CROTON-ON-HUDSON The Toughman Triathlon will be held again this year in Croton Point Park and this year's race will be a charitable affair.
The race started four years ago in 2008 by Rich Izzo, who was previously the race director of the Westchester Triathlon. He and his staff decided to create an event for the area.
We decided to do a half-Ironman, which is a much larger distance event and somebody suggested it come to Croton Point Park, Izzo said. When I saw it I fell in love with it. I felt that Croton was a beautiful location for having an event like this.
Izzo, a veteran triathlete himself who has completed the grueling full Ironman race in Lake Placid, said the event took a lot of planning and the help of Croton officials and volunteers. This years event will be held on Sept. 11, the tenth anniversary of the attacks in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.. Izzo said the event will pay tribute to that.
This year our main focus is the 9/11 memorial thats being erected at Croton Landing, he said. We really want to support that memorial being built so were donating a portion of every entry to the memorial and allowing the memorial commission to use our fundraising abilities.
Race participants and volunteers are also allowed to use the event as a fundraiser for whatever charity they want, using a page they set up on the events website, www.toughmantri.com. Race organizers are expecting 900 and 1,000 adults and 600 kids to participate in this years events. The event will also have about 1,000 volunteers.
The majority of people come from in and around Westchester and New York City, but we have athletes who come as far as Zurich, Switzerland, and from California and Florida, Izzo said.
This year, the website will also have a list of local attractions for the visitors coming to town, such as places to eat and shop in the town. Izzo plans to expand the list in coming years.
I asked the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce to recommend businesses from the local area that should go on there, and weve listed a whole bunch, Izzo said.
This years event actually begins on Saturday, Sept. 10 with the expo and the kids triathlon race series.
This year will be the second-largest kids triathlon in the United States, Izzo said.
The swimming and running portions of the race take place in Croton Point Park and the surrounding area, the bike portion of the race takes participants through Cortlandt, Yorktown, Somers, North Salem and South Salem.
Izzo said he expects the mayor and the county executive to be the Grand Marshalls for the kickoff celebration on Saturday. He also hopes to get a military flyover for the event.
Ive tried the Army, Ive tried West Point and Ive tried the Marine Corps, Izzo said. You have to go through so many channels, but Im one of those people that doesnt quit and I really think it would be special for the athletes and the town. Well keep on trying until the end.
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