In the afternoon heat, Don Holly and Harvey Soule arrive at the Sparks Marina to kayak. As the two men glide across the smooth, wind-free waters of the marina, the small ripples left behind by their paddles are the only indication that this is Holly and Soule’s last chance to practice before Saturday’s Tahoe Big Blue Adventure Race.

Holly, a Spanish Springs resident, and Soule, a Reno resident, have teamed up to participate in the Lake Tahoe Big Blue Sprint, a race that is a part of the Big Blue Adventure Race series. The series is comprised of triathlon and mini-triathlon races in northern California and Nevada. Saturday’s event is the eighth annual Tahoe Big Blue Adventure Race.

As part of the Lake Tahoe Big Blue Sprint, Holly and Soule will have to run between three and five miles through the forest, mountain bike 10 to 13 miles on rugged paths and kayak between two and three miles in the blue waters of Lake Tahoe. Holly said that during the running and biking portion of the event teammates must stay within 100 meters, or about 110 yards, of each other. Finish times for the race are between two and four hours.

The sprint is a smaller version of the Tahoe Big Blue, which happens at the same time. The Tahoe Big Blue combines five to eight miles of foot travel with orienteering and map skills, more than 24 miles of mountain biking and more than eight miles of kayaking. Finish times for Tahoe Big Blue are between six and 10 hours.

Holly, who is a personal trainer at 24-Hour Fitness in northwest Reno, said he found the triathlon while researching races for a client who had achieved her weight loss goals and wanted to try to complete a mini-triathlon.

“I was on the Internet looking for mini-triathlons,” Holly said. “It’s not too long and it’s local. Then I thought I really want to do this.”

Holly said he asked Soule, who was one of his clients, to be his teammate. Holly explained the race is set up by age divisions, meaning Holly, 52, and Soule, 55, will compete in the Masters Division with competitors about their own age.

Soule, a retired detective for the Reno Police Department, said he was tired of not being really in shape or really out of shape and decided it was time to get fit.

“Don called and left me a message when I scheduled some training with him,” Soule said. “I kept listening to the message thinking that sounds like Al Holly.”

Soule explained that Holly’s father, Al, had been his training officer with the Reno Police Department in 1973 and it was purely coincidental that his son ended up being his personal fitness trainer, as well.

Soule said he has lost more than 60 pounds in the last two years.

“My goal was to ride Geiger Grade on a bike and ride the Tour de Tahoe,” Soule said, adding that he completed both goals. “When Don asked me it was good timing because that was my next goal.”

Although Soule has made it his goal to complete the Tahoe Big Blue Sprint, he said training for it hasn’t been easy.

“I had to add running to my training,” Soule said. “I had to run three to four times a week and switch road biking for mountain biking.”

“It was kind of the same for me,” Holly said. “Pushing myself to run is a little bit of a challenge but if I put on the MP3 player and maybe listen to some ‘Eye of the Tiger’ I can get through it.”

Holly said he would suggest training for more than three months for such a race, even though he has only been training about five or six weeks.

“I want to see how well I can do in five or six weeks time, which is nowhere near enough time,” Holly said. “It depends on what kind of shape a person is in, but at least 14 weeks out start working on the running, the kayaking and the biking.”

Holly said he participated in a similar race in Sacramento, Calif. 10 years ago with his sister and brother-in-law. He said the race began at 6 p.m. and that it took place mainly in the dark, which made it fun but it also tired him out.

“I’ve learned a lot because you can get out and run five miles and be fine,” Holly said. “You can go out and bike five miles and feel fine, but all of them combined really tests your endurance.”

Holly said that after the Sacramento race he is looking forward to Saturday’s Tahoe Big Blue Sprint.

“It will be a challenge but it will be fun,” Holly said. “I want to try and finish with a respectable time.”

“If people put their mind to it, they can do it,” Soule said of his motivation for Saturday’s race. “If you want to do it, you can do it.”

Both Holly and Soule said they are looking forward to the kayaking leg of the race the most.

“I’m looking forward to the kayaking, which is something that we do together,” Holly said. “The kayaking is the true team part of the sport.”

“I watched a video of a previous race and it was so cool to see all those kayaks on Lake Tahoe,” Soule added.

The Big Blue Adventure Series at Lake Tahoe takes place on Saturday. The Tahoe Big Blue, a longer version of the sprint, begins at 8 a.m. and the Tahoe Big Blue Sprint begins at 10 a.m.

For more information on the race, as well as race results, visit www.bigblueadventure.com.