Curious if it filled last year or they take all comers until near the race 
.
If you want to race it - do the RD a favor and sign up. If everyone signs up at the last minute it makes a mess of purchasing of supplies and equipment.
Yeah, it sold out last year. I wanted to do it, but was turned off by the $150 registration fee. By the time I decided I wanted to do it, it was filled. I believe registration for it opens on December 1.
Most of the Olympic distance races I’ve seen are $100 max. Considering it is in DC, would $150 be considered a reasonable price?
If you want to race it - do the RD a favor and sign up. If everyone signs up at the last minute it makes a mess of purchasing of supplies and equipment.
This is a great race and one that anyone looking to get into a HUGE event which is only going to continue to gain popularity should consider. They have left little up to chance and have produced a fun race for the family, friends and competitors alike. If you are concerned about the cost, you should look around at other BIG city races ALL without fail are very expensive due to the fact that EVERYONE has their hand int he pot and the RD has to end up “paying off” officials who are “just looking out for the best interest of their cities” DC is very fortunate that Mayor Fenty is a great friend to the sport and understands the benefits it brings to communities … other jurisdictions around the country should look at our sport with such open eyes and work with RD’s and not against them … they might be surprised. We all don’t thing Fins are not equated to cheating …
I’ve done the Nation’s Tri for the past two years. It is a very well run race for the most part, though, no race is perfect. It does sell out, especially now that it is presented by Team in Training (read: lots of the purple menace). The course is mainly wide and straight enough that navigating around people with… less than stellar bike handling skills proves to be very easy.
Regarding the cost, it IS a pricey race, but I think it is very similar in cost to the NYC Tri… big cities are expensive to do races in. It takes a lot of funds to close down main thoroughfares of downtown DC (Pennsylvania, Independence, Constitution Ave’s). There are also high costs due to the number of agencies that have to be hired. I’ve worked a bit with Chuck (RD) in the past, and I asked him how hard it was to get the tri rolling in the city. His response was, DC is a very expensive place to do any type of work. Aside from the normal barricade rentals, porta-potties, food, race gear, volunteer gear, bike rack rentals, timing mats, etc that are standard with every race, they also has to pay the National Park Police, DC Metro Police, Transit Police, Capitol Police, Secret Service, EMS, City Sanitation, and a bunch of others. Thats a lot of different agencies to be paying (Essentially 5 police departments?!) Luckily, there’s a good number of sponsors, so the costs are down much further than they would be without.
I suggest the race for sure, assuming you can stomach the Potomac.
Just got an email from USAT and members can sign up now (registration opens for everyone else Dec 1). Individual entry fee is $165 this year…
-Nick
Have you checked out the new course?? Looks like the RD listened to the triathletes and has put the finish line near the transition area. That should make the race logistics even better. They also are having dual swim courses. Check out the website, it seems pretty cool.
Andrew
Hello. My name is Charles Brodsky and I’m the owner of The Nation’s Triathlon. I wanted to answer a few of the questions posted on this thread and ensure everyone understands our goals in building the race. We recognize that race fees are going up and that times are tough so we made the decision to hold our price the same as last year. We just did a bad job presenting it that way. Last year the registration fee was $150 then active.com tacked on about $15 in processing fees. This year we just priced the race at $165 alll in so that there is no processing fee tacked on when you checkout. We should have explained that better. The dual swim start innovation was done to decrease wait times as the race grows larger which it has been doing by nearly tripling in size each year. That’s why last year we moved to a single loop course with numerous stretches of two lanes in each direction. When you combine that with stacking the faster athletes in earlier swim waves there will continue to be no congestion out on the bike course. The same goes for the run. In addition all of the roads are closed completely to traffic by DC and Park Police so we have all of the roadway to ourselves. Congestion on the course is something we watch very, very carefully to make sure it doesn’t occur.
So thank you for your interest in our race. My own racing experience includes 3 Ironman’s, 5 half Iron’s, 15 Olympic’s, 7 marathon’s, and more 10 milers, 10ks and 5k than I can remember. As a member of the racing community I work very hard to ensure we produce an outstanding triathlon experience. If you would like to contact me directly or have any recommendations or suggestions I can be reached at chuck@wseminc.com or 202 257-3472.
See you at the starting line.
Charles L. Brodsky
Chairman and CEO
The Nation’s Triathlon
Thanks for stepping up and setting things straight, and for putting a lot of thought into the race. Sounds like a great race in a very unique venue. Compared to other big city triathlons (NYC and Alcatraz come mind), $165 is very reasonable. Count me in for 2009.
Is there an ST member discount? (ha)
Dave
Thanks for stepping up and setting things straight, and for putting a lot of thought into the race. Sounds like a great race in a very unique venue. Compared to other big city triathlons (NYC and Alcatraz come mind), $165 is very reasonable. Count me in for 2009.
Is there an ST member discount? (ha)
Dave
So, IS there a ST member discount?
I was on the fence about doing The Nation’s Triathlon. It’s a bit of a drive from Michigan to D.C., but race sounds like it’s worth the cost and effort. I’m sold.
What is an ST?
What is an ST?
Sao Tome And Principe
Saint
Short Ton
Single Throw
Space Tug
Special Tooling
Standard Time
Surface Temperature
Street
Slow Twitcher.
What is an ST?
Why SlowTwitchers of course! 
If you want to race it - do the RD a favor and sign up. If everyone signs up at the last minute it makes a mess of purchasing of supplies and equipment.
Bless You! I wish more people would commit and sign up instead of at the last minute! The more people sign up early for a race the cooler the shirts and goodies!
The price keeps going up if you wait. This race will sell out!
it’s a really cool race.
the potomac isn’t that bad where the swim is. and, the route on that part of the river takes you under the Memorial bridge between Arlington Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.
riding and running around the monuments is really special. since the mayor is a triathlete, he’s made it work. once he’s gone, my bet is the route will change and the city/feds won’t be as accommodating.
also, this year’s route looks to be changed a little bit to be more racer friendly…the start and finish are closer together.
Alright, I’m signed up!!! I was a little torn between doing the optional Federal Challenge or Military Challenge. I am eligible in both, but ended up opting to do the Military Challenge. I wish I could have done both…
I got an email the other day that prices go up on 3/30 from $165 to $190. So, if you are on the fence, maybe $25 will push you over the edge.
Thanks for the compliments about the course. We work hard to provide a great experience for our athletes and always look to improve what we do. Our Congressional and Military Challenges are very popular and we’ve seen a huge growth in the number of athletes from last year. Remaining slots are pretty limited, we are now about 85% full, and expect to close in the next few weeks. If you have any questions please let me know.
Charles L. Brodsky
Founder, CEO
The Nation’s Triathlon
chuck@wseminc.com