DOWAGIAC — The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians is soon bringing a unique feat of physical ability not only to Dowagiac, but to the entire southwest Michigan region.

At 1 p.m. July 28, the Pokagon Band will host the first quadrathon in southwest Michigan. Taking place at the Pokagon Band Rodgers Lake Campus, 58620 Sink Road, the event will feature a 750-meter open swim, a 12.4-mile bike ride, a 2,000-meter kayak and a 5K trail run. Registration to participate is free with registration on-site.

“This is basically an Olympic triathlon with the added kayak portion,” said Matt Clay, director of health services for the Pokagon Band.

The idea to host the quadrathon grew out of the tribe’s healthy lifestyle campaign, which aims to promote proactive healthy lifestyles in all areas, including emotional, physical and mental health.

“In the beginning of the year, everyone is fired up [about getting healthy], so we decided to do an event halfway through the year to keep that fire,” Clay said. “The quadrathon was kind of the result of that.”

Though there will be some people competing individually, Clay said the original intent of the quadrathon was having people compete in four-man teams, so that each team member could complete one leg of the race.

“One of the things we looked at with the healthy lifestyles campaign was accountability,” he said. “So, having four-man teams is a way to do that and have accountable for achieving the goal you want to achieve.”

Director of Communications for the Pokagon Band Paige Risser added that working in teams makes the quadrathon more practical and doable for the average person.

“If someone is going to do all four events, they are probably pretty fit,” she said. “But the individual distances are not insurmountable for someone who is just starting off on being more physically active.”

Clay said he wants the first year to be a sort of “dry run” for the event, which will allow the Pokagon Band to work out the kinks with the quadrathon before advertising it more heavily next year.

“We want to partner with local organizations and make sure we do everything correctly,” Clay said.

Ultimately, Clay said he hopes the quadrathon will promote healthy living within the Pokagon Band and for people to have fun while doing it.

“We wanted to offer something unique and give people a goal, which is really important,” he said. “The goal of the healthy living campaign is not necessarily to lose weight. It is to live a healthier lifestyle, and we hope this does that. … We want to get people out their comfort zones and learn new ways to be healthy.”

Risser agreed.

“We don’t want this to be so competitive that people [who are just starting a fitness journey] can’t compete. You can walk the 5K,” she said. “We want to encourage people to be healthy and try new things.”