Tippecanoe River State Park held it’s annual Tippy Tri-Challenge on Saturday morning July 27. Approximately twenty-five runners grabbed their hiking shoes, bikes, and kayaks, then ventured on through the Tippy Tri-mini-athlon. Runners had a choice of either a one-mile hike/run for beginners or a two-and-a-half-mile hike/run for experienced tri-athletes bundled with a two-mile bike ride, and a three-mile paddle down the Tippecanoe River to the ultimate finish line.
At the finish, racers were met with a hand-crafted medal, free Tippecanoe swag, and a barbecue lunch. People of all walks of life were encouraged to attend and many brought their entire family for the ride. To take the pressure off, the race is anything but competitive and all for the fun.
One family included a father and his four young daughters, who all loaded into an extra-long canoe for the three-mile paddle. Another family included a competitive group of three different generations who decided to take the extended hike and still managed to cross finish line under an hour and thirty minutes.
Amanda Hinkel, the Assistant Property Manager for Tippecanoe River State Park and Coordinator behind the race, focused her attention on helping families and participants get outside and make memories.
“We’re just trying to plan a nice, fun, family-filled day,” Hinkel said. “We want to make sure people are able to create great memories here.”
With over 2,800 acres of nature to enjoy, the laid back mini-triathlon is a way for people to enjoy different areas and activities around the park than they usually would. It’s also a way to gain exposure for the park to get more people involved, according to Hinkel.
“This is a really awesome park,” said Hinkel. “We put on this exciting event to get more exposure on it and show people what the park has to offer in it’s beautiful and natural habitat.”
Tippecanoe River State Park offers several miles of river for kayaking, roads for biking, clear trails for hiking, and a friendly Park Ranger staff that make for a great opportunity to get outdoors with the family, or just solo.
Tippecanoe River wants to give a special thanks to Suburban Propane who donated six cases of water to keep the runners hydrated, and Tippecanoe Friends, the volunteer organization at the state park who provided all of the funding for the event to buy prizes and lunch for the runners.
Coming up on September 21st, check out Tippecanoe River State Park from 10:00AM to 3:00PM EST for their Tippecanoe Poker Paddle. For more information go to https://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2965.htm.
