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Houghton outdoor sports enthusiasts can now mark August 7th off with ink. The Verna Mize Triathlon has been approved by city and county officials. Organizer Mary Kaminski says honoring Mize by naming the inaugural event after her was a no-brainer, considering the swim will take place in the canal and her legacy of ensuring its health. Kaminski even sought out the blessing of the Mize family before introducing the concept.
Registration forms are available on the City of Houghton’s website. Preregistration is required by August 5th and then the form must be brought with you to the race Saturday morning. The fee to participate is five dollars and that ensures some snacks and a Gatorade at the finish line. The form can be found here. Registration can be done by phone text or email (beach@up.net).
The triathlon involves a half-mile swim, eight-mile bike, and five-mile run for adults. Children do roughly half that. It will be a challenging race staging from Kestner Park, but the length makes it accessible to the general public. Kaminski says there is no cap on the number of participants. Michigan Tech is hosting alumni on August 6th and Kaminski hopes that those in town for the reunion will include the triathlon in their plans.
