Donner Lake Triathlon canceled

Race officials announced Thursday night that the 27th annual Donner Lake Triathlon scheduled for Sunday has been canceled because of heavy smoke in the Truckee area.

Below is a release posted on the Donner Lake Triathlon Web site, www.changeofpace.com/Donner_lake_tri.html, Thursday at 7 p.m.:

It's official

“Dear Athlete,

It is with deep regret that I write to inform you that the 2008 Donner Lake Triathlon has been canceled due to poor air quality caused by the recent and ongoing fires in the Sierras and Butte County.

For the past several days, we have been closely monitoring the air quality in the Truckee region and have posted this information on our Web site. We have been in contact with numerous service organizations and health officials to determine if we should proceed with the event and have been advised not to. This morning we were highly disappointed that the Air Quality Index had taken a drastic turn for the worse and the air in Truckee was deemed unhealthy.

Through conversations with various officials regarding the fire, the predicted winds and the update from the Tahoe National Forest Service, the local fire is not projected to be contained and the smoke is expected to remain poor for at least another week.

This has been an agonizing decision for us to make. The health and safety of our participants is the paramount factor in every decision and we truly feel it is in your best interest to cancel the triathlon. By canceling the triathlon today, we give our participants the opportunity to cancel any hotel reservations and possibly save on unnecessary travel expenses.

Unfortunately the triathlon cannot be rescheduled and we are unable to offer refunds due to costs incurred for developing this year’s race. In our 21 years of producing events, we have never even contemplated canceling an event. Ultimately, our decision was guided by the safety of our participants and volunteers. We hope you understand and we look forward to seeing you next year.

Sincerely,

Dave Miramontes

President

A Change of Pace”