Event Description

The DSI Triathlon is a 6k paddle, 10k pedal, and 10k run event that can be done as a solo race or on relay teams.  Additionally, there will be an untimed 4k inclusive run, walk, or wheel.  Each of the courses are described in greater detail below and start and end at Bay Point Park in Red Wing, MN. This event is a new fundraiser for Disability Support International whose mission is to improve the lives of people with disabilities in developing countries so they can live life to the fullest.  Find out more about our work at www.ds-interational.org.

6k Paddle

Racers can enter in a solo or tandem division for the triathlon. All boaters must wear a USCG-approved life jacket during the competition.  The full race will begin and end at Race participants will park in the overflow parking lot across the road from the park. Boaters will then carry their boats using the west boat launch and corral in the bay to the West of the park where a mass start will occur. A lead boat with a motor will guide the leaders along the course and a sweeping boat will make sure they follow the course and to be on-site in the event of a water emergency.

Boaters will pool on the West end of Bay Point Park where the mass start race will begin. A lead boat will guide racers out of the harbor and along the shores of Red Wing quickly merging onto the Mississippi River and head downstream staying to the right of the red navigational buoys. Once under the bridge, paddlers will hug the left shoreline and turn left in a short upstream sprint into one of the backwater channels.

Boaters will then travel through some of the scenic backwaters of the Mississippi before returning and crossing the main channel of the river and going around Colvill Park. As you approach the shoreline with the playground on your right, there is 1km left around the park to take out at the cement bottom boat landing on the West end of Colvill Park.

Boats should not have any assisting devices such as sails, peddles, motors, etc. unless requesting accommodations for inclusive racing. 

Transition Zone

For the convenience of racers' logistics, there is one transition zone at Colvill Park.  Racers will use the eastern-most parking lot next to the Community Pool.  Each racer/team will have a designated parking space.  Racers will arrange to have their bike dropped off the morning before the race begins.  After the paddle portion, racers will have the option of volunteers moving their boats to their parking space.  As bikers return from the bike portion, they will park their bike in the same lane they retrieved it from as they transition to the run.  Times will be taken as racers enter and exit the transition zone and no biking is allowed in the transition zone.

Racers will enter the transition zone on the southwest corner of the parking lot and then enter their lane as a car would heading east to their designated space.  In moving to the next leg of the race, racers will enter the sidewalk on the northeast corner of the parking lot before turning to the left and then a right onto the paved trail where the transition zone ends to then go around Colvill Park in a counter-clockwise direction.  This allows for an equal distance of travel for all racers through the transition zone.

Relay racers will exchange in their parking space.

10k Bike

This 10k bike is a mixture of road, grass trails, and single-track mountain bike trails with optional mountain bike features.  All racers are required to wear a bicycle helmet.

The race begins with a 3k warmup on relatively flat and paved roads. Racers will follow the trail counterclockwise around Colvill Park and exit heading West on Nymphara Lane before taking a left on East 7th Street. Bikers will then merge briefly onto Highway 61 with a nice wide shoulder before taking a right onto Golf Links Drive. Near the golf course clubhouse, racers will then turn right onto the golf cart path and begin their 1.5k ascent up Memorial Bluff on a double-wide ski trail.

At the top, bikers will bike through bluff top prairies with vistas of Red Wing before entering onto a series of single-track mountain bike trails with optional features that include ramps, jumps, and berms. Bikers will then return to a wider trail for their descent down the bluff on the grass trail with a 180 switchback before merging on to Wilkinson Street.  There is a pinch point between two boulders here to prevent motorized vehicles from accessing the trail.

Bikers will then turn right on East 7th Street and then left on the eastern descent of Nymphara Lane before returning to Colvill Park and back into the transition zone.

10k run

Racer will again depart the Colvill Park transition zone and head up Nymphara Lane and turn right on East 7th Street.  They will follow this street with the parking lane closed for racers and traffic controlled intersections for 2k before turning right on East Ave.  Racers will run around Central Park and take a left on 4th Ave. Racers will then slowly ascend 1.5k along 4th Ave as it turns right and becomes Buchanan St. Racers will then descend 1.1k down Featherstone Rd and then turn right onto Hay Creek Trail.  Here racers will enjoy a 1.2k winding paved trail along Hay Creek and then ascend the sidewalk along Withers Harbor Drive.  Racers will cross the controlled intersection and descend along Withers Harbor Drive and merge onto the paved trail and follow it right as it runs along 1.1k along Levee Road.  Racers will then enter Bay Point Park entering the sidewalk on the eastern side of the park with an .8k finish that goes around the Teepee to the finish line.

4k Untimed Walk, Run/Walk/Wheel

This part of the event will happen at the same time as the triathlon, starting at Bay Point at the same time as the paddlers begin. This will be a self-timed, out and back route, leaving from Bay Point, following the path that runs along the river, past the boat houses in the Red Wing Bay, down and around Levee Park, and then back. This part of the event is great for anyone who wants to participate in a more leisurely way and is meant to include all ages and abilities, such as families with young children, Special Olympics participants, and members of a group home. The entire route is paved and relatively flat to accommodate strollers and mobility devices.