When the first of 11 triathlon races starts Saturday morning at Wickiup Reservoir, a half year of planning and preparation will come to fruition.

A year after holding a virtual triathlon due to COVID-19, the Deschutes Dash Multisport Event 5k and 10k races returned to the Bend area for an 18th year.

“This is where everything comes together,” said race director Colleen Peterson two days prior to the race with only a few items left on the checklist to finish before race day. “The last six months we were putting things together piece to piece.”

As is the case for many aspects in 2020-21, planning a triathlon came with a couple of bumps along the road that will create a slightly different event than in years past.

Because Bend, where the race is traditionally held in the Old Mill District, was not issuing permits during the spring, the Deschutes Dash will take place at Wickiup Reservoir, after the event was able to acquire a permit through the Deschutes National Forest.

But perhaps the biggest change to the race is beneath the water’s surface at the reservoir, causing a last-minute change to the event.

Due to algae growing, swimming would not be safe for the racers to swim. The races that include a swimming portion have been modified to either a bike and run race, or a duathlon which includes two running portions sandwiched around a biking leg. The aquabike races, a biking and swimming event, has been modified to just a biking event.

“We had a great swim course plan, but because of the heat wave, the algae started to bloom which made it dangerous for swimming,” said Peterson.

Despite the changes to the races and coming out of of the other end of a pandemic that exceeded a year, the number of participants is fairly close to what it normally is.

The organizers put a cap of 550 participants, and reached that number. Typically, there are around 500 to 650 athletes participating. The first of the 11 events — five triathlons and relays, four separate multiple races, and two running only races — will begin at 8 a.m. with a new race starting every five to 10 minutes.