Credited as the birthplace of the triathlon, Mission Bay will host nearly 2,000 athletes and as many spectators for the Mission Bay Triathlon on Sunday, Oct. 3. According to organizers, the San Diego Track Club held the first-ever run, bike and swim event in 1974, named the Centennial Triathlon to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach and La Jolla. The event’s name was changed the following year to the Mission Bay Triathlon, but the race’s design stuck. “Basically, that idea of triathlon spread to other parts of the country and people started developing triathlons,” said race director Rick Kozlowski. “In fact, the guy, Commander Collins, who started Ironman Hawaii, got the idea from the triathlons in San Diego.” Starting with about 50 to 60 people, the event has grown tremendously. The popularity is two-fold. “I think part of it is that people in the mid- to late-90s were looking for something different than doing marathons, but they wanted to do something that gave them a feeling of accomplishment,” Kozlowski said. “Marathons take a lot of work and it really takes a toll on the body. “So, instead of going to the office and talking to their friends saying, ‘I did a marathon this last weekend,’ they were going in and saying, ‘I did a triathlon’ and not have to worry about all that training,” he said. Trends in fitness have also helped the sport. “Plus, in the last 10 years, the big word in fitness has been cross-training, so people who do triathlons do a little swimming during the week, a little bit of weight training, a little bit of cycling, a little bit of running,” Kozlowski said. “It gives a person an opportunity to do a different sport every day and not have to do the same sport.” This year’s race starts and finishes at Ski Beach on Mission Bay. There is a 500-meter, point-to-point swim, a 15-kilometer bike ride and a 5-kilometer run. “It’s kind of a neat little venue and we are sold out,” Kozlowski said. “It’s basically the biggest triathlon in San Diego.” Residents can still get involved in the race in other capacities, too. “Come out and watch or volunteer on race day,” Kozlowski said. “If they want to volunteer, they can give us a call here at the office or just come out and watch the racing.” Racers start showing up at Ski Beach as early as 5:15 a.m. “We bring in almost 2,000 athletes and another 2,000 spectators, and by 11 a.m., you’d almost never know we were there,” Kozlowski said. “It’s really kind of funny. By noon, everything is in our trunks and we are gone. It’s like the circus comes to town and you’d never know it was there if you woke up after noon.” Meanwhile, the effect on traffic is expected to be minimal, Kozlowski said. “The only thing that will be happening is not so much a traffic delay, but from 6:30 in the morning to 9:30, there will be no westbound traffic on Sea World Drive from east Mission Bay Drive to the main exit of Sea World,” Kozlowski said. “There will be a detour that lets people go through, takes them down to Rosecrans Street and up Sports Arena Boulevard to bring them back around. But that’s the only major road closure outside of Fiesta Island being closed from 7 until 9 (a.m.).” For more information, call (858) 268-1250, or visit www.kozenterprises.com.