In partnership with the acclaimed SOS Triathlon®, held annually for 35 years along New York’s Shawangunk Mountain Range, New England Endurance Events is pleased to present the second annual SOS Cape Cod. This is the only athletic competition allowed to enter the fragile and scenic lands of the Cape Cod National Seashore. A slightly shorter course than the SOS New York event, triathletes bike, then run and swim on a 38-mile point-to-point route leading to a finish in the quintessential coastal village of Wellfleet. Five of the top overall/age group winners will be eligible to compete at the SOS Championships in New Paltz, New York in September.
Like the original SOS Triathlon, the race starts with a bike leg; which leaves from the edge of Cape Cod Bay in the village of Wellfleet. You’ll follow mostly back country roads to Provincetown, then to Truro. It’s a hilly 27-mile ride. Racers will leave their bikes with their support designates and venture onto the sandy trails of the National Seashore. Total running is 9 miles. Along the way you will encounter glacier-created kettle ponds which will require three swims to cross: each either a quarter-mile or a half-mile. You’ll finish with a one-mile run along a quiet road to the finish line at Wellfleet Elementary School. You and your support person are then welcome for a complete meal at the after-party and awards ceremony.
To take part in this event, athletes must complete one of the following within 60 months of Race Day: a standard Olympic-distance race in 3 hours and 20 minutes or less (or adjusted time if a non-standard Olympic); a 70.3/half-Ironman in 6:45 or less; or an Ironman-distance race in 15:00 or less. You will be asked to provide documentation of your qualifications. If you have completed the SOS Triathlon in New York State within the last five years, you will need only to indicate the year as part of your registration. And remember: you will need to name a support person with vehicle to park in designated areas during the race, to attend the virtual pre-race briefing, at the first transition stop to take your bike, and at the finish line.
27 absolutely beautiful — yet surprisingly hilly — miles.
• Starts at Mayo Beach, Wellfleet, Cape Cod
• Winds through the narrow streets of this old fishing village before following one of the oldest (and most isolated) roads in New England along Cape Cod Bay to Truro
• Follows the bike lane of the Mid Cape Highway to North Truro
• Enters the North Highlands area of Truro, on quiet windswept roads
• From North Truro, follows Shore Road to Provincetown
• At the Harbor Inn, turns to head back to North Truro
• Follows the bike lane of the Mid Cape Highway for a short stretch
• Enters onto quiet, hilly roads by Castle Hill and Corn Hill — the first place in North America visited by English explorers
• In Truro Center, crosses over to the Ocean side of the Cape (the “Backside”)
• Finishes on Collins Road in Lower Truro, where athletes will meet their support designates and exchange bikes for running/swimming gear
Racers will embark on a combination run/swim effort (9 miles of running, 1.25 of swimming, across seven legs) through the Cape Cod National Seashore lands in Truro and Wellfleet. The runners will be following existing footpaths and both dirt and paved roads, with the last run leg entirely on paved roads
• Run #1: Truro Highlands, 4 miles
• Swim #1: Gull Pond, 0.5 mile
• Run #2: Fire Roads, 2.5 miles
• Swim #2: Great Pond, 0.25 mile
• Run #3: Way 625, 1.5 miles
• Swim #3: Long Pond, 0.5 mile
• Run #4: Long Pond Road, 1 mile
• Finish at Wellfleet Elementary School
The SOS Triathlon, founded in 1983 by Don Davis (shown here after a 2017 Cape Cod test event with former Ironman World Champion Karen Smyers and Don’s wife Darlene), is widely considered to be one of the sport’s most iconic races. Held every September in the rugged hills bordering New Paltz, New York, this eight-stage triathlon (bike-run-swim-run-swim-run-swim-hill climb) attracts some of the world’s best athletes — as well as individually-minded age groupers looking for a challenge unlike anything else.
——————— When a triathlon is this different and exciting, everyone has questions. Here are the answers to most of them!
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