Madison Triathlon

The Madison Triathlon is Montana’s only Olympic distance triathlon (at least we haven’t found another one).  Better yet, it’s a point to point tri with amazing views of a few mountain ranges. 

The race is also the first leg of the Madison Trifecta. This is the combination of an Olympic distance triathlon, Olympic distance duathlon, and a marathon. All three events are at high elevations and in the mountains of Southwest Montana. All three events lead athletes on the road to T.B.A. status. T.B.A. stands for ‘Total Bad Ass’ because anyone crazy enough or tough enough or bad enough to complete all three events in a single summer IS a total bad ass.

The Madison Triathlon is unique in a few respects. First, like the Madison Duathlon, it is a point-to-point race as opposed to a loop route. Athletes will start in one town and finish in another. It will also start at the foothills of the Madison Range (the second highest mountain range in Montana) and finish in the Tobacco Root Mountain Range. Second, it is an Olympic Distance triathlon. There are very few of them (only us?) in Montana and this is one of them. Third, the swimming leg is in open water (not a swimming pool). The route is a 600 yard rectangular lap in Ennis Lake. Athletes make two laps for a total of 1,200 yards. Fourth, the biking leg is almost all on Montana Highway 287 and includes a five-mile uphill and, best news yet, a five-mile downhill. There are also some great flats. Fifth, the final running leg is a gentle uphill grade from Harrison to Pony. The finish line is in the town of Pony, a former silver mining town. Lastly, the entire race is at elevation. It’s not quite like the Madison Marathon (9,000 feet plus), but the entire route is over 5,000 feet above sea level. So what you got is an Olympic Distance Triathlon that is one mile above sea level. Is there any other such Tri in America or anywhere else in the world?​