The Launceston Triathlon Club will be hitting a race track of a different kind to mark the commencement of its 2020-2021 season this weekend.
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The club will open with a duathlon at Symmons Plains on Saturday, club president Matt Wheatley said it was great to be back after unforeseen events took a chunk out of the 2019-2020 season.
"We've had a pretty tough last couple of months from a club perspective ... we had to cancel a few events from last season due to coronavirus and also because of bushfires on the mainland," he said.
"We're looking forward to this Saturday and kicking off our season ... we're putting on five races over the summer months."
As well as various race distances, Wheatley said the LTC would collaborate with the Burnie Ten to allow would-be participants to get a run in for the 2020 virtual event.
"If they register accordingly, we can give them a Burnie Ten or five finishers medal as well," Wheatley said.
In other news:
Along with the many changes COVID-19 has had on the sporting world, Wheatley said one positive would be the digital shift in terms of registrations.
"What we've really been focusing on ... is the registration perspective - we've moved to a fully online registration system," he said.
"We've been trying to do that for a couple of years so this is actually a really good impetus for us.
"All registrations are now done prior to the event, we won't accept any on-the-day registrations."
With other sporting events both interstate and overseas being cancelled, Wheatley said he anticipated an increase in triathlon participation this season.
"I think there's an opportunity when an event is on - I think we'll see more people do it and maybe people from non-traditional triathlon backgrounds," he said.
This includes world championship marathon runner Josh Harris.
"We know he's a good long-distance runner and it turns out he's a good cyclist as well. It'll actually be the first time we see him at a triathlon," Wheatley said.
You can register for this weekend's duathlon at launcestontriclub.com or on Facebook.