So two days in a row I drive right past the Indianapolis Motorspeedway on my way to drop off my daughter and pick up my oldest son from their house in Illinois…yesterday my son and I even went inside the track to see if we could glance at some of the F1 teams who are in town for the US Grand Prix this weekend…
Anyway…it got me to thinking…there is a TT series that I’ve heard is run at the Charlotte Motorspeedway…
Why not hold an F1-style duathlon, or even a triathlon (at those tracks with infield lakes…obviously this would only make sense on the larger tracks or those with significant road-race courses in addition to their ovals…
I’m thinking you could run a mile and a half or two miles on the Indy infield road course and part of the oval…then do two laps on the oval (5 miles)…lather/rinse/repeat for a suitable race length…probably 3 or 4 times…Pit lane is a run/bike through transition area…if you line up the racks end to end down the pits…EVERYONE has exactly the same transition length to run…the grandstands are perfect for spectators to see the race unfold right before their eyes.
Thoughts? Anybody in Indy want to tackle something like this as RD?..
To my mind this sort of solution would take away many of the headaches of RDs…getting sole use of the race course…race course safety…fewer volunteers needed to man the course…etc…etc…
Plus it would just be damn cool to do a multisport race at places like Indianapolis, Daytona, Charlotte, California, Texas, Michigan…etc…
Getting a even a little more out there…USAT could create a whole series out of it…hold a tri one day, and a du the next or something like that…make a whole weekend out of it…
Friend of mine puts on Powerman Ohio at the Mid-Ohio Race course. First run and start of the bike are on a road course. The cost to rent the track for the day was enormous. They had to rent it for a couple hours early in the day from someone else putting on a car race later on. They wanted to put more of the bike and at least part of the second run on the course but it was just too expensive to pull off.
Quebec has a longstanding iron distance race on the F1 track with a swim in the olympic rowing basin, which is essentiall a giant pool with lane lines and all. (not floating lane lines, just painted guidelines along the bottom )
i don’t know man. sounds kinda boring to me to do everything all in one spot.
but you’re right, it would solve a lot of logistical problems. and the refs could sit in the stands with binoculars siping free gatorade as they jot down drafting penalties.
I organized one a dozen years ago at what was then the Charlotte Motor Speedway, now Loew’s MS. It was great I think for a one or two time experience, but it was difficult running on the turns even at the bottom because of the turns and the hoops you had to jump through for the permits was very time consuming.
Yeah, I thought of that. I wouldn’t personally find it boring, but I know many more of you would…that’s why I’d make it an F1 style race…too much action in one of those to ever get bored…there’s like 4-6 transitions…and the legs aren’t long at all. Basically going balls out for 5 miles on the bike, 2 miles run, etc…
Now that 1/2 IM someone mentioned…that MIGHT get boring…that’s a hell of a lot of laps…although you COULD take the bike out on the open roads…(but to me, that would do away with some of the things that make this sound like a great idea)…
Think about it…your spectators get to see you 2-3 times every bike leg, once every run…you pass them 9-12 times during the race, and all they have to do is sit there…
I’ve done the half-marathon in Indy several times. You start downtown, go to Speedway, do a lap around the track, and finish back downtown. I can tell you that running around that track, while a cool experience to some degree, is not all fun and games. The track has a slight bank to it which makes it a tough couple miles. It’s HOT! The half-marathon is held in early May and the temperature is always substantially hotter when you’re on that asphalt with no shade. And you are prohibited from running on the soft, level grass strip to the inside of the track. I imagine the race directors pay a pretty penny for the privilege of including the track. I don’t think a triathlon could draw the same 20-30,000 participants to spread that cost! I know the track is a great draw for the event, but for me the highlight is running by the Zipp wheel factory!
Cycling on the track would be awesome! I’ve never done it, but I think there is one day per year in which there is a charity event where you can ride laps on the track.
Sea Otter is at Laguna Seca every year, but that is a pretty big event and they can probably cover the cost of the track. I guess there were 60K people there this year.
A local promoter put on a duathlon series at Pacific Raceways last year. I think it was the second year. Thursday evenings. Though I never did one of the races, they did pretty well.
hell, there’s a triathlon in montreal called the esprit that’s held on a formula one grand prix track. 41 laps around for a full ironman and 20 for the 1/2 which goes on at the same time. i’ve done the 1/2 and will do it again this year. i didn’t find it boring but i’m sure i would for the full. it’s kind of fun with the banked turnd and all the athletes doing the full, 1/2 and olympic distance at the same time.
I raced one a few years ago at Homestead MS in Miami (in August!). They had some bike events first and the triathlon was about 3 in the afternoon (also did a sprint race that AM). HOT! HOT! HOT! and TONS OF FUN!!! F1 format with a 250yd swim in the infield lake, 2 laps around the oval, and a mile+ run on the road course…then right back into the lake to repeat the whole thing. Unfortunately, it was never run again, as the RD didn’t get the numbers to make it work. Too bad…I think it could have become a classic event.
Powerman Ohio is run on the race course at Mid-Ohio near Mansfield, Ohio.
Ran it for the first time this year and it was a lot of fun. The race course is different in that it is a road course, therefore it had hills and both right and left hand turns. Very little flats, you were eiether going uphil or downhill while on the track. The first run was completely on the track and the bike did one complete lap on the track before heading out to the local countryside.
There were actually auto races being held on the track after we finished the first bike lap. made for an interesting second run as we had to cross over the track a few times using pedestrain bridges and the smell of the exhaust fumes was almost overwhelming.