Race El Paso will host the Mighty Mujer Triathlon, an all-women triathlon that will take place at 7:30 a.m. April 18 at Memorial Park.
The race will involve swimming, biking and running, and will consist of two different components: a sprint and a super sprint. The sprint will include a 300-yard swim, 9.3-mile bike ride and a two-mile run. The super sprint will have a 300-yard swim, 18-mile bike ride and a three-mile run.
“Mighty Mujer Triathlon is intended to introduce women to multisport racing, inspire active living and create community and camaraderie among women in the area,” said Gabriela Gallegos, president and race director of Race El Paso. “It’s a fantastic first triathlon for women who are curious but nervous about racing, and the volunteer support is amazing.”
Participants are allowed to form teams for the events. The teams may consist of family members and friends. All teams must participate in the same distance division. The teams will be divided into two different categories-mother-daughter and friends.
The mother-daughter teams may consist of two participants and the girlfriends’ teams may have four members. Teams will be identified on their race entries. The fastest average overall time will win the category, and those who do not win will still have the opportunity to win awards based on their age group and for the Athena competition.
“There are no relays at Mighty Mujer Triathlon, so each individual participant completes the swim, bike and run. However, women support each other leading up to and during the race by cheering, offering advice and serving as training buddies,” Gallegos said.
The minimum age required to participate in the race is 12 and all participants must be registered members with USA Triathlon, a national triathlon organization. Annual memberships can be purchased on the USAT website. One-day $12 memberships may be purchased during registration for the event.
Before the event, all participants must receive a swim certification to ensure the athletes are qualified to safely participate in the swim. To do so, athletes can practice the swim at a 25-yard pool and time themselves.
Many El Paso public pools are equipped with timers or participants can ask an employee to time them. Once the times have been recorded, participants can update their swim times on the Race El Paso website to successfully certify their ability to participate in the swim. All swim times must be updated by April 8.
All participants have the opportunity to attend weekly training workshops at Spectrum Gym, located at 1700 Cliff Drive, every Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. to prepare for the race. These workshops are to help participants prepare for the race by helping them learn how to prepare properly, build endurance and train to have a good experience during the race.
“The first thing we worked on was strengthening their core,” said Rocio Villalobos, trainer at Spectrum Gym. “The first three weeks, we were strengthening and running, and now we are doing a bike routine with hard-brake hills.”
Another goal of the workshops is to teach participants how to stretch to prepare for the race and how to cool down after prolonged periods of exercise.
“Some of our participants run two to three miles after the workshops, and we show them how they can stretch beforehand to prepare their bodies for the run and how they can cool down afterwards,” Villalobos said.
The last day to register for the event will be April 15. Registration will be $70 for the sprint and $80 for the super sprint until April 9. From April 10 to 15, registration will cost $75 for the sprint and $85 for the super sprint. To register, visit raceelpaso.com.
For more information about The Mighty Mujer Triathlon and Spectrum Gym, visit raceelpaso.com or spectrumfitness.org.
Julia Hettiger may be reached at [email protected].
