Registration open for 2022 Big Hurt

By Michael Dashiell • June 15, 2022 1:30 am
File photo by Keith Thorpe/Olympic Peninsula News Group Heidi Hietpas of Sequim completes the kayaking leg of the 2021 Big Hurt as part of a tandem team with her husband, Forest Hietpas.
File photo by Keith Thorpe/Olympic Peninsula News Group Heidi Hietpas of Sequim completes the kayaking leg of the 2021 Big Hurt as part of a tandem team with her husband, Forest Hietpas.

Registration is now open for the Big Hurt, a multi-sport race in Port Angeles set for Saturday, Sept. 24.

This annual, four-leg competition — 15-mile mountain bike course, 2.6-mile kayak course, 30-mile road bike course and 10-kilometer running course — has a number of changes coming for the 2022 iteration, organizers said last week.

In previous races, the kayak course was a triangle in Port Angeles Harbor, but this year it will be an out-and-back east from Pebble Beach Park to the Rayonier Pier.

The race start time will move an hour back, to 9 a.m., to ensure kayakers will complete the course prior to the landing of the Coho ferry at noon.

“Participants must complete the mountain bike leg before the kayak leg, so this will give plenty of time to do both legs,” race co-director Lorrie Mittman said.

The course change will also allow for spectators to observe the kayak race from Port Angeles Pier and along the Waterfront Trail.

Also new for 2022 is the addition of a new relay team division: Company Teams. They must include three to four people and must be company owners or employees, with the exception that one team member may be from outside the company.

“Our town is filled with outdoor enthusiasts, and that includes our small business owners and their employees,” race co-director Tim Tucker said. “This is a great way for co-workers to build teamwork, and just have fun with each other.”

Peninsula Adventure Sports is offering a discount to start up this division, with a 20 percent discount to the first 10 Company Team registrants who sign up before July 15 (use the discount code “BEATMYCOMPANY”).

The race is produced by Peninsula Adventure Sports of Port Angeles with help from Title Sponsor Sound Bikes and Kayaks and Community Partner North Olympic Healthcare Network.

In addition, the Little Hurt — a youth version of the Big Hurt started in 2021 open to students in grades 4-9 — has added grades 1-3 to the event. Each youth participant does all three legs, which consist of laps around the Lincoln Park BMX track, rowing on rowing machines, and running on the trail in Lincoln Park.

The Little Hurt is produced by Peninsula Adventure Sports, Lincoln Park BMX and Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association.

Through June 30, registration is $90 per person in the Iron Division (one-person), $60 per person for teams (two to four) and $30 per person on high school teams. Costs increase July 1-Aug. 31 and again Sept. 1-24. Cost for the Little Hurt is $15.

Get more information and a registration link at BigHurtPA.com.