May 1st Triathlon for UCSD’s Moores Cancer Center

UCSD’s Moores Cancer Center Clinical Trials Office is having their annual Spring Sprint triathlon on Sunday, May 1st, at Mission Bay, bringing over 3,000 participants, families, and friends.

In addition to competing alongside some of San Diego’s finest athletes, participants will be joined by teams of physicians, nurses, health providers, and cancer patients from Moores Cancer Center.

This unique event began 4 years ago with an idea from the Director of the Clinical Trials Office in an effort to a patient-athlete community event that helps improve everyone’s physical health in a fun and exciting way.

As we all know, San Diego weather is perfect for outdoor activities year around. It is the ultimate training location for triathlons, with easy access to Mission Bay, the Pacific Ocean, and hills and flats on which to run and cycle.

In a triathlon, there are three sports: swimming, biking, and running. In the Spring Sprint triathlon, three-person relay teams are an option, so that each person does one of the sports which completes 1/3 of the course. In years past, participants created teams to support a friend who had cancer, or created teams of people that worked with cancer patients, and there have even been teams consisting of a patient, their physician, and their nurse.

As part of the event, the “CTO Challenge” allows participants to decrease their time by 1 minute for every $25 raised. While this does not affect official results, it is a great way to encourage fundraising.

Top racers can place for a fitted bike from Hi-Tech Bikes, triathlon footwear from Zoot, or an Xterra wetsuit. All fundraisers are also invited to a special awards reception following the race.

The triathlon benefits the Moores Cancer Center and their efforts to bring innovative advancements to treat cancer. Check out http://www.active.com/donate/theCTOChallenge for more information and start fund-racing today.