Longboat Key International Triathlon - Triathlon

RD only had two buoys to mark the course, one at the Sprint turn and one at the OLY turn. Both were the small jump/bounce balls that little kids play on, the kind with the handle and you sit on. Way too small for good sighting during the swim. Course was also a bit long, however, that was better than last year when the OLY swim was barely 500 yards.

Try to not draft. I know this sounds dumb, but it's not something I practice and doing something new during a race is not the time to try. Could not get the timing worked out with the guy in front of me.

Open rack for the last to register meant I got an end spot closest to the main aisle. Long run from swim exit to T1 and rough parking lot, but not the worst set-up in the area.

Nothing.

Major issue with course design led to a serious crash at the turn around. Instead of separating Sprinters and OLY races prior to the turn, telling those going straight to stay to the right, and allowing those making the turn to work their way to the left, the person at the turn was just yelling Sprinters turn left here, which led to a Sprinter turning into the path of an OLY racer that resulted in an over the bars, head first crash. It happened just as I made the turn and I stopped to help. Ended up spending over 10 minutes on the ground with the lady that crashed until EMS arrived. The only other rider to stop just happened to be the other Under 39 Clyde, so my time lost was not a factor in my finish.

Nothing. Felt good on the way out. Knew I had to stop when I heard the lady hit her head. Didn't quit and got going as soon as I could.

Tried racking my bike on the wrong side of the rack at first, had to run around to the other side, didn't change the outcome, but can't make those mistakes in bigger races.

Focus more upon re-entering T2. In my defense, I had spent 10 minutes holding another competitors head still while waiting for EMS.

I'm fat. I'm slow. I'm not a runner. Running sucks!

Lose weight, get faster, run more. Ignore the suck.

Cold water and looked for the RD to find out if they had gotten in touch with the lady's husband.


Lack of training and stopping to help an injured athlete.


This race is really losing it's appeal. The addition of the sprint race has made the bike leg dangerous. The change in schedule has reduced the numbers. The lack of markers/accuracy of the swim is frustrating. The change in the run course, from the golf course to the road is disappointing. I really enjoyed this race when it first debuted but over the last 2 years, it has really changed for the worse. I will be considering a different race for my end of the season race next year.