Pumpkinman triathlon event returns to Lake Mead

College athletes from Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming will descend on the Las Vegas Valley this weekend to compete in the Pumpkinman Triathlon.

They’ll be joined by competitors from around the country — more than 1,000 in total — who will travel for the races on Saturday in Boulder City and Lake Mead.

“It’s a very popular event because it’s the (Mountain) Collegiate (Triathlon) Conference race … and so they bring about 250 athletes so it gives a big bump,” race director Cedric Keppler said. “And it’s been such a popular race also to various athletes across the nation, so there’s a lot of out-of-towners that come to participate.”

Pumpkinman will include a sprint distance triathlon, Olympic distance triathlon, the Lucas 5K and 1 mile fun run as well as a the Pumpkinman 5K and 10K.

After the races, there will be a party at Wilbur Square in Boulder City with drinks, a post-race meal and then medals for winners by age group and overall athletes.

There will be a special collegiate college awards ceremony. Schools in the MCTC include Arizona State, University of Arizona and the University of Colorado, among others.

They’ll compete in the Olympic distance triathlon. Among the general public, Keppler said the sprint distance triathlon is typically the most popular.

Pumpkinman is one of BBSC Endurance’s largest at Lake Mead and also one of the most challenging.

BBSC brands it as “Nevada’s toughest triathlon bike course,” thanks to the very steep bike ride that participants will have to tackle.

“It’s very difficult. The bike course, the last eight miles of the bike course are completely uphill so it makes for a very tough bike ride,” Keppler said. “A lot of athletes like that, especially the strong bikers, but it’s a big challenge. A lot of people who come and do Pumpkinman get the bragging rights afterwards because it’s such a tough course.”

RACES ACROSS THE VALLEY

The end of October seems to be a very popular time for races around the Valley, with lots of options for runners to choose from. Along with other mile-long runs, 5Ks and 10Ks, there are also multiple half marathons coming up in the next couple weeks.

In fact, there are seven running/triathlon events scheduled for Saturday.

As Halloween nears, there are other themed-races in the next couple weeks. Some include the Zombie Run 5K on Oct. 22, 5KRunDead Zombie Run and Hallowrock Half Marathon on Oct. 29.

Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.