Last weekend there was a big triathlon here in town which I did not do. It had a sprint and Oly distance and lots of waves sending people off. So many waves that it took an hour to get everyone going and there was only around 1,000 people involved.
This caused problems with people treading in the water to start and those coming in from their completed swim. I remember that from last year, we all entered and exited the water on the same staircase. I also heard that even though it was well into the 90's there was only water on the run course, no Gatorade or gels. That makes a long 10k run. The finish line was not very interesting and in a bad location.
Its hard to always blame the race directors for this stuff and I admire their pluck for putting on a race, I can only imagine the stress but this was not the first year of this race.
What has been your worst race experience that was not self-inflicted?
This caused problems with people treading in the water to start and those coming in from their completed swim. I remember that from last year, we all entered and exited the water on the same staircase. I also heard that even though it was well into the 90's there was only water on the run course, no Gatorade or gels. That makes a long 10k run. The finish line was not very interesting and in a bad location.
Its hard to always blame the race directors for this stuff and I admire their pluck for putting on a race, I can only imagine the stress but this was not the first year of this race.
What has been your worst race experience that was not self-inflicted?
10 comments:
My worst race has to date back to high school cross country back in Skokie, IL.
I was running a 5-mile race at a rival school in October. Now for those of you who know, October in the Chicago area could either be in the 90's or 2 inches deep in snow. I had the dubious honor of running in sleet.
Due to one of the schools late to the invite, the varsity race was postponed until nearly 5:30 pm. As it was getting darker, the persistent drizzle started to turn to sleet as the temps dipped into the upper 30's.
We had been standing around trying to keep warm for nearly 2 hours at the starting line. When the race finally started, it seemed as if nobody's legs wanted to move, including my own. Everyone was shivering and stiff, and for 5 miles, the sleet pounded our bodies feeling like needles on my nearly numb skin.
When I crossed the finish line, I had vowed never to run cross-country again, and stepping onto the bus with a broken heater sealed the deal. One week later I stepped down to focus on a much more rewarding sport for me at the time, gymnastics, and never looked back.
I may have to write a more detailed post about my cross-country days. Great topic Comm!
The Disney Olympic Triathlon last year was pretty darn un-safe:
- serious lack of large buoys on the swim
- bikers and runners sharing ONE LANE on same course for several miles
- sum total of THREE water stops on a shade-less, blacktop run course in 95+ degree weather; also they ran out of Gatorade
- total disorganization with transport from finish line back to transition area
- super small and sucky expo, not to mention no race packet swag.
In general, you would just expect a lot more from something Disney puts on. (All in all, it was still fun, though.) I hear they've changed directors this year and have corrected a lot of the problems...I guess we'll see when Nacy Toby posts her race report in September. :)
I've heard lots of stories about running out of water and or sports drink in races in various parts of the country. Not so here in North Carolina. I've never even heard of that happening here.
However, based on my limited experience, almost all the run courses in every tri here in NC are kind of hokey. In my first tri ever, the run was described as a "mix of 'hard-packed' trail and road". The "mix" was actually about 95% trail, 5% road. "Hard-Pack" may have been what it was before the rain, but not race day. The "road" was indeed a road in a park, but there literally only a body-width of room before the road literally broke away into a grassy shoulder on a 45-degree incline a few inches below the road surface. At the turn-around point, runners were turning arounf to find themselves face-to-face with the back-of-the-pack cyclists. There was A LOT of cussing going on.
That being said, the race directors made adjustments and it has sold out ever since. I've done it every year it's been around and will do so for as long as they have it.
I'll second andra sue - a total nightmare. I have a hard time doing it again, even if they make changes.
I'll 3rd Andra Sue. She is right on target with everything she said about the disney race. I didn't race it, I was there to support Bigun and it was as much a fiasco for the sherpas and observers as it was for the athletes. Horrible. I hope Tri Jack found the one he just finished at disney a pleasurable experience.
My first sprint tri 6 years ago was on a very hot day and by the time I got to the run (being in the last wave out and terribly slow at everything) there was no water on the course. None. Four miles on dirt trails in 98 degree heat - nasty.
I did that event again last year (my second Tri ever) and was gratified to see that a local race club had taken over the water station duties and there was plenty of water and gatorade and lots of people cheering me on. I joined the club.
I nearlly called you to see if you were going to that race. But I ended up having some work to do, and plus I didn't feel so well.
Hmmm, haven't really had a worst race but worst POST-race would go to the Stealth Triathlon and Duathlon. They somehow ALWAYS screw up the awards cerimony. It's a good thing it is a small race and all the usual suspects in our region know each other. During the course of announcing the awards they are forever messing up who finished when.
It goes something like "and in forst place for the male 45 - 49 age group, Bob" and Bob says, "No, Dave got first, I finished right behind him" and then they consult their paperwork and say, "Oh, here it is, Dave got first place, Bob got second and Ron got third" at which point Ron says, "Uh, I was fifth, both Bill and Scott finished ahead of me" and so on.
However, that's after the extra hour and a half you wait for them to get these faulty results for a 60 to 80 person race. Heck, this year after waiting 2 hours they just sent everyone home and told us they would post results and mail awards!
That has to be the "Grady Williams Freedom Days" race in Farmington, NM. It's an Oly where the 10K run is between the swim and the bike. In 2007, they marked the loose dirt path through the desert with loose lime chalk, which was immediately rubbed out by the nightly wind, in places, and in most places by the front runners. Several experienced triathletes, including some who'd done it before, an international triathlon team, a blind woman and her guide, and I all became lost in the desert, in July, and unless you were carrying there was no water. And, this wasn't the first time they'd had this sort of problem. When I finally arrived in T1 (I had to hitchhike once I found my way to a road) I was met with a rude volunteer who said he marked the course his very own self; there was no food left, and warm water. It resulted in my one and only letter of complaint to the USAT. The race director was defensive and claimed that I was "rude". She promised that this year they'll mark the course better. We'll see. It is my ONLY DNF.
I meant to say 2006.
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