_ The 9th Annual Madison Triathlon:

Like the duathlon, the Madison Triathlon was intended to be an extension of a good idea. It became, however, a good idea on its own as well as the genesis of the Madison Trifecta Sporting Series. Do all three! If you do all three events (the duathlon, marathon, and triathlon) in a single summer, you will be a T.B.A. By the way, T.B.A. stands for ‘Total Bad Ass’ because anyone crazy enough or tough enough or bad enough to complete all three events in a single summer IS a total bad ass. The Madison Triathlon is the culminating event of this incredible accomplishment. The Madison Triathlon is unique in a few other respects. First, it is, like the Madison Duathlon, a point-to-point race as opposed to a loop route. Athletes will start in one town and finish in another. It will also start at the foothills of the Madison Range (the second highest mountain range in Montana) and finish in the Tobacco Root Mountain Range. Second, it is an Olympic Distance triathlon. There are very few of them in Montana and this is one of them. Third, the swimming leg is in open water (not a swimming pool). The route is a 400 yard triangular lap in Ennis Lake. Athletes make three laps for a total of 1,200 yards. Fourth, the biking leg is almost all on Montana Highway 287 and includes a five-mile uphill and, best news yet, a five-mile downhill. There are also some great flats. Fifth, the final running leg is a gentle uphill grade from Harrison to Pony. The finish line is right in front of the infamous Pony Bar. Lastly, the entire race is at elevation. It’s not quite like the Madison Marathon (9,000 feet plus), but the entire route is over 5,000 feet above sea level. So what you got is an Olympic Distance Tri a mile above sea level. Is there any other such Tri in America or anywhere else in the world?