Even put on a free tri? I’m over corporate tri’s. Way I figure, this is how it all started in SD.
I’ve read you post three times now and I can’t make head’s or tales out of it, but the whole free part has me clicking my mouse with anticipation.
I like the idea. I think you could put on a sprint for free, especially if you could contain it inside a large park of some kind. Use a course someone has already layed out. You could get volunteers as course marshalls (or have none at all) and use a low-tech method like popsicle sticks to do results. Food, beverage, you might be able to get donated or you could always dumpster dive at Einstein’s for day-old bagels. The problem I see is with insurance. Who’s gonna pay for that?
Who’s gonna pay for it? Gerard, Tom D. and all those other fat cats getting rich off us common folk. Screw tech support at races, or some ten year old jersey given to the winner. We want REAL $$$ you money grubbing hoarders. . .We know they’re down there. . .we’ll just blow them som bitches outta the water. . .oh. . .wait. . .off on a tangent. . .
I have no idea
Insurance?
Insurance is for those litigious folks that pay $80 for a sprint tri so they can brag to their friends they’re a triathlete (and then spend the rest of their lives watching Ironman on NBC and saying “I could probably beat them if I trained”). Damnit. Sorry, I don’t mean to be all crazy. It’s just that all of this, Slowtwitch, Bikesport, Le Tour, Gordo’s GRAAM, all of the multisport thing, all of the endurance thing is supposed to be about FUN and PUSHING THE EDGE and GOING FURTHER AND FASTER. That kinda gets lost with all of the who’s going to pay for this and what if somebody falls down and gets a boo-boo. How about we pick a location and everyone just shows up, supplies their own food & drink, lays it all on the line, and the first one to a certain point wins. The prize for winning will be respect. The penalty for drafting will be public humiliation and shame, but we won’t have to worry about that. The finishers medal will be the pain in your thighs when you wake up the next day and the joy in your heart that no one can ever rip away. Can’t we all just promise to play nice, get out and get back to basics?
Sorry if this came off as a bit whiney or bitchy.
-J
PS Let’s all agree to ride steel bikes w/o aerobars and wear wool jerseys, too! 
Anyone have those old, funky, 3 sizes too big sunglasses that I can borrow?
J,
Here’s the thing about insurance. If you do this thing for free, the roads won’t be closed and you may not have much in the way of lifeguards. It only takes one person to drown, get hurt, or get killed and then the “race director” is getting sued, because he/she is the person who put the thing together WITHOUT the appropriate safeguards for the competitors.
Let’s say someone gets hit by a car and is killed, through no fault of their own. The family comes after the RD because he didn’t provide a closed course. The lawyers start talking about how you were negligent. Pretty soon your “free” triathlon becomes a major nightmare and you’re being sued. I know I wouldn’t be willing to put my financial future on the line to direct a free triathlon without insurance.
OK, I see your point. That’s why every single person who participates organizes their own support and their own race. Sure, I can tell you that from here to there is a 1.5mile swim, 85mile ride and 18mile run, but you can do whatever you want. I’m swimming out there. You wanna come? Then I’m going for a ride. Wanna race? How about a little run afterward? I bet I can beat you. Ya see, I think a “free” triathlon works if you keep it small and intimate.
It’s not totally free, but if you sign up for the whole series and get the discount, the Lake Louisa Sprint series near Orlando works out to less than $20 per race.
https://www.signmeupsports.com/Events/Index_Events.asp?EventID=21542
No t-shirt, no age group awards, no timing systems. Price of entry does get you the post-race cook-out and the necessary race and park permits.
Want to race elite? Bring an extra $25 to the race, add it to the elite pot, race, and the winners split the pot.
Our tri club, of which I am now the duly elected VP, has a free “Members Only” tri. Only we are careful to refer to it as an organized, group workout–not a race. Since the President organized it last year, and wants to race this year, looks like I will be running it. We will probably hire a couple of lifeguards, but no closed roads (although we do it on the beach road and there isn’t a lot of traffic out there at that time of morning). Run is on the “multiuse path” next to the road. We also do it as a prediction race, so there is more friendly (less cutthroat) competition (no elbow throw’n allowed.)
