Went and watched the pro's in Lincoln last year. (broken foot). Was about as fun of a format as you can get for spectating. Was awesome to see McElroy run something like a 4:14 mile to the finish!

That being said, there were very few people out there outside of a few of the racers who hung around to see it. There was zero local promotion for the event - even among the local triathletes. They ended up giving out free entries which is why I would assume most of the field was even there. At check in they were giving away boxes of nutrition because they had so much (I assume due to low registration) I think it has a lot of promise, but their promotion needs to be much better. Perhaps it was in other locations. No clue how they are funding this thing - had to be a huge loss in Lincoln.

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"It's good enough for who it's for" - Grandpa Wayne

Also curious about who the behind the scenes team that is running/supporting this effort.


I've spoken to them several times.

They are really trying to make a difference and offer something different for bot pros and age-groupers.

They learned a few things I sense last year, their first year, and I am sure they have tweaked a few things to make the offering better this year.

What would be GREAT, is if the local triathlon populations came out and supported these races. Yes, I know you have to put in that monster bike ride for your big Ironman - it can wait for another weekend. Get on out and support Major League Tri.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I was curious about this too. The MLT website is very sparse on details. It doesn't even discuss the format of the races. After a Google search (which directed me to a ST form) I saw that it's a four person co-ed, super sprint relay. Sounds really cool, but they certainly make it hard to find the details. Is it strictly for the pros or are age groupers welcome to race? I see that they are having a "draft" later this month.

I wish them the best of luck. As I said, I know a few of these participating pros and I hope it works out for them. Having said that, as Celerius also posted, they seem to be severely lacking with information about these events. I haven't found any info/direction/description/etc. for any age grouper/amateur who might want to sign up.....so the local support will probably continue to be a little sparse. There is no information/write ups on their site about the 2016 season.....(only found some info on a last year 3rd party write up). No in-depth information about the race formats for the pros and amateurs for 2017. The only names I have come across involved in this organization (CEO, COO) are three recent (2013) college grads. Their website and write ups frankly appear to be somewhat lacking. Talk about lowering "barriers to entry" and grow sport at amateur level but the emphasis seems to be with their pro series. Don't mean to sound so critical but it appears they really need to upgrade a few things if this endeavor is going to be successful and last more than a couple years. Again, I wish them luck and success.

I'm almost certain AG race is regular triathlon and the MTR format is only for the pros.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Paula will hopefully do well. Being back home and in school seems to be helping.

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___________________________________________
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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
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I raced MLT last year as a pro and will race it again this year. The elite race format (draft legal super sprint relay) is SUPER fast and SUPER fun to spectate. The pro line-up is stronger this year than last year across the board so I think the racing will be very close between the teams.... This year, MLT also has brought on 8 team owners who are convening next week to draft their teams a la NFL draft. It should be a really fun twist on triathlon and you can follow the draft on Facebook....

In terms of behind the scenes:
Dan Cassidy - the founder of the league - and his team definitely learned a lot last year. He has Dylan Sorenson working as the league's marketing manager this year.

In terms of venues & notoriety:
We all know that it can take years for a race to really take off. While last year's venues/cities were great, this year's are even better and convenient to travel to! There are league ties to at least 3 of the 4 locations, so that will certainly help with spectator draw; and in Cleveland, the MLT race will be the same weekend as Neo Cycle (http://www.neocycle.org/events/neocycle), the largest urban cycling festival in the US, so that will be very cool overlap for anyone who chooses to do that race!

In terms of the racing:
The age group race is not the same format as the pro race. It is a non-draft race. Last year every race had a sprint distance, some also had a super sprint option (I believe) and some had an olympic option. The age group race is in the morning, and then the pro race is early/mid afternoon. Last year the pro event was followed by a concert with up-and-coming country singer Russell Dickerson -- I presume they will have concerts again with a new artist? The post-race festival includes bar, food trucks, and is a ton of fun!

Hope this helps! Happy to answer specific questions feel free to DM.

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Sarah Alexander | Twitter | Instagram

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I would definitely go race an AG race in the morning, then spend the day and watch the pro race in the afternoon. It sounds awesome actually. But I agree that the info for AG'ers is severely lacking, and they need to do a better job promoting and marketing the events. There is a pro race in Atlantic City in June but I did a quick search and cannot find any corresponding AG races in the area on the same weekend. While I would travel to AC to race and spectate, I doubt I'd travel just to watch.

Yeah that is definitely something they're working on. Hopefully there will be more information up soon, but for now if you have specific questions, I wouldn't hesitate to reach out through the "Contact Us" page -- they are very responsive!!! https://majorleaguetri.com/contact/

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Sarah Alexander | Twitter | Instagram

Hammer Nutrition: For 15% off, use Referral Code 254874 at checkout w/ Sarah Alexander (sarah.e.alexander.10@gmail.com)
Northeast Site Contractors | Team Innovative Endurance | Rudy Project | Kiwami

If you are looking for a reason to go to the AC area this summer and the MLT AG event doesn't pan out, Delmo Sports is organizing two events this summer, the 70.3 AC Ironman (Sept 17) and his own Tri AC (Aug 5), an OLY and Sprint distance co-event. Steve Delmo does a good job with his events and are well attended. I did the Tri AC in 2012 and 2015 and will probably be doing this year again combining with a vacation. Looks like his popular (usually sells out) Escape the Cape (Cape May....about an hour south of AC) Sprint and OLY event is the same weekend as the new MLT event in AC.....so doesn't appear to be the best of timing for them from an AG standpoint..

I've gotta say, Delmo does put on some pretty good events.

But why would MLT choose Atlantic City? Now, personally, I hate that place. The scummiest place I've ever been. I did Delmo's AC Tri back in 2014 and we were running down the boardwalk at 9am with people blowing smoke in our faces, walking across the course not even paying attention, and I'm pretty sure some guy puked in the middle of the boardwalk behind me, and he wasn't racing...

Is there an AG race? I'm located in Philadelphia and have heard NOTHING about the race. Any other race in the area is all over the Philly tri pages and we get emails from the race directors. It'll be interesting to hear how this race/weekend pans out.

That had to be the most under-the-radar local race ever.. until the coverage on the ST front page http://www.slowtwitch.com/...to_gallery_6392.html I didn't even know it was happening.