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GREENSBORO -- In just four years, the sprint triathlon at Belews Lake has grown to draw an elite field.

As an event in a statewide triathlon series, according to the race director, it blinks bright on the event lists for athletes.

Richard Swor, a professional triathlete from Greensboro, will just as often go to a national or international race. He considers Saturday's Belews Lake Triathlon a hard training day.

He's a favorite to win over a course that includes a 750-meter swim, a 14.5-mile bike segment and a 5K run.

The close-to-home race allows him to be able to see other racers from across North Carolina. He can mingle, but then sleep in his own bed once it's over.

International races mean he must sleep in a hotel, look for food, then race. He can eat and prepare comfortably with the short trip to Belews Lake.

"That's why these races are so much fun," he said about the ease of travel. "Before the race you goof around and have fun, and after the race it's the same thing. During the race you're trying to beat ... each other."

The first event included 180 entries, and in year two the number increased to 300. Last year, there were 490 triathletes in the triathlon. The field this year had 476 registered as of Thursday, with a cap of 500.

Race director Benji Jones, who works for Set Up Events, said that the race could swell to 600 entrants some day.

Being on the 24-event Inside-Out Sports North Carolina Triathlon Series helps bring numbers, too.

Elite athletes from Wilmington, Raleigh, Charlotte and elsewhere are expected to compete.

But John Dewey, owner of Off 'N Running in Greensboro, shares a feeling similar to Swor.

"To have something in our back yard, so to speak, is just an awesome thing," he said. "Previously, the most competitive nearby race was the Mission Man in Burlington. But because that was on the north end of the city, it was still kind of a haul."

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt @news-record.com