USAT AG Nationals ……. AKA Woodstock 2005

Triathlon Forum
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While there are some other threads out there about this event, I thought I would offer a little first hand experience. The weather was absolutely awful raining hard for hours. The rain was coming down so hard at times it looked like torrential monsoon with 1200+ participants and volunteers huddling together to trying to keep warm. Participants even went so far as to put on wetsuits to keep warm. We joked and wondered if we couldn’t wear our wetsuits for the swim, would we be able to wear them on the bike to keep warm? Would we look silly wearing our swim goggles on the bike? Everybody waiting patiently for some sort of news while striking up new friendships.

In the end the Fun Run was just that a fun run. A 1,000 participants trying to make the best of bad situation. Everybody lining up still laughing, joking and all looking like drowned rats. At one point there were 3 women running in front of me with full wetsuits on laughing and having a great time. By the end the run they had been joined by a couple of guys with their aero helmets on backwards looking like duck bills. They definitely made it fun.

When it was time to leave, the parking lot (a mowed field) had turned into a sea of mud. Cars were trying desperately to get out of the mud and just further complicating the problem by plowing new furrows. People were helping others by attempting to push cars out and in the end being covered with mud from head to toe. Giant mudslides being formed with people sliding through them face first like children. In the end, it looked like Woodstock 2005. The only thing missing was Country Joe and the Fish blaring through the speakers.

A note about the volunteers: They endured the same thing we did but they hung in there. We went out for our “fun run” and every aid station was manned with volunteers passing out water, Gatorade and encouragement. They were standing out there in the pouring rain making sure we got what we needed. At the finish line were more volunteers passing out dry towels and drinks - again in the pouring rain. More volunteers continued to cook and prepare food for us – in the pouring rain. More volunteers provided farm tractors and tow trucks to pull vehicles out of the mud. They could have easily just got in their cars and driven away but they didn’t. No, they did their best to make our day.

Personally I was disappointed the race didn’t happen because I wanted to redeem myself for my awful performance in Shreveport last year. But in the end, I didn’t get hit by lightening; I didn’t crash my bike on some treacherous rain soaked bike course and break some bones. No, I am fine and I will be able to race another day. Disappointed, yes but not angry or bitter. I was there and I feel they made the right decision based upon what happened.

Be careful out there.

Rich G

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Nice race report. :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the positive focus
.

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Hmmm, looks like I didn’t miss much. Maybe they’ll let me come next year.

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The race director told me I couldn’t. (I "qualified at least twice, but there’s no “age group” for me.)

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Hey Rich, I am glad you posted your report. I skipped the fun run & went for the Barbecue tent & then later for some athletic satisfaction I pushed cars out of the mud for about 90 minutes in my skin suit & swim goggles. I sure felt like one of the mud people out there. It was an odd bonding experience that I’ll no doubt be telling stories about in the seasons to come.

In the last 24 hours I have had the epiphany that we tri-geeks are really a lot like groupies, we come out of the woodwork descending upon hapless race venues with our colorful spandex clothing, our fancy hammer gels & protein shakes & our vehicles all sporting bike racks, a back bumper covered in USAT & assorted triathlon stickers & triathlon vanity plates. Then as soon as the awards are handed out we pack it up and make plans for the next “show” the following weekend & do it all over again.

Natstock '05, I WAS THERE MAN!

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nice report Rich. It should also be noted that after standing in the rain handing out towels to the finishers in the fun run, Skip Gilbert (Executive Director) and Brad Davison (USAT Board President) spent the rest of the morning helping to push cars out of the mud. Also out there in the mud all morning were Jeff Dyrek (National Events Director) and Troy Stiles (Team USA Manager/Duathlon Coordinator). These are some real “hands on” kind of people.

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Thanks for sharing. I too was there, and though I was disappointed by not be able to race, I still had a blast. After the first delay but before they announced the cancellation of the swim, I started getting antsy and ran up and down the transition area wearing my swim cap and goggles in the pouring rain yelling “Time to go swimming!” My friend was laughing really hard. She said that as I went running down the aisle people were laughing. I didn’t see many of the reactions, but I was glad I could vent some anxiety, but also give people a laugh.

