Both Mo and I competed so neither of us were free to take photographs of the event. Luckily there was a professional photographer at the race taking pictures of every racer. What a great race! Kokopelli is the third part of the Trifecta series in St. George, Utah. It was held on September 23rd 2006. Sand Hollow resevoir was fantastic to swim in. The water was almost cold enough for mandatory wetsuits, but right at race time the water temperature crept up to 65 degrees and allowed racers the choice. Although I think you would have to be crazy not to wear a wetsuit. Wetsuits are a huge advantage. They increase floatation, decrease drag, and keep you warm. You can swim faster more comfortably without working as hard, why wouldn’t you want to wear one? The water in the resevoir was crystal clear, I could see all the way to the bottom, It was a great swim! The bike portion in the TRI, which is the same for the St. George Tri and the Utah Summer Games Tri, sucks! The sprint distance is 14 miles, from the transition area there is a 2 to 3% false flat for approximately three and a half miles. Then there is a hill that is a mile long with a 10% grade lovingly called the Beast. Then you continue the false flats for an additional two and a half miles to the turning point. You then get to turn around and and ride down what you rode up. Fun, right? Wrong. This area is not called Hurricane for nothing. You fight a head wind all the way home. The run portion is 3.2 miles of the bike route. A out and back type of route from the transition area. This was painful for me, as you can see from the picture, because I am running downhill at the end. This is a great triathlon, Mo and I are registered for the Utah Summer Games Tri, and have plans to compete in the St. George and Kokopelli Triathlons. All three make up the St. George Trifecta.