There could be thousands of people at Shawnigan Lake this weekend for Subaru's Western Triathlon Series.

Starting early Sunday morning, over 500 runners will compete in three different levels of triathlon, swimming through Shawnigan Lake, biking around the lake and running the rest, ranging from the Sprint Event to the Half-Iron race.

The Half-Iron, being the toughest race, has a 1900 metre swim followed by an 88 kilometre bike ride, and then a 21 kilometre run which passes over Kinsol Trestle.

Some elite athletes will be in attendance, Half-Iron champion Adam O’Meara, national champion and series podium finisher Lucy Smith, as well as Canada’s 2012 London Olympics triathlon hopefuls Paula Findlay and Brent McMahon.

Race director, Sarah Mallerby, told SunFM News there will be more than just the races to see, especially on Saturday.

“We will have some entertainment at the park in addition to the race, we have some wake boarders and water skiers coming out to do some demonstrations on the lake, and we have the Cowichan Valley All-Star Cheer team coming out to do some demos and some entertainment for the kids.”

Saturday’s Shawnigan Village Triathalon Festival includes many family events like a pancake breakfast, pasta dinner, live entertainment, and a kid’s race at 2:30 p.m. As well, there is a free shuttle provided to take you between events.

And for those interested in high level competitive triathlons, new this year, the Shawnigan Triathalon is so well thought of that runners can now use their times from this weekend to qualify for the Long Distance World Championship event in France.

First race begins Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m.

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