I agree totally. Races should be free or close to it. The local time trial series is only $2/race. Why can’t we do democratic races (i.e. no one title the rap as race director), leave off the insurance, and do the races for $5?
Fees are just getting ridiculous and we’re trying to promote kids’ racing? How many families can honestly afford it? They might as well take up sailing or golf.
here in the birthplace of the sport, we do have races for free. Every month of the year the Tri Club of San Diego has it’s free monthly club race. You can even do it once for free even if you aren’t a member. Twice and you’re expected to join up. No awards or t-shirts or goodie bags, just the chance to race. Now that summer is basically here, the club has also added another free race each month during the week, the club aquathon (open water swim/beach run). So in all, about 16 free races per year.
It’s on. When’s yours?
No insurance. No shirts. No medals. No timing chips to pick up. No gaurds, except those in the race, or I mean, group ride…or event.
Be careful of the traffic, we’re adults now.
I say everyone in the States do it this wknd, let’s revolt against the $65 race fees and board of directors who hand out ballots with their names on them.
Grab your friends and tell them where to meet. Bring a sixer for the “winner.”
Peace
Why don’t we do this? Everyone agree on a distance. Doesn’t need to be Oly, 1/2 or anything special.
Whoever wants to go the distance gets up in the morning and does it. We report our times back here.
I know we’ll each have different courses, temperature differences, elevation profiles, etc… but we can have a Worldwide Slowtwitch Triathlon.
I’m voting for this coming Memorial Day - but I’m not the “Race Director” or the brainchild behind the event because I’ll be out doing 1,000m swim, 30mi bike and 5mi run that morning
Sounds good to me. I vote for a half-Ironman since I’ll be doing one on Sunday at Keauhou. Or if it’s an Olympic distance standard I guess I can “ratio” down the times.
someone in our area put on a “Phantom Tri”. an email was sent out from someone and people showed up at the course which was laid out on maps. at the specified time everyone started the “race”. so insurance needed since there was no organizer. just some people working out. that was 2 years ago…i wish that person would do it again.
Hubby and I put on a series of free events as a hobby, make nothing off of it except a lot of cool friends. We’ve put on up to 13 events in one year, never charging a dime, mostly swim-run biathlons, a couple of ocean swims, a couple of short tri’s, a few runs ranging from 1 mile to 10 miles.
Long ago (80’s) it was not as challenging as the roads weren’t as busy and government wasn’t as strict. The last few years have seen an increase in traffic in our town, making the roads terribly dangerous with impatient drivers, even early in the mornings. Even when we ask people to be cautious and not ride dangerously, their competitiveness gets the best of them and we’ve seen bikes turn in front of cars, racers yelling at pedestrians to get out their way, etc.
We’ve phased out our triathlons, still do one hill climb for bikes or runners because it’s off of the main traffic pattern. One of our swims at Hapuna Beach is over 300 people and we have jump through all kinds of hoops because it’s a state park and they require insurance. Fortunately the county lifeguard association took us under their umbrella for that one and one biathlon but it’s still alot of paper work and rules and the fear of being denied a permit.
Our other events are under 200 pax, mostly families, kids and newbies, a few visitors, but we still are going out on a legal limb each time. We call our schedule “training events” not races, very little advertising, mostly word of mouth, and nothing is collected or signed (except the one big swim with permits), so nothing is conditional or expected. we’ve been putting them on for so long that the DLNR officers sort of turn their eyes away as they know we’re doing something good for the community and won’t cause a problem. One swim we put on two weeks before Ironman we finally stopped because we couldn’t sleep the night before fearing that someone would get injured on the rocks getting or out and their Ironman race would be ruined.
The biggest problem in these days is how litigious of a society we have become and no one wanting to take responsibility for their own decision and actions, and that is what makes putting on free or affordable events near impossible.
What a great idea! I’m doing a pseudo bassackwards half on Saturday (run, bike, swim 1/2 IM distance with some friends). So I don’t know if that counts, but I’ll be out there doing it without a race fee.