Largely in response to the thread about women’s only triathlons Joyce Donaldson of Elite Endeavors and I are now planning a women’s only triathlon for inclusion in the 2006 Elite Endeavors/Bikesport race calender.
Thanks for your input on my original inquiry and I’m certain we’ll chime in here with additional inquiries for ideas and feedback including this first one:
What do think the distances should be for a women’s only, entry level oriented triathlon?
How should divisions be broken up? Anything different than the standard age categories?
Distances: Sprint distance seems the least intimidating. The Reebok women’s triathlon is billed as .75K swim, 22K bike & 5K run. Danskin is very similar.
Divisions - stick with the normal 5 year age groups. I like the idea of being able to compare my times with my peers. Although it is fun to look at how my time would have placed me in the younger groups. I would often place higher in 35-39 than 40-44. Those 40 year olds can really kick butt! Now if I can keep from getting any slower, I can really do good when I age up next year
One other comment - consider enlisting the aid of your local masters swim club to provide “swim angels”. I’m going to be a swim angel at the Reebok triathlon this weekend - you basically just swim next to someone who is a little unsure of the open water swim and provide moral support. But please avoid allowing poor swimmers from using those stupid noodles - Danskin allowed this and I can’t tell you how many of them I crashed into (who started in earlier waves) - it really was quite dangerous for all parties.
As you are in the planning stages - Did you see the article in a recent Runner’s World about the “girl” who had a sex change and was running road races as a female?
"That is what I was thinking on distances. Thank you. "
But also ad a try-a-tri type distance as a second race. Something like 300m-10kms-2kms. This will encourage more newbie women to come out. My wife races a women’s only sprint every year that also has a try-a-tri. The shorter event actually gets more participants than the “long” course.
We’d like to do that, but I think initially we have to be realistic about what the numbers are. If we got 200 people I would be astounded. I think 130 athletes is a more realistic goal the first year. For a field as small as 130 athletes we pretty much have to run it kind of bare bones from an economic perspective. It has to be high quality, but low budget. For that reason we are likely to select one distance and go with that.
I see potential for it to grow to a larger event, then the introduction of the shorter, less intimidating distances would be a good addition.
i think you should follow the lead displayed by the various women’s only triathlons in nz. they get numbers in the 1000s. dont make it sprint distance, that is beyond a fair few people who have no sporting backgrounds. this kinda thing should be about participation at an entry level.
I agree. People get freaked out by even the sprint distance…hell, if you are not a confident swimmer then 500m can seem a hell of a long way. These kinds of things are all about the perceptions your potential customers have.
Thanks for doing this Tom, I have a few students friends and coworkers thinking about doing a race. A womens only would suit them fine. I had mentioned your earlier thread to one and she was very excited. I look forward to seeeing this on the 06 schedule.
Sounds great Tom, thanks for doing this. My one suggestion is to make the race at least late in July. That will give people “time to train”. I’ve noticed a lot of people who decide to do their first tri start training when summer hits so a race in June doesn’t give them enough time to prepare. Also make sure it’s not a weekend around the 4th or Labor Day. This is primo vacation time for families, and thus mothers.
That is a near certainty (a July or August date). With a very crowded race schedule it is going to be a little tricky to find the right weekend for this event, but I know it will not be a spring event for the reasons you mentioned and becasue of the crowded calendar.
I’d go for super sprint. Keep it as accesible as possible. Kep the race cheap and the emphasise on fun. The newbies will like the distances and the seriously hardcore get a speed session. Those that want longer will be out on the circuit anyway. If memory serves we run a tri over here called the Chester Deva Diva’s tri. That has been successful although i wonder if a shorter swim than 750m might make it more appealing to more people ?
