I agree the road conditions/traffic conditions/course crowding all made for an unsafe race. If the road conditions are so bad that you have to direct your athletes into the opposing traffic lane twice, you need to rethink your course.

I rode past you shortly after your crash, I'm glad to hear you are in good enough shape to post as I was quite worried (didn't stop because there was a police officer there with you plus other athletes). Speedy healing wishes.

This is my second year at Miami Man w last year being my first.

I enjoyed the day and especially the funky two-loop run, but yes- that bike course needs serious addressing. I got pushed into the grass on the right by a truck who saw me for sure but was just pissed off Sunday morning drive got a bit delayed.

I also had a friend who was almost killed - and I say this without exaggeration-
When a car blew through a policeman’s STOP signal - and was THISCLOSE to hitting him full o from the side at an intersection. Not the cops fault at all...

It’s not a DL race and I know closing off 56 miles
Of road is tough but patching them up and somehow making the venue safer would be ideal.

The swim, run and organization was outstanding but the bike course got scary.

Wow I hope you're okay! I saw you as well but there were so many people already helping you I didn't think to stop. I think the two loop bike course made it especially dangerous as crowding on the next loop combined with open 2-land roads led to passing into oncoming traffic and large draft packs. Heck I got a penalty and there was essentially nothing I could do about my position on the bike, just bad luck at that moment with the ref on the 2nd lap. The first lap was nice and clear with plenty of space to avoid drafting! It was either draft or get slammed by an oncoming car.

I also felt that the run was (potentially) unsafe. I saw a number of people, myself included, slipping on the gravel and offroad parts or almost losing footing and twisting an ankle. Thankfully no one around me had a major issue but I'm sure that a few people really sprained an ankle or something out there.

I don’t think there is an easy answer

The race seems to get sold out each year so there is no incentive for USAT or the race director to fix anything

I have done races in the last where they close the roads. I am back into tris the past 2 years and this doesn’t seem to be a thing so much

Is that true? Do races no longer close a course?

I see MIAMI Man is the national championship again next year

Anyone know where it will be in 2021?

Anyone watch those YOUTUBE videos where they race crits on open roads with traffic lights? Seems so illogical and dangerous. But it seems they have been doing it for years.

Serious question am I spoiled from having lived out in the country where tris and bike races where on closed courses or on roads where you MIGHT see 5 cars in a 50 bike course?

I was there yesturday, I had a guy going for the overall win until he was hit by a car, pre-riding the course on Tuesday. The road surface certainly seemed to be worse with many potholes all over the place.

I think what you'll see most of the time at events is that only sections of courses are every "closed" to traffic these days. With the costs of road closures and cops manning intersections "cost of doing business" has certainly risen imo. And then you throw out that seemingly every 10 mins they'd announce on the speakers "pay only $199 for next year's race" and you kinda see where it's going.

This was my 1st time at the event, I thought the atmosphere was cool. It seemed the wind was tougher this year especially heading back into the park.


My only complaint is that when you have *that* many people on the course (4 races of athletes), you seemingly have the *ability* to potentially look at road closures. That was a very large field full of bikes in transition.


But again from the RD side, they'll tell you "your paying on the cheap for a half".....which imo you are.

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

Good point about how cheap the race is

I didn’t realize how low it is if you pay early
as I think I paid around $400

^Said athlete waited until Jan '19 and only paid $210.

I think the early bird special included no registration fee that almost all other races these days attach to their costs.

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

Geeze - hope you will be OK. It this course was truly unsafe then there needs to be a "movement" to rectify the situation. I'll be interested to see if this thread gains traction. In the meantime, best wishes for a speedy recovery.

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

Wow, that sucks. I am very sorry to hear that.

This reply isn't to you, per se, but to the thread.

My opinion is that the road for race is not as bad as everyone says. I didn't see much crowding myself--maybe as a consequence of where I was. There was maybe a little bit of crowding on the way out to the loop, but after that I thought everyone was pretty well spread out. And I saw marshalls regularly.

The roads were def a little rough, but reasonable for country roads and I think mostly marked off well. I think I saw the pothole that did you in. There was an emergency jacket in it when I went by the 1st time. I almost hit it because I was distracted by the activity happening on the side of the road. That it wasn't marked with a cone initially is def a mistake. Overall, tho, I thought the roads were fine and the traffic fine, except for the intersection about a mile south of the park.

