Wildflower Comments

Triathlon Forum
1

Didn’t have a great race, walked for the first time in a tri, but that was all my fault–out of shape, didn’t train for hills or heat (hey, I live in NYC), etc.

And actually, the warnings I heard from last year about the cluster during the bike ride thankfully didn’t materialize–I saw less drafting and more biking decorum than I’m used to. But that could have just been in the MOP.

But let me get on with my rant.

I couldn’t let slide without commenting:

–The hardcore prayer before the race. I did Alcatraz last year, and should have remembered, but it was so distracting/off putting. I also now recall a email dialogue (last year?) between a Stanford grad student and Terry Davis about this issue that was pretty hilarious (if someone knows where it is online, please post it). Anyway, being nonreligious (and I’d like to think sensitive to the non Christian triathletes) it did ultimately bother me and I may avoid TriCalifornia events in the future. I felt that by participating I could seem to be giving silent approval. And if my second point turns out to be true…

–Word was that the Olympic today started at 9 so that a Mass could happen in the morning. As that meant many started the race as late as 11, and were finishing in what seemed a boil-a-thon, wellll…

–This is the first race I’ve been to where it seemed a Sponsor was profiting… Jamba Juice, the biggest name there (though not sure how much $$ they gave) charged $6 for a smoothie that everywhere else costs $4. I’m used to getting Sponsor wares free/cheaper at races, not more expensive. And since I needed something more than what was offered post chute…

–No bagels? No starch? Just bananas and gatorade in the “tent” post race? No BAGELS? That was a first for me. While I’m no nutrition expert, this seemed a poor idea.

Conspiracy theorists wondered if Jamba Juice may had put the kebosh on 'em to encourage their own uebersales, but I couldn’t hear them over the slurping of my smoothie…

sunburnt, tired, need a break from tris/jesus…
–zee

2

Not meaning to flame here, but you might want to give a little thought as to why you are so intolerant as to have such a strong reaction to a prayer that lasted for maybe a minute or so.

3

zee,

i actually agree with you regarding the prayer. i was there two years ago and thought the prayer that year was a way over the top. the year i was there, it went on for a solid 3 to 5 minutes. quite frankly i didnt attend a race to hear anything religious.

im just not interested in hearing anyones personal religious beliefs at a tri. its neither the time nor the place. just my opinion. on the other hand it seems the race director is a deeply religious person who cares for the athletes and wishes them well. so thats the nice part of it. i dont begrudge that. as long as the intentions are good.

other than that i loved the race and cant wait to go back.

4

I think you should stay away from all tri-california events and leave the spots to those among us who value prayer and religion.

5

“I think you should stay away from all tri-california events and leave the spots to those among us who value prayer and religion.”

how very Christian of you - if you believe in the value of prayer and/or Christianity, how about trying to explain it to zee?

6

Zee I bet if you had a great race and didn’t have to walk during the run that prayer and those $6 smoothies wouldn’t bother you at all.

7

You should have prayed for some bagels
.

8

It is offensive to people who aren’t religious, don’t believe in god, or are of another faith, to have to stand through a prayer that doesn’t reflect their faith/values. They are usually forced (by peer pressure) to bow their heads and give tacit approval to something they do not agree with.

Prayer belongs in the church, in the home, etc, not in places like triathlon, schools, or any other place where people of widely diverse backgrounds/viewpoints/faiths converge.

9

good point
.

10

"You should have prayed for some bagels "

funnier point
.

11

Frog, Peter,

Don’t go. There, problem solved.

12

My roommate told me that there was only sliced oranges and bananas after the oly event yesterday. She was pretty pissed. She said something along the lines of “I pay how much frick’n money and not only do they not have food but they didn’t even have water.”

Not having food sucks but considering the heat, not having water was just plain stupid.

As far as prayer goes - I’m not a fan of having anything forced upon me but I’m mature enough to realize when to pick my battles. If you don’t like the advertisements on the side of the road - don’t read them. If you don’t like the couple kissing in public - don’t look at them. If you don’t like to pray - don’t.

Pretty simple.

13

You want to segregate triathlons based on religion? Are you serious?

14

He’s probably pissed he didn’t get a spot.

15

“You want to segregate triathlons based on religion? Are you serious?”

Um, no. I don’t think I said that.

If you are unhappy about everything Wildflower, don’t go. That’s what I said. If you don’t believe in religion but choose to go to an event that has prayer, you don’t have to listen, just be respectful, like the adults we are all. I respect and will not change the fact that you don’t believe in the same things I believe in, I would expect the same from you.

16

That makes more sense. But, just out of curiousity, have you ever seen an event where you are given a choice in advance? It certainly isn’t listed on the website or in the waiver.

Given the nature of a triathlon, I expect to show up to swim, bike and run. If my fellow competitors wish to pray, I think that is great. There are times when I may do it myself. But I don’t think a group prayer is any more appropriate than the race director trying to sell me Amway before the gun goes off. This has nothing to do with what you or I as individuals believe - it is what is pushed on a group in a setting that is inappropriate.

The “if you don’t believe in it, don’t come” approach is fine if you know what it is you are signed up for. Ask yourself this: would you stand and listen respectfully like an adult if you showed up for an event - for which you paid hundreds of dollars incidentally - and before the gun goes off you had to watch a witches’ coven perform a ceremony?

Devil’s advocately,

~geek

17

There is a big different between singing the National Anthem and saying a prayer before a race. The anthem can be sung because it’s the anthem of the country hosting the event. The US isn’t a Christian country, and there are many athletes who aren’t religious or christian that go to the event to have fun/race/whatever, not to forced to say a prayer in which you don’t believe.

If they want they should have a small gathering a couple of minutes before the start for people who *want *to say the prayer, and not blast it over the loud speakers.

18

Actually, the US is a christian country, without question, but that’s another topic…

WRT prayer at TriCalifornia events. If you don’t like it, vote with your feet and race elsewhere, and let Terry know why you aren’t racing because of the prayer. It’s not like prayer in school - attendence at Wildflower is not mandatory. You are also not “forced to say a prayer in which you don’t believe”. Terry does the praying, you just stand there.

If you want to to more of Terry’s events, then you had better just get used to sitting there twiddling your thumbs - because he will probably never change. It’s a minute of your life, and in exchange for that (and a couple hundred bucks) you get to race a fantastic course with the most competitive field around.

There are plenty of other reasons not to do Wildflower - like the high prices, the huge crowds and the TNT encampments…

19

So let me get this straight… the same race that is famous for topless (female) volunteers is always precedeed by a prayer? That is just great, how much more american can you get?! :slight_smile: I’ve always wanted to do this race, now I have yet another reason to do it! :slight_smile:

20

I think you should stay away from all tri-california events and leave the spots to those among us who value prayer and religion.

Ok, so the sport should only be for the religious persons? What the fuck???

I agree with how much the aid stations and post race food (or lackk thereof) sucked . I know its not an Ironman but it would have been nice to have more than one flavor of Gatorade, cola and sponges out there on the run. And yes a couple of cookies, bagels, chips and pretzels at the end would have been very appropriate. Its not like we are paying a lot of money for this.

Of course we always have the option of letting the race director know our dissapointment by not signing up for next year, but how many of us are taking that option?