Third annual Iron Horse Triathlon set for Sunday

The third annual Iron Horse Triathlon will be held out of Lake End Parkway in Morgan City Sunday morning.
The event, which will begin at 8 a.m., will include a 400-yard swim in Lake Palourde, followed by a 14-mile bike ride along the shoulder of La. 70 (seven miles to the north and then seven miles back to the lake) before concluding with a two-mile run on the shoulder of the highway into Lake End Park and then back to the parkway.
The event has continued to grow each year and this year it reached its peak participation as the 325 slots for the event were sold out two weeks early.
“Most races this size have not sold out at all this year,” race director Clay Leonard said this morning. “We’re one of the only ones that have so far.”
The event will feature not just Louisiana residents, as participants are expected from Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida and Mississippi.
Leonard said the competition will be tough.
“We will have some super-fast guys here this year,” he said.
The race, Leonard says, has something for everyone in that it caters to beginners as well as more experienced triathletes, while also welcoming their families and providing entertainment for children.
“I think that’s what attracts everybody is that we offer so much for a race this size,” he said.
Leonard said volunteer-to-runner ratio is essentially a volunteer for every three racers.
Sheriff’s offices in St. Mary and St. Martin parishes, as well as the Morgan City and Berwick police departments also will be sending help.
“Without the volunteers, the race just could not happen,” he said.
While Leonard, his brother David Leonard and his sister Brooke Smith have all participated in triathlons, they got the idea for this one for multiple reasons. Their father, Lynn Leonard, had passed away from ALS and decided to start this race in his honor and raise money for the Blazeman Foundation, which looks to raise awareness and funds for the
treatment and cure of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The goal also is to bring new people into the start to promote a healthy lifestyle and could pass that on to their children.
Clay Leonard’s son, Reed, will be participating in the event, as well as Dylan Lipari, the son of assistant race director Lynn Lipari.
David Leonard and Lynn Lipari are assistant race directors for Sunday’s event.
If anyone would like to make a donation to ALS, visit the Blazeman Foundation site at http://www.waronals.com/.