Wallowa Lake Sprint Triathlon and 5K

UPDATE ON THE 2021 SPRINT TRI

We are sad to announce that Safe Harbors will be cancelling the 2021 Wallowa Lake Sprint Triathlon. We are working very hard to create a strong plan for next season’s race. We hope to see you all next year, and, as always, we appreciate your continued support of our agency. For questions and concerns, please call our office at (541) 426-4004.

WALLOwA LAKe TRIATHLON

race to end abuse

EVENT CANCELLED

A single start (no waves) 250 meter swim starting and finishing at the beach area to the east of the Wallowa Lake State Park marina. The course is clockwise around the designated public swim area, entering on the west side and exiting to the east. The water is quite cold and wetsuits are recommended. Swimmers must wear the swim cap provided in their goodie bag or be disqualified -- this is a safety issue.

Water sox or shoes are permitted so long as they do not extend beyond the end of the swimmer’s feet. The beach is rough with some small debris so swimmers are permitted to leave shoes or sandals on the shoreline to pick up as you exit the water.

Wallowa County Search and Rescue or other safety personnel are in kayaks and other watercraft along the course to provide safety in the event of a swimmer emergency.

The transition area is off the beach onto the grass to the south of the lake.

After entering the transition area, you may walk or run (NOT RIDE) your bike from the transition area to the point outside the transition area at which you are permitted to mount your bike. Riding your bike in the transition area will result in disqualification.

You then leave the marina area, taking a left hand turn at the “Y“ intersection and travel along Wallowa Lake to Joseph, where riders will make a left hand turn around the block and come back onto Wallowa Lake Highway headed right (south) back to the marina on the same course. All turns are marked with sandwich board signs on the roadway.

THIS COURSE IS NOT CLOSED TO VEHICLE TRAFFIC. RIDERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR TRAFFIC AWARENESS.

The roads in Joseph often have gravel or other road debris on the pavement. Take care in braking and turning.

Wallowa Lake Highway is one lane in either direction with no shoulder so riders should be very careful and cautious, especially in passing as there can be significant RV traffic headed to and from the south end of the lake. USAT rules regarding passing, riding to the right, drafting, and riding only single file are applicable.

You must dismount your bike prior to entering the transition area at the point identified as the dismount spot. You may then walk or run your bike into the transition area, rack it, and begin your run.

Mountain bikes are permitted.

CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) approved helmets are required, and must be on your head and fastened prior to mounting your bike. They must remain on your head and fastened until you are off your bike and in the transition area. This rule is in effect throughout the event, not just during the race. Whenever you are on your bike, your helmet must be on your head and fastened. Failure to wear your helmet may subject a participant to penalty, including disqualification from the event.

After leaving the transition area at the marina, runners will head back out of the park as though they were headed to Joseph but will turn right (south) and continue to the resort area. The turn around is at the end of the road, and is uphill most of the way out with the last half being downhill back to the marina. The run is on the shoulder of the paved road, is 5k in distance and the course is not closed to traffic. There can be significant pedestrian, bike, and vehicular traffic on this roadway so runners should be aware of those issues.

Triathletes should be aware that there may be 5k run/walk participants on the run portion of the tri course.

The finish area is located next to the transition area.

The 5k run/walk starts at the transition area after the last swimmer exits the water and follows the same course as the run portion of the triathlon.

YOU MUST WEAR YOUR RUN BIB AND DO NOT DETACH THE BOTTOM SLIP.

SWIM

250 METERS

BIKE

13 MILES

RUN

5K

Volunteers

We are always in need of volunteers to assist with our race, both on race day and before in a variety of capacities. We need assistance with setting up the course, putting together equipment needed during the race, putting together goodie bags and helping at packet pickup, directing traffic and participants during the race, helping us provide safety during the swim portion, and helping solicit sponsorships. Any and all help is appreciated.

The volunteer application can be obtained by e-mailing the race director at wallowalakesprinttri@gmail.com

We ask that all volunteers fill out an application form for insurance purposes.

If you’d like to volunteer, please feel free to give us a call or e-mail! We’d be happy to have your help.

Timing

This year we are hand-timing both the triathlon and 5k ourselves and not contracting for electronic timing services in an effort to ensure that more proceeds go to Safe Harbors. As a result, split times will not be available for triathletes.

Racers will be provided with bib numbers which must be worn on the front of the runner’s body. Triathletes will have different colored bibs than runners/walkers. Do not remove the bottom tag from your bib please.

Triathletes do not need to be body-marked nor have bibs on their bikes, but will need to wear their bib for the run portion of the event for a finish time.

Participants not wearing their bib on the front of their body where it can be readily seen at the finish may not receive a finish time. This is our first year hand-timing both events so please be patient with us as we will be working any kinks out of the system.

This is not a USAT sanctioned event but many of the same safety rules will apply. Headphones are not allowed during the bike or run legs.

We want this event to be inclusive and if you need special accommodations in order to participate, please don’t hesitate to contact the Race Director and we will do everything we reasonably can so that you can take part in the race.