Danskin Triathlon last minute details

No earth-shattering new news, but there may be one or two new things to know. 

Race course map

Packet Pickup

THURSDAY August 23rd	Dick Pond Athletics 29 S Prospect Ave Park Ridge, IL 60068	4:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
SATURDAY, August 25th	RecPlex 9900 Terwall Terrace Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158	10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, August 26th	RACE VENUE, RecPlex, Pleasant Prairie, WI	5:00 a.m. - 6:30 a.m.
Photo ID required at Pickup. All Relay team members must pick up packet together.
New for this year: You will get your t-shirt and goodie bag at the finish line after the race, not on Saturday.

Bike Racking

Either Saturday (10am-3pm) or Sunday (4:30am until 6:45am). You must have your race number on your bike to enter transition. Only athletes with race numbers are allowed in transition.  This means (1) you have to pick up your packet first, and (2) if you bring your kids, you need to bring someone to watch them while you go into transition.

Transition Area

• Will be at the south end of the RecPlex parking lot, close to the Baby U building (opposite side of the parking lot from the RecPlex itself).
• Transition is open 10am – 3pm on Saturday.
• Transition opens at 4:30am on Sunday, and closes at 6:45am. If you are in a team you will still have to exit transition at 6:45, and will be allowed back in once the race is underway.
• Typically transition will re-open for you to remove your bike & gear when everyone is off the bike course.

Bike In/Out and Run In/Out

Will be from the south parking lot entrance – the one with the gates. You won’t be using the main entrance by the RecPlex.

Getting here (Sunday)

• Hwy 165 will be closed on Sunday morning between 4:00-4:30am. Terwall Terrace will be blocked off at Hwy 165 Saturday night.
• You will have to enter the park from the north, from Hwy H (88^th Ave.) or 95^th St.
• If coming via I-94:

1.   Exit Hwy C / Wilmot Rd.

2.   Go east, then veer right on Bain Station Rd. (If you miss this turn, just continue and turn on Hwy H.)

3.   Go down Bain Station Rd. to the stop sign, and turn right on Hwy H / 88^th Ave.

4.   Proceed south to Terwall Terrace (95^th St.), and turn right into Prairie Springs Park.

Parking on Sunday

• Parking on-site – South Ballfields, RecPlex Parking Lot, Ice Arena parking lot, 4:30am until full (or 6:15am, whichever comes first).
• Parking attendants will direct you.
• Enter from Hwy H / 88^th Ave. and 95^th St. as noted above.
• Parking on-site will be closed at 6:15am sharp.

Offsite / Overflow Parking

• At Premium Outlets, Hwy 165 and I-94.
• Exit at Hwy 165, go east to the frontage road (120^th Ave.), and turn right by the BP Station – you’ll have to turn because you can’t go straight.
• Follow the road past the hotel to the south end of the outlet stores, and park in the south lot.
• Do not park in the north lot (where the Nike Store is) or in the east lot (where UnderArmour and Restoration Hardware are), or you may be ticketed.
• Shuttle buses will take you to the RecPlex; shuttles will run 4:30am until Noon.
• You cannot take your bike on the shuttle. If you are racking your bike on Sunday, ride it down Hwy 165 and into the park.
• Athletes have priority on the shuttles. If you should arrive late, make sure to speak up and let the shuttle bus drivers know you’re racing.

Swim Course

• UPDATE: Despite what we heard earlier, it is likely that you are going to enter the water on the north side of the marked swim course. This means that the buoys will always be on your left side.
• Since the transition area is at the south end of the parking lot, you will likely exit on the south side of the beach – otherwise the people entering and exiting the water would have to cross somehow.
• But, pay attention to where you line up Sunday morning, and listen to the announcer. This could change back.
• There will be several large buoys initially going out from the beach, which will make it easier to sight when swimming back.
• There also will be two large buoys near the beach marking the “edges” of the swim course – to get you going straight.
• There will also be large buoys at the two turn points – the first is the SuperSprint turn, and the second (last buoy) is for the Sprint distance.
• Water temperature was 74 degrees Tuesday night.

Race Start

• SuperSprint athletes start first, at 7am.
• Sprint athletes will follow, after all the SuperSprint athletes are out of the water and on the bike course.
• This means that if you are doing the Sprint distance, you will have some waiting around to do before you can start. Remember, transition closes at 6:45am so you have to be out. Find a patch of grass and sit down and relax. But pay attention to the announcer, especially if you are in an early wave.