Anyway, this is not to diminish your pain and suffering! I think you are totally justified to feel your way. I just wanted to include my opinion. Good luck with your recovery!

The first thing you and everyone who did this race needs to do is email your regional USAT rep & email whomever runs sanctioning at USAT & whomever is in charge of awarding national championships with your complaints and I'd list 1-3 specific examples of why you think this race should not be a USATAGNC race

Yes that's 3 emails to USAT. They don't have to be tomes. The more emails USAT gets the more responsive that they will be. I know for a fact it only takes 1 phone call to the right person on the USAT BOD to have a vendor kicked out of the expo at this race over the objections of the RD.

Imagine if 15+ of you take 10 minutes to write emails to various people at USAT. That's probably going to be more effective than posting on ST.

Second you need to email the RD with your specific complaints and offer suggestions on how to improve the race. You should also mention that you do not feel safe coming back to this race. You should also be prepared to back that up with the action of not registering. So many triathletes fail on that step. Be brave, keep a strong backbone.

the reason this race gets national championship status year after year is no one else is bidding on it. LC nationals where held somewhere else a few years ago (can't remember the year but my athlete won the overall which I do remember).

Until other races bid on it, it's likely to go back to this race. But if you guys make enough noise saying "this race is dangerous and it's only a matter of time until someone gets killed" maybe, just maybe USAT will realize they are an org that serves it tertiary constituents as well. (RDs are it primary constituents, us peons aka racers are it's 3rd or 4th most important customer)

This now rests in your hands . Bitch and moan on ST or take 15 minutes of action to potentially save someone's life and/or make the race better.

Up to you. Bitch & complain or take action.
What are you going to do?

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Thank you for the suggestions

I am happy to do all of the above.

Would you know the correct email addresses to send these emails to?

Does it make a difference that this race seems to sell out each year so perhaps the RD would not be too concerned with 20 or even 50 emails stating not coming back?

One last thing. Say we get the USAT to say ok no more race at Miami Man because it’s dangerous. Then they award it to the only other place that bids for it and it’s as bad or worse?

Serious questions as I have no knowledge of how any of this works


Thank you again. Positive actions.

Sorry to hear that. I hope you'll be OK.

I did the aquathlon on Saturday. I spoke to at least half a dozen other athletes who are disappointed in the race. Specifically for the aquathlon, the run course is narrow and makes it hard/dangerous to pass. The whole thing feels like an afterthought, like they are being forced to tack swim-run onto their long course tri. Parking is a nightmare, and Saturday afternoon there are cars and cyclists on narrow roads and I saw a few close calls.

I and others noticed this year that they put trash bags over the 'no swimming/ alligators' signs-- not that I'm worried about the gators, but it's kinda funny. Folks who aren't familiar with Florida get freaked out when they hear that alligators are around.

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The race will not sell out if it loses USAT endorsement, and its nationals status. Thus DD's suggestions to email USAT, RD, and all parties involved.

Sorry to hear. A female athlete I coach was taken out 200 yards from T2 when another athlete cut her off and sent her straight into a pothole. Broken collarbone, broken bike.

This particular race seems to have more than its share of incidents.

Ian

DD--most certainly. This will be pursued. I may have a torn labrum again so I will likely end up getting an MRI. Nothing seems to be broken as I was able to move parts, but soft tissues may have been compromised. I know one race I won't be doing again...but still...odd it seemed way worse than last year from pothole frequency. Maybe all the rains wreaks havoc down there.

One guy who hit the hole behing me & crashed into me as I was rolling with my bike on the asphalt DNF'd too, while another guy hit him (dunno if he also hit the pothole). 3 of us. Last guy continued after several minutes. 2nd guy I thought he said, was from Atlanta & knew Justin Daerr who was a friend of his--so I hope I can find who he is. I know Justin too. This guy (Mark maybe? I was out of totally) at least stayed with me until someone arrived. Ambulance took 20-25 min. Cop walked over and asked how I was before victim #2 yelled at him to do something about the hold (he put a yellow safety vest over the hold (a bit late albeit!) Then eventually they put a 3 foot or so tall orange cone. The MACK Cycles guy said they had one ambulance and one bike support van...for the whole race. Not sure if that is true or not, but he said that.

