City of Philadelphia Triathlon Scenic Philadelphia Course; Olympic Distance Triathlon Sunday, June 26, 2005 in Fairmount Park.

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Triathlon, LLC announced today the launch of the City of Philadelphia Triathlon, which will occur on Sunday, June 26, 2005 in Philadelphia. This new group brings an annual Olympic distance race to Philadelphia, featuring a 1.5k swim, a 40k bike and 10k run.

The course will travel through some of the most historic and picturesque sections of Philadelphia, starting with a swim in Schuylkill River just off of West River Drive, followed by a challenging bike course that winds through Fairmount Park past Boathouse Row and concluding with a scenic run around the Philadelphia Art Museum loop. In this first year, the race will be capped at 1,000 entrants. Registration is open now at www.phillytri.com. The race will draw many of the region's top competitors as well as triathletes of all levels including first timers.

Triathlons are becoming a mainstream event and were highlighted as the leadoff sport in the 2000 Olympics and a major featured event in Athens 2004. In 2003, more than 250,000 people competed in triathlons in the U.S., up 25% from 2002.(1)

Philadelphia Triathlon, LLC was founded by Alan Morrison and Jon Reichlin, successful local businessmen and avid triathletes. Lars Beck has been hired as Race Director, and Steve Schiff as Event Producer. As event specialists, both Beck and Schiff have a long history of creating successful sporting events. Lin-Mark Computer Sports, the area's largest and most respected race timing company, will handle race day timing and online registrations.

The City of Philadelphia Triathlon will be a fun, safe, challenging race that provides entertainment and competition for athletes, while giving back to the community. The Philadelphia Triathlon, LLC will donate a portion of proceeds to Fairmount Park to enhance and beautify the region. They are also proud to announce that the Division of Oncology of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a designated beneficiary.

According to Beck, "The time has arrived for Philadelphia to host a first-class race. We have followed the model of top-notch races such as LA, New York and Chicago and hope to make ours even better. We swim where they held world-class swim competitions, bike portions of the famous Wachovia USPRO Championship and run around a beautiful river setting. Most of all it will be fun, fair, safe, and well organized. I know that our athletes will be challenged and they, and their families, will enjoy themselves tremendously."

Registration is open now, with full race information available at www.phillytri.com. Saturday, June 25th features a pre-race expo with training and fitness tips, live music and more. Contact Steve Schiff at 610-449-8056 or www.phillytri.com.

(1) Source: Philadelphia Triathlon LLC, Ironman NA stats, WTC Survey