The Iceberg Winter Triathlon—the world’s first true winter sports triathlon—and the Ice 3 Arctic Triple Relay (Ice Cube) return to Timber Ridge Resort in Traverse City February 25–26.
The course, located mainly within Timber Ridge (a small portion of the cross-country ski trail is on the Vasa) is the same for Saturday’s team relays and Sunday’s individuals. There are male, female and co-ed categories.
- Cross country: 5 miles, open to freestyle or classic, 3 laps (1.7 miles each)
- Fat bike: 5 miles, 3 laps on separate course (1.7 miles each)
- Snowshoe: 5 kilometers, 3 laps (1.7 km each)
“Each leg is designed to take about the same amount of time so each team member is equally important (20–40 min per person),” says Dan Novak with Race TC. “Fast teams will finish in a little over 1 hour. Most teams will finish around 90 minutes to 2 hours.”
Presented by Race TC, this year marks the third annual Ice Cube and second annual Iceberg.
“The mission of the Ice Cube is to continue to build a platform where cross country skiers, fat bikers and snowshoers meet once a year to work together as a team—teams of friends, family and even complete strangers,” Dan says. There’s always a need for individual participants to create teams. Anybody interested can contact Dan at racetc@racetc.com.
The Iceberg encourages individuals to explore a variety of winter sports and might be a small step out of someone’s comfort zone, Dan adds. “There have been some winter triathlon races that I’m aware of—usually swimming in a pool or ice skating as one of the legs—but I was not able to find any race that consists of cross country skiing, fat biking and snowshoeing. All three legs are true winter sports.”
New this year is the Masters 150+ category (sum of team members’ ages is 150 or more). “There are tons of very active people in Northern Michigan who are in their 50s, 60s and even 70s,” Dan says. “We wanted to recognize this age group and encourage everyone to stay active and maybe bring more friends to enjoy winter sports in a competitive yet fun way.”
After each race, there will be soup and Shorts beer. Part of the proceeds to benefit the Vasa Ski Club and the Northern Michigan Mountain Bike Association.
Registration and details at racetc.com.