What they do around here is any potholes for races, the city / county and race directors assess the danger of holes and sends a truck out with two guys, a shovel and hot asphalt. If anything they take a few shovels full and pack it as smooth as they can, just so it isn't as much of a hazard. Last thing a city/county/race (or USAT) you'd think, wants to do...is get sued. But apparently, they (USAT and Miami Man/Omar the race director), have bypassed that consideration of the athlete safety by missing so many pot holes on the course, not closing traffic or controlling it even with police support. Needless to way, my rep, Omar, and USAT will indeed be hearing from me. Especially if surgery is involved after I can get into the doctor for an MRI. Honestly, except for being really sore, I was able to move and gingerly walk (which I am today), but the shoulder sure hurts. Which makes me think I re-tore my labrum which I had surgery on in 2000 or 2001.

Sad, it did not need to be this way. They could have prevented a lot of the accidents yesterday. I feel bad for the person who got hit by the car (one that I know of). Possibly more.

USAT has a website where you can find all the contact info. Regional reps, national sanctioning people, membership, CEO and their emails. I'd check there.

I found out since my previous post that Toughman NY applied for the national championships and did not get the race.

As far as other races being bad or worse, I guess that's a possibility. It's just as likely that you get a race that's only as good and it's just as likely you get a race that's run better. That's a risk I'd be willing to take. IMO taking action for positive results is better than not taking action bc of fear of the unknown.
Don't let fear of worse things dictate your actions. Life will be sad if you operate like that.

I'm not letting my athletes go back to this race. You or other coaches may choose a different path to walk.

If I'm an RD you can't predict everything good or bad. Maybe the RD knew maybe they didn't. I know as an athlete I'm not shy about writing an RD letting them know where things can be and how I think they can be improved, especially in the name of athlete safety.

Now if they have a crappy T-shirt or give finishers medals I'm not going to complain about those things to the RD That's petty stuff even though I appreciate a nice T shirts, think finishers medals are dumb and unnecessary.

But if there is an intersection that isn't being controlled or parts of the course may have put my safety in risk then be damn sure I'm writing the RD and/or USAT about that.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Let me start by saying as a life long Floridian I don't spend a lot of time in Miami for a lot of reasons but I think that there may be a need for some perspective here. It's easy to get out the torches and pitchforks on behalf of your fellow racers, especially when someone gets hurt, but on balance I think that MultiRace does a good job running their events.

I would love to see the road freshly paved for our convenience but that would be an issue for the people who live there as they would be the ones to pay for it. I made a point of driving the course on Saturday just to get a feel for what I needed to deal with on Sunday. I can't say that I memorized the location of every pothole but I do think it helped. I ride a lot outside and our bike club is active in getting our local problems attended to, but all of us ride with a degree of risk that we can only assume ourselves when we get on the bike, racing or not.

I would love to see the course closed but I can't imagine the locals would have any of that. Having a closed course means either a venue a long way away from any metro area or a huge expense to pay for law enforcement. The MiamiMan venue has it's drawbacks and limitations but as a first timer I was able to deal with them. The only thing that surprised me was the amount of vehicle traffic that we needed to negotiate. That's a negative component to the race that's unavoidable so I think the RD should make it known beforehand to a greater degree.

I've had one email exchange with Omar in the past where we discussed his calculations for the Ft Desoto series, he was prompt and helpful. Their race results webpage is more useful than anyone else's including Ironman and they have a pretty good level of communication with their customer base. The pothole issue can be made safer and I think that should be pressed. The other issues are all trade offs if another venue is chosen. I would prefer that the specific issues get successfully addressed rather than pulling the plug.

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

I just remembered JACKSONVILLE has a triathlon where the lanes we rode in were closed to traffic

They used to hold the race 3 times a year but lack of participation caused them to change to just 1 per year.

Compared to Miami man the road is basically pot hole free and many times safer

I would think the Jacksonville airport and hotels are plenty enough to take care of a national championship.

I now see Daytona has the Daytona Challenge 1/2 distance and it says the bike lane is fully protected

Looking at pictures from last year it looks like they have cones to keep the bike lane free if cars

Could be wrong.

Does anyone know?

I imagine the race company does a decent enough job. I think this was the 16th running of the event, and I think they support a bunch of local S FL races/venues. I'd almost wager that adding the USAT signature too it, has actually made the race harder on the RD. Better for his back pocket as it's filled with more $$$, but proably has turned a "manageable" event into a nightmare.

