by Joshua Balling / I&M Assistant Editor

Logistically, the Nantucket Triathlon has to be one of the most challenging events on the island’s sporting calendar: More than 700 athletes running, cycling and swimming a stone’s throw from downtown Nantucket in the height of July.

What was organizer Jamie Ranney thinking when he decided to bring a triathlon to the island in mid-summer? Who knows, but somehow, the inaugural event went off with nary a hitch last year, and he’s hoping for even smoother sailing this time around. The second annual Nantucket Sprint Triathlon is scheduled to begin Saturday at noon at Jetties Beach. Registration was closed at 750 participants – 109 from the island – back in February. To keep things orderly, plenty of volunteers and traffic officers will be on hand along the route, the Something Natural sandwich shop on Cliff Road, a sponsor of the race, will be closed on Saturday, hopefully alleviating some of the traffic congestion experienced last year, and parking will be prohibited on Cliff Road and Easton Street on race day.

“Because the numbers have increased (about 450 athletes participated last year) we are asking people to be thoughtful about passing racers who are competing,” Ranney said. “The roads will not be closed to traffic.We areurging patience. There will be some delays. It’s essentially a two-, two and a half-hour race. The forecast looks good, our fingers are crossed. We also ask that if you live on the race route and have a garden hose, you spray down the racers as they go by. It’s going to be hot.”

The course is laid out the same as last year: a quarter-mile swim off the West Jetty, followed by a run through the transition area at Jetties Beach to waiting bicycles in the parking lot near the tennis courts; a 14-mile bike race to Madaket and back; and a 3.2-mile run up North Beach Street, around Lincoln Circle, down to Brant Point and up Hulbert Avenue to the finish at Jetties Beach. Speaking of the cycling portion of the race, how do you get 700 high-end racing bikes to and from the island in one weekend? Most are arriving by Steamship Authority ferry. The SSA – another race sponsor – last year blocked off enough space to bring the bikes over without a scratch on the morning boat, and plans to do the same again, said Mark Rozum, director of terminal and parking operations.

Ranney added that many racers are coming for the whole weekend, spreading out the load a little. One of those is newly-elected Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who ran the Cohasset Triathlon last month and will be on the island for a Saturday-night fundraiser and his daughter Ayla’s performance at the Nantucket Music Festival Sunday afternoon at Children’s Beach.

“He’s no joke. He finished third in his age group in Cohasset,” Ranney said. “We tried to get (Sen.) John Kerry to do it, but I think he’s still recovering from his hip surgery so he wasn’t able to make it. It would have been cool to have a Republican and Democratic senator going head to head.”

Also participating this year is 12-time Olympic medal-winning swimmer Jenny Thompson.

Last year, professional triathlete Dave Dornaus of Hingham, Mass. took home the men’s crown in one hour, three minutes and 42 seconds. In the women’s division, Judy Stavis of Cohasset, Mass. took top honors in 1:13:26.

Ranney, who began competing in triathlons seven or eight years ago, said he started thinking about bringing a race to Nantucket a short time after that, but it took him two years just to get the Park and Recreation Commission to agree to it.

“We have a great core of athletes here. I like the idea of nurturing that locally by giving them a venue to race in, particularly during the summer months,” he said.

“We worked very closely with the police, the fire department, the DPW. They all did an amazing job last year.We rely on the town very heavily for supporting the race, and we appreciate it.”

Just be on the lookout for runners and cyclists.