The Philadelphia Sertoma Club was originally formed in 1980 as a civic club made up of local businessmen with a desire to benefit the people of Neshoba County.  The Philadelphia charter was sanctioned under the parent organization, Sertoma International.  With a common goal of "service to mankind," both clubs, as well as many more throughout the United States, concentrate their focus on helping youth and children with speech and hearing impairments.  To raise money to assist the community, the Philadelphia Sertoma Club created a fundraiser to serve this purpose.  The Ironman World Championships began in 1978 in Hawaii and the club used that model to form the foundation of the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon. 

At that time, triathlons were a new activity and many in this area were unfamiliar with the sport.  One of the club members, Lee Dukes, a member of the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, suggested a triathlon for a fundraiser and so began the formation of the HOD Triathlon.  The club presented its 46th consecutive race in 2025 and the HOD remains one of the longest consecutive running triathlons in the contiguous United States.

The original race in 1980 was 35 miles from Louisville to Philadelphia, consisting of a .5 mile swim, 27.5 mile bike and 7 mile run and the most recent race in 2025 was the same way.  Today the club strives to put on an exciting, safe race for all participants in this point to point event and always looks for ways to make the race better year after year.  Over the last 46 years, the course remains unchanged! 

Over the fall of 2025, The Philadelphia Sertoma Club voted to pass the torch of the Heart O' Dixie Triathlon on to another 501c3 organization in Philadelphia, MS. For the Sertoma Club, the goal was simple... keep the race local and continue to serve the community through its existence. The race will now be an annual fundraising event for The Refuge of MS, which is a special needs day program for adults 18 y/o and over with special needs. The Refuge was founded in 2022 by Derek and Brooke Crenshaw in order to serve a population of individuals and their families who were over looked and underserved. The Refuge not only serves Neshoba County but all surrounding counties and is thriving as it meets the need in this area. You can learn more about The Refuge here: https://www.refugeofms.org/  Derek and Brooke along with several of the organizations Board of Directors, are long time supporters and participants of The Heart O' Dixie triathlon and are excited to bring their passion for the sport to this race! The proceeds from this race will be put towards serving The Refuge and a percentage will also be put back into other needs in Neshoba County. The Refuge friends are excited to bring their daily skills of painting pottery to be your finish line awards! 

The Refuge  will continue to carry the vision of the founders of this race as it moves forward. We look forward to hosting all of you... year after year!