After three long years, Mike Vickers doesn’t have to answer the questions any more.

A triathlon finally has made its way back to Lawrence.

“It seems like people are pleased to have it back,” said Vickers, who ran the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Triathlon for seven years through 2002. “For years, people have been asking about it.”

Nearly 400 participants will gather today at Lone Star Lake for the first Midwest Mayhem Triathlon, sponsored by the Lawrence Sports Corporation.

“More than anything, we wanted to bring it back for those in the triathlon scene,” event director Bill Marshall said. “A lot of people are excited because we have set up the same courses with the same distances as they are used to with this event.”

The gathering features the only triathlon of Olympic distance in the Midwest region in which participants swim .9 miles, bike 24.8 miles and run 6.2 miles.

There also will be a a short-course option, which covers about half the Olympic distances.

Vickers said typically about half of the participants came from the Kansas and Missouri, with the other athletes traveling from states as distant as California.

The Olympic triathlon will begin at 7:30 a.m., with heats starting every five minutes.

The shorter – or sprint – triathlon will start at 8 a.m.

Spectators are asked to show up early, since vehicles will not be allowed into or outside of Lone Star Marina after 7 as a precautionary measure to prevent injury to the athletes.

The original LMH triathlon was canceled because of a lack of sponsorship money in 2002. The race brought 600 competitors to Lawrence, proving there still was interest for such an event.

After running the city’s triathlon for so long, Vickers will get to enjoy it a little more this year. With Marshall taking the reins as director, Vickers will ride the cycling portion of the competition as part of a local team.

He said the community should serve as a great host for the triathlon.

“Lawrence is great,” Vickers said. “People here are pretty open-minded about closing down venues for events like this. The lake will pretty much be ours for the day.”