Triathlon will put skateboard park on a roll

Triathlon will put skateboard park on a roll
Sunday, June 15, 2008
BY J.F. HANNAN
Special to the Times
While competitors' hearts are pumping blood to oxygen-starved muscles and limbs in Hightstown Borough's upcoming triathlon, the athletes will simultaneously be pumping funding into the construction of a local skate park.

Darek Hahn, triathlon organizer and a member of the borough's Parks and Recreation Commission, says the triathlon should attract between 250 and 300 competitors from throughout the state. The event, which is scheduled for Sept. 28, will be incorporated into the Hightstown Fair.





"Other triathlons in the area have had that amount of success, so we're expecting the same," Hahn said. "We're in a good location because we're in central Jersey."

Hahn said the triathlon, which is classified as a sprint triathlon because it is shorter in length than an Olympic or Ironman triathlon, will feature a quarter-mile swim, a 10-mile bike ride and a 5-kilometer run. The swim will take place in Peddie Lake, the bike ride will wind through the borough's streets and the finish line for the run will be the Peddie Lake Bridge.

According to Hahn, who is a veteran of several triathlons, "These small triathlons are really focused for people locally who want to try it." He said the easier terrain and shorter race length draw many novices into the competition.

Aside from offering community members the opportunity to attempt a triathlon, the event also will introduce people to the downtown area of Hightstown, including its shops, restaurants and historic district.

The group that stands to gain most directly from the triathlon, however, is its skateboarders.

"The main point of the triathlon is to raise money for the kids in Hightstown and the surrounding area," Hahn said, adding that the triathlon should raise about $10,000 for the construction of a skate park.

Rick Pratt, a Hightstown community member and the person spearheading the planned skate park project, said communities often view skateboarders as "nuisances" or "insurance liabilities." Pratt said that skateboarders in Hightstown currently do not have a safe place to practice their sport.

"Right now, we have kids skating downtown and skating in the street, and that's dangerous," Pratt said. "We're working to find a safe place for kids to skate, play their music and have fun without being in traffic, and in places where the police don't want them and businesses don't want them."

He added that a tragic event in Freehold called his attention to the need for a skate park. "There were a couple of kids in Freehold a few months ago that were tragically killed by a car, and they were just on their street," Pratt said. "We don't want that to happen again."

Matt Lucas, owner of Lucas Electric on Mercer Street, will donate land at the rear of the company's lot adjacent to Hightstown High School for the construction of the park, according to the Hightstown skate park website. The size of the skate park has not been determined.

Pratt said he will be seeking additional funding for the park at tomorrow's council meeting through the Mercer at Play matching grant program.

For more information about the triathlon or the proposed skate park, visit Hightstown-skatepark.org.