A rainfed lake at the foothills of the Shivalik Range of Himalays, Chandigarh’s Sukhna Lake will witness India’s top triathlon enthusiasts exploring the lake water on August 21.

The 1.9km swimming circuit in the lake will be followed by 90km of cycling on the Kurali-Chandigarh road and 21.1km of running in the vicinity of Oberoi Sukhvilas, making it a Tuffman 113km triathlon event.    

Tuffman, an endurance sports platform, is organizing the first standard distance triathlon event in the Chandigarh region on August 21.

Apart from the 113km triathlon, there will be Olympic distance triathlon, sprint triathlon and a duathlon – a combination of cycling and running.

“Sukhna Lake is the heart and soul of Chandigarh. You will see a lot of fitness activities going around the lake in morning and evening and during the winters, it’s throughout the day. So, whenever I used to run around the Sukhna Lake, I would always think of organizing a triathlon event with swimming taking place in the lake water. Thankfully, the Tuffman 113km triathlon is starting from the lake and we will make it an annual event,” says Sanjay Mangla, a founder of Tuffman and an ultra runner himself. “Swimming in Sukhna Lake will give a lifetime experience to the triathletes coming from across the country.”

Over 80 triathletes are competing in the 113km category, and there is a participation of around 50 in other events.

“We are thankful to the Chandigarh Sports Department for giving us the permission to hold the swimming part of the triathlon in Sukhna Lake. Many of our athletes are especially coming because of the opportunity to swim in the open water,” adds Mangla.

The Olympic triathlon will have 1.5km of swimming, 40km of cycling and 10kms of running. Sprint triathlon includes 0.75km swimming, 20km cycling and 5km of running.

“When I formed Tuffman, my target was to add all the possible terrains available for running in India. So, I started hunting for places where I could organize an ultra run with a different terrain. Now, with the addition of Sukhna Lake in our calendar, we are giving the fitness enthusiasts exposure of conquering forest, hill, road, sand, beach, desert and lake.”