Broken Sword Triathlon 2024 & Kid's Tri

The Broken Sword Triathlon in Clarksville, AR offers a Sprint distance, with Solo and Relay Team options in the beautiful Ozark Mountain foothills that feature a FAST and scenic course, one-of-a-kind finisher medal, awards, prizes and an epic finish-line festival that both participants and spectators will enjoy!  The Broken Sword Triathlon benefits Clarksville Parks & Recreation.

COURSE MAP AND RACE DETAILS AVAILABLE AT: www.clarksvillear.gov/brokensword

COURSE INFORMATION:

Sprint Triathlon (Individual and Relay Team options)

The Sprint Triathlon distances will be a 500 meter Swim, a 15-mile Bike, and a 5K (3.1mi) Run.

Swim Course:
The swim is an open water swim at Lake Ludwig, located about 5 miles north of town off of Hwy. 21. The course will be a point-to-point loop starting at the beach area and ending at the boat ramp. It will be marked with buoys and other directional signage.

Transition 1: The T1 area is in the parking lot as you come up the boat ramp. The transition exit to bike will be at the parking entrance onto the road.

Bike Course:
The bike course is on paved roads with beautiful scenery of the Ozark Mountains. The first half of the course is a FAST ride with rolling downhill terrain. The second section goes through downtown and the University of the Ozarks campus, then back out into the countryside that features rolling hills and finishes with a gradual and flat ride back into downtown.

Transition 2: The T2 area is a parking lot downtown. You will enter from the road after you go around the courthouse square and exit the parking lot to quickly hop on the trail for the run.

Run Course:
The run is an out-and-back course on the Spadra Creek Nature Trail that features a flat paved trail with a pasture and wooded setting and finishes downtown with great spectator viewing and an awesome finish line party!

PARKING and TRANSPORTATION: 

Participant parking is available at Lake Ludwig near the Swim Beach Start/T1 area on race morning.  After the race, there will be a bus shuttle back and forth from the Finish Line/T2 area downtown to the Start/T1 area at Lake Ludwig for participant/spectator pickup/drop-off every 20-30 minutes, starting at 9:00 AM until the last finisher at the end of the race.  Participants who do not have any family/friends/crew present at the race to take their gear and vehicle to the Finish Line area downtown after race start, are encouraged to park at Lake Ludwig/Swim Start/T1 area on race morning and take the shuttle bus back to their vehicle after the race.

PACKET PICKUP:

Packet Pickup for all race events will be available on Friday, August 16th from 9am-7pm at Clarksville City Hall (205 Walnut St, Clarksville, AR 72830).

Saturday, August 17 - Race Day Packet Pickup (Sprint Tri):

Race Day Packet Pickup will be from 5:00-6:00am at the finish line area downtown (Levee Stage- 139 W Main St.).  All packets must be picked up 1 hour prior to race start at 7am.  There is no race day registration.

PLEASE NOTE:  Race entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

We race rain or shine.  In case of inclement weather, or any other safety issue, race management reserves the right to cancel/alter/modify the race/course for any safety concerns.  In any case there will be No Refunds of race entry fees.  Each athlete must accept any such risk of their entry fee paid.  We promise to make every effort to produce a fair, safe and exciting event for all.  Any decision we make to cancel the race is based on the overall safety of participants.

History of the Broken Sword:

As the legend goes, the sword was broken in battle along a swift creek over the forbidden love between a lost explorer and the chief's daughter of the native Quapaw tribe.  Years later, DeSoto and his Spanish explorers were passing through this area when they came upon the same swift creek.  As they crossed the stream, DeSoto stumbled upon the broken sword and cried "Spadra!" (espada is Spanish for sword), and so was named Spadra Creek, "Stream of the Broken Sword."

Today, the beautiful Spadra Creek still flows swiftly through the heart of Clarksville and features prominently along the racecourse.