Many years ago I got drunk with friends the night before a half marathon. I woke up about 5 minutes before the race started.....which was 45 minutes from my house. I ended up catching my friend at mile 12 and running in with him. I still made it to the full duration of the after party.

I was doing a paddle/bike/run race this summer. I was pretty confident about my bike and run, so I used a borrowed stand up paddle board instead of renting a kayak. You had to drop off the boat and then drive to transition and take a bus back. I get on the bus and after it leaves I somehow remember there is a guide fin that goes on the paddleboard and I had left it my car. I decide to ask the bus driver if he will go back (we had only gone about 1/4 mile) and he does. I grab the fin and make it to the start and luckily nobody on the bus got bent out of shape by my 5 minute delay. Go on to win the race pretty easily despite losing time on the SUP to the kayakers, but if I didn't have that fin it would have been a mess. I was so embarrassed I almost didn't even want to ask the bus driver to turn around, but I'm glad I did.

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"When I first had the opportunity to compete in triathlon, it was the chicks and their skimpy race clothing that drew me in. Everyone was so welcoming and the lifestyle so obviously narcissistic. I fed off of that vain energy. To me it is what the sport is all about."

IM Choo this year, some unknown male competitor "missed the boat" in T1. I finished the swim, grabbed my bike bag and ran into the changing tent. I took a seat inside, opened the bag wide and dumped the contents on the ground in front of me. I picked up the tri top and started to put it on, but there were, something like 5 or 6 tailwind bars in the back pockets. WTF? Where did these come from? Then I realized it wasn't my top! Confusing because I have a top just like it, and actually had planned to wear it for the run but not the bike. I had a slight panic attack thinking I got my bag contents switched before I realized it wasn't mine. Anyway, someone apparently stuffed a top and all their bike nutrition into the wrong bag, my bag, after I dropped it off the day before. I found a volunteer and handed the jersey off with a quick explanation before proceeding with my wardrobe change.

If it was your jersey and you are reading this I hope you got it, and if not I'd love to hear how you handled it. If you finished the swim before me you were probably screwed.

First and only IM, forgot my goggles after swimming with the kids the day before.

Competitor helped me out as well, which was good karma since I always* bring 2 pair and have loaned a pair out before.

*Well, not always. But whenever I have remembered goggles, I bring 2 pairs.

Drove 13 hours from the Boston area to Muskoka 70.3 three years ago, then slept through my alarm on race morning due to a loud air conditioner. Luckily the race start was at 8:00, but I drove just a bit over the speed limit to get to the parking area, hopped on a bus to transition, and then had around 10-15 minutes to get my stuff ready before being kicked out of transition. That would have been quite a long drive to just sleep in!

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

I did the Illinois Marathon (about 15,000 runners from the 10k through the marathon) for years and got there about an hour before the start so I could park in the same place each year. One year I overslept and got there about 5 minutes before the start because I had to fight my way through traffic (shocker!) and couldn't find any parking (double shocker!).

And it got even better! Since I was loopy after the marathon I couldn't remember where I parked, so I spent about half an hour bumbling around looking for the damned car. Good times!

This year I did 70.3 NC. I figured I'd fly into Wilmington Friday morning, catch an Uber to the expo, and get there in plenty of time. I got to the airport, fueled the plane, loaded my stuff, took off, and had an uneventful flight, landing just after 1pm. Got an Uber, got to the expo about 145, and found that.. athlete checkin closed at 1pm. I thought I was going to die. Luckily, there were some PPD relay team members who had just shown up for their signup and Caroline, the on-site WTC registration lady, took pity on me and checked me in after they were done.

I alternate time between Maine and Oregon, and when a friend mentioned an "open" swim meet (meaning as long as you have the cut times, you can swim - age doesn't matter) it didn't occur to me to register. Now it's full and I'm NOT getting to race a mile in the best pool in Maine.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

When I read this, I was hoping that you signed up for a race in Portland, and then showed up in the wrong Portland.

Seems like you travel in style!

I love flying myself to races. So far I've flown from my home in Alabama to race in NC, VT, TX, LA, and OH. I will probably never hit all 50 states but the combination of getting to fly and getting to race is damn hard to beat.

Thad adds another dimension to costs for triathlon!

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Blog: http://262toboylstonstreet.blogspot.com/
https://twitter.com/NateThomasTri
Coaching: https://bybtricoaching.com/ - accepting athletes for 2023

This whole thread makes me feel not so bad about forgetting to set an alarm (after prepping everything else) for a tri earlier this year. Got to the race 5 minutes before the gun but well passed the time they closed transition.

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Don't drown, don't crash, don't trip.

I hate riding without glasses - my eyes just tear up like crazy if I do
I also hate running without a hat, the sun really bothers my face/eyes

Guess what Items I totally forgot to bring with me to a race last summer.....

Here's a funny reverse story.

After Calgary half I took the shuttle back to the car, holding onto the bike (yes bikes were with us in the shuttle) and all the loose gear (this is a split transition race). Spent good 20-30 minutes at the car cleaning and repacking the gear into the transition bag. Looked around thoroughly to make sure I didn't miss anything. Then started driving off... and heard a scraaaape thunk sound.

The bike. In the OCD attempts to pack away all the gear I forgot the bike was still leaned against the car. It fell outward so I didn't run it over and there was no damage.

Few years back entered a 10,20,30M February trail race. Lots of snow, ice and very hilly with ropes to get over the hump in a few places. The morning of i pack up my stuff and drive over. It's about 20'F so I stay in my car until just about the last minute only to discover to my horror, as I walk up to the start, that I grabbed the wrong shoes and left my screwed shoes in the garage.

The RD had a couple of stations set up to screw shoes on site, but I goofed off on the car too long to take advantage. I punted after 10m of slipping and sliding and falling on my ass. . So,so stupid.