Athletes to take to the water and streets of the city in the 5150 Ekurhuleni

The Standard Bank 5150 Ekurhuleni will once again take place in Germiston.

The race is set to take place on October 20 at Germiston Lake.

The 5150 triathlon (pronounced fifty-one-fifty, which is the combined race distance of 50.51km) takes the format of an Olympic distance triathlon featuring a 1.5km swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run.

Widely regarded as an ideal introduction distance into competitive triathlon, the Standard Bank 5150 Ekurhuleni course starts with a 1.5km swim in Germiston Lake.

The race then heads out for the 40km bike course along the N17 highway, turning at the Dalpark Toll Plaza.

The 10km run takes athletes next to the lake through the park towards Germiston Golf Club and finishes in the park.

Along with the Olympic distance event, all 5150 events feature FUNTRI distances for individuals and teams.

The FUNTRI is a shorter distance triathlon that consists of a 400m swim, a 20km bike ride and a 5km run.

FUNTRI events offer the perfect introductory distances to those who are curious about trying triathlon for the very first time and entries are open to anyone from the age of 14 years old on the day of the race.

This will encourage younger athletes to become involved in triathlon, while participating with more relaxed rules than typical, longer distance triathlon events. Relay teams will be allowed to enter the FUNTRI distance, where two or three athletes share different facets of the triathlon.

The Olympic distance is for individuals only (no relay teams will be allowed to enter).

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Werner Smit, race director of the Standard Bank 5150 Ekurhuleni said, “You know spring has properly sprung when the Standard Bank 5150 Ekurhuleni is around the corner.

“Many athletes have taken up the opportunity to enter a world-class Olympic distance and short course triathlon in the heart of Gauteng.

“The standout feature of this event for me is the undulating bike course on the superb N17 freeway road surface.

“Athletes get to make the most of this annual opportunity to test their triathlon finesse on this course and we are looking forward to hosting yet another successful event in the City of Ekurhuleni.”

The event has been successfully hosted at Germiston Lake since 2013, attracting over 1 000 athletes each year since its inception and has grown into Gauteng’s most popular standard distance triathlon event.

In addition to thousands of amateur athletes, the event has been frequented by South African Olympic triathletes along with some of South Africa’s best long-distance triathletes.

The community is urged to take note of the following road closures on the day:

• There will is no cross-over of Lake and Russell roads, between William Hills Road and the N17 highway, between 5.30am and 1pm.

• There will be a one lane access and exit lane for residents of Idle Wild complex on Lake Road from William Hills to Chapman Road.

• Residents of Visser Place will have access via the Sasol garage on the corner of Russell and Cachet roads.

• To travel from Lambton to Rand Airport motorists will have to travel around the lake via Refinery and Power roads.

• The N17 eastbound on-ramp will be closed and residents are requested to access the N17 via Webber Road and Osborn Road.

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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Melissa Hart (Editor) germistoncitynews@caxton.co.za or Leigh Hodgson (News Editor) leighh@caxton.co.za.

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