We are putting on a new race this fall and are wondering what makes a great race?
We have our own ideas, but we want to hear what slowtwitch has to say.
Venue, awards, beer garden, transition racks/area, naked aid stations, USAT? What is it that makes you sign up?
www.sandiegotriathlonclassic.com
Triathlon Club member? Contact your club president for the discount codes. $30 off Olympic/$15 off Sprint
Email race@momentcyclesport.com with any questions.
Looking forward to hearing what you’d do “better” as a race director.
-Rachel
Tshirt! We all race for the Tshirts in goodie bag.
Hopefully not “in” the Tshirts.
Actually, we are giving out 2 shirts. One techT and one cottonT.
Honestly, instead of giving 2 tshirts just cut the price $5! That would be better. I am not cheap, just I don’t see the purpose of Tshirts. Better yet, don’t change the price, skip the shirt and donate the Tshirt money to a charity.
I don’t think the the goodie bags effect anyone’s race picking decision. am I wrong?
You have to have a shirt to make the sponsors happy.
The second shirt is being donated, so it doesn’t change the price.
Tshirts are a very small impact on the price of the race.
Permits, road closures, rentals, advertising, etc. are the primary costs of the race.
We expect/hope everyone to sign up as club members (with the significant discount). We support club membership, because they foster participation and growth of the sport, which we believe benefits everyone.
I think a well planned transition is key. Also some sort of unique feature. GFT has Sugarloaf Mtn, Alcatraz has the bay, our local sprint has the most disgusting pond swim. What differentiates your race from others? Well the two shirts is cool.
-Swim in, bike out, bike in, run out, 2nd run loop, and finish will all be visible from bleachers. Think: a triathlon stadium. Your spouse, with kids in tow, will be able to be in one location and see you six times including the finish and not have to move. All in a big grassy field for energetic kids and pets (San Diego Park & Rec policies apply regarding pets). Parking is ample and close.
-Only USAT sanctioned Olympic distance in San Diego
-Tasty food after (not just bagel/banana)
-Local brew beer garden
I think a great race is:
well planned parking both at the beginning and at the endaccurate race course! if the course is short/long - please tell us! And for the love of god, if your B/R courses have an out&back and you have the room, make them spot on! It’s not hard.pizza at the finish line - cheap for you (get a gillion pies from Costco), tastes great for us, easy to dispense, no linesaccurate timing! Have 5 mats so we get transition times.expedient timing! have the results posted quickly both after the race is over and on the web later that nighthave a raffle! everyone can win something even if they’re not fastexpedient awards ceremony! announce the winners fast. Get’em up there, take the pic, and move along!have enough porta-potties! all of your racers will want to use them for the 60 minutes prior to race start - can you handle thatIt does without saying that you’ll have a safe and well marked bike course and a well marked run course, I’m kinda assuming that.
That’s my list.
Jeff
Cool. Now your family can have stories about the race too. As opposed to a little nappy while waiting for you to finish.
sounds like you have a great race in the works. Especially the beer part.
some good suggestions so far from other ST’ers. If your timer is one who provides personal results for all finishers - that feature has been quite popular at our local races this summer. I know there was a thread or two on the results cards (sticker sort of thing that has all your splits) but I searched and did not find them.
As a fellow race director, I have to agree with those who have mentioned the post race food. Our local triathlons have become known for the pork BBQ sandwiches, watermelon, cheese curds and enough cookies to feed a small country.
I checked out your web site and registration info and it looks good, other than you are charging roughly twice what we charge here in Illinois for an oly race, but I suppose that’s probably the going rate for an oly tri in California these days. We don’t quite have the scenery and other attractions that you all do.
Oh, and on the porta potty thing…our porta potty guy actually offered us some extra “potties” free of charge this year because he was so horrified at the amount of crap he finds in them after the race when he goes to clean them out. He’s been in the business for a while, and says he’s never seen anything like it.
Best of luck with the event.
Beer garden. Everything else is secondary.
- Easy parking is a big plus.
- Spacious transition area. If you can do it, the kind of bike racks where you slide your wheel into the rack rather than hanging your seat or bars across a crossbar are awesome.
- Provide a map of the transition area indicating the “flow” in/out. Why don’t any races do this any more?
- As someone else mentioned, lots of portapotties.
- Closed bike course. Damn near impossible, I know, but this is a wish list for a perfect race.
- Accurate mile markers.
- A well-swept transition area— make it easier for running in bare feet from the swim.
- Solid timing system. Quick results turnaround.
- Speedy awards ceremony.
- Good food.
- Raffle.
- Safe, well-marked courses.
- Aid stations that don’t run out of supplies.
- A clear, simple, easy-to-read handout in the goodie bag that explains drafting and blocking to newbies, and why both are really bad things to do.
- A separate wave at the end for TNT. No other special consideration for them.
- If it’s gonna be hot, ice at the run aid stations.
- Intelligently located aid stations on the bike…like, not at the bottom of a descent. And where appropriate, train volunteers to run with their handups.
- The intangibles of a beautiful, challenging course. Wildflower is great because the course is a total buttkicker. Vineman is great because the wine country is gorgeous. Alcatraz is great because of the venue.
- Well-informed volunteers. Share as much info with all of them as you can so that they can be helpful in turn to the racers. I make a point of thanking as many of those guys as I can at every race— without volunteers (whether well-informed or not) we can’t race!!
- A decent T-shirt that is not white, not flimsy/cheap feeling, and that has a good design on it. Of the hundreds of races I’ve done, maybe two of them had cool shirt designs. Oh well!
Bottom line is that the most important thing is SAFETY, followed by good organization, and finally a spectacular course. Everything else is icing on the cake. In case nobody else says it: THANK YOU for putting on a race!! It’s a tough job, I hope everyone who does your race appreciates your efforts and tells you so!
In addition to the other comments:
1: a well swept swim entrance and exit. Nothing worse then running over gravel in bare feet entering T1.
2: drive the bike course the night before and sweep the corners. Make sure turns are marked on the pavement as well as any dangerous spots.
3: hold a second pre-race meeting after the main one to address first timers. Let the veterans get in and out with just the info they need while still giving the first timers the info they need.
4: open the swim course really early to let people warm up.