900 Triathlon Competitors Will Travel Through Mahwah This Weekend

Though no township roadways will be closed, local officials say residents should look out this Saturday for participants of the Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes Triathlon, which has part of its course going through Mahwah.

"The triathlon only travels through Mahwah for a short distance, Pulis Ave to Campgaw Road to Campgaw Reservation then back to Campgaw Road to Pulis," Mahwah Police Chief Jim Batelli said.

"This portion of the route is in the middle, so the crowd is usually thinned out and Campgaw Road is a wide road at that point. We assign a [police] car to monitor the traffic, but we do not anticipate any road closings."

Lots of locals, including many from Mahwah, are expected to participate in the 31st annual triathalon this year.

Race director Frank Crotty remembers the first time he participated in the event in 1984, then as a participant with only 200 other athletes.

Since taking over as race director three years later, he says, he's seen the event "grow tremendously," and on Saturday morning nearly a thousand athletes will swim a half mile, bike for 17, and run five in the event sponsored by the Wyckoff YMCA, Wyckoff-Midland Park Rotary, and Indian Trails Club.

"I've done probably 75 triathalons all over the country, and the Indian Trails Club is the best setting I've seen," Crotty said.

Participants will dive into the water there beginning at 5:45 a.m. Saturday morning before taking to their bikes. Although traffic will not be shut down along the cycling route [shown above], there will be a heavy police presence on the roads and area towns, including Wyckoff, have warned drivers to expect delays for the duration of the race, which ends at 10 a.m.

Overall first, second and third places male and female finishers will be awarded in a ceremony following the race, as will winners in different age groups.

"Our winners have been among the best athletes in the country," Crotty said, though added that the annual race is primarily a local event, featuring area families and racers from around North Jersey.

"It is mostly people from the area, and people who have left the area but have family here," Wyckoff Y events director Nancy Addis said. "So it's a lot of repeat athletes."

This year's event will touch off on a somber note, with a dedication to one regular athlete who won't be making his entrance into this year's event.

Andrew Capizzi, a 24-year-old Paramus man that regularly competed in the triathlon, was killed when a car struck him on his bicycle in Burlington County, while he was preparing for a bike race two weeks ago.

Crotty said that a hundred volunteers from the Rotary club will be helping with the event, which typically raises around $60,000 for their scholarship program and the YMCA's Strong Kids Campaign.

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