The inaugural Hammerfest Triathlon, an international-distance event in the Ottawa area, has been announced for June 21. It basically replaces the Starved Rock Triathlon, which was staged last year.

Hammerfest will be sponsored by triathlon-focused public relations agency SLHCommunications, Inc., and the Ottawa Visitors Center, which also was involved with last year1s race. The re-tooled Hammerfest hopes for 500 competitors in the 1.5K-swim, 40K-bike, 10K-run event. The Starved Rock event drew 444 participants last year.

"Last year's race was a great success for Ottawa, and based on the feedback we received, we anticipate an even better turnout this year,"said Visitors Center director Shannon Silva.

"We're planning new things for 2003, including a new format for multisport team competition, more volunteers and support, and more fun for our athletes and spectators," said Steve "Hammy" Handwerker, principal for SLHCommunications, and co-director of last year's race with Jeff Grady of Elkhart Lake Multisports.

The 2002 race had five men go under two hours, including pro athlete and winner Mark Carey (1:56:20) and All-Americans Michael Boehmer and Patrick Bless, second and third place, respectively. Lauren Jensen, a professional and one of Wisconsin's local heroes, won in 2:02:46, with five other women racing in under 2 hours and 20 minutes. "Sports events like the triathlon give Ottawa the opportunity to really showcase our area," Silva said. "The Hammerfest race route definitely highlights our history and scenery, and we hope the athletes and spectators will stay and explore it after the race, and return throughout the year." The point-to-point event will begin with a 1.5 km (.93-mile) swim in the warm, flat water of Lake Holiday, shoot bicycles down a straight, 14-mile stretch of LaSalle County Route 2 (Hoxsey Rd.) and finish the net-loss-elevation, 40K (24.8-mile) cycle at Ottawa's Fox River Park.

At the crook of the Fox River near its juncture with the Illinois River, athletes will take off on a 10K (6.2-mile) run, mostly on the historic Illinois & Michigan Canal's crushed limestone path. The final quarter-mile of the course has been redesigned for better spectator viewing and a more dramatic finish in downtown Ottawa's Washington Park, and will include running through the shadows of the new statues of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, who squared off in the nation's first political debate, on that spot, in 1858.

The Ottawa Visitors Center can be reached at 877-OTTAWA-4 or at tourism@visit-ottawa-il.com, and can be found on the Internet at www.visit-ottawa-il.com.