The 2010 Mountain Lakes Triathlon will be held this year on Saturday, August 14.

Participants are filling spots fast and as of Monday, the Triathlon has only 165 remaining spots out of 910 available.

The day long event is scheduled to include a 600 yard swim, a 16.2 mile bike course and a three mile run.

According to the Team Magic website, this year, the course will now have the swim start and swim finish side by side behind the Guntersville Recreation Center. The course is straight out from shore and back. Participants will swim counter clockwise and keep buoys on their left until they get to the swim exit. Finish the swim behind the host facility, Guntersville Recreation Center and run through a grassy area a short distance to the transition area. Swimmers enter the swim based on their race number, from lowest to highest number. The race numbers are assigned based on your estimated swim time, except there will be a Collegiate Racer Start and Relay Teams will start after all Individual Racers. Swimmers will be started approximately every 3 seconds.

The winding bike course  is a mix of residential and rural roads. It is flat and fast, with only a few small  rolling hills. This course has only right hand turns, so do not turn unless it is marked, there is a sign, or a volunteer clearly tells you to turn.

The run course is 3 miles out-and-back on a paved running trail that winds along Lake Guntersville. It's known to be a flat and very fast run course.  Runners are being asked to stay to their left on the running trail going out and coming back to avoid running into others.

Registration will begin on Friday, August 13 at the Guntersville Recreation Center from 4:30 p.m. until 7:30. A race overview in the Senior Citizens building will be held at 6 p.m. which will be followed by a beginner Q and A session.

On Saturday, late registration will be held from 6 a.m. until 6:45. At 7 a.m. bikes must be in the transition area where there will be a race overview.  At 7:30 a.m. the interval swim will begin by participant number.

The pool side awards ceremony is set to begin at 11 a.m. following the designated last finisher.

Awards and prizes will be given in eight different categories.

Categories will include: individual, open for all age group men and women; aquabike, swim and bike only; paratriathlete, physically challenged division; beginners, participated in no more than three triathlons; Clydesdale, Athena, Masters and Relay.

Age groups include 13-15, 16-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74, 75-79 and 80+.

 Facilities for showering can be found at the Guntersville Recreation Center. The event will also feature a multitude of food and drinks for both participants and volunteers.

Mountain Lakes Triathlon is proud to be a part of the 2010 USAT Junior Development Series.

For more information about the 2010 Mountain Lakes Triathlon or to register, visit the Team Magic website at www.team-magic.com.