Triathlon on LBK this Sunday

Longboat Key, Lido Key, St. Armands Key Chamber of Commerce President Tom Aposporos is eagerly anticipating the First Annual Longboat Key Triathlon. Aposporos said he is thankful for the event’s local business sponsors as well as the Longboat Key Club, the event host, and the town of Longboat Key for supporting the event.

The Department of Public Works Director Juan Florensa, says Aposporos, was particularly helpful in working with the Florida Department of Transportation. FDOT is in the process of repaving the southern portion of Gulf of Mexico Drive, and Florensa worked with the state to speed up the repaving project so that the triathlon would not be adversely affected by the construction. The newly paved surface may even prove to be perfect for bicycling.

Most of the community and the Town Commission learned of the triathlon when Aposporos spoke of the event last spring. Aposporos wants to make the triathlon a longstanding tradition that will become an international event, bringing visitors to the island.

The triathlon begins at 7:30 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 24 at the Longboat Key Club and Resort. Two hundred participants are registered to date. The race is a timed start, so there will be no starter gun to begin the event. The first portion of the race will be a half-mile swim in the lagoon just south of the Key Club property, next is a 20-mile bike ride that will take place along Gulf of Mexico Drive and the final leg of the triathlon will be a five-mile run through the Longboat Key Club property.