Even though he’s shepherded it since its inception, and watched it grow into a major event in Warren County, Mathew Mixon said race day at the Gator Bait Triathlon still gives him goose bumps and a tinge of pride.

“It is always exciting to see, especially on race day, because you have volunteers and support staff, and you have so many people involved,” said Mixon, the Vicksburg Swim Association coach and race director for the Gator Bait. “You see it and say, ‘Wow, this is a big event.’”

The Gator Bait has grown from a small open water swimming race when it was started in 2009, to a triathlon that draws about 150 competitors each year. The eighth edition of the Gator Bait will be held Saturday at Eagle Lake, beginning at 7 a.m. at Messina Landing.

The Gator Bait Triathlon consists of a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike race and 10K run. There’s also a shorter sprint triathlon, a relay triathlon, and seven different distances of open water swims.

Mixon said competitors are coming in this year from as far away as California, and it has become a mainstay — and a trendsetter — on the Mississippi racing scene. A similar event is being held Saturday in Columbus.

Registration for the race closed earlier this week, but volunteers are still welcome to assist with race operations.

“It’s not just your locals. People are making their schedule around this,” Mixon said. “Since we put our race in, more and more have popped up. It’s still, I think, one of the best around the state. The growth of the race shows that.”

Mixon credited the race’s sponsors with helping it thrive. Their financial support, he said, has allowed organizers to offer things like better shirts and finisher medals for every competitor, as well as amenities that help things run smoothly.

“That’s something you don’t get at every race. The more stuff we can get back to athletes the better,” Mixon said. “If it wasn’t for our sponsors, we wouldn’t be able to do that.”

Another key to the race’s success is safety — even if it comes at the expense of truth in advertising. Despite the race’s moniker, encounters with wildlife during the race have been rare. Dozens of kayakers and race officials patrol Eagle Lake in boats to keep the critters at bay. Most encounters are just “a nibble from a fish,” Mixon laughed.

“It’s just kind of a gimmick, but it is gator season next week and you’re never going to find water in Mississippi without snakes or gators. If you want that, there’s one place and that’s a swimming pool,” Mixon said. “One year we had a little water snake in the transition area, but that’s about it.”