Safer route needed for Pigman Triathlon

The annual Pigman Triathlon was Aug. 21. Not realizing this, I found myself driving on Palo Marsh/Lewis Bottoms Road during the event. I had bad timing and made my trip while the runners were running down both sides of the road. After a white-knuckled trip, I came away with one thought: This cannot be safe.

I understand this is a big event to the organizers and to all involved. I accept the need to share the road with those competing in the event. However, Palo Marsh Road is not wide enough to safely allow vehicular traffic and runners on both sides of the pavement going both directions. Although my family and I drove very slowly and tried to be exceptionally careful, not all the vehicles exercised the same caution. Not all the runners exercised caution around the vehicles.

At one point we slowed to a crawl and moved to the right to allow a large vehicle to pass going the other direction. One of the runners decided to pass us on the pavement on the right-hand side (vs. stepping onto the shoulder) as this vehicle passed.

Linn County and this event's organizers must find a safe alternative. Perhaps the runners could use only one side of the road or run on the shoulders. Unless a safe alternative can be found, the county should not allow further use of the road for this event.

Chris Bruns

Cedar Rapids