I competed in the Bigfoot triathlon yesterday, and was awarded second place in my AG. My bike was pretty good, and my run was okay-ish, since the distance was a bit long. But my swim was outstanding. It was so good, in fact, that I am listed as the fastest swimmer of the day.
The only problem is that I am not a good swimmer, and I know for a fact that it is impossible for me to have finished first out of the water. How can I be sure? Because I followed somebody else’s feet the entire time. From when our wave went off to when I crawled ,exhausted, from the lake. If either of us had come first, it would have been him rather than me. I know we didn’t cut the course because I (very painfully) watched to make sure we rounded every damned buoy on the course. I do triathlons to test myself, not to cheat. So the only thing I can think of is that the timing system mistakenly started my time with a wave that launched after mine.
I can’t be certain of much because I failed to start my stopwatch when I started swimming. I thought I had hit the button, but it was still showing zeros across the board when I came out of the water. But I can be certain that the swim time shown as mine is incorrect. That means a man named Darrell Yunk earned the AG trophy I received. And Ruben Figueres deserves to know that he was the fastest swimmer. Neither honor belongs to me. I guess I’d better Google them so I can let them know.
I spoke with Paul at Running Away today (they sponsored the event) to find out how I can get this all fixed in the official results. He told me he has been dealing all morning with folks complaining about one aspect of the race or another. I think that is a shame, and is undeserved.
These guys put a lot of effort into organizing a race so the rest of us could enjoy ourselves, and so some money could be raised to help fight against children’s cancers. And while the event suffered a couple of glitches (like my timing), I hope our triathlon community will recognize all the positive aspects of the day above the the negative ones. I very much hope Paul and his crew continue to sponsor Bigfoot. It was a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing it again next year.
Maybe next year I can actually EARN a spot on the podium.
congratulations on your ability to continue to challenge yourself and your honesty. I, too, was at the Bigfoot yesterday. I’d like to add something…
While I thoroughly enjoyed the day (weather was perfect, water was great) I must say there were some issues (listed on a previous thread this morning). Distances were inaccurate and no mile markers… among other things. I think many splits were off as well (maybe even mine). I think that the sponsors will be able to work out kinks now that they’ve got one year under their belt there - at least I hope so.
I’m still waiting for any official explanations on the website or anywhere else - several here have mentioned that the distances were not correct. Would like to see this event succeed.
Yours is not the first story I’ve heard about odd timing.
I was there Sunday, as well.
I DID start my watch before the swim - 15 seconds early - and did not turn it off until I crossed the finish line.
My time should have been 2:46:xx, but my official time was over 2:49.
Did they start the clock when we crossed the mat but not reset it when the horn went off to start?
Overall, it was a good race, in a good venue, with good people, but there were clearly issues on the distances (run and swim) and the timing.
The RD needs to address the major concerns and to at least give an idea of how “long” the swim and run course were to maintain his credibility. Triathletes will put up with a lot of inconveniences, but they need to feel like their concerns are heard and addressed. That’s why RDs like Frank Dobbs are seeing their races attract fewer repeat entrants.
I wondered about this from the very start. I was in the first wave - and we crossed the mat, the timing sound went off, then we waited in the water for a good 2 - 3 minutes before the race officially began.
So, I was thinking when I crossed the mat, “Did they just trigger my chip”? And now I think, “Yeah, I bet they did”!
Bigfoot takes place on the east side of the lake, and was not run by Frank at any point AFAIK.
This year, the race was put on by new management ( not connected to Frank ), and it seems like the handover wasn’t quite so smooth. To be fair to the new race management, this is not their first triathlon, and I’ve not heard of this happening at other races they produce.
For now, I’ve chalked it up to first year shakeout, but how they handle communication regarding what went wrong and what they plan to do to address those concerns for next year will go a long way to whether I do this race or it goes the way of Frank’s races ( which I now avoid like the plague ).
Some of the concerns are petty ( like the not very appetizing boxed lunch post-race ). Some are safety related. As in a completely unmanned intersection, where the racers come downhill to a T intersection with a stop sign. The cross street had no stop sign, and due to trees/etc. you can’t see down the cross street until you’re at the intersection. Other intersections had a single solitary volunteer ( with no police ) directing traffic and the racers.
Actually thats not true a majority of the time it is just checking to see if the people crossing are in the right wave. They start the chip timing when they want to. You do this at a lot of races before you start.
Some are safety related. As in a completely unmanned intersection, where the racers come downhill to a T intersection with a stop sign. The cross street had no stop sign, and due to trees/etc. you can’t see down the cross street until you’re at the intersection. Other intersections had a single solitary volunteer ( with no police ) directing traffic and the racers.
All the intersections including this one was controlled. I have to admit they have done a good job on safety (at least at the time when I was passing) I did not see a single intersection without an official. However they were not cops, they were volunteers so I don’t know how the drivers took them seriously or not.
Could be true, but I was supposed to start in wave 3, but because there was an optional elite wave start, I began in wave 1 - so, maybe not this time. I don’t know - it’s all very strange…
Some are safety related. As in a completely unmanned intersection, where the racers come downhill to a T intersection with a stop sign. The cross street had no stop sign, and due to trees/etc. you can’t see down the cross street until you’re at the intersection. Other intersections had a single solitary volunteer ( with no police ) directing traffic and the racers.
All the intersections including this one was controlled. I have to admit they have done a good job on safety (at least at the time when I was passing) I did not see a single intersection without an official. However they were not cops, they were volunteers so I don’t know how the drivers took them seriously or not.
PS: Next time I want KFC in those lunch boxes!
Exactly as coredump described, there was definitely 1 intersection on the Oly course that had no volunteer or police in sight when I went through it. (I was in wave 3).
What do you mean when you say it was controlled? There was neither police nor a volunteer that I could see as I came up (down actually) to the intersection nor as I passed through it ( after slowing way down to make sure it was clear ). This would have been on Alden & Lakeville if my memory serves.
I am not sure what route that intersection wason, but at that “T” intersecton there was no one there. That was the only one, other than that the “crossing guards” did a great job.
I thought you had one smokin’ swim. Oh well. I’m darrell. No worries about the mistake. I was there for the fun, not the awards. In fact, I didn’t stick around for the awards because it originally stated that I was 5th in my age. No prob. Fun race, but long run.
I was first in my AG out of the water but listed as 9th in the AG and in the 40s OA. NO BIKES were gone when I was in transition (except for the elite wave and gals)
1A) Disappointing to expect OLY distance and not get it.
No marshalls - I saw a lot of team time trialing, passing on the shoulder, crossing the yellow line etc. #209 (don’t know who he is but he could have been DQ’d at least 4 x over.
Run - when my first lap, which I assume was 5k was 26:10…I knew this was messed up. I don’t think a lot of people did a second lap and there is no way to verify it because no timing mat recorded if people did the entire course.
Check in was either downtown Chicago or Saturday afternoon in Lake Geneva - how about something in Milwaukee or some points in between?
Good Things:
Lake Geneva race (close to Milwaukee and Chicago)
Good timing
Relaxed environment
Trail run
Clean lake
Good workout
Running Away folks were pretty cool - this was my first experience with them and it was positive.
*Don’t claim to be the best “Triathlon store in Chicago” when I don’t even think you sell bikes - didn’t see them in the store when I checked in. Let the triathlon community decide who is best…then brag.
Regardless of the issues, it was a fun workout with a good door prize of the workout bag. I’d do it again. It can only get better. It also shows how desperate the Mid-west is for decent races.
Can a race count toward USAT rankings if they don’t have any marshalls, correct distances and such?