Buster Britton Triathlon becoming a fitness tradition

Triathletes from all over the country will descend upon Oak Mountain State Park July 12 for what has become one of the longest-running triathlons in Alabama.

 “This long-standing ‘road’ triathlon is a mainstay on the triathlon circuit,” said Chris Hershey of the Shelby County Department of Development Services.

The Bike Link Buster Britton Memorial Triathlon, presented by Brookwood Medical Center, is celebrating 28 years on the triathlon circuit in 2014. This year the event is moving from June, when it was held in years past, to the second Saturday in July.

The race honors the life of Buster Britton, one of the Birmingham area’s original triathletes, who lost his life in a fun run shortly after completing the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. 

Britton started in the sport when very few people in the country, much less in Alabama, competed in triathlons, and few events were held. Today the Oak Mountain event is an homage to Britton and the sport he loved.

“Buster was a true inspiration for triathletes as the sport began to take shape in Alabama,” said Faye Yates of Team Magic, a Birmingham-based organization that manages triathlons all over the country and coordinates the Buster Britton event each year. 

As a sprint triathlon, the event entails a 400-yard swim through Double Oak Lake, a 12-mile bike ride on paved roads through the park and a 3-mile run through a mostly flat route with shaded areas. Finish times for the course run from just less than one hour for the fastest racers, and up to 2 1/2 hours for the final finishers.

“The race distances of 400 yards, 12 miles and three miles makes this race perfect for beginner triathletes and also challenging enough for experienced racers,” Yates said. 

Yates said that the event has grown steadily to more than 500 racers. Organizers limit participation based on the space in the staging area in the state park and to avoid crowding the park roads with too many bikes.

Triathlons have been gaining popularity over the last two decades. Participation in triathlons in the United States is at an all-time high, according to USA Triathlon, the sport’s governing body in the United States. The group’s membership has grown from about 100,000 in 1998 to 550,446 last year. 

Adults are not the only athletes who have joined in on the triathlon craze, and Yates said participants in the Buster Britton Triathlon will include some of that younger demographic. The triathlon has even become a part of the Southeast Junior Race Series, which consists of seven independently produced sprint distance triathlons held between the months of May and August. 

“Be on the lookout for these talented athletes on race day,” Yates said.

To learn more about the race or to register, visit team-magic.com/events/8.