What I saw was a little scared girl who jumps up on a chair when she sees a mouse and swats it with a broom. Except she was on the chair swatting for several days

First of all, your reading comprehension sucks. He wasn't talking about any sort of "manly" reaction. Seems like you read it that way just to have an excuse to throw stones.

Second, we were all back at work on Tuesday morning. Does sitting behind your computer screen and mocking people who were afraid in the wake of a public bombing make you feel like a tough guy?

Friday, local authorities decided to shut things down and I'm fine with that. If only to prevent large crowds of people that are common on weekdays and coule be an easy target. These two guys weren't afraid to die (or at least one of them wasn't). Pretty easy to walk a homemade bomb into a T station and take a bunch of people with you on your way out.

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Portside Athletics Blog

I'm about done with St. Anthony's.

If they cancel the swim again I'm out until a new race director is selected.

They took a race that once would sell out in 24 hours and turned it into the laughing stock of of the sport.

Just to bring my smile back from the fear control freaks telling me how things are going to be done - I'm going to fill my plastic bag with the nastiest smelling workout gear I've ever baked.

I'm guessing more people will be injured by crashing their bikes trying to ride and carry these bags (unlike, say, my backpack that allows me full use of my hands) from the parking lot to transition than will be saved by deterring terrorists.

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"Go yell at an M&M"

bingo. So many races I try to stay less than 10 miles from transition so I can bike to and from the race (Timberman it made the day actually work). I do not give a rat's hiny if they want to search my transition bag but I have no interest in trying to carry plastic bags with my gear at dark o clock

Personally, I don't see the big deal. Instead of arriving at TA with all my gear on Sunday morning, most of my stuff will already be there with my bike from the mandatory drop on Saturday. It will only take a minute to move all my stuff from my usual transition bag into the plastic bag. So maybe I walk (instead of ride) my bike to TA...no biggie - pretty sure we're all in good enough shape to handle it without sacrificing race performance :)

For me it has nothing to do with my rights being violated, I have no right to do a triathlon. Its the fact that doing what the poster suggested doesn't actually change the likelihood of having an attack occur at a race. Its just a waste of time and increases cost.

For your bucs example, all they did was prevent something from occuring in the stadium. Someone could easily do something in the parking lot tailgating or in the line for the security pat down. So did you really prevent anything? No you just changed the location of where someone would do something.

For his example so you prevent someone from walking into transition with a bomb. Well okay except they can still set one off in the line for the bag check, next to the swim start next to transition area, next to the finish line, etc. So the net effect is there is no increase in security just an increase in cost and a false sense of increased safety.

As an athlete I am not worried about my safety more about spectators. Check every bag if needed, do whatever you need to do.

After Boston, every RD will need to re-evaluate security..

In 1983 I was in the Harrods department store as it was bombed by the IRA. Six people died there. In 2011 I was in a bicycle accident which almost killed me. Neither incidents were preventable in my opinion (well, the kid that hit me could have paid more attention I guess, but accidents happen). To think that "if I had done XYZ it wouldn't have happened" or "if the cops would have done ABC they would have prevented it" is shortsighted. The world is a dangerous place. People get injured and killed every day. It can be you, one day. I feel that as the memory of the world wars fades, people start to see an uneventful life as a right. It is not.

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Citizen of the world, former drunkard. Resident Traumatic Brain Injury advocate.

Yes, every rational person would think it was silly.

It is very depressing how easily this country is turning into a police state.

I'd be willing to give up a few minutes for a bag check to avoid random danger...

But it won't avoid anything. Seriously it's a joke.

So illegal searches just because you are standing on the side of a road to watch a race? Geez, I guess the terrorists have won.

There was a lot of individual bravery by many that we can all be proud of. It was important that we caught these guys, and I'm glad we did.


I worry about the Boston response because there are also future lives that we need to protect as well. For example, Al Qaeda has stated - in plain language - that their strategy is to practice asymmetric warfare that targets our economy and terrorizes our citizens. What lesson do they learn when they see that our response to a small attack is to shut down and otherwise disrupt a major American city for days causing tens of millions of dollars of economic damage, and then hyperventilate about it for more than a week in the news and on social media? Does that response make it more or less likely that this attack will repeat itself in some grander form?

This isn't about terrorists winning or losing. This is about protecting peoples safety. Make sense?!

