Waterman's Triathlon Festival
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Waterman's Triathlon Festival - Rock Hall, Maryland
The Waterman’s Triathlon Festival is a weekend of triathlon races held on the Eastern Shore in Rock Hall, MD, with swim courses in Rock Hall Harbor on the Chesapeake Bay and bike and run routes through nearby rural and residential roads.
Distances include:
- Long Course (Half): 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run
- Olympic: 1.5 km swim, 40 km bike, 10 km run
- Sprint: 750 m swim, 15 mile bike, 5 km run
Swim courses use a perimeter route around the harbor, which has a shallow center (about 2-3 feet) and a breakwater that often produces calm water. Long and Olympic swims finish at A-Dock adjacent to Waterman’s Restaurant; athletes exit by ladder and run roughly 300 meters along the dock to transition. Athletes commonly leave a second set of shoes at the swim exit to speed transition.
Bike courses are generally well paved with wide shoulders and relatively few turns; the Long Course follows two loops through Kent County farmland. Run courses are largely flat with multiple loop and out-and-back sections through nautically themed neighborhoods. Aid stations are frequent: Long Course run stations every 1–1.5 miles and shorter-course stations about every mile, offering water, sports drink and snacks.
The event is USA Triathlon sanctioned. Race categories include age groups, overall, masters, aquabike, military, Clydesdale, Athena and relay teams. Participants must collect their own packet with photo ID at the race site, address 21096 W. Sharp St, Rock Hall, MD. A weekend “Do the Double” option offers a discount when registering for both days. Saturday races sold out last year. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
