_ The 2021 Broken Sword Triathlon:
The Broken Sword Triathlon in Clarksville, AR offers a Sprint distance and Kids Tri event in the beautiful Ozark Mountain foothills that features a FAST and scenic course, one-of-a-kind finisher medal, awards, prizes and an epic finish-line festival that both participants and spectators will enjoy!  The Broken Sword Triathlon benefits Clarksville Parks & Recreation.

COURSE INFORMATION:

Sprint Triathlon

The Sprint Triathlon distances will be a 500 meter Swim, a 15-mile Bike, and a 5K (3.1mi) Run.

Swim Course:
The swim is an open water swim at Lake Ludwig, located about 5 miles north of town off of Hwy. 21. The course will be a point-to-point loop starting at the beach area and ending at the boat ramp. It will be marked with buoys and other directional signage.

Transition 1: The T1 area is in the parking lot as you come up the boat ramp. The transition exit to bike will be at the parking entrance onto the road.

Bike Course:
The bike course is on paved roads with beautiful scenery of the Ozark Mountains. The first half of the course is a FAST ride with rolling downhill terrain. The second section goes through downtown and the University of the Ozarks campus, then back out into the countryside that features rolling hills and finishes with a gradual and flat ride back into downtown.

Transition 2: The T2 area is a parking lot downtown. You will enter from the road after you go around the courthouse square and exit the parking lot to quickly hop on the trail for the run.

Run Course:
The run is an out-and-back course on the Spadra Creek Nature Trail that features a flat paved trail with a pasture and wooded setting and finishes downtown with great spectator viewing and an awesome finish line party!

TRANSPORTATION:  There will be a bus shuttle back and forth from the Start/T1 area at Lake Ludwig to the Finish/T2 area downtown.  The shuttle will run back and forth for participant/spectator pickup/drop-off every 30-40 minutes, starting at 5am race morning until the end of the race.

Kids Tri Event

The Kids Triathlon will be held at the Clarksville Aquatic Center. The swim will be in the indoor pool with the bike and run courses on the nearby roads and parking lot.

Intro to Triathlon, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced distance division options are available regardless of kids age group.

You must be 15 and under for the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced options. You must be 9 and under for the Intro to Tri option. Awards within each distance division option will be based on age groups (6 and Under, 7-10, 11-12, 13-15).

Intro to Triathlon: 50-Meter Swim, 2-Mile Bike, Half-Mile Run

Beginner: 100 Meter Swim, 5K Bike, 1K Run

Intermediate: 200 Meter Swim, 7K Bike, 2K Run

Advanced: 300 Meter Swim, 10K Bike, 2.5K Run

PACKET PICKUP:

Packet Pickup will be available on Friday, August 20 from 9am-7pm at the Clarksville Aquatic Center (1611 Oakland St, Clarksville, AR 72830).

Saturday, August 21 - Race Day Packet Pickup:

Race Day Packet Pickup will be from 5:30-6:30am at the swim start beach area at Lake Ludwig (5 miles north of Clarksville on Hwy. 21).  All packets must be picked up 30 minutes prior to race start at 7am.  There is no race day registration.

History of the Broken Sword:

As the legend goes, the sword was broken in battle along a swift creek over the forbidden love between a lost explorer and the chief's daughter of the native Quapaw tribe.  Years later, DeSoto and his Spanish explorers were passing through this area when they came upon the same swift creek.  As they crossed the stream, DeSoto stumbled upon the broken sword and cried "Spadra!" (espada is Spanish for sword), and so was named Spadra Creek, "Stream of the Broken Sword."

Today, the beautiful Spadra Creek still flows swiftly through the heart of Clarksville and features prominently along the race course.