Bike Course

• One lane of Hwy C / Wilmot road will be marked off for the race; my guess is that it will be the south most lane.
• Pay attention to volunteers / police / bike marshals so you make the turns correctly.
• Hwy 165 and both Frontage Roads will be closed to traffic, meaning that the vast majority of the bike course should have no cars.

Run Course

• Remember that the finish line is now on the southwest side of the lake, near where the end of the beach and the playground are.
• After leaving transition, you’ll run on the road around the lake, then be directed onto the running path to complete your run.
• The bike and run will be sharing Terwall Terrace, so make sure you run on the right side of the road inside the cones. That’s the run course.
• Don’t forget your t-shirt and goodie bag before you head back over to pick up your bike & gear!!

Additional Swims

Thursday, 8/23, 6pm. Out-and-back 1/4 and 1/2 mile loops, from the beach.

Saturday, 8/25, 7am. UPDATE: Out-and-back 1/4 and 1/2 mile loops, from the beach. Important note about parking:

• The Pleasant Prairie Junior Triathlon is being held Saturday morning. The road from Terwall Terrace over to the beach will be closed to traffic.
• If you want to park at the beach, enter Park Ave. (93^rd Pl) from Hwy H (88^th Ave), and park in the gravel area north of the beach pavilion.
• However, ALL of Park Ave. will close at 8:15am sharp. If you park at the beach you will need to move your car by 8:15 or you will be stuck until the Junior Triathlon is completed!
• It is highly recommended that you park in the south Ballfields parking lot, then walk over to the lake for the swim. Be sure to allow time for this; the swim will start as close to 7am as possible! We have to be out of the water by 8:00.

Saturday, 8/25, 11am. UPDATE: Out-and-back 1/4 and 1/2 mile loops, from the beach.

Good Luck to everyone!

Coach Ken

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Danskin Triathlon Update & Info

No surprising news, though it does appear that the number of athletes will be a bit larger than the Trek Triathlon. They’re expecting about 1600. There are currently 16 waves scheduled; elite wave at 7:00, second wave at 7:01, last wave at 7:53.

If you did the Trek Triathlon in July, the Danskin race is exactly the same.

Weather – should be a great day. Partly cloudy, high of 76. Saturday evening low around 60.

Race Course

·         On the swim, there will be buoys across the lake marking a “lane.” The lane will be wider than it was at the Trek race.

·         Two large buoys will mark the swim exit.

·         Transition in the RecPlex parking lot. It will be situated in the corner of the parking lot closest to the RecPlex and closest to the road. So you will have a bit of a run/walk from the swim exit to your bike.

·         Swim Out at the small beach; Bike In and Out will be the main entrance to the RecPlex (by the building), and Run Out will be the south parking lot exit where the gates are.

·         Bike Course – what we’ve been practicing in the classes; going west, across I-94. Remember, cue sheet can be downloaded here.

o   The roads east of the interstate are not completely closed to traffic. The intersections are controlled, and through traffic discouraged, but you may very well have traffic in the opposite lane from where you are riding.

o   This is why it is important to stay on your side of the road and not cross the yellow line (which is a rules violation & penalty per USAT rules).

·         Run Course – out of transition on the road, turn on the road to go down to the beach, continue on road up to about Hwy H, then reverse and run back on the path.

o   There will be water where you exit transition, a water table on the road near the boat landing (which you pass twice – once on the road and once on the path), and there will be a sprayer at the turnaround.

·         Finish line – a bit past the flagpoles, across from the softball field parking.

Saturday

·         Registration & packet pickup - 10am to 3pm @ RecPlex. They don’t open early, and everyone comes right at 10am, so if you come after 11:00 or so you typically don’t have to stand in line and can go right through.

·         You’ll need photo ID.

·         If you’re doing a team, all team members must be together to pick up packets.

·         Parking is in Prairie Springs Park; RecPlex members can usually park in the RecPlex parking lot not fenced off for transition, or in the Ice Arena parking lot. Otherwise, parking is in the softball fields, and when that is full, they typically park people on the road over to the beach

·         Course Overviews: 10:30am & 12:30pm / Race Day Previews: 11:30am & 1:15pm

o   If you’ve been in my classes, you probably know all of this, but it never hurts to hear it again

Bike Racking on Saturday

·         You can rack your bike on Saturday or Sunday morning.

