6 Triathlons in December

The crown jewel of the HITS Triathlon Series in Palm Springs, where you can enjoy beautiful desert vistas and a dry, sunny climate before, during and after your race. The event offers five distances, including sprint, Olympic, half and full distances.

This is billed "the largest reverse sprint triathlon" because it does the legs in reverse—a 5K run ,followed by a 12-mile bike ride and then a quick 150-yard swim in an Olympic-size pool at West Valley High School. This race is in its 28th year.

Benefiting prostate cancer awareness and juvenile diabetes awareness, this sprint triathlon has a 400-yard pool swim, a 20K bike ride and a 5K run.

The final triathlon of the year in Arizona, the Holiday Classic is a sprint distance with a 400-yard swim in a heated pool, a 20K bike ride and a 5K run that explores the Phoenix suburb.

Taking place on a small, flat island in Mission Bay, this sprint and super-sprint race has an open water swim in the bay and bike and run loops around the perimeter of the island, which is closed to traffic for the race.