Returning for it’s 25^th year, the iconic Mooloolaba Triathlon returns this 10^th to the 12^th of March, for it’s quarter of a century anniversary. Located in the heart of our beautifully, and naturally refreshing Sunshine Coast, the Mooloolaba Triathlon festival has been a feature event of the already stacked Australian Tri Calendar for years now, and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. Mooloolaba Triathlon stages a course that is famous for its ocean swim alongside our stunning, white, sandy beaches; as well as the electric buzz in the atmosphere as thousands of triathletes descending on this popular beach town for what is always assured to be some stiff competition. It’s perfect for first timers and seasoned triathletes with varying skill levels and age groups having custom tracks laid out before them.

The Twilight 5km Road Run is widely regarded as one of Australia’s most beautiful, and premier road distance events, attracting huge numbers of participants, from elite athletes, to families walking the whole distance together. This track is a simple back and forth, two lap course along the beautiful, and iconic, Mooloolaba Esplanade. This year, in 2017, the Twilight Sprint returns, adding a little more pace to the event for those who want it. This variety of the race changes things up, with a modified version of the track. The Sprint instead includes four laps of a 1.2km track, requiring open male and female participants to complete the track within a certain time limit – 18 minutes for Open Mens, and 21 minutes for Open Womens.

Of course there’s also an event just for the kids, the Mooloolaba Superkidz Triathlon. You know it will be good, because they spell Superkids with a ‘Z’, so it must be cool. In all seriousness, this event is perfectly catered to budding young athletes, not yet ready to race alongside the big boys, between the ages of 7 and 13 years old. They do, of course, offer different races for both the 7-10 years age group, with a smaller event, and a slightly longer, more difficult and testing event for the 11 to 13 age bracket. For the 7-10s, there is a 100m swim, 1km bike ride, and a 500m run to finish off. If that doesn’t put them to bed at a decent hour, nothing will. For the older kids there’s a 200m swim, 3km cycle, and a 1km run to finish, which sounds more my speed.

As part of the weekend event, there is also the specifically designed and organised Mooloolaba Special Triathlon, an event just for those with special needs and disabilities, one of only three events that offer such an official event in the world. The track itself is a 100m swim, 1km bike ride, finishing off with a 500m run, all along roots with plenty of volunteers to help competitors towards their goals and the finish line in safety.

Of course, there’s also the professional league, represented by the 2017 Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup. This event’s track includes a 1.5km swim, followed up by a gruelling 40km bike ride, finishing off with a ‘light’ 10km run. This event is of course for the very serious athletes, with prize money from a pool of $60,000, which is nothing to shake a stick at. So if you’re a budding athlete, have something to prove, or just like watching sweating people run, check out the Mooloolaba Triathlon’s 25^th Anniversary this March 10^th to the 12^th.

For more information on all events, including more detail of the event’s tracks, see the website for details.