Potholes and local traffic, you can kinda deal with it when it's just the locals racing it. But when you then put 2k+ people out there, crowds of people from all over the country, "expectations" get ramped up and then everything gets nitpicked.

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

Did you do the race?

No I dont race, I was down there w/ an athlete who was unable to race due to truck hitting him on Tuesday (he's ok).

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

Everyone should call Dominos on those potholes... Or not pink

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

A class athlete.

I was lucky to ride with her a few days before Kona in '17. NOT like a typical triathlete - very impressive bike handling skills and awareness, yet respectful of traffic, etc. Stuff happens, I understand, having unmarked obstacles, not cool.

I hope the healing process is swift. As they say, been there, done that.

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I saw this on a white board in a window box at my daughters middle school...
List of what life owes you:
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________

I was a participant this year in the half. Below are a few of my thoughts (I will also be sending these to USAT):

1. I didn't have any issues with the potholes, but I did have issues with the final 10(ish) miles of the bike course. By that time of day there was enough non-event traffic on the roads that it just became dangerous. I had a few close calls with cars trying to cut across and in front of me. Maybe we can't close the entire road, but it'd sure be nice to have 1 lane just for cyclists if its a 2 lane road.

2. Event Staff: I know there were a lot of volunteers, but if you are going to give someone a staff shirt and place them by the run course the day before the race they should know something about the course. We had some questions about the run course and asked a staff person and they said "I don't know. Just go look at the course map over there." We explained that we did look at the map and part of it wasn't clear, and after she pulled over other staff people we found out they didn't know either.

3. Run Aide Stations: in areas where there is 2 way run traffic, the aide station should be placed in the middle of the road. If you have it off to 1 side on a 2-way segment, then you have athletes that are required to cross in to oncoming runners to get water/Gatorade/etc

4. Aide Station Offerings: most of us had been awake since probably 3am and were exhausted athletes. Finding out that Coke/Red Bull or any caffeinated beverages were not offered on the run course was a major miss on the events part

5. Zoo: This was presented as a "cool" draw for spectators. My wife was sent to 3 different areas to get more info on the shuttle, to find out that it didn't start til 10-10:30 and would take 20min to get to the destination and then 20min to get back(but was not told where it'd actually drop her off).

6. GPS Tracker: the GPS tracker on the phones was a joke. We are wearing hi-compression kits with minimal to no pockets and you expect us to carry around our cell phone on the bike/run course? In this day most of use have the newest Iphones and Androids that closely resemble mini-tables. Where exactly do you expect us to place these devices. Also, by making the cell phone the main tracker, you are just inviting athletes to use them while on course.

7. Finish Line Aide: there were still a few hundred athletes on the course and I was told that there was no more Gatorade or ice at the finish. I understand that it was a hot day and the ice may have melted, but running out of Gatorade to offer completely depleted athletes is something that should not happen

If this was just a regular local tri I could look past some of theses things, but when a race is advertised as USAT Nationals I expect a top level performance

I was nearly knocked off my bike towards the end of the race as cars were stopped for an intersection, clogging the street. Another rider ran into me when I went wide to get around them. They should never allow enough cars to clog the street for that to happen.

Look. If we're going to complain about anything, it's about the race running out of pizza.

None of the half triathlon racers got pizza. Disgraceful.

Furthermore, there's no reason to deny a racer a cup of ice. I dump ice in my trisuit at at least every other aid station. No reason that can't be accommodated. Additionally, coke/red bull is a must.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

I wasn’t there yesterday to see everybody. MiamiMan has been a local race in this spot for a long time. It’s a much bigger race field now than it ever was.

The race director - Multirace (Multirace.com) is pretty easy to reach via email. I can’t speak for them because I have no direct affiliation but they are nice people and I think it would be helpful to them to hear your feedback directly.

wow - I was thinking about signing up for this race and it would have been a 12hr drive for me, but glad I didn't.

What's up with the phone - could you use your GPS watch instead? I've never heard of a triathlon doing this before, but have mostly raced IM branded races.

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

What's up with the phone - could you use your GPS watch instead? I've never heard of a triathlon doing this before, but have mostly raced IM branded races.
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They were beta testing a new race tracking system that used your phone.

