The New Era - All about Sweet Home since 1929

The 12th Best in the West Triathlon Festival at Lewis Creek Park and the surrounding areas on Sept. 9 and 10 brought in just under 1,000 racers from 23 states and various countries. That was about 150 more participants than last year.

The fitness festival featured a plethora of events, including a half-iron, kids splash & dash, olympic, sprint, super sprint, 5K, 10K, half-marathon, beer mile relay, 25 mile bike ride, aqua bike, aquathon, duathlon, paddle triathlon, and triathlon.

Well over 500 of the participants were first timers to the event. For 234 people, it was their first multi-s...