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Qualify for AG Nationals?
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 2016-01-14 12:35 PM |
 47  New Lenox, Illinois |  Subject: Qualify for AG Nationals?I was a bit surprised this morning when I received an email from USAT saying I qualified for "2016 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships on Aug. 13 in Omaha, Nebraska, after finishing in the top 10 percent in your age group at the South Beach Triathlon." Is it difficult to quality for Age Group Nationals? I ask because I'm pretty slow. The race I did was very small, so I think my qualification may have been a fluke or glitch. Or perhaps every USAT sanctioned race qualifies top 10% from each AG for AG Nationals? In that case I imagine a lot of people qualify. For reference on my speed, my Open Age Group time for the 2015 Chicago ITU race was 1:45:55, good enough for 76th (out of 79!) in my age group, bib 4061. (BUT, I did wait for my wife a few mins at T1 to make sure she got out of the water okay (we're both newbs and slow), so really I could have been closer to 1:40 haha) So, fluke? Or a lot of people qualify? |
| 2016-01-14 12:41 PM in reply to: dlaude6 |
Pro 15655   | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? It's not a fluke AND lots of people qualify....and you're right, it's 10% from each AG and they round up generously. That being said, AG Nationals is an excellent race. You will have a ball and the experience is worth it. USAT puts on great races. Keep in mind, what you qualified for is the Olympic distance race.....BUT, you can still do the sprint race if you want, there is no qualification needed for that one, just sign up. |
| 2016-01-14 1:16 PM in reply to: Left Brain |
| 47 New Lenox, Illinois | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Gotcha, thanks. Maybe we'll hold off a year or so until we're actually decent. Is it 10% from each AG from every USAT sanctioned race? Oh, good point about the Sprint distance - I just assumed that was a qualification race as well, but it's not. |
| 2016-01-14 1:27 PM in reply to: dlaude6 |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by dlaude6 Gotcha, thanks. Maybe we'll hold off a year or so until we're actually decent. Is it 10% from each AG from every USAT sanctioned race? Oh, good point about the Sprint distance - I just assumed that was a qualification race as well, but it's not. Yes, I believe so....at least for sprint and oly distance races. You know, if you want to go do the race then go do the race. You get "decent" by getting an idea of where you'd like to get to and talking to people about how they got there. That's a great place to figure it out. Nobody cares where you finish. Omaha is an easy drive for you......4 years ago it was in Vermont....same race, not so easy, or cheap. Omaha might get two years and then my guess is it goes to the west coast for a few years. Go while you can.....you won't be sorry. |
| 2016-01-14 1:49 PM in reply to: 0 |
| Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Agree with LB, go now! You may never qualify again, and would regret not doing this event. I qualified at a "sprint" with a 1/2 mile swim, 6 mile bike and 2 mile run ETA Yes a lot of people qualify. But not everyone. I am not fast enough to qualify at a true Oly distance, you'd have to be on the podium here where I live to do that and I am not there yet. The sprint race format helped as I am a swimmer. Edited by ChrisM 2016-01-14 1:51 PM |
| 2016-01-14 1:56 PM in reply to: dlaude6 |
| Member 587 | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by dlaude6 Gotcha, thanks. Maybe we'll hold off a year or so until we're actually decent. Is it 10% from each AG from every USAT sanctioned race? Oh, good point about the Sprint distance - I just assumed that was a qualification race as well, but it's not. As others have posted, don't hold off a year. Go this year if it works for your schedule. Don't worry about being fast enough, just go & enjoy the race. It is a great event. |
| 2016-01-14 2:07 PM in reply to: 5stones |
| 47 New Lenox, Illinois | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Thanks for the tips, all. The big reason I was on the fence is because that's the same weekend as an annual family trip to a large festival up in Michigan (Blueberry Festival). A weekend I look forward to each year. By 'decent', I just meant by my own standards - you're right, I don't worry about how others view my speed. I thought about it some more since my initial post, and I'm no where near top 10% in my AG yet! My wife and I DEFINITELY got lucky to qualify. I think it was a combination of being a small race and us doing the super sprint distance - they must have lumped us into another distance for qualification purposes, and SOMEHOW our times were qualifying. That's kind of why I said glitch/fluke in my OP, that may not be the right word for it, but with our speed, 'luck' definitely played a role. Either way, the more I think about it, the more I agree with what you guys have said. I can't bank on us qualifying in future years, we'd regret it if we didn't do it, Omaha IS a good location for us, etc. All very valid points, and I'm now convinced that we should sign up. |
| 2016-01-14 3:03 PM in reply to: dlaude6 |