I met lots of really nice people, and struck up new friendships. I did the fun run while my husband and my girl friend who had come for her first nationals hung out at the car. The stories they shared with me about the parking lot mudfest were priceless. I was near the rear of the fun run, but at the start I got a good laugh at the guys in their wetsuits and aero helmets. It was wonderful seeing the volunteers out there passing out water. At the first station I took a cup of water, and as is my usual custom, I drank 1/2 and dumped the other 1/2 on my head. I then laughed and said “What are you doing? It’s pouring out, and you’re dumping water over your head.” Old habits die hard.

One station only had one volunteer so two people who had started the fun run stopped, and helped man the station. Another station had a mom and her two children passing out water. I love seeing little kids out at water stations. They always are so excited to be able to help out.

It was a really pretty run course. We ran by farms with horses in the fields, several views of the lake, and just nice midwest farm country scenery. I had not gotten a chance to ride or drive the bike course, but people who had said it was fun course, and really pretty.

I spoke a lady who’s a local bankrupty attourney in Kansas City. She said many families were going to lose their farms due to the horrible drought conditions caused by the weeks, and weeks of 90-100 degree days with no rain. The hot weather that concerned many of us of having to race in 90+ degree heat has been killing the crops that many of the local farmers depend on for their livelihood. Yet it was those same farmers that came out with their tractors to pull cars out of the mud, asking only for a donation for their church who had recruited them to come out to rescue stranded tri-geeks.

I was disappointed that all the rain washed out my race, but I thank God that I didn’t have to make the decision to race in such dangerous conditions, and that I came home with no broken bones. If that rain makes it possible for some of those farmers to salvage even a part of their growing season then it all was for a higher purpose then a bunch of type A tri-geeks get another race fix.

I hope they get another chance to run a race at that venue. Late May or early June would probably be a better time for cooler temps, but no matter where you have a race there is always a chance of Mother Nature throwing a monkey wrench into the system. We’ve either heard the stories or been at races where tough decisions have had to be made in terms of cancelling swims, changing courses, etc, etc. I got tired of the pissing match between the Californians and the rest of the country over the Why are Nationals in Crappy Locations? thread. Despite what some of the California contigent said about the caliber of the athletes attending Nationals there were some very fast and talented people there. Hopefully all the problems with the site selection process for Nationals can be worked out, and some reasonable solutions worked out.

I commend the new leadership of USAT for handling a very difficult situation in a reasonable manner. It will be interesting to see how the whole World Championship/Team USA situation is resolved. It’s a tough call with so many coming there for that purpose.

The final blow to this crazy weekend was having the storm move eastward on Sunday, and raise total chaos on the east coast. I think our flight was one of the last ones to land between thunderstorms. Shortly after that the airport closed for over 3 hours. If I need to describe the rains we had on Saturday to my NY friends all I have to say is “remember the 3 hours of thunder, lightning and rain we had on Sunday evening. That was what the rain was was like.” Our luggage remained stuck on the plane for all that time. We sat by the baggage caroursel and shared our race stories, and discusssed upcoming races. Email addresses were exchanged, and I made a few new tri friends. None of us wanted to leave without our precious racing machines. When each bike arrived we let out whoops, and gave high fives. That was the finish of our Nationals weekend.

A year from now, five years from now those of us who were in Kansas City will be able to tell our war story of a race weekend gone awry. We’ll laugh at the funny things we saw, and remember the people we met. You had to be there to believe it, but damn what a wild and wacky weekend. I’m already chuckling thinking about the Hertz return lot full of mud spattered cars. I said to myself “I know where those people came from with that car.”

I have a few more races left on my schedule this season. Who knows, one them may be ITU Worlds in Honolulu. It’s been an interesting season so far. It certainly can’t get any crazier then this last weekend. :slight_smile: