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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