YMCA Wrightsville Beach Triathlon

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Wrightsville Beach, NC
YMCA Wrightsville Beach Triathlon

Started as the Pepsi Triathon in 1979....the WB TRI is One of the oldest triathlons on the atlantic Run:
The 5K run course is a one-loop design and also flat.

Swim:
This race starts out with a 1,200m swim - which is unusual for a sprint distance triathlon. The reason the swim is longer than the normal sprint distance swim is because the swim is a point-to-point swim that always takes place with an incoming tide. Check out the swim times from previous years - the swim actually seems more like 750 yards- 1,000 yards depending on how fast the current is moving. It is important to note that while this swim takes place in salt water - this is not an ocean swim. The swim takes place in a channel system between Wrightsville Beach and the mainland. Numerous busses are used to transport participants from the transition area (and swim finish location) to the swim start location at the Blockade Runner hotel. This is another race that becomes a race day decision for wetsuits - as the water temperature at this time of the year along the southern North Carolina coast is always around 78 degrees. Bike:
The course is flat (not a surprise) as the race is at the coast. The one loop course takes participants over the Wrightsville Beach drawbridge and onto the mainland. Participants need to be very careful crossing the metal grading on the drawbridge - don't make any sudden turns or movements (ride carefully!!). The run takes place on the very popular "loop" at Wrightsville Beach with 90% of the run being on the sidewalk system - the other 10% is on a very quiet side street - used to get the necessary distance

09/02/2026

Race morning shouldn't be your first open water swim of the year. If you've been training in the pool, get in the sound or lake wherever yo u live at least a couple of times between now and September 26 — sighting, breathing, and swimming a straight line without a black line under you are separate skills from swim fitness, and they're the ones that get tested on race day.

Go with a partner, wear a bright cap, and use a tow float. This is very important before race day for your safety and the safety of all triathletes!

07/22/2026

We opened more spots to cap the race at 1500. Join the wait list and you will be alerted when you can register!

07/03/2026

We are about to sell out 2026! Have a great 4th of July.
www.ymcawbtri.com

06/15/2026

270 spots left!

06/05/2026

We’ve officially reached 1,000 participants for the 2026 YMCA Wrightsville Beach Sprint Triathlon!

This race has been a tradition since 1979, and this year’s energy is already huge. We are almost sold out, so if you’ve been waiting, now is the time.

Swim. Bike. Run. Be part of the tradition.

Register: ymcawbtri.com

05/15/2026

1979. Bell-bottoms were still hanging on, disco was fading, and a group of athletes lined up on Wrightsville Beach for a little swim-bike-run that would become a legend. Forty-seven years later, the YMCA Wrightsville Beach Triathlon is still going strong — same ocean, same heart, same community that makes this race unlike anything else. Registration is open for September. Be part of the legacy. 🌊🚴🏃

05/14/2026

We are 50% capacity with almost 800 athletes already signed up! Prices go up June 1st. Is it crazy to think the race will sell out by the 4th of July? 👉www.ymcawbtri.com

05/05/2026

Prices go up June 1st. Amazingly, the 2026 race is 50% full with 700 athletes already signed up! Let's Go! 👉www.ymcawbtri.com

04/27/2026

For 47 years, the YMCA Wrightsville Beach Triathlon has been the race that makes triathletes. Ocean swims. Island runs. Finish lines with sand between your toes.
September 26, 2026. Your name on this legacy.
Registration is open. Don't wait, this one fills up.

04/18/2026

We are excited that the movie about the 1979 YMCA Triathlon has been released online for viewing!

On September 9, 1979, ninety-four people entered the murky waters of Banks Channel, NC, and created a legacy. Through interviews with nine of the original racers and archival photographs, audiences are taken back to 1979 and the beginning of a new sport.

https://filmhub.com/t/hzrd-r36k/on-their-first-tri

Address

Wrightsville Beach, NC

Website

http://www.ymcawbtri.com/

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