A triathlon feast on Sunday

Some days, it’s a walk in the park.

Sunday, it’s a swim, two runs and triathlons of various distances starting at Ala Moana Park.

The ninth Honolulu Triathlon/International Sports Festival has a little bit of something for every athlete and every athletic family. That’s how event organizer JJ Johnson envisioned the day when adding a swim and two runs to the existing sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons.

"When we took over this event four years ago, we looked at the real estate that we were shutting down and thought we might as well use it," Johnson said of containing most of the races within Ala Moana Beach Park. "It benefits the athlete who brings their family along. Now the family has something to do as well.

"Our challenge is getting the word out that there will be road closures, especially in the Queen Street-Piikoi area. And the park will be shut down from 4 a.m. until noon."

Johnson has done his part, traveling the course every Sunday on his motorcycle for the past three months to check on traffic conditions, particularly the 1.5-mile corridor that is Queen Street. He said he has stopped by businesses that will be affected by the competition to give a personal advisory.

The 5K and 10K runs, as well as the run portion of the triathlons, now will be contained within Ala Moana Beach Park/Magic Island. Previous courses included parts of Kakaako and Kewalo Basin.

"We’re keeping the course tight, making it more spectator-friendly," Johnson said. "Athletes like it because they get cheered on and high-fived."

Even an elite athlete such as Tim Marr appreciates the crowd noise. The 33-year-old is a heavy favorite in the only Olympic-distance triathlon held in the state. (Olympic distance features a 1.5K swim, 40K bike and 10K run; sprint distance is half the Olympic triathlon).

"Sometimes it is hard to stay motivated when you’re out there by yourself," said Marr, who is using the event as training for the June 2 Honu Triathlon in Kailua-Kona. "When it’s an out-and-back course, it helps me say, ‘Yes, it is a race’ and helps me to stay on my game.

"I like the Olympic distance. This is a legitimate triathlon where you gotta be a good swimmer, gotta be a good biker and gotta be a good runner."

The festival is also going green. Instead of cups of water at aid stations, competitors are asked to bring their own bottles and use the "Water Monster" self-serve water stations.

And the top finishers will be receiving virtual trophies instead of hardware. They’ll be mailed or emailed digital photos of themselves with a trophy.

Some 1,300 had registered for the various races as of Monday. Late registration is available at the packet pickup from 3 to 6 p.m. today and 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Magic Island.