French Creek Trifest Triathlon
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French Creek Trifest Triathlon
The French Creek Trifest is a two-day multisport event taking place in mid-May. Saturday features triathlon, duathlon, and aquabike events. Sunday is dedicated to SwimFest, with open water swim races and a youth Splash & Dash.
Triathlon and Duathlon Events
The Saturday program includes:
- Sprint Triathlon: 750m swim, 12.1-mile bike, 5K run.
- Olympic Triathlon: 1500m (2 loops) swim, 22.1-mile (2 loops) bike, 10K run.
- Aquabike Olympic: Swim and bike portions of the Olympic distance.
- Relay Olympic: Team option for the Olympic triathlon.
- Sprint Duathlon: 1-mile run, 12.1-mile bike, 5K run.
- Olympic Duathlon: 1-mile run, 22.1-mile bike, 10K run.
The swim takes place in Hopewell Lake at French Creek State Park. The bike course uses Park Road and other local roads. The run courses are approximately half paved trail and half gravel fire road.
SwimFest Events
The Sunday program includes:
- Open Water Swims: 0.5-mile, 1-mile, and 3-mile (5K) distances.
- Adult Splash & Dash: 250m swim and 1-mile run.
- Youth Splash & Dash: 250m swim (ages 11+) or 100m swim (ages 10 & under) followed by a 1-mile run.
Event Details
The triathlon and youth Splash & Dash are USA Triathlon (USAT) sanctioned events. The event uses the USAT wetsuit rule, with a 78°F threshold for official results and a 84°F threshold prohibiting wetsuits. Water temperature is posted online before the race and announced on race morning.
Custom awards are given to the top three finishers in each age group for every event. A free hot food buffet is provided for all racers and volunteers. Parking is available in the upper day-use lot, and parking on grass is not permitted. Cell phone reception at the park can be unreliable. The event has a no-refund, no-rain-date policy, with options for deferral. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
