novices or those who scoot a bit faster. Three divisions include Guppies, Juniors and Seniors.
It takes a good number of folks to put on any event, which is why the call for volunteers still exists. Several positions still open include bike lead-sweep, marshalls for the bike-run portions, inside transition crew and others.
Anyone interested in helping can find more information here about the open positions and how to register.
In other local triathlon news:
Heel & Crank Duathlon
Nathaniel Pierce and Cynthia Mitchell defended their titles in the Heel & Crank Duathlon held June 7 at Cummings Research Park in Huntsville.
The event was moved to the park this year from Mooresville, where it had been staged for several years. It also shifted from April to June. The new course included rides through CRP and a combo effort with The Big Run 5K for one of the running segments.
Pierce finished the three segments (run, bike, run) in 57:54, the only athlete to crack an hour. He also won the 2023 ad 2024 events.
Mitchell won the women’s division again, finishing in 1:13:59. She was ninth overall.
See all of the results here.
Chattanooga Waterfront
CHATTANOOGA — Christopher Halsey of North Carolina won the Publix Chattanooga Waterfront triathlon on June 22.
Halsey, 31, of Chapel Hill, finished in 1:51:45 to win by about a minute.
Several athletes from North Alabama competed, including Robert Barton of Huntsville (116th, 2:36:56) and Alvin Kemmet Jr. of Owens Cross Roads (213th, 2:56:38), among others.
See all of the results here.
Huntsville Sprint Tri
Registration is open for the Huntsville Sprint Triathlon on Aug. 9 in Huntsville, one of the oldest sprint tri events in the country.
The event is based at the Huntsville Aquatics Center at Brahan Spring Park.
Athletes will begin the race with a 400-meter pool swim. They will then transition to their bikes for a 7-mile ride. The bike course features a coned off bike lane for racers only. After the ride, athletes will complete the race with a 3-mile run course that includes grass, gravel, sidewalks, and asphalt). The run course utilizes the greenway from the Aquatics Center to Johnson Road.
The Team Rocket Tri Club is a non-profit, with proceeds from events going to various charities. Since 2020, the club has donated more than $30,500 to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation and the David Stankard Project thanks to the Huntsville Sprint Triathlon.
Info and registration is available here, along with a Fleet Feet 101 training program for those who need or want one.
