14th Annual Rookie Tri Expects More Than 1000 Participants

03 May 14th Annual Rookie Tri Expects More Than 1000 Participants

High Five Events is ready to begin their 2017 triathlon season with The Rookie Triathlon. The event will take place on Sunday, May 7th, at Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park. More than 1000 participants will complete the first triathlon of their life or the first triathlon of their season.

Rookies make up roughly half of the field, but veterans and professionals, like Paul “Barny” Matthews – 4x IRONMAN 70.3 Champion, use this event as a means of fine-tuning their strategies and perfecting their approach. Amy Marsh, 4x IRONMAN Champion and Acute Myeloid Leukemia survivor, just received clearance to swim in open water and will celebrate the two year anniversary of her stem cell transplant and finish her career on her own terms.

“Being a new Austinite, I’m extremely excited to race The Rookie Tri as my first race in Austin,” said Matthews, who has two second place IRONMAN finishes and a career best IRONMAN time of 8:02:14. “I know High Five Events always puts on a first-class event, so I’m really looking forward to Sunday!”

The Rookie Tri has three different divisions: Rookie (first or second triathlon), Veteran (completed more than two triathlons), and Open. Rookies and Veterans start the swim in their division based on their age group, with two participants entering the water every few seconds. The Open Division allows participants to begin regardless of age, with a mass swim start. This keeps the divisions friendly and competitive.

Participants will receive raglan baseball style shirts, custom water bottles, swim caps, beer, a post-race meal, and the signature swag toss.  Professional timing and photography, as well as a great volunteer crew and hundreds of supportive spectators, will make this triathlon memorable for rookies and veterans alike. Participants and volunteers can register until Saturday. Packet pickup will take place at Bicycle World Austin.

The Rookie Tri consists of a 300m swim in Decker Lake, an 11.2-mile bike ride in a protected lane around the lake, and a two mile run through the park. The beloved event is the first event of the Texas Tri Series, a series designed to start with a short sprint triathlon and finish with a half iron distance. To complete the series a person must participate in or volunteer for each of the events. Every finisher of the series is invited to the well-known and well-attended Finisher’s Party.