I was hanging around the finishing shoot waiting for someone else to finish when it happened. I don't know if that qualifies me as "from Boston," or whether I need better creds to have a valid opinion. Nonetheless, I'd consider it an over reaction. I probably wouldn't let it bother me too much though.

Last year at the Marine Corps marathon in Washington DC everyone had to go through metal detectors to get into the expo and uniformed Marines frisked runners as they walked to the starting line before the event. In Boston last week there were SWAT cops with M4s in my hotel lobby for days after the event. This is the new look of America and its not going away any time soon. Tim

Well, I'm from Boston ('burbs, but used to be Boston - have stood "right there" many times...), but I don't think that changes my perspective toooo much on the follow on effects of the bombing.

My wife and I are running the James Joyce 10k this weekend, and it'll be a huge field, and the Boston HM in about a month which went from around 2,500 to 8,000 people in the few days post bombing. Awesome display of a giant middle finger to terrorist types...

Anyway, to this thread, I'm just hoping they don't institute so many "safety measures" with no effect that the races become a huge hassle. Many of the changes they COULD make will have no impact on safety, but could ruin the experience of the race.

If there were reasonable precautions that would actually DO something, I'd be open to them (within bounds), but races should continue to be fun, open events... At least IMO

If it actually protected anyone's safety it might.

Well one thing is for sure, you guys sure hate the idea of living every day like it's your last...

OK, not trying to minimize any tragedy, but what part of having all the race participants use clear searchable bags for all their race gear would have made one whit of difference to the Tsarnaev bros last week?

The Boston bombing took place...

1. In an iconic town,
2. On an iconic day (Patriot's Day), and
3. At an iconic race.

I am signed up to do a non-WTC, half-iron race later this year. After Boston, my relatives expressed concern about my race. It makes me feel sad. My response to them has been:

1. My race is not in an iconic town.
2. My race is not on a special holiday.
3. It's a no-name race.
4. Therefore, what possible interest could a bomber or terrorist have in my race??!!

I'd worry maybe about Boston again, NYC marathon, Ironman Hawaii. The other races: No bomber/terrorist is going to even have them on their radar, because THE PUBLIC DOES NOT CARE about generic (non-Boston) triathlons or marathons. If they go after another sporting event, it is going to be a Giants parade or something that a lot of Americans actually follow and care about.

I'm not in favor of increased security at the generic races. (Unless, of course, the race is known for having stuff stolen from transition, and could use some beefing-up on that account.) Just not interested in the culture of fear invading our grassroots events.

- Oleander

Great comment. I recall once seeing a photo essay from a bike tour in Africa which featured human roadkill... the same kind of leathery, sun-baked, 'pizza' like you see all the time that used to be an opossum or a squirrel, only it was kind of sprawled in the form of a person like you'd see in a chalk outline... and it was right there in the street with everyday traffic going by and nobody was fazed by it except the tourist.

I've spent just enough time in 3rd-world countries to see how cheap life can really be. Too many of us are too far removed from it to see what literally billions of other people see all the time, so we're shocked when a glimpse of it comes to us.

I was responding to endofempires comments making light of the Boston tragedy, not expressing any opinion on clear searchable bags. Your question is nonsensical, of course it wouldn't have made any difference. I actually do this particular initiative is an overreaction, FWIW.

There's some truth to what you say but regardless this was a pretty significant incident, even if the loss of life pales in comparison with some other incidents, and under any circumstances it would be difficult to reign the media in given the way the entire episode unfolded. Such is the nature of modern mass media, like it or not.

a little inconvenience is better than legs blown off and dead people, we will have dog sniffing bombs are our little tri, just because,

better be safe than sorry

Before this "Security Precaution" there was no time other than the race start where athletes would be bunched together.

Now, athletes will be waiting in a longer line to get in and out of transition before & after the race.

It is clear to me that this is actually putting the athletes AT MORE RISK THAN BEFORE.

The question is... why?

1. Because a Police Department feels the need to "do something"? (As the Race Director appears to pass the buck here in another thread).
2. Because the race director has no vision to share with the PD what this step DOESN'T DO and ends up CAUSING.

At no time in my history of racing triathlons have I ever been bunched up with a bunch of athletes inside of a transition at any one time (day before, morning of, during race, post race) since they naturally are spread out due to bike racks, staggered starts, & staggered finishes.

How about you let me determine the amount of risk I'm interested in taking. I've signed the waiver.