April 16, 2004

'Doc' Spackman triathlon set for April 24

by Tom Woolf

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The 21st annual Doc Spackman Memorial Triathlon is set for Saturday, April 24, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

The event honors the late Robert "Doc" Spackman, longtime athletics trainer at SIUC and nationally known expert on physical fitness.

The triathlon includes a 385-yard swim, five-mile bike ride and two-mile run. It begins at 8 a.m. at SIUC's Lake-on-the-Campus; participants must sign in on race day between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. at Campus Beach and supply their own equipment. Participants may compete individually or in teams of three, with each member competing in a single leg of the race.

Deadline for registration is 4 p.m. Friday, April 23. Fees are $12 for individuals and $22 for teams. Individuals and teams may register the morning of the event and pay late registration fees of $16 per individual and $26 per team. The event is open to the first 25 teams and 300 individuals registering.

The entry form is available online at http://www.siu.edu/%7eoirs/Doc_Spackman.html.

Individuals of all ages may participate; there are nine age groups for men and five for women. Teams with members whose combined ages are 104 or less will compete in the junior division. Teams with combined ages of 105 and above will compete in the senior division.

There is a youth division for competitors 17 and younger, and parents must sign a waiver for their children to participate. There also is a wheelchair division for those 18 and older.

For more information, contact Kathy L. Hollister, assistant director of special populations in the Office of Intramural-Recreational Sports, at 618/453-1267.