Contact Cape Atlantic, an organization that makes daily phone calls to seniors and the homebound, is holding its sixth annual monthlong triathlon/duathlon Monday, Jan. 23 through Monday, Feb. 20.

Registration is $25, and proceeds benefit the United Way agency, which has more than 230 elderly and handicapped clients in Atlantic and Cape May counties.

The location is “anywhere you like,” according to Contact executive director Ann Magee. “It’s a virtual thing.”

The triathlon includes swimming (2.4 miles), biking (112 miles) and running (26 miles). Duathlon participants must complete any two of the three sports.

Participants – who have hailed from Florida, Virginia, Connecticut and even Germany – keep a log of their progress. For those who prefer walking to running, or would rather bike than swim, the workout calendar suggests substitute activities (15 minutes of jogging in the pool equals a one-mile run, and a one-hour spin class equals a 10-mile bike ride).

Howard Reed of Egg Harbor Township (in photo above with his wife, Betsy) has participated in the event for five years with Betsy, a swimming instructor at the Ocean City Aquatics and Fitness Center. “I’m a retired Army guy, so this gets me out there, gets me more active,” said Reed. “It forces you to do the thing you should do anyway.”

Three generations of the Reed family participate, he added, including the couple’s son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters, who live in New York.

When it comes to a triathlon, slow and steady wins the race, he said.

“If you take it day by day, it’s not an overwhelming challenge. But you’ve got to get out there.”

All participants get a T-shirt, and everyone who completes the event gets an award at a ceremony Saturday, Feb. 25 at the Aquatic and Fitness Center. To register see www.contactcapeatlantic.org.