Lake in the Hills triathlon on again
The Lake in the Hills triathlon is back on after two Huntley residents took it upon themselves to help their neighboring town organize its summer event.
In January, Lake in the Hills village officials decided to cancel the triathlon because an outside event organizer expected to run the event backed out.
"We'd really hate to see it go away," said Matt Kidd, 30, an architect and graduate of Judson University in Elgin, and one of two race directors. "It's still their event ... we are organizing all the different aspects as far as getting it set up, sponsorships, and all the logistical things."
The triathlon is June 14 starting at Willow Creek Lake at Indian Trail Beach. The cost for early registration is $55 through Sunday after which the fee goes up to $65.
"We're hoping 250 to 300 people (register)," Kidd said.
Last year's race drew more than 350 participants, but it's likely some of those athletes have found other races to participate in for the summer since hearing the village race was canceled, Kidd said.
Lake in the Hills' parks and recreation department had organized the triathlon since 2007, investing significant employee time with help from about 50 to 60 volunteers. This was the first year the village tried an outside race organizer after former parks and recreation director Trudy Wakeman retired last August.
"I'm very happy that it's back on," Village President Paul Mulcahy said. "It's been a great event ever since it started."
Kidd said Lake in the Hills was his first triathlon, and he has participated for several years.
He and race co-director Shane Firsching, 30, a civil and environmental engineer, trained together for last year's triathlon.
They said they want to keep the race going because it is affordable and appeals to a wide range of athletes at different experience levels.
"It's a nice little local event and it's also early in the triathlon season," said Firsching, a graduate of Bradley University in Peoria, and Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. "What's unique about this one is there is so much effort going into the race to help people kind of practice it and get ready for it. This is really geared toward people who are doing a triathlon for the first time. But they still cater to elite athletes."
Kidd and Firsching have organized long bike rides before, but this is their first official race.
"We've thought about starting our own event from scratch before," Kidd said. "It's kind of an opportunity to jump into an already established race, just to get our feet wet and we might expand from here."
The village is paying for the upfront costs, including compensation for their time, but "the registration will essentially pay for the event," Kidd added.
The race begins 6:30 a.m. with the elite wave, followed by time trials with two athletes starting every 10 seconds. The race features a half-mile swim, 15.5-mile bike ride, and 4-mile run. Awards will be given to the overall male and female race winners and top three finishers in each age/gender category.
Cutoff for online registration is 5 p.m. June 10 or when registration has reached 400 participants.
Participants will receive a 2015 Lake in the Hills Triathlon souvenir shirt, athlete bag and partner goodies included in each registration packet. Snacks will be provided at the finish line.
Anyone interested in volunteering, advertising on race T-shirts or sponsoring the event can call Kidd at (330) 401-6534 or Firsching at (309) 397-9621 or email lithtriathlon@gmail.com. For more information, visit lith.org.