I couldn't agree more. Hang a bag with my cap, race numbers and timing chip in my pre-assigned bike transition space so I can walk up, rack my bike, gear up and go. Have a transition area A for people starting in the first 30-40 minutes and a transition area B for people starting in the second 30-40 minutes etc.

Yeah, I agree the requirement to collect your packet and drop off the bike and/or transition bags the day before is a pain in the ass, especially if you're not based close to the race start.
Body marking is already gone in most places isn't it? I only had to do it once in my last 5 races. Most races also have pumps available although I'd be inclined to bring mine anyway. You don't want to spend 20mins race morning trying to get hold of one of the handful of pumps being used by a few hundred people (any pressure gauges aren't accurate - I know what my gauge says when the pressure is where I want it, I don't know if any other pump reads the same value - could easily be 5-10psi out....if that matters to you).

How long are these races?

The only races in our area (and there are many), that require "Day Before" check-in are the longer half-iron distance events and the one 70.3 in the area. All other races and that's 90%, are completely Day-Of.

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Why continue to choose those type of events? Find races that fit your criteria. I did a small town race this past weekend where you picked up your packet at 0630. Racked your bike after the racks were put up at 0700. Race started at 0800. No timing chips. Paper race number. Simple and as low key as you could want.

---

#swimmingmatters
Laugh hard. Run fast. Be kind.
The Doctor (#12)

Most of the larger olympic/spring and certainly 70.3 races around me require bike check-in day before or at a minimum packet pick-up.

I know there are smaller race options that are logistically a little easier but what I was thinking out loud about was how to make "all" triathlon races easier.

Put in other words how do we make the whole experience lower in stress and more fun whether it is full ironman or super sprint.

My guess is because of traffic issues. Or the race not wanting to add traffic trying to park while athletes are leaving T1.

---

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

Yes I agree with you. Esp full ironman. Usually have to check in 2 days before race then rack bike next day then race the day after that. Smaller local races is the general solution. Even the bigger running races are now doing the day before thing. I think the only way it changes is if people vote with their feet. Another things is doing halfs that start in early afternoon. Did a challenge race in Europe that did that it was great. Check in in morning race just after lunch time.

---

They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Remind me not to race where you are racing. Around here, our local races are everything you are asking for.

---

---

---

Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Heck, I am doing one this weekend that allows race day registration. And it is chip timed. The only time that I have had to check my bike in the night before was at a branded race. Musselman might have required packet pickup the night before, but I wouldn't swear by that. They did have a mechanic set up near the entrance to transition, though, and that guy saved my butt.

I'm gonna quote all of that for ironic posterity.

As for the OP, I've done various race types, local regional national international pro age group, etc. There are races that inherently have more stress due to various factors due to their distance (4hrs or longer, in my opinion), and/or their branding (Ironman). XTERRA is the lowest of low stress. You should look into that or smaller, local events.

I think you should try directing a race or just look into only racing small events. A lot of the time, when you alleviate one issue (ie. packet pickup/check-in and transition setup on race day), you create another (ie. long lines which means earlier check in times).

I would add the multiple transition area setups to this. Set up T2, shuttle to T1/start, different bags to get your stuff to the right place, etc. Is this the norm for long distance? The two near me are like this.

The 10k race I did on Memorial Day tried something new and I think is was successful - Dynamic Race Numbers. Day of race you first go to waiver table & sign waiver. If not preregistered, go to the registration table and pay and get your number. Prereg'd go to any table and identify yourself they grab a number bib off their stack, key in your name on a tablet, your entry shows up, they type your number into it and you're done, ready to race. The bibs have a chip attached to them. This is a race with a half-marathon, 10k and 5k. They all start at the same time. It worked flawlessly. I knew my finish stats online within 10 minutes and could pick my award with a half hour after finishing - no awards ceremony, except for top three overall M/F in each distance. They got something bigger than the beer mug I got, which is way more useful than another medal.

---

Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

it just depends i think. i didnt do a split transition race for a while when i started going tris, if i remember correctly.

Wouldn't learning to deal with the stress of racing be easier than changing the entire sport? I guess I don't understand what is generating all this stress.

