What's Happening in PNW Triathlon — March 30, 2026
Weekly intel for PNW multisport athletes.
Season at a glance
17 events on the calendar over the next eight weeks across British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Check event pages for registration status and field caps before you make plans.
Regional pulse
The Bengal Tri registration situation is worth paying attention to. Close to 200 athletes already signed up with a cap confirmed — that's unusually strong early-season demand for a college-hosted sprint in Pocatello. ISU has run this event well for years, and it's clearly become a go-to early opener for Idaho athletes.
On the IM side, IRONMAN 70.3 Oregon is already sold out for general registration in 2026. That's a significant data point heading into spring — PNW athletes targeting a 70.3 this year are running out of easy options. IM 70.3 Coeur d'Alene and IM 70.3 Washington Tri-Cities still have registration open, and IM 70.3 Victoria (May 24) remains on the board for BC-based athletes.
Triathlon BC has published both the 2026 SuperSeries schedule and Provincial Championship host locations — the Oliver Triathlon Weekend is confirmed as a World Championship qualifier for the Sprint distance. BC athletes with provincial ambitions or WC aspirations should pull that schedule now.
Bottom line
- This weekend: No races — use it for a quality brick and get Bengal Triathlon registration handled before the cap closes.
- Following weekend: Beaver Freezer Triathlon (Corvallis), We Are One Kayak Fun-Tri (Wendell), and Spring Classic Duathlon (Vancouver) — three very different formats; Vancouver Lake is flat and fast if you want an honest early-season duathlon benchmark.
- Season outlook: IM 70.3 Oregon already sold out and Bengal Tri capping early — 2026 PNW registration pressure is real. Don't wait on anything you actually want to race.
PNW Triathlon Obscura
The Coeur d'Alene Ironman, which launched in 2003, was built around a swim course in Lake Coeur d'Alene that sits at roughly 2,150 feet elevation — making it one of the higher-altitude Ironman swim venues in North America and a subtle but real factor for athletes traveling from sea-level coastal cities in Oregon and Washington. The lake's unusual clarity, fed largely by snowmelt from the surrounding mountains, means competitors can often see the bottom during the swim, which unsettles a surprising number of athletes who prefer the anonymity of murky water. The race quickly became one of the fastest-selling Ironman events in the U.S. in its early years, regularly selling out within hours of registration opening.
Triathlon 101
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This week's Coach
Victoria, BCB78 Coaching
Victoria, BC
A high-performance coaching team based in Victoria. They provide individual coaching, INSCYD metabolic testing, and specialized camps for triathlon, cycling, and running.
Right now in PNW triathlon
week of March 30 – April 5, 2026Early season is here in name, but most athletes are still deep in the pre-season grind — base miles, brick workouts, and pool sets.
The first real races of 2026 are three weeks out, which means this week is for locking in registrations before caps hit and getting a few more quality sessions in before taper.
What athletes are doing right now:
- Watching the Bengal Tri registration — already near 200 athletes with a cap in place, so if you haven't registered, do it today
- Logging long rides before April gets busy with race weekends
- Confirming duathlon kit and transition setup for those skipping swim season entirely in April
Coming up — the weekend of April 18–19
April 18–19Idaho
- (Pocatello) — April 18 — Sprint format: 700-yard pool swim, 13-mile bike, 3-mile run, hosted by Idaho State University. This race is already pushing its cap with close to 200 registered — if you're on the fence, registration needs to happen now. Duathlon option also available for those who want the early season hit without the pool.SprintDuathlon
Washington
- (Enumclaw) — April 19 — Run 2.4 miles, bike 15.4 miles, run 3.1 miles in the hills outside Enumclaw. Listed as a tentative event — confirm status before you make the drive out toward the Cascades foothills. Good early-season duathlon option for WA athletes who want something with a bit more climb than a flat lake course.Sprint Duathlon
On the radar — the weekend of April 25–26
April 25–26Oregon
- (Corvallis) — April 25 — OSU Triathlon Club's annual sprint event has been running since 1993 and became the largest indoor-swim triathlon in the US back in 2010. The indoor pool format takes the water temperature variable off the table entirely, which makes this a legitimate fast early-season effort. If you've never done an indoor-swim tri, this is the one to try.SprintDuathlon
Idaho
- (Wendell) — April 25 — Kayak 2 miles around Ritter Island, run 1 mile up 1000 Springs Grade, bike 5 miles. Solo or 3-person team format, charity event benefiting cancer families, with food trucks and music at the finish at 1000 Springs State Park. Not a PR race — but a genuinely different day on the bike-paddle-run spectrum, and one of the more unique formats in the region this spring.Kayak-Bike-RunRelay
Washington
- (Vancouver) — April 26 — 42nd annual edition at Vancouver Lake: run 3.1 miles, bike 9.3 miles, run 3.1 miles on a flat, fast course. If you spent winter on the trainer and want a low-stakes first race effort, this is the right venue for it. Right across the Columbia from Portland, so this draws a mixed WA/OR field.Sprint DuathlonHalf Marathon10K5KYouth Duathlon
