PORT ANGELES — Athletes must register by Monday if they want to take advantage of lower prices for the Big Hurt.
The Big Hurt, put on by Peninsula Adventure Sports with title sponsor Sound Bikes and Kayaks, is a multi-discipline endurance event for Ironman athletes and teams combining mountain biking, kayaking, road cycling and running. The race takes place in and around Port Angeles on Sept. 28.
The cost for signing up is $95 for an individual competing in the Iron Division and $70 per person if they are part of a team. The cost is $35 per person for a high school team.
After Monday, the cost goes up to $100 for an Ironman individual and $75 per person for a team and $40 per person for a high school team.
Participants will be capped at 75 two-, three- and four-person teams and 75 Ironman athletes this year.
Also, Monday is the deadline for receiving a Big Hurt T-shirt. If people sign up after Monday, they will not be guaranteed a T-shirt in their size or a shirt at all. The T-shirt was designed by Port Angeles artist Rachel Ruth McElhose.
The Big Hurt entails a 15-mile mountain bike leg that begins in the foothills above Port Angeles with 10 miles on trails and logging road and five miles on roads downhill to the race hub at the Port Angeles Harbor.
Next is a 2.6-mile kayak leg in Port Angeles Harbor to the old Rayonier Mill site and back.
This year, there will not be paddleboards allowed. There is also a variety of other kayaking requirements racers can find at www.tinyurl.com/kayakrequirements.
Following is a 30-mile road cycling leg west out of Port Angeles, across the Elwha River and to Freshwater Bay, also hitting the lower parts of Kelly Ridge on Dan Kelly and Eden Valley roads.
The cyclists return to Port Angeles and the final leg is a 10K run out and back east along the waterfront and the Olympic Discovery Trail.
The event begins at 9 a.m. There will be a beer garden, hosted by 4PA and music by the Grave Dashers. There will be an awards ceremony with medals for multiple categories. There is also Big Hurt Podcasts on Spotify, Apple and Amazon.
People can register for the Big Hurt at www.tinyurl.com/BigHurtRegister.
Also, registration is open for the Little Hurt on Sept. 29, which includes a running and cycling race for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten-age children this year.
In the first- through eighth-grade categories, the Little Hurt includes three legs — biking (kids can use any type of non-electric bike), rowing on rowing machines provided by the Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association and trail running in the forest behind the Peninsula College campus. Each participant does all of the legs — there is no relay option for Little Hurt.
In the K/Pre-K (ages 3-5) categories, children will bike and run only (no rowing machines) and must be accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times. This is a very short event just for fun and to expose kids to the fun of riding, running and racing with friends.
Cost is $15 for the first- through eighth-grade categories and $5 for K/Pre-K. People can register online at www.tinyurl.com/LittleHurtRegister.
Peninsula Adventure Sports puts on a variety of endurance events during the year, including the Frosty Moss Relay, the Gravel Unravel, Olympic Adventure Trail and the upcoming Great Olympic Adventure Trail half-marathon, marathon and 50K run on Sept. 7.
Though the GOAT run half-marathon is full, there are still spots open for the marathon and 50K. Registration remains open until Sept. 6 and can be done online at www.tinyurl.com/GOATrunregistration.
Also in the fall, Peninsula Adventure Sports puts on the Salt Creek 24 24-hour race at the Salt Creek Recreation Area on Oct. 26-27.
