Almost 1,000 athletes could test Columbia County’s trails and waters as cyclists, open-water swimmers and runners compete at the Wildwood Games Presented by Zaxby’s Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3 at Wildwood Park.
On Saturday the USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships will be held in Columbia County for the first time as the nation’s top endurance racers ride in pursuit of the stars-and-stripes jersey. The event also includes open-water swims of 1.5 miles or 3 miles on Saturday and 50K, marathon, half-marathon and 10K trail runs on Sunday. A two-day, 54-hole disc golf tournament and an expo will be part of the festivities as well.
“Our goal is for this to be a premier sports festival in the Southeast, and ultimately, in the country,” says Randy DuTeau, the Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director. 
Last summer’s inaugural Wildwood Games served as a test run for the mountain bike championships. According to DuTeau, this year’s Games will include challenging, well laid-out and well-marked courses for the racers. Well-trained volunteers and an emergency management team that is ready to respond to any situation will be on hand as well.
“The kind of coordination for an event of this size is pretty significant, and everyone has stepped up their game to try to ensure the success and safety of the event,” he says. “It will be significantly larger than last year when we had 224 total participants.”
DuTeau expects to attract competitors from across the nation and the Southeast. However, he adds, “We’ll also draw a lot of the local population, too, because these events are popular in this area.” 
The expo will include food, beverages and vendors that sell products such as health foods and equipment for the outdoor-oriented types of activities that are part of the Games. Hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sunday.
“Folks will want to come out and watch the races, and we hope they’ll stick around for the awards presentation,” DuTeau says.
For more information, visit wildwoodgames.com.