Tri for the Y

Sprint triathlon will challenge participants

Story by Chris Graham
www.waynesboroymca.com

Call it the Waynesboro Ironman. The Tri for the Y, scheduled for Saturday, June 6, features a 400-meter swim, a challenging 15-mile bike ride, then finishes up with a 5K run along the South River.

Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

“We didn’t exactly shy away from making this challenging. We want to make this a legitimate event,” said Lee Robertson, a partner in Elevation Athletics, which is sponsoring the Tri for the Y sprint triathlon with the YMCA.

Registrations are being taken for the event. Signup information is available on the Tri for the Y website and on a Facebook page set up for the event.

The Tri for the Y will be a USA Triathlon-sanctioned event. Registration fees are $75 through May 1 and $85 from May 2-June 2. Proceeds from the event will benefit the YMCA.

The triathlon is generating interest throughout the Mid-Atlantic, with registrations coming in from across Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina.

“We’re looking to get more people from the local area involved,” said Robertson, an alum of the Shenandoah Marlins Aquatic Club program at the Waynesboro YMCA who moved on to compete on the swim team at the University of Virginia.

The goal is to make the Tri for the Y an annual Waynesboro Y event, Robertson said.

“We think it will be a great showcase for the city,” Robertson said. “Ridgeview Park and the pool are such great things for Waynesboro, as is the general setting. And the Y helps the community so much. This could be a great thing for the community and the Y.”