Edmonton Winter Triathlon 2014 action © Marc J Chalifoux 2014

November 01, 2015 (Edmonton, AB) – The Silver Skate Festival is home to the Edmonton Winter Triathlon (EWT), which challenges all levels of athletes to skate, ski, and run to frosty victory. This year, the festival will host a race with both a long (25 km) and short (10 km) option.

• Run – Skate – Ski
• Long or Short Course
• Solo or Team Challenge

The Edmonton Winter Triathlon offers family fun. © Marc J Chalifoux 2014

All three aspects of the triathlon take place inside Hawrelak Park. The run is held on the road around the park, the skating is held on the pond, and skiing through the trees and open parkland. Come cheer on the athletes – or better yet, sign up to enjoy the challenge!

Athletes have the option of flying solo or participating in a team of up to five people. Teams split the race among team members as they choose and can pass the relay baton as often as they like. Participants are grouped into women’s, men’s, mixed, and family teams.

© Silver Skate Festival

New to winter triathlon? Here’s what to expect.

Part One: Run

The first part of the race involves running a 5-km or 2.5-km distance on the perimeter road around the park. Athletes must be able to run one or two laps of the 2.5 km loop.

Part Two: Skate

The next leg of the course involves skating 12 km (for the long option) or 4 km (for the short option) on Hawrelak Lake. Skaters skate the 1-km lap, going counter-clockwise lap (see map here). Drafting is allowed. A board is set up near the start line to count laps. The lap count indicates the time remaining for the lead group. All racers, need to count their own laps.

Part Three: Ski

After the skating comes the skiing portion of the race – either an 8 km or 3 km distance around the lake and adjacent park area. Participants ski laps of a 2.75 km ski course, skiing clockwise and can choose either skate (freestyle) or classic skiing techniques.

Water, food, and refreshments will greet all solo athletes and teams after they ski across the finish line. Around 12:30 p.m., awards will be given out to teams and individuals, and prize draws held.

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History of the EWT

Born in 1989 out of a desire for a race a “little different than the ordinary” the EWT brings together aspects of three common winter pursuits: running, skating, and skiing. The race was initially a “sprint” 5-5-5 km format starting with a skate and ending with a ski. In 2007 the race was changed to the longer and more challenging distance format of 10-10-5 km, Skate-Ski-Run. In 2012, we hosted two different distances: 10-10-5 km and 4-4-2 km. A new format gets its debut in 2015: run-skate-ski.

Information on Winter Triathlons:

The Winter Triathlon

A winter triathlon combines three disciplines of either cross-country skiing, running and biking. Our Edmonton Winter Triathlon (EWT) requires athletes to run, ice skate and cross country ski during on of the coldest months of the Canadian Winter – February.

The EWT takes place in Hawrelak Park one of the premier outdoor recreation facilities in Edmonton. It is a spectator friendly event with many opportunities to see the athletes as they compete and for friends and family to cheer on participants