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

You opened a browser on your phone and carried it with you. Spectators would then open the browser on their phones to follow.

I know USAT has the same tracker as IM for short course Nationals. Not sure why that could not have been used

Was that you laying in the grass at that intersection? So sorry.

I don't think the roads were terrible, but I'm from Ohio, and that is all of the roads around me. Actually, I would consider these pretty good roads, but I could give them advice on how to mark pot holes better (and I will send an email).

I don't think bike traffic was that bad.

However, car traffic was awful. I was shocked at how bad traffic control was on the last leg back north into the park (127th street?)

I was weaving between cars turning in and out of parking lots, almost hit by cars. I was withing seconds of another person fighting for a podium spot and had to keep going hard there. Super sketchy NYC-bike messenger video type scary (and I like city riding). That part was definitely the most dangerous racing I have ever done.

I raced aquabike nationals in Miami in both 2017 and 2018. Both years I found the course support very much lacking, especially considering this was touted as the USAT Nationals for so many multisports. There was virtually no one minding the intersections or even giving decent directions and as the course became more crowded with cars, it was almost as if drivers were either unaware a race was taking place or downright angry that it was. I had numerous vehicles block my progress during the race at the last traffic light leading back into the park I had to come to a complete stop because there was no one stopping traffic and I literally said to the guy next to me "this is NOT worth dying over."

My emails to the RD have gone unanswered so I did what I could and will not attend aquabike nats again until it is moved to a new venue. It's sad but I just don't think that company cares one bit for the athletes.

Oh and yes, they cover the alligator signs every year and if you leave before awards are distributed you may or may NOT get your award.

I will send emails as you indicated and I hope many more do too!

I raced Miami Man for the first time this past weekend. Overall I enjoyed it and would do it again. As another poster mentioned the vehicular traffic at the end of the bike was pretty heavy and on a road with no shoulder; hopefully there is a course change or some other method that can account for that. I thought the road condition was good for most of the course and that parts with rough road were marked appropriately, but I guess signaling could have been updated after faster racers than me went by.

I was racing this year and was nearly hit going through an intersection right after I passed Publix on my right on that final stretch. But it wasn't for lack of course control; it was because a car decided not to listen to the officers at that intersection (there were at least two police there). The car jumped out and I immediately took evasive action, as the police woman was screaming at the vehicle to stop. Whew!

I've done Miami Man 4 times with the first in 2007. There have always been vehicle challenges and it will probably get worse as the city continues to grow. Fortunately, next year is the last time it will serve as USAT Nationals. I agree that USAT should do better in their championship races, but I also recognize that there aren't a lot of cities bidding on this. That's why it's been stuck at Miami so long. I look forward to seeing where the multisport championships go for 2021. Meanwhile, I'll pass on Miami for 2020 but mostly because I'm just tired of the venue.

Yes, that was me in the ditch not moving for 20+ minutes. Ambulance was maybe 20-25 minutes in arriving? I've reached out to the RD & USAT. I have yet to personally talk to them. I also have the other athlete who went down on top of me after hitting & then off into the ditch as well. I've got a lot of photographs from all angles 8 hours later, I hope to resolve this in a non-public manner as this certainly this is not something that needs to be dragged out. But this is a public forum and wanted to know what other input athletes had regarding the safety of this course (or lack of). It appears many others have had similar experiences.

I did race it last year and provided feedback on the dangers of the race, figured they'd improve. It didn't, it got worse. But here we are, and I'm only looking for Miami Man RD and USAT to pay attention to the issues and fix them, and resolve issues I've contacted them about. I'm walking slowly but will know more after the Sports Med Specialist appointment tomorrow hopefully. Unknown if surgery is needed or my race future at this point. I'm hoping for the best--think positive right?!~

Sorry you were down. You looked well tended to by the time I saw you. I fell really hard at Triple T and had to like by broken and bleeding self a ways to find anyone to help. It isn't a great feeling.

Miami Man has never been a closed course. Age Group Nationals in both Omaha and Cleveland were closed courses because the bulk of the bike courses were on highways. The parts that weren't on the highway had a lane coned off just for bikes. Although Miami Man's bike course goes around farms there is an awful lot traffic for such a rural area. I think the only way they could have a closed course is if they put it on the Florida Turnpike. That's about as likely to happen as the race getting canceled because of a 3 foot snowstorm.

