North Pole Triathlon 2025
Chena Lake Recreation Area • 3780 Laurance Road North Pole, AK 99705 Organized by Arctic Triathlon SeriesAbout this event
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The North Pole Triathlon is an Olympic distance race held in and around Chena Lakes Recreation Area in North Pole, Alaska. Racers swim 1500 meters in the best open water area in the region and bike offroad 20K (13 miles) on beautiful wooded, flat, smooth park trails. The 10K (6.2 mile) run is on a combination of paved and gravel trails within the Chena Lakes Recreation Area. You couldn’t ask for better conditions: smooth water, a scenic bike course with no traffic and a run with lots of shade add up to an event people return to year after year.
Due to ongoing construction the past three years, we won’t finalize the bike course until spring. It is likely to be on the trails we’ve used the past few years and will be entirely within the park. We will host a bike course preview the week before the race.
If you’re on the fence about joining us, know that this race is a great introduction for anyone who has never swum in an open water race.
We also have a relay option. Teams of two or three people may choose any combination of legs.
Event details and schedule
Registration opens Feb. 1 and will close when 99 participants have registered or at 5:00 pm AST on June 25, whichever comes first.
The North Pole Triathlon will be raced in and around Chena Lakes Recreation Area starting at 9:00 am on Saturday, June 28. All transitions will occur at the first parking lot off of Lake Park Road.
Entry fees are listed below and also require USA Triathlon membership, including all relay team members. If you are not a USAT member you will need to buy either a one-day membership pass ($15 adult; no one-day option if under 17) or an annual pass ($50 adult/$10 if under 17) to participate. Minimum participant age is 16 as of 12/31/25. Refunds are only available to those who purchase an ACTIVE Refund. Transfers to another event are not available. Note: it is not necessary to be an Active member to register.
Registration Prices
Feb. 1- June 10 $50
June 11 - 24 $75
June 25 $100
Relay team fees:
Feb. 1 – June 10 $90
June 11 - 24 $120
June 25 $150
Each team member must have a current USAT membership.
Swim course
Water temperatures at Chena Lakes are on the cool side (55 to 65 degrees) so it is advised to bring a wetsuit. Per USAT, these are allowed for all participants if the water temperature is 78 degrees F or lower. The swim begins with a mass start (typically less than 50 people) along the shore. The course will be marked with large orange floats at each corner. The race will begin on the eastern shore at the first parking area on Lake Front Drive and proceeds counterclockwise in a large triangle around the lake where you will exit to transition to the bike.
Bike Course
The 2025 course is under development. Due to the past three years of area construction, we are unclear what areas will be accessible. We do know that the course will be about 20K and will be on trails in the park. It will most likely include some variation of the routes we’ve done over the past three years. We’ll update ASAP those who are registered via email and also will post on Facebook and our website.
We recommend a gravel bike, cyclocross, or mountain bike for a nontechnical ride. Road bikes are strongly discouraged. The trails are wide, 98% on level ground, with grass or dirt surfaces. No advanced offroad biking skills required.
The entire course will be open for public use during our race. Please use caution and remain alert for pedestrians, loose dogs, toddlers, etc.
We’ll host an easy/slow course preview bike ride on Saturday, June 21 starting at the East Lake Park parking area (our transition area). Be ready to start at 11 am sharp.
Run Course
We’re back to the traditional run course at last! The run is a well-marked 10 km on a combination of paved and dirt trails. It consists of one large loop with a short out and back followed by a shorter second loop.
On the first loop, racers will run out from the transition area heading north along the bike path on the eastern shore of Chena Lake for 1 km before veering left and immediately north for 1.5 km. Racers will turn left at the intersection on the dike and complete the out-and-back, 0.5 km to the turnaround point then back. Then racers head east, staying on the dike trail for 2 km before the trail veers south for an additional 2.1 km before turning right onto the paved bike path and returning to the transition area to finish lap one.
The second lap again follows the trail north for 1 km. Racers now turn right and stay on this trail for 0.6 km then turn right and retrace lap 1 back to the transition area and the finish. There will be aid stations approximately every 2 miles.
All runners, solo or relay, will finish at the same location.
The run course map is on our website, https://northpoletri.weebly.com. We do not plan to do a course preview run.
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