Cross-country ski racers in the Pole Pedal Paddle in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on March 25.(Jeff Buydos/Cloud Level Creative)

The Pole Pedal Paddle multisport race is unique to Bend — but only to a point.

In fact, even the name of Central Oregon’s signature race — which includes teams and individuals competing in alpine skiing, nordic skiing, biking, running, paddling and sprinting — is not an original.

Just as thousands of multisport racers and spectators will converge Saturday on Bend for the 41st U.S. Bank Pole Pedal Paddle, they gather throughout the spring and summer each year for similar races staged at other outdoor sports meccas across the West. Those races include the Pole Pedal Paddle in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; the Ski to Sea in Bellingham, Washington; the Big Hurt in Port Angeles, Washington; the Gap2Gap in Yakima, Washington; the Pole Pedal Paddle in Crested Butte, Colorado; and the Salem River 2 Ridge (new for 2017) in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

More multisport events certainly exist and triathlons and adventure races abound, but these six multisport races are more typical of what will play out today in Central Oregon, from the snowy slopes of Mount Bachelor to the finish at Bend’s Les Schwab Amphitheater.

Pole Pedal Paddle 
(Jackson Hole, Wyoming)

Our PPP is based on the Jackson Hole PPP, which began in 1976. The first Central Oregon PPP was held a year later, in 1977, brought to Bend by Dave and Jenny Sheldon, a husband and wife who had been ski bums in Jackson Hole and had moved to Bend.

The Sheldons wanted to raise money for the Bend Skyliners youth ski-racing program. Since its modest beginnings — with only about 65 participants in the first race 40 years ago — the Central Oregon PPP has become the main fundraiser for the youth program now known as the Mt. Bachelor Sports Education Foundation (MBSEF).

The Jackson Hole PPP — the 42nd of which was staged this year on March 25 — is a much more challenging race. It includes, in order, a 3-mile alpine ski, a 6½-kilometer cross-country ski, a 20-mile bike ride, and a 9-mile paddle, some of which is through whitewater. The race attracts about 250 to 300 participants each year, according to race organizers.

The Central Oregon PPP starts with a 2-kilometer alpine ski, followed by an 8K nordic ski, a 22-mile bike ride, a 1½-mile river paddle and a half-kilometer sprint — and draws close to 3,000 racers each year.

“It was never intended to be an elite race — it was intended to get people off the couch,” Jenny Sheldon said in 2008 of the Central Oregon PPP. “There’s no reason to go crazy about it … it doesn’t qualify you for any particular thing, it’s just fun to do. I wanted to create a race so somebody could do each leg and not have to train all year.”

Ski to Sea 
(Bellingham, Washington)

This multisport race, from Mount Baker to Bellingham in northwest Washington, began in 1973 and was designed to showcase the recreational opportunities of Whatcom County, according to www.skitosea.com.

The race, which this year will be staged on May 28, consists of a 4-mile nordic ski, a 2½-mile alpine ski or snowboard, an 8-mile run, a 41-mile road bike ride, an 18½-mile canoe paddle, a 13-mile cyclocross bike ride, and a 5-mile sea-kayak paddle.

The Ski to Sea is a team event, and unlike the Central Oregon Pole Pedal Paddle, it does not include categories for individuals or pairs.

Participation in the Ski to Sea is similar to that of the Central Oregon PPP, with about 325 to 350 teams each year, and a total of 2,600 to 2,800 racers, according to race organizers.

The Big Hurt 
(Port Angeles, Washington)

The Big Hurt started in 1997 and ran through 2004, according to bighurtpa.com. It was discontinued after 2004 but was resurrected in 2015. The race includes a 16½-mile mountain bike ride, a 3-mile kayak, a 30-mile road bike ride, and a 10K run.

The Big Hurt returns on Sept. 23 this year. Racers can compete solo or in teams of two to four participants. Race organizers say they are hoping for about 200 participants this year.

Gap2Gap 
(Yakima, Washington)

The 33rd annual Gap2Gap is set for June 4.

The race gets its name from the Yakima Greenway, which stretches from Selah Gap to Union Gap in Yakima, and west along the Naches River, according www.yakimagreenway.org. Since 1980, the Yakima Greenway Foundation has created more than 10 miles of paved pathway to connect parks, river access landings, nature trails, fishing lakes, and protected natural areas.

The Gap2Gap includes a 5K run, an 18-mile road bike ride, an 8-mile off-road bike ride, a 3-mile paddle, and a 3.2-mile trail run.

Including the junior version of the Gap2Gap, the event draws about 1,000 participants each year, according to race organizers.

Pole Pedal Paddle 
(Crested Butte, Colorado)

The fifth annual CB3P, as it is known, was staged on April 30 of this year.

The race spans the length of the Gunnison Valley, starting in Mt. Crested Butte and finishing in Gunnison, according to crestedbutte3p.com.

It starts with an uphill/downhill ski leg, meaning parts of the course require competitors to skin uphill and other parts require skiing downhill. The ski leg is followed by a 27-mile road bike ride and a 4½-mile kayak leg. The CB3P does not include a running stage.

About 75 participants raced in this year’s Crested Butte event, according to the event’s website.

Salem River 2 Ridge Relay

This new event is scheduled for Sept. 17.

The race begins in historic downtown Salem on the banks of the Willamette River, and participants will kayak, bike and run their way through the Willamette Valley up into the Cascade foothills at Silver Falls State Park, according to www.salemriver2ridge.com.

Redmond-based Breakaway promotions, which runs the Cascade Cycling Classic stage race each July in Central Oregon, is organizing the River 2 Ridge and designed the course.

The race includes a half-mile run, a 6.2-mile paddle, a 47.8-mile road bike ride, and a 5.8-mile trail run.

Former multisport races similar to the PPP that no longer exist include the Ridge to River in Wenatchee, Washington; the Mountains to Sound in Seattle; and the Pole Pedal Paddle in Salida, Colorado.

It is hard to imagine our PPP ever folding. The race is too ingrained in our outdoor endurance lifestyle here, and too many competitors — whether weekend warriors or elite athletes — look forward to it each May.

Sure, other PPP-like races exist elsewhere in the West.

But there is only one Central Oregon PPP.

— Reporter: 541-383-0318,

mmorical@bendbulletin.com