Have you ever needed that extra push to get you on the way to get moving and active?

Maybe a little nudge to say “now is the time.”

Well, “now is the time.”

Why not train for a triathlon?

If that didn’t scare you off let me say the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA is excited to host the Marshalltown Y Tri on June 22. We will have divisions for adults (17 and over) and youth (ages 6-16) with the adult contest starting at 7 a.m. and youth at approximately 9 a.m. A triathlon includes swimming, biking and running or jogging, in that order.

Here is the breakdown on distances.

Adult Division

· 400 yard swim in the Y pool

· 15K (9.4 miles) bike ride on Linn Creek Trail

· 5K (3.1 miles) run on Linn Creek Trail

Youth Division

· 100 yard swim in the Y pool

· 4 mile bike ride on Linn Creek Trail

· 1 mile run on Linn Creek Trail

Many may think a triathlon is too daunting for them, but rest assured we will have competitors of all different levels taking part.

Besides, two months is a great amount of time to start building those healthier habits.

If you need some help getting started, the Y has the most experienced health and wellness staff in town who can get you started, led by our friendly Health and Wellness duo of Angie Paxson and Keisha Lockhart.

We are excited about the visitors this will bring to Marshalltown and that our community gets to host this type of event. We are already getting interest from across the state. We also could use some fans along the trail that day to cheer the competitors on. See more information on the triathlon or sign up on our website at www.ymca-ywca.org.

June 22 will be an exciting day for Marshalltown.

There’s no time like the present to give the Tri a try!

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Andrew Potter is marketing and communications director for the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA.