Island to Island Triathlon - Look out for cargo ships!

Looking for a triathlon with some unique challenges? How about a swim leg across a busy shipping channel, or a bike leg with eight bridge climbs? If that sounds like fun, check out the first Island to Island Triathlon, scheduled for May 21, 2011.

The swim leg of this new USAT sanctioned event starts on the north end of Jekyll Island. Organizers enlisted the cooperation of the US Coast Guard to close St. Simons Sound (the passage between Jekyll and St. Simons Island), giving swimmers one less thing to worry about during what is sure to be a challenging 1.25 mile open water leg. Even with the late-spring date, there’s a good chance it will be wetsuit legal.

Swimmers will exit the water at the transition area, St. Simons Neptune Park. They’ll head out onto a bike course that includes eight bridge climbs, including two crossings of the tallest in the state, towering Sidney Lanier Bridge. Combined with strong coastal winds, the 33 mile course could be a quad killer.

The run, a standard 10K around mostly-flat St. Simon’s, finishes back at Neptune Park.

Registration is open on imAthlete. For more information, visit the organizer’s site www.island2islandtri.com.