I've done the race 4 years now. As a woman aquabiker over 50, I'm always in the last wave of long course athletes. By the time I get on to the first loop I'm getting overtaken by swarms of men starting their second lap. They're fast, and often come too close when passing. I can hear the ones with disc wheels, but the quiet ones who don't say "on your left" scare the crap out of me. There's always a lot of drafting, though I will say there seemed to be better enforcement this year. There were a lot of drafting penalties.

This was the first year I did the International distance aquabike. (Zero interest in doing iron distance aquabike at worlds next year. A whole other topic in itself.) The going out on the bike course wasn't too bad since at that point it was just international distance athletes with maybe a few slow long course athletes heading out. It was kind of hairy after the turn around because now we're going in the same direction as the long course athletes. A number of times I was passed by fast long course athletes including some riding in packs. I did see two riders go down. I don't know if they bumped into each other or hit a pothole. They seemed to be okay, they were just having problems getting untangled.

I hope they'll address the bike course issues. Next year I'll be back to racing long course aquabike.

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Tri-ing for a cure.

NYtrigal's Team in Training Page

I saw that and thought to myself "Really?!" There are all sorts of rules about not being able to use your phone as a computer or for communication. AS someone else said, where the heck am I supposed to put it? My skin suit has no pockets. I wasn't going to wear a belt with a phone pocket.

They did have normal tracking where they pick up one's location when they cross a timing mat.

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Tri-ing for a cure.

NYtrigal's Team in Training Page

That rule no longer exists or so we were told by the USAT race official.

Not sure I understand the issue with the phone tracking. Unless I'm wrong regular tracking through the timing mats was still available and you didn't have to carry a phone. If you carried the phone and set it up then it would give access to actual live tracking and not just at the timing mats. It wasn't a requirement and seems like some people might've been interested in it.

Well, I'm glad it wasn't just me! I know the race organizers and volunteers work hard to make a race go well. But, for me, this one really missed the mark on several counts. I originally signed up to try and qualify for Almere. However, this was before the length of the Almere course had been announced. I know how much time it takes to train for an full Iron and wasn't interested in doing it again for quite a while. And I've been to the Netherlands. When 2021 in Australia was announced, I thought, "Great! I'll use this trip to scope the course and get a baseline for training for the 2020 race. I've never been to Australia!" I did qualify for Almere (still not going). And, I've decided for the reasons below, that I won't be returning in 2020 to try and qualify for Australia.

For me, it was one of the worst races I've ever done. The swim was one of my worst. How was there a current in a spring-fed lake? Still can't figure that one out. I'm 56 so I was in one of the last waves and that meant being one of the last to get out on the bike course. As a result, the winds kicked up something fierce. 15-16 mph steady cross winds with terrifying 30 mph gusts. It was all I could do to keep control of my bike. Those last 15 miles with the wind and the angry traffic were the scariest miles I've ever spent on a bicycle. I'm so glad I didn't crash or have a flat because I NEVER saw any race vehicles despite their promise of several on the course. I only saw a course marshall once. Re-entering the park presented it's own challenge - racers who had already finished strolling along in the middle of the road! And there was the run.... it felt like running around a disused military base, complete with overgrown roads with uneven crumbling pavement, rutty grass (hello rolled ankles!), dodging families in the .5 mile portion in the zoo (twice), and dodging cars in the camper-van park area (twice). Thank goodness for the volunteers on the run, because it sure as heck could not have been more spectator UN-friendly. And, as someone mentioned above, to pour salt on my already wounded triathlete soul, they had run out of pizza (my favorite post-race food) in the post race food tent.

I'm really disappointed with Multirace and USAT. Neither seems to have listened to feedback in the past. I don't expect they will now. Ah well. Sorry for all those who had accidents or bad races! And congrats to all who finished it.

Thanks, it was certainly scary having been my first ever bike crash on a bike during a race.

