Justin Kirk of Timonium, Maryland, and a female racer finish the swim portion of the Ironman Lake Placid triathlon on July 23. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

LAKE PLACID — Next July’s 20th annual Ironman Lake Placid triathlon is officially sold out, though there are still ways for people to enter through charities.

Race Director Greg Borzilleri announced the news Tuesday afternoon and described the early sell-out as a positive development for the event. He said it took five months to sell out this year’s 140.6-mile Ironman, which took place last month.

Borzilleri added that the sell-out equates to around 3,000 entrants, though he declined to provide an exact number.

Competitors purchased their entries via four tiers of pricing based on slot quantities — increasing from $650 to $700 to $750 to $785 — the closer the event came to selling out.

Those still interested in joining the race have two other ways of entering: through the Ironman Foundation and through three different charities: the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, Smile Train and Team Challenge Crohn’s & Colitis (CCF).

Through the Ironman Foundation, interested competitors have two choices: to buy their way into the race for $1,400 — $635 of which goes to the foundation — or by committing to raise $3,500 for the foundation in the lead-up to the July race.

Through MMRF, competitors buy entry into the race for $250 while committing to fundraise $5,000. Ninety percent of funds MMRF raises is said to go directly to research this kind of cancer.

Those who sign up for the race through Smile Train and CCF also must provide an up-front buy-in and commit to raise $5,000 for the respective charities.

The 2018 140.6-mile Ironman Lake Placid will be the 20th consecutive running of the race and will take place on July 22, 2018.

A full Ironman triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bicycle ride and a 26.2 marathon run.

Lake Placid’s inaugural 70.3-mile Ironman event, with half-lengths for each leg, is scheduled for Sept. 10.