Desert’s Edge Triathlon Festival: Make a Weekend of It

Race a triathlon they said. It’ll be fun they said. Maybe you’ve heard that in your head in the middle of your swim. Or, maybe you just like to suffer and tell yourself how good it feels to burn! Regardless, our MADtastic triathlons are fun and challenging events that will require every ounce of your effort and determination to complete. In the end, when you cross the finish line, you’ll know you’re a true warrior-athlete who has what it takes to compete in one of the most challenging competitive sports MAD Racing Colorado hosts. Get ready to train. Get ready to show your grit.
Not sure if you’re up the challenge? Consider how you will feel when you surprise yourself by the boundaries you’ve pushed. Expand your comfort zone and find out what you are capable of! You’ll meet new people, improve your health, and earn some bragging rights!
The Desert’s Edge Tri Festival brings you two days of racing, a weekend of camping with other triathletes and their fans, and a fun end to the Colorado Tri Season. Desert’s Edge weekend includes your choice of XTERRA Sprint (not eligible for points) or XTERRA Tri on Saturday, your choice of Sprint or Olympic distance road tri’s on Sunday! The races will be staged at Highline Lake State Park, just 7 miles north of I-70 off the Loma exit. Camping is available right at the race site, just 200 yards from the start and finish line. Enjoy great post-race food, and a fun final tri weekend of the 2018 season. All just a few short hours from Denver and Salt Lake City!
Are you really good at running, but swimming isn’t your forte? Work better in a team? Build a team to compete in the relay categories! Single-sex and coed categories are available. Begin building your team by inviting friends, family, schoolmates, or coworkers to join you OR contact your local bike/running shop to find out about local clubs to recruit your team.
 
XTERRA / XTERRA Sprint (Saturday):
The XTERRA Fruita Triathlon starts off with a 600 meter swim with a 50 meter run on the beach, and another 600 meter swim in the awesome waters of Highline Lake, a 13 mile mix of single track and double track course on the beginner friendly mountain bike trails inside Highline State Park, and finishes with a 4.5 mile run that can be described as scenic and interesting! If the full XTERRA doesn’t appeal to you, you should do the XTERRA Sprint, but keep in mind that it’s not eligible for XTERRA points. We will start the Sprint wave after the XTERRA full triathlon athletes. XTERRA Sprint athletes will complete 600 m, 7.5 miles mountain bike and 2.8 miles. This is a great event for those of you not ready to compete in the full distance yet. You will not be scored for XTERRA points and will only be sorted overall for this category. You will still receive a finisher goodie!
Olympic/Sprint (Sunday)
The Desert’s Edge Tri Festival offers two road triathlon distance options on Sunday – a 1,500 meter swim, 40K (24.8 mile) bike, 10K run Olympic distance tri and a 750 meter swim, 13.2 mile bike, 5K run sprint tri. Both races are staged at Highline Lake State Park in Fruita, and feature spectacular courses in the heart of the Grand Valley. Post-Race Fun,
Results, and Awards: We’ll have plenty of good food to fill your belly at our post-race picnic! Participant meals are included in your entry fee. There will be a limited number of picnic lunches available for purchase by spectators on race day. We will also award lots of sponsor merchandise and gift certificates at random during our awards presentation – everyone is eligible for these random prizes, so be sure to stick around!!!

Each finisher (all races) will take home a 2018 Desert’s Edge finisher glass! These will be given as you exit the finish chute.
For more info about the course and awards: www.desertsedgetri.com
This event is limited to 500 competitors combined fields; please register early to take advantage of the discounted pricing. Info on USAT license, event schedule, camping, hotels, awards details, registration discount info is available on the registration site: www.desertsedgetri.com
Volunteer:
Earn up to a free entry by volunteering; email at madness@madracingcolorado.com for more details!
Why Volunteer? YOU are the smiles of MAD Racing Colorado! These events will not happen without your great help. The Race Director will handle any “problems”. All you have to do is to help fill roles and empower the participants during each event. Volunteering at a MAD Racing Colorado event is often times more fun than participating in the event itself!