Triathlon topic.
I did WF in '93. My memory of it was the whole weekend was miserable. There is a reason campers don’t go camping in tents when it’s 90F! I remember sleeping very little the night prior to the event. I remember not getting much in the way of food afterwards.
I haven’t been back since '93…but it’s interesting reading all the negative feedback about this years event. I’d have to agree it doesn’t sound like anything has changed.
So why does the race sell out year after year?
WF overnight temps were down to the low 40’s. It was only hot during the day. Trying to sleep inside a tent before sundown, I agree would be impossible. With an airmatress and a regular 40 degree bag, I found sleeping to be downright pleasant. The overflow campsite has 1/10 the people that the other sites have. We had direct access to a faucet and no neighbors for 100 feet all around. It was perfect. I hardly think WF is dying. I’ll be there every year - E
I’ve been doing Wildflower off and on for over a decade, but have only camped once. I much prefer to spend the night in quiet, air-conditioned splendor in Paso Robles, sleeping on a real bed, eat a good meal and show up refreshed for the race the next morning. I have to get up at 5:15 to get there on time, but I get up that early every day. I’m a wimp, but a comfortable wimp.
Wildflower camping reminds me of a refugee camp.
after last year’s WF, i vowed to never enter another Tri-Cal race and a buddy of mine and myself talked of creating a website called www.tricalsucks.com (but we didnt)
I feel that they dont do enough to provide for the athletes. Yes, they put on a very safe race (I’ve never been injured nor have i seen gross negligence on their part regarding safety). However, after being “trapped” in the Lake San Antonio parking lot for hours after the race was over, on a hot day, I was very frustrated.
I saw a lot of things that needed improvement in their race organizing and thus decided to become a race promoter of kayak events here in northern california (ie the link on the bottom of the page). To put my mouth to action. Ofcourse, im not running any events that comes close the amount of people that they have in WF or any other tri, but its irresponsible in my opinion to allow registration to be so high if you cant take appropriate measures to ensure a high degree of participant satisfaction.
thats my take on the issue
jeremyb
My thoughts are posted on the other WF thread and echoed again later in this thread. I alluded to a Nieztche (sorry on the sp) quote as a reference to both the thread and my thoughts.
In answer to your question I would say marketing. If you are new to triathlon then it is probably one of the first races you hear about after Hawaii and Alcatraz, if you live in Cali. Everything always sounds really cool about the race and the idea is fun, but in reality it seems to fall short on many accounts. Maybe I just bought into the hype to much.
I don’t understand all the criticism of Wildflower. If you read about the race on the website, you learn exactly what you’re getting into before you register. It’s a huge race and with that comes a logistical nightmare. It’s always hot. It’s always crowded. You can’t drive out of the park until the race is over for the safety of the racers. (If this wasn’t the rule I’m sure someone else would be bitching about cars leaving the already crowded park while the race was in progress.) This was my first year at Wildflower and I knew all this months ago when I registered. It’s clear that it’s as much an event as it is a race, and I think the website does a good job of setting expectations thereto.
Also, I don’t understand all the complaints about post-race food. Off the top of my head, I know I had water, gatorade, power bars, bananas, and oranges. Maybe I’m a light eater, but what more does one need after a race. If you can throw down a seven-course meal after racing in the sun for five hours, more power to you, but I don’t think it’s the race director’s obligation to provide it.