Two Pittsburgh District employees participated in the 2nd annual West Penn Trail Triathlon Oct. 11, portions of which were held on Conemaugh Dam property.
Resource Manager, Paul Toman and his son Kevin participated in the two-person team division. Toman participated in the cycling portion of the race. April Richards, natural resource specialist, competed in the individual division. The Toman team and Richards completed the race.
The event started with a seven-and-a-half-mile paddle race beginning at the Conemaugh outflow where the district’s Water Management Branch provided a special water release to support the event. Next, participants biked a 14.4-mile loop from Saltsburg to the dam’s recreation area along the West Penn Trail. The race finished with a 5k run.
The race had 141 participants, 93 individual racers, six two-person teams, and 12 three-person teams competing. The youngest participant was 12 and the oldest was 69.
The event introduced new visitors to the West Penn Trail and the diverse natural resources offered at Conemaugh Dam.
The triathlon was sponsored by the Conemaugh Valley Conservancy, an all-volunteer organization and district partner, the event raised money to support the maintenance cost of the West Penn Trail.