October 13, 2018
Age Group Draft-Legal National Championships
ITU World Cup
Elite National Championships

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October 14, 2018
ITU Paratriathlon World Cup
CAMTRI Mixed Team Relay American Championships

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Location: Nathan Benderson Park
Age Group Registration Closes on Oct. 8 at 12:00 p.m. MT
#SBTRIFEST



IMPORTANT RACE UPDATE: SWIM CANCELLED
Due to the level of algae in the lake at Nathan Benderson Park following uncontrollable recent weather conditions, the USA Triathlon Draft-Legal Sprint National Championships at the Sarasota-Bradenton Triathlon Festival will be shifted from a triathlon course (swim-bike-run format) to a duathlon (run-bike-run format). The schedule and start times for all events throughout the weekend will remain the same.
The updated format will be a 2.5-kilometer run, followed by an 18-kilometer bike and finishing with a 5-kilometer run. The bike leg and the second run leg will cover the same course as originally planned, with the only change to the course being the first run leg. The new start line will be located at the northwest corner of the lake by the playground. Click here to view updated course maps.

So all the AGers on Team USA doing the sprint race at tri worlds next year will have qualified in a triathlon turned duathlon.

Swim was canx last year too. Time to strike Sarasota, or all least this park, from all future national champs.

It's not the swim venue that is the issue. It's the fact that it's raced in the fall. Sarasota venue has hosted ITU regional champs for 6+ years with no issues in March every single year.

Idk why they insist on the race being in the fall, but it's been that way when it was first started in 2015 in Clermont. I'm guessing it'll go to Tempe and piggy back off the NCAA champs starting in 2019 which is an early November time frame.

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

Mark, they just wanted to make it fair!

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

I stand corrected, and have raced at that venue in the spring. To pile on, I don't sign up early for Sep/Oct triathlons in Sarasota due to the likelihood of red tide. Salt or fresh water, you are taking a high risk at that time of year.

It's actually a really kick ass venue because you can sit at the transition and pretty much watch the whole race unfold in front of you. The swim is awesome because you have the rowing buoys in the water so those help you.

I just laugh at the time of that year because that lake has zero "movement" so it's going to get gross real quick with a summer's worth of hot weather.

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

There are lots of bodies of water in this country right now that are not polluted with dangerous levels of bacteria. Therefore to a very large extent it is this venue.

And yet if this was a spring race this would be a triathlon.....but who needs facts.

ETA: So no this course doesn't need to be striken from the record. It hosts a world class event every March, so it's not a venue thing- it's a timing thing (DL champs seems to have a fall race timeline slot). If your therefore saying it's a no go because of that fine (being a fall race with summer heat just making the lake nasty)....but Sarasota every year hosts as equal of a championship race on this very venue that USAT's AG champs/ITU world cup is.

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

DL Sprint Nationals will be my A-race next year....unless Sarasota is the venue, again. Swimming's my strongest leg, running my weakest. I understand that things happen, but this is two years in a row at this venue. Time to find a new location.

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"They're made of latex, not nitroglycerin"

At the prerace athlete meeting, the ITU rep mentioned that this was the last year at this venue. No info on what's next.

On a side note, the race was blast. There will be more DL races in my future.

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"Good genes are not a requirement, just the obsession to beat ones brains out daily"...the Griz

It was a blast and the weather was perfect. Very excited to see where they decide to host it next year and how it grows.

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Grow with data: Dynamic Sports Data | eBay store

I’m not sure why this algae thing was a big deal. We rowed there two weeks ago (yeah, on—not in—Benderson Park) at the FISA WMR.

The water quality must be good: my wife saw an alligator doing alligator things as she was moving to the start of one of her races.

So, obvs good for swimming...

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no sponsors | no races | nothing to see here

Funniest pre race meeting ever...

In 2013 the park opened up, in fact they completed the paving of the roads the friday before the 1st saturday race.

So at the pre race meeting, the RD goes "we drug the lake and pulled out 8 alligators"....one of the local pro's from down in Georgia, goes "yeah it's the ones that you missed that i'm worried about"....got a good laugh.

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