| Want a change? Come to Jake's |
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> photos courtesy of Jim Curl
Looking for a race that's off the beaten path? A nice, low-key season opener that will expose you to warm sunshine, a blue sea and casual island fun? An amazing road trip?
Think about Jake's Jamaican Off-Road Triathlon, which gets organizational help from one of the true originals of triathlon and a top-flight race director—San Diego’s Jim Curl.The race, centered around the off-the-beaten path resort known as Jake's at Treasure Beach, takes competitors on a 500-meter ocean swim, 25k mountain bike and 7k "country" run. The field is limited to 100 Jamaicans and 100 internationals. Race day is Sunday, May 1.
"This is the perfect natural race," Curl said. "It's just this classic, tiny triathlon that runs through unspoiled Jamaican countryside. In the morning we draw a line in the sand with our feet, Auntie June gives us a prayer and we yell, 'Go.' It's just a wonderful race."
The race is clearly close to Curl's heart. For the producer of the popular and big-time US Triathlon Series and past world championships, to be part of a race where the directional signs are all hand-painted on scraps of wood and the finish-line is marked with a line of coral shells is like taking a trip back to the early days of triathlon."With the USTS and the world championships, there's tremendous pressure to get them right," he said. "This is different. This is all about a vibe. Everything is local: One of the hardest things is finding plastic cups for water."
Curl's experience in Jamaica is long. He organized the James Bond Jamaica Festival there after he discovered Jamaica's long history with Bond novelist Ian Fleming ("He wrote every word of James Bond in Jamaica," Curl notes), and he was one of the founder's of the Reggae Marathon in Negril.
Jake’s started in 1995 when resort owner Jason Henzell decided to throw a local triathlon to thank a group of U.S. Peace Corps workers who'd been stationed in Treasure Beach. Entry is still free for Peace Corps workers.
The race benefits a local charity known as BREDS Treasure Beach Foundation. And it's also part of a new fundraising initiative aimed at building a sports park on 15 acres near the ocean. There's currently no sports field available to local children, who instead play on the rocky fields.
The charity being set up to build this park is known as A Blade of Grass, and Jake's competitors can earn themselves a lifetime free pass into the race with a sizable donation. Curl estimates that
transforming the field into a sports complex will cost about US$50,000—and he recently enlisted the help of an age-group triathlete who happens to be an architect to draw preliminary sketches on a visit during race weekend this year.And about Jake's, the resort: It was recently featured on the cover of Travel & Leisure magazine in the U.S. Learn more about this Island Outpost resort here. Learn more about registering for Jake's Jamaican Off-RoadTriathlon here. There's more about BREDS here. Or e-mail Jim with any questions. "As they say in Treasure Beach: 'Ya cyaan du betta dan dis,'" Curl said.