In my area, the local sprint/olympic usually allow race day packet pickup and don't require overnight checkin of bikes. For the larger races I do, I at least want to have the option to pick up packet and checkin bike before race day. That actually makes it less stress for me. for larger events like, wtc events, I can understand why they don't want race day packet pickup and bike checkin. They already have a lot to deal with on race day so adding in packet pickup and bike checkin would add even more stuff for them to deal with.

all races I've done have bike pumps and mechanics.

Inconvenient and less than ideal, yes.

Stressful, nope.

As others have suggested, if you don't like it vote with your wallet and do other races. If there aren't any races that meet your requirements, start one yourself. I suspect that if you do you'll soon understand why things like pre-race day packet pickup and bike racking become beneficial the larger the races become.

"Local" races I've done are usually run very low key; show up (even sign up) race morning and that's it. With regard to larger races, I had a conversation with a race director involved with an international event and he explained it to me this way. The business plan submitted for approval by municipalities requires on-site registration and/or bike racking to be done at least the day before the race to help the local economy. Show up the day before a race and get a hotel room, visit a restaurant, etc.; makes local business owners happy. or Show up on race day, race and then leave town...doesn't do much for the trouble that locals will incur and makes it harder to sell it to them.

I did the same 10k and picked my packet day before. I think the dynamic number plan only saved a few seconds for racers there, but probably saved race staff a lot of time in organizing.
They do packet pickup for two days before the run race - though not mandatory. Pretty sure that race day pickup did not cost more to be a VIP like Rock n Roll does.
I think one thing that did go wrong was race day pickup. The race start was delayed 15 minutes, I surmise due to so many people still in line to finish registration.
We heard "2 minutes to start" about five times, each about three minutes apart.

We have a winner.

You also spread the "good" workforce thinner when doing as much as possible race morning.

Shuttles stress me out. I don't want to have to worry about missing one or forgetting something. I want everything centralized. What would be nice is a loading/unloading area for those of us who have people with us. Let me take my bike and everything else into transition while my husband parks the car in some far away lot.

Interesting, I find some of the solutions to be MORE stressful than pre day race pick up. For me more that I can get done before race day the better. I do not want to stand in numerous lines race morning, especially because the person in front of me typically has 85 questions to ask! Bathroom lines are bad enough.

But I do agree about being the last wave. There is a local race (Solana Beach) where I am the last wave and am kicked out of transition 90 minutes before my race. However I cannot get there late because parking becomes a problem.

1st year in 10 not doing any triathlons, and not missing the hassle of 3 sport training and your listed issues. Just riding a ton, doing some cycling/gravel/mtn bike racing, and running a bit for cross training. Highly recommend the change, unless of course you are a swimmer!

---

Colorado Triathlon Company, CO2UT 2021, Crooked Gravel 2022, Steamboat Gravel 2022

Just to add my $0.02 I largely agree with you. Also, having a pump at the end of every rack is a great idea. Very low cost to the RD and and a huge improvement to the race experience for a good chunk of the field.

That is true, but that happened last year, too. I'm pretty sure that's people signing up last minute. I think they should start the race on time. Since it's chip timed, those late starters are just that, late starters. They still get a valid time. (They should also close the tables sooner.)

---

Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

I generally feel you, but there's only been one or two RD's of races I've done who I think aren't really busting their ass. As a result, I try to take it all in stride and give them the benefit of the doubt they have thought of every possible way to improve the race and are just working within their constraints. That's also apparent when they ask for feedback and then improve things based on that feedback the next year.

That said, the one thing that "grinds my gears" are false threats, especially things like "transition closes at X:XXAM Sharp!"

Yeah, that one is total BS and it usually means I could have gotten up 30 minutes later or dropped the kids off at the pool at home instead of waiting and having to use the porta. There are a few races I do where I don't even pay attention to the maniac volunteer running through transition yelling, "Transition closes in 5 minutes" because I know in 5 minutes they are going to say they extended transition.

Funny, the worst run race I've ever done (Bassman) is the only one I've ever gotten locked out of transition. I left without my goggles but realized it almost right away. The volunteer wasn't going to let me go back in so I had to have another athlete who was still in there get them for me.

I generally feel as you do but I have to say, as the years have gone by and I've done more and more long-course races,, that pre-race tri stress has faded quite a bit. I've got the logistics and the routine down so much that it's a lot less to worry about.