UPDATE: Sports Medicine MD isn't sure if my labrum is torn. Possible MRI needed but wants to wait until some healing has time to take place. Hard to tell without an MRI or getting in there for sure surgically--it may be a damage muscle from landing on my shoulder, hip/knee/elbow and slamming my head-helmet on the asphalt sliding with skin across 15 or more feet. Anyhow, the equipment damage has come to just under $2500. That's without adding in anything else I spent like entry, plane AirBnB, car rental, food, bike flight transport--so yeah, this was a huge physical AND financial loss. The important thing is with a lot of healing and possibly surgery, I am alive and hope to race again if I can dodge needing surgery, next season. Unknown at this time though. 100% of the next month is going to just be focused on doing whatever I can to heal up and mend, and try to make my bike rideable again. Still limping a lot and had frequent headaches since but pretty certain I was awake for the whole crash. Never realized how much road rash hurts--not fun--but I'll live to fight another day--or another year I should say. Bummer too because I was in the lead in the AG gunning for an Almare spot. It really feels like it was stolen from me by the RD, as well as USAT because it's their championship & local races are run 10x much better and safer back home.

Rocky M - you don't have to lose consciousness to have a concussion! PLEASE get checked out! Better to know it's nothing than find out later it's serious.

For what it's worth, I had a bad crash on a shakeout ride 2 years ago in prep for IMLOU 2017. I don't know what happened. According to Mr. Garmin I was going 25 MPH down an overpass and then I wasn't. I woke up in the ER of a hospital an hour from the accident. I spent 3 days in the trauma unit with a concussion, 2 broken ribs, a spiral fracture of my left little finger (requiring surgery and 3 screws to put it back together), and a pneumo-thorax (broken rib nicked my lung). The concussion recovery was interesting. Thought I was fine. But the impact had dislodged crystals in my ear canal and resulted in vertigo. Thankfully, the concussion clinic knew exactly what to do (very strange treatment!). Then, thanks to my training buddy motivating me, I raced the run leg of a tri-relay 3 months later. Needless to say, I didn't race IMLOU, but I raced what I could and trained for and raced IMFL 2018. It was a long road to finishing my first IM. And I'm so grateful I was able to come back from that accident and race again. Hang in there. Listen to the docs. Ask them what you CAN do when they tell you what you can't do. Be a patient patient!

PLEASE tell me you have been to a doctor

Concussions are nothing to mess around with

Yes, I have. The MD for Sports Medicine.

I feel your pain but this part of your complaint is just part of Triathlon. I had a terrible swim too but I know the course was marked long and I went out way too hot for my own good - shame on me. I was in the wave after you so I too had to deal with a gentle breeze going out and a stiff wind coming back. Not much you or I can do about our age and everyone did the same swim.

I will be back next year to redeem myself if nothing else. I want to race against the best of my age group and Miami is a half day's drive so I'm going to learn from my mistakes and give it a go.

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

I'm not blaming the race for the swim. Although I would suggest that it wouldn't kill them to add a couple of buoys for sighting! I have no idea why I was 30 seconds slower per 100 yds than usual, but it was not good. And I swear there was a current after the turn buoy heading into the finish! In a spring fed lake.... so weird! But I take total responsibility for that. The dangerous bike course? No. And it wasn't just the winds (I know they don't control the weather! I'm not an idiot!). It was also traffic. Getting blown around and trying to control a bike on a open road with traffic is VERY dangerous. And that's exactly what I experienced the last 15 miles. And, in reading some of the comments here and elsewhere, it's been the same problems year after year. Multirace and USAT seem to be tone deaf to the concerns of athletes. Yes, some of it is out of their control (weather, duh). But a safe bike course and better run course are very much within their control. I'm getting a bit tired of athletes who act like we can't be critical of a race or USAT because of some unknown consequence. (???) The best races I've done are the ones where the RD sends out a survey after the race. And then addresses what is within their control. It ends up being a great experience for athletes and spectators.

And hey, if you had a good race, well done you! I didn't. And a lot of it was down to Multirace and USAT. It wasn't my first time. I've done big and small races and everything in between. And it was not well run from my experience.

As for your comment about the "best".... it's not like long course athlete's have to qualify to race there. It's an open and you race who shows up. They may or may not be the "best". They may be the people who could afford it. They may be the people who live close. They may be the best. Or not. I'm not taking one thing away from anyone who showed up and raced. We all have a lot to be proud of. But none of us qualified to get there.

I wish I had know the issues with this particular race before I signed up. That's my lesson learned. I'll do more research next time. And I'll wait until USAT changes venues for the long course championship and give it another go. Good luck next year!

