** Texasman Update**

Predictions anyone??

Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1pm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Cloudy, with a high near 80. Windy, with a west northwest wind between 20 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

My prediction is the race gets cancelled.  High schools are moving/cancelling Friday and Saturday games.  Colleges are moving and cancelling Saturday games.   With the amount of prep time that is needed to put on a tri, not to mention the need for law enforcement to handle intersections, etc., I just think that they will decide the risk is too high. 

With lots of rain and potentially 40-50mph winds in the forecast, it would be too much of  a liability to try and put this race on.  My guess is that local law enforcement will need to be available for emergency services rather than race duty.  All in all, I give it a 10% chance that the race happens this weekend...hopefully if they decide to scratch it, they will postpone it instead of a complete cancel.

But then again, this is Texas, and the weathermen are rarely correct, so Sunday may very well be sunny and 75 degrees. 

They have to make the decision now.  If they wait until Sunday, then all the resources and  assets are used up, i.e. money.  Stuff is bought, law enforcement paid for, etc.  Then the race is just cancelled completely.  If they make the call early enough then they may be able to reserved those assets and reschedule for a later date.

TJ

UPDATED, September 11 , 2008, 10:00 a.m.: Hurricane Ike Update!

As an multisport athlete for the past 20-years, I know you're probably looking for one word regarding Texas Man, is it cancelled or is it a go?

Over the past 48-hours, here are the options we considered.

Please keep in mind, this is a "poker game." We are aware that our decison will not make everyone happy. Our main goal was to make sure Texas Man, 2008 did take place!

Option A. Go as scheduled. If we do, and Hurricane Ike makes its way to Dallas as projected, there is a high probability that the event will be cancelled or negatively impacted.

With the winds and rain that are suppose to accompany Ike, turnout would be minimal at best. We would receive complaints, "You knew a hurricane was coming and you offered no options!?"

In Option A, all fees would be paid, leaving with zero options to reschedule.

Option B. Cancel the event. We do NOT want to do this! We WANT to put on the event! Cancelling offers NO upside! It hurts the athletes, vendors, sponsors and us.

Option C. Try to reschedule. This means calling police, sponsors, timing companies, permits, band, park authorities, etc. Think of it as planning a wedding for 12-months only to move it at the last minute!

If we reschedule, we will have some athletes who say, "I cannot make it on the make-up date!"

Here is our decision. We have choosen Option C. Texas Man has been rescheduled for Sunday, September 21.

I know not all of you will agree with our decision. Heck, even looking at the weather, something tells me the storm could miss us! But it is not about me. It is about you. If the storm hits, race day will be miserable. All your training for a cold, windy, rainy day.

One-week. That is all we ask. Give us one-week in hopes of better weather! As I've written, WE WANT TO PUT ON TEXAS MAN! WE WANT TO SHOW YOU A GOOD TIME

Seems like they were as reasonable as possible, but here's my question.  If the storm is supposed to hit Saturday and Sunday, and they have acknowledged that many people travel from out of town to race, why are they keeping packet pick-up THIS weekend?  Makes no sense.  for those traveling from out-of-town for race weekend, they will not travel this wekeend to pick up a packet (in the storm) and then next weekend to race.

Seems it would have been smarter to push packet pick-up back as well.