Hueby, the sport will be so much easier for you if you learn to separate logistics from stress.

Sure, compared to running, cycling and some other sports, tri can be a PITA with equipment and logistics, (and yes, I can no longer be arsed dragging my gear overseas to compete in tris), but the sport need not be stressful.

Scott Tinley once wrote a great piece on stress and nerves before racing. It was so good I cut it out and took it to me to races. Whenever a friend was nervous before a race I gave it to them to read. Invariably it was returned with thanks.

The gist of the article was that Tinley had chatted with an old dude about pre-race nerves. The gent responded that their was nothing in IM to be afraid about. He was a war veteran. He recognised triathlon as a game.....and one we are privileged to play. At the end of day we go home to a warm bed. Irrespective of our performance, those who matter to us will still love us and care for us as much as ever.

Sure, train hard, race hard, but have fun. Just relax. No need to make it more overcomplicated than it need be.

After decades in multisport, I've come to assume that most folks are attracted to triathlons because of the logistics, not in spite of them. They get bored with the simplicity of doing a single sport and are looking for the added challenges that multisport brings. I agree that most of the time you want to be able to pick up your race packet and rack your bike the morning of the race, but the added logistics of a WTC or big city event are exciting for most, at least for a while. ;)

Ok maybe I should have not used the term stress in that way as I am not really talking about nerves. I am really interested not just for me but all of Tri of how to make the whole race experience "easier" to do.

Maybe it can't be done and maybe tri is something that I just do 2-4 times a year I am ok with that and so is my family.

But when I thought about this and really the reason for the post is that if I think it is a major hassle to do races and I am 39 what does the younger generation think.

At 46 I refuse to think about the younger generation because that's an admission that I'm getting old.

I couldn't agree more - that's why I'm getting away from full ironman or also halfs. Just not worth the stress! something you train for a whole year, and whoops, you forgot your timing chip in the hotel because you were trying to remember 1500 other items you need for your race??? Couple that stress with the stress of just worrying about completing the event! With running races, all you really need are your clothes and shoes!! So much less to worry about!

I love how low key bike racing is. Show up and register day of for anything semi local, reg closes 15 minutes before your race. Race your bike, then hang out and drink some beers with your fellow racers.

---

Pactimo brand ambassador, ask me about promo codes

Edmonton ITU AG has nearly always been a day before drop off. Only 1 time was it not...

---

___________________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)

After decades in multisport, I've come to assume that most folks are attracted to triathlons because of the logistics, not in spite of them.


Mark,

This is true, but there is a yin and a yang here.

I agree that because of the three sports and the added complexity of that - with the training, all the gear and the other details, triathlon attracts a certain kind of person that revels in all that. However, more recently it all seems to have become WAY more complicated - particularly with the bigger and/or longer races and all the minute details of training etc . .

Years ago as you well know, it all seemed a lot simpler - we swam with the swimmers, cycled with the cyclists, and ran with the runners - then put the whole swim/bike/run together on race day!

The down-side to the added details and complexity is that is going to turn off and turn-away certain kinds of people. With the flatness of the current market, perhaps we need to rethink that. But as you had said, maybe they might not be for triathlon in the first place!

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Race happenings the day or two before the race do not bother me. It is an opportunity to check out the transition layout, exits, run a little on the course, do a practice swim, and of course attend referee briefing. If anything, we are getting packet pickup, bike and gear checkin, out of the way so there's less to do race morning. Isn't that a good thing?

To me, source of stress while racing is getting up really early race day, driving there and then finding parking. And also split transition races that require a shuttle ride. This is why I prefer single transition races within a walking distance of the hotel. Can get up a little later, no car, no shuttle, no parking, real bathroom instead of port-a-potties, no stress.

Mountain bike races are the best, they let you sleep in, and there will be beer at the finish line waiting for you. Gotta love it.

I'm doing the Chicago Tri Super Sprint this summer where you ride a city share bike that is provided to you as part of the $50 entry fee. I absolutely loved the idea of traveling to downtown Chicago without a bike but being able to do a tri (then cruise around downtown on the bike the rest of the day). I signed up the day I found out about the race.