I don't think there is much doubt that the USAT Long Course Aquabike Championship race is going to draw a more competitive field than the local races I've been doing regardless of the non qualifier. Coincidentally my local races are MultiRace products too and seem to have a good following here in St Pete. Miami was the first race where I've missed the podium so I hope there isn't a whole 'nother group of even faster guys who can kick my butt around the course. I would be sure to complain about that if it happens.

In any event I guess I'm just easily amused and not in the mood to get worked up about things today.

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders

Seriously interested in what triathlons you do with closed course or closed lane?

Age Group Nats in both Milwaukee and Cleveland were closed courses, at local NJ races both AC races have a closed lane for the bike course and closed overpasses for turnarounds. Even at NJ State they shut down a lane using the existing bike lanes for a great portion of the course. I think in the age of texting and driving and anger toward cyclists closing down a lane for a National Championship is not too much to ask, it's mostly a matter of getting the municipalities on board.

I came specifically to qualify for Almere. I raced ITU LD Triathlon WC there in 2008. Since I can no longer run, the full distance aquabike was precisely what tipped my decision to go back. However, like you, I've decided to pass on Australia; partly because I'm tired of the Miami Man venue.

I've done MiamiMan four times and it is always one of my worst swims. The fact that it is long is only a small part of why I was so much slower than similar venues. I don't know what it is about that particular mini-lake, but it is slow. But it's the same for everyone so I don't let that get to me.

I'm 62 so was behind you at the start. It's definitely a raw deal to start later and have to deal with much higher winds, but that's pretty much how it is at so many races. The pros get water that is like glass, and then by the time the late AGs go off it is choppy, hotter and much windier. I thought the wind was challenging on the second loop, but far from terrifying. I've had the good fortune (or misfortune) to have experienced much worse so that part is strictly relative. I did think during the last 15 miles or so that there was more traffic on the roads than I remember from past races there. I did see course marshalls several times in the middle of the race and figured they were spending more time on the pointy end of the field.

That is the big marketing bait and switch of Miami Man. They only show you pictures of the very brief section running through the zoo displays and not the majority of the run which is XC, admin roads, campground, old trail, XC. It is far from a scenic run course. But hey, you finished and qualified. Congrats even if you aren't taking the spot.

Myself, my wife and my father all did the International distance and for the most part thought it was a great race.

- The bike course for sure got sketchy with the cars. I was at the pointy end of the International race and saw a crash of two guys having to go around cars just after the turn around point.

There were a few cops that were on it and keeping things straight but there were a couple cops out there treating it like their first day on the job letting cars cut in and out. It definitely made for some unsafe riding conditions. For the conditions of the road, I thought the 10 miles out was fine. It's not the smoothest but didn't have any issues. Like someone mentioned before, We drove the route on Saturday so were able to make a few notes on where/when to move over.

My whole point in doing this race was to see how the Multisport team organized their races. They are diluting out our races up here in Tampa by running races at the same venue the weekend before and after long standing area cornerstone races. So I wanted to see if they are legit or just a bunch of assholes, but I would have to say overall I thought the swim was good, the bike was good minus the traffic, and the run course was fine. I didn't have an issue with the aid stations at all, quite the opposite, they were stocked and had tons of people.

I'll go back for sure.

Now, for those Multisport folks that do read this: Shit can your FD3 series... we already have long standing races that service the community just fine on the same exact course, you're only hurting the sport as a whole. It just makes you look like a dick when you schedule your races the weekend before and the weekend after Top Gun or any of the other long running races we've had.... . That is all :-)

I respectfully disagree, and I raced Top Gun when it actually did draw a 1000. But you are suggesting that it is better to have only one multisport event on Fort Desoto over the summer instead of four. Top Gun is the only longstanding local event on Fort Desoto impacted by the FD3 schedule. Further, Top Gun has lost a lot of luster (it changed ownership in recent years) and only offers a Sprint Tri and Du (for 2020) while MultiRace offers those two events plus international tri and international aquabike. The market has already spoken that FD3 is the preferred race (it outdraws TopGun by a couple hundred). If you don't like FD3, then don't sign up, but please don't suggest that having three fewer race options in the Tampa Bay area is somehow better for local athletes.

The FD3 series is what got me back into racing, I had no idea Aquabike even existed until last year. My only complaint with Ft Desoto is the road surface, it's really getting bad.

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"They know f_ck-all over at Slowtwitch"
- Lionel Sanders