BRIDGTON — A triathlon to benefit adults with mental disabilities will enter its second year Saturday.

Registration for the Great Adventure Challenge will be held from 6:45 to 8 a.m. at Shawnee Peak. The race will begin at 9 a.m. on Moose Pond.

The challenge consists of 2.5 miles of kayaking on a marked course around the pond, 14 miles of mountain biking over trails and back roads, and a 2-mile run up and down Pleasant Mountain along the Shawnee Peak trails.

Rob Knowles, race director and resource developer with Good Neighbors Inc. of Bridgton, said he got the idea for the event after a trip to Alaska. He said he witnessed the Mount Marathon Race, an annual 3-mile scramble up and down the loose shale peak in Seward.

“I thought to myself, ‘That’s a pretty absurd thing to be doing,’ but a lot of people were doing it,” Knowles said. “We’re not quite as extreme.”

Knowles said he approached the manager of Shawnee Peak about holding the race. Last year’s debut event attracted 51 participants and raised $2,000. He said about 70 people had registered for Saturday’s race and he expected a total of about 100.

The money goes toward Good Neighbors’ fundraising committee and is used for things such as pool passes, tickets to sporting events and trips, Knowles said.

“In general, we try to fund things that the state no longer (does) or won’t pay for that any normal human being would be able to enjoy, and these people just don’t have the money,” he said.

The event includes musical entertainment and free food and drink for each competitor and one friend. Competitors may complete the entire triathlon alone or as part of a two- or three-person team. Individual participants must be at least 17 years old, and participants on high school teams must be at least 14 years old.

The cost of the event is $60 for individual competitors and $150 for teams.

mlangeveld@sunjournal.com