5150 Bela Bela Triathlon: Fun for all

5150 Bela Bela Triathlon and Pritt Ironkids taking place over the weekend of the 13th – 14th August promises great fun for all. There are two things we want to highlight:

• The 5150 race takes place on Saturday afternoon and the the Pritt Ironkids on Sunday morning.
• The Awards function is Saturday evening. Here is a synoposis of the weekends activities:

5150 Bela Bela Triathlon and Pritt Ironkids
(by the producers of Ironman & Ironman 70.3 Triathlons)

1.5km swim + 40km cycle + 10km Run = 51.50km

Forever Resorts Warmbaths, Bela Bela, Limpopo
Event Schedule; 11-14 August 2011

The Bela Bela 5150 Triathlon is a great introduction to triathlon. This applies to novices who haven’t a done a triathlon before and to athletes who has done a sprint distance triathlon before and want to step it up to the standard distance and beyond. Standard distance triathlon is a great race distance because it is short enough AND long enough: Short enough because training can easily fitted into your real life and is accomplishable for almost all people. Long enough for participants to experience the rhythm of really getting into each separate leg of the event. There is a real runners “high” to speak off, which is preceded by a swimmers high and cyclists high! Few things get better than that.. When you start doing standard distance events, that is when you start thinking of yourself as a triathlete!

The great phobia is usually related to the swim leg of the triathlon, coupled with the thought that I may not even survive the swim. Well the good news is that the swim leg of the 5150 Bela Bela Triathlon takes place in the purpose built cable ski dam of the Forever Resorts Warmbaths. The shape of the lake is an elongated oval, with an elongated island in the centre. The dam is shallow enough to stand in and you are always close to land. The other dreaded thing for newbie’s to open water swim is navigation. The good news is that it doesn’t get easier than the cable ski dam at Forever Resorts Bela Bela. Whether you breathe on the left, or on the right or on both sides, you must just swim parallel to the side - and lifesavers will be watching you from the centre isle of the lake. The cycle is a two lap course, so is the run course on flat and fast terrain – Easy. Do it and join the tribe.