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Here’s an example for a swim.  Running and cycling examples will be similar.

The reference distance for a male swimmer is 5,827m in 1 hour.  Let’s say your Strava distance for the swim is 2,468m.  This would mean you did 42.35% of the distance and would earn you 43 points (since we round up because we’re nice like that).  So doing 2,447m would get you a score of 42 but doing 2,448m would get you a score of 43.

Unlike normal triathlons, it rewards competency for each distance equally.  It gives swimmers a chance to shine and people who can only bike and not swim or run well some motivation to work on the other disciplines.

It adds some certainty to the event.  You know you’re going to work for 3 hours no matter what.  Everybody works for the same amount of time, unlike a race where the winner can be done 2-3 hours before you sometimes and you have to toil in the sun for much longer.  So this is a test of what kind of distance can you cover in 3 hours of work.

It gives you a repeatable reference to work off of.  Especially tracking age group results will give you a better indication of your overall fitness and show the areas you need to work on.

The swim reference distances are determined from the latest FINA World Championship.  In this case the one that took place in Qatar in February 2024.  We reference from the 5k open water swim.  The men’s version was won by Logan Fontaine of France in a time of 51:29.30. The women’s version was won by Sharon Van Rouwendaal in a time of 57:33.90. For each person we take their speed in m/s to determine how far they would have swum at their winning pace in 60 mins.  In the case of the male winner that distance is 5,827m.  For the female winner it’s 5,212m.

For age group distances we used the World Aquatics Masters Championships that took place at roughly the same time in Qatar.  Unfortunately there’s only a 3k open water swim.  For example the winner of the male 55-59 group was Alberto Bottini with a time of 37.34.6.  This translates to a reference distance for 1 hour of 4,790m.

Similar to the swim except we used the cycling world championships mens’ and women’s time trial results.

We used results from the Great North Run half marathon in Newcastle, UK.  It’s listed as one of the fastest half marathons in the world and has over 60,000 runners participating.  Similar math to the swim explanation above to determine the reference distances.

The same thing that happens when you’re on a training ride.  Either you have a kit with you to do a fix or you call for a ride.

That’s part of the fun!  If you make it back to the start on time then your distance will be scored against the fastest person in the world and you’ll get your points.  Have a great run.

That’s part of the strategy!  If you start a leg late for any reason at all then your allotted time to earn points is reduced.  For example if you start a leg 5 mins late then you’ll get points for the distance you cover in the 55 mins you have remaining.

Yes.  Generally if it’s something you can wear in a triathlon, then you can wear it for this.

Swim Bouys like this one are permitted and encouraged if you swim without a kayaker.  Otherwise you’re permitted to wear things that you can wear at a triathlon.  No flippers, hand paddles, or pull bouys though.

We sure hope so.  The GRCA keeps a record of the quarry water quality but not the lake unfortunately.

This is an “event”.  It’s a training activity with friends.  We are not ready to organize a full fledged race yet but we hope there’s enough excitement for this event that we could do something more formal next year.  We’ll be looking for feedback on how to improve it while keeping costs low and fun high.

Well, we did have to buy a few things like swim bouys and ropes and set up and maintain this web site.  If you can’t afford it we’ll probably let you participate anyway.

Because men and women have different reference distances they technically have already been evened out.  If a man is half as fast as the fastest male swimmer he’ll get 50 points.  If a female is half as fast as the fastest female swimmer she’ll get 50 points even though she swam 300m less than her male counterpart in this example.

That’s part of the fun and the strategy of the whole event.  It’s really up to you to plan how hard you want to go and when you’ll turn around on the day.

Unfortunately no.  We will try and post results on our site shortly after the event.

We hope so.  We’re trying to get sponsors.  We think recognition of some sort for highest overall score, highest overall age-adjusted score, highest score in an individual event (M/F), and if there’s enough teams to warrant, fastest relay team.  We’re open to other suggestions.  We’re also eager to get some prizes donated by people who want to sponsor us.

Of course!  You’re free to do whatever you want.  You can swim for three hours if you want but only the distance you cover in the first hour will count towards your points.  If you don’t do an event you won’t get any points for that event.

Yes!  We will allow relay entries.  If there’s more than 5 teams then we’ll probably have some sort of recognition for them.

You have a couple choices – you can take the extra time to congratulate yourself, hydrate and get calmed down for the next leg.  Or you can go do some extra distance.  It’s up to you.

No.  Feel free to place water bottles along the course for yourself if you wish along the side of the trail.  The entire event is self-supported.

Each event lasts 1 hour.

The distance you cover is up to you.  You can go as far as you want but be back to the start at the end of 1 hour.

Yes, you can swim wherever you want and try to the the most distance covered. We do ask however that if you are swimming towards the bouys that you swim in a clockwise direction to avoid head on collisions in the water.

You can use an e-bike but you won’t get any points for the bike portion.

Swim and run drafting is allowed.  No drafting on the bike – same rules as normal triathlon.

Just for fun and to make it the same for everyone!

No, but wouldn't it be great if they were! Belwood and the Grand River Conservation Authority do not endorse or sponsor this event.  We’re using their facility as individual guests and you’ll be responsible to pay admission when you drive in before the event.  Don’t expect any help from them.  Please don’t harass their staff because we don’t want to get kicked out. Feel free to be extra kind to them, and give them a compliment as you come into the park.

The swim will start at Belwood lake south of the boat ramp and run parallel to the dam for 400m and then turn north for 400m.  We will try and put bouys in the water.  In general, just stay close to shore, and if you’re not a strong swimmer then bring a kayaker to accompany you.    It’s your responsibility to get back to the start at the 1 hour mark.

The Bike course is available here. The bike event will start on the other side of Road 18 in 5 second intervals per rider.  You can ride anywhere along this route but the route listed gives you 16.75k.  Currently there’s a bridge under repair on the 5th line hence the turn-around there.  If it’s repaired by race day you could continue on 5th line to Oustic before turning around if you want.  Remember cars don’t know there’s a race so be car aware when turning around.  We recommend Garmin Varia radar devices.

The Run course is along the rail trail heading north along the lake.  It’s 7.75km until you County Road 26 and you should turn around there.  If you go all the way to the end and run back within an hour that would be 15.5k.  You’re free to run back and forth along this route as much as you want.

You can download the course here.

Not unless you bring them.  Just like any other training event.

Your time/distance posted to Strava will count as the official time and distance.  If you go over a posted time of 1:00:10 (we give ten seconds grace to stop your watch) then you need to edit the end of your Strava segment to show the distance you covered in the first hour.

If you start a segment late then your allotted time will be reduced – for example, if you get out of the water and aren’t ready to go on the bike until 8:10 then you’ll only be allotted 55 mins for the bike portion.

No.  Do not expect that you can ride in the middle of the road and check for cars before passing another cyclist.  Same for running.  The run course is used by recreational cyclists, walkers and others and there’s a couple road crossings you’ll have to watch out for cars as on any normal training run.

You can spend as much time on each activity as you want.  We could envision an expanded version of this in a couple years with enough demand and popularity to create a 30 or 40 min version of the same event but for this year we’re going to start each event 1 hour apart (plus 5 mins transition).