·         There is security in transition all night, so don’t worry about leaving your bike overnight.

·         The “advantage” on racking on Saturday is that you can get a better spot on the bike rack (remember, generally you want to be closest to the bike exit to minimize the distance you have to run with the bike, so this would means closest to the RecPlex building).

·         You MUST go through registration first, before racking your bike, since you must have your race number on the frame of the bike to enter transition.

·         Transition is open 10am until 4:00pm.

·         Only athletes with race numbers allowed in transition Saturday and Sunday. No kids, husbands, significant others, etc. This is a very strict rule.

·         Do not leave anything other than your bike on Saturday.

·         You can get body marked Saturday or Sunday.

Bike Racking on Sunday

·         Park at the Outlet Mall and ride your bike in.  Transition is open 4:30-6:30am, so plan to arrive with plenty of time to ride down Hwy 165 to the RecPlex, with your gear, rack your bike, and set up transition.

·         Remember transition closes at 6:30, so this is your deadline, NOT your wave time. Regardless of when you start, everyone has to be out of transition at 6:30.

·         After the race, they are not going to let you exit transition and ride back to the Outlet Mall until almost everyone is off the bike course.

Parking on Sunday

·         Main parking will be at “The Shoppes at Prairie Ridge” on Hwy 50. This is the shopping center with Target, JC Penny, Famous Dave’s, etc.

·         If driving, exit I-94 at Hwy 50 and go east.

·         Bus transportation available 4am until 1pm, but bikes are NOT allowed on the buses. If you park here and have your bike, you have to ride it down Hwy H to the RecPlex.

·         Athletes have priority on the buses over spectators.

·         Outlet Mall parking is an option on Sunday. Typically this is for people who are riding their bikes to the race that morning. There is no bus transportation in the morning; if you don’t have your bike or have folks with you, they’ll have to walk the 1.5 miles down to the RecPlex.

After the race

Hwy 165 and Terwall Terrace (the road inside the park) are expected to open to traffic about 11:30am.

If you park at Prairie Ridge on Hwy 50:

Ride your bike back to your car, riding north on Hwy H (and sharing the road with the buses)

OR

Take the bus back to your car, drive back to the RecPlex, pick up your bike, and head home. BUT you’re not going to be able to do this until after the roads are opened.

If you park at the Outlet Mall:

Ride your bike back to your car, and take off. But, as noted above, they’re not going to let you do this until most if not all the participants are off the bike course and on the run.

Good luck to everyone racing. I’ll be seeing you at the swim start.

Coach Ken

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Swim Across Lake Andrea this Saturday - Pre-Danskin

We will be offering a swim across Lake Andrea on Saturday morning, August 21. There will be two start times: 7am and 8am. Registration will be $10 pre-registration and $15 day-of-registration. This swim is not timed, but we will have a pace clock on the other side of the lake which should give you an approximate time if you’re interested.

Note: there will be two guards following the group in kayaks, but there won’t be the full compliment of lifeguards as there are during the races. The platforms will not be completely in place on Saturday morning. Please keep this in mind if you’re nervous about the swim.

Registration Information:
Register at https://registration.recplexonline.com/
Session: Events & Programs: 2010
Category: Aquatic Training
Course: Open Water Swim Course
12428-07 – 7am Start
12428-08 – 8am Start

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Trek Triathlon to Danskin Triathlon Training Class Added

Pleasant Prairie Triathlon, to Trek Triathlon, to Danskin Triathlon

We've just added a new RecPlex Training class for those who want to continue training for the Danskin Triathlon, after the Pleasant Prairie and Trek Triathlons:

Trek to Danskin Triathlon Training

July 18-August 15

Sundays, 7:00-9:00am

$66 for RecPlex members / $92 for Non-members

Registration Code: 22349-72

Sign up under Events & Programs 2010

Multi-Sport Training > TREK Triathlon Training > TREK to Danskin Triathlon Training

This class is intended for those taking our Trek Women's Triathlon Beginner or Intermediate class, which ends with the race on July 11. If you aren't taking the Trek Training class, you should have completed at least one Sprint Triathlon this year.

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Danskin Registration Open

Registration is now open for the Danskin Triathlon at Pleasant Prairie on August 22.  Download a registration form here, or register online.

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