Master 3888  Overland Park, KS | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? I've been the last two years in Milwaukee and it was a superb race experience. In baseball terms, it's like going to the SHOW, you hit the major leagues etc Participating there also give you a little fuel for the next year. |
| 2016-01-14 3:36 PM in reply to: Left Brain |
Member 1748 Exton, PA | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by Left Brain It's not a fluke AND lots of people qualify....and you're right, it's 10% from each AG and they round up generously. That being said, AG Nationals is an excellent race. You will have a ball and the experience is worth it. USAT puts on great races. Keep in mind, what you qualified for is the Olympic distance race.....BUT, you can still do the sprint race if you want, there is no qualification needed for that one, just sign up. That's funny, I've won my age group is a couple of USAT sanctioned sprint events and have yet to get an invitation. I would only do it if it were on the East coast any due to costs. |
| 2016-01-14 3:38 PM in reply to: mike761 |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by mike761 Originally posted by Left Brain That's funny, I've won my age group is a couple of USAT sanctioned sprint events and have yet to get an invitation. I would only do it if it were on the East coast any due to costs. It's not a fluke AND lots of people qualify....and you're right, it's 10% from each AG and they round up generously. That being said, AG Nationals is an excellent race. You will have a ball and the experience is worth it. USAT puts on great races. Keep in mind, what you qualified for is the Olympic distance race.....BUT, you can still do the sprint race if you want, there is no qualification needed for that one, just sign up. They hate you. |
| 2016-01-14 3:45 PM in reply to: mike761 |
Extreme Veteran 3025 Maryland | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by mike761 Originally posted by Left Brain That's funny, I've won my age group is a couple of USAT sanctioned sprint events and have yet to get an invitation. I would only do it if it were on the East coast any due to costs. It's not a fluke AND lots of people qualify....and you're right, it's 10% from each AG and they round up generously. That being said, AG Nationals is an excellent race. You will have a ball and the experience is worth it. USAT puts on great races. Keep in mind, what you qualified for is the Olympic distance race.....BUT, you can still do the sprint race if you want, there is no qualification needed for that one, just sign up. if an overall podium came out of your age group they are still counted in the calculation |
| 2016-01-15 6:40 AM in reply to: Left Brain |
Member 1748 Exton, PA | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by Left Brain Originally posted by mike761 Originally posted by Left Brain That's funny, I've won my age group is a couple of USAT sanctioned sprint events and have yet to get an invitation. I would only do it if it were on the East coast any due to costs. It's not a fluke AND lots of people qualify....and you're right, it's 10% from each AG and they round up generously. That being said, AG Nationals is an excellent race. You will have a ball and the experience is worth it. USAT puts on great races. Keep in mind, what you qualified for is the Olympic distance race.....BUT, you can still do the sprint race if you want, there is no qualification needed for that one, just sign up. They hate you. [/QUOTE could be  |
| 2016-01-15 10:43 AM in reply to: dmiller5 |
Pro 6011 Camp Hill, Pennsylvania | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by dmiller5 Originally posted by mike761 Originally posted by Left Brain That's funny, I've won my age group is a couple of USAT sanctioned sprint events and have yet to get an invitation. I would only do it if it were on the East coast any due to costs. It's not a fluke AND lots of people qualify....and you're right, it's 10% from each AG and they round up generously. That being said, AG Nationals is an excellent race. You will have a ball and the experience is worth it. USAT puts on great races. Keep in mind, what you qualified for is the Olympic distance race.....BUT, you can still do the sprint race if you want, there is no qualification needed for that one, just sign up. if an overall podium came out of your age group they are still counted in the calculation ^^^This^^^ or the RD never sent the results to USAT. That happens too.
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| 2016-01-15 11:57 AM in reply to: TriMyBest |
Master 3888 Overland Park, KS | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by TriMyBest Originally posted by dmiller5 Originally posted by mike761 Originally posted by Left Brain That's funny, I've won my age group is a couple of USAT sanctioned sprint events and have yet to get an invitation. I would only do it if it were on the East coast any due to costs. It's not a fluke AND lots of people qualify....and you're right, it's 10% from each AG and they round up generously. That being said, AG Nationals is an excellent race. You will have a ball and the experience is worth it. USAT puts on great races. Keep in mind, what you qualified for is the Olympic distance race.....BUT, you can still do the sprint race if you want, there is no qualification needed for that one, just sign up. if an overall podium came out of your age group they are still counted in the calculation ^^^This^^^ or the RD never sent the results to USAT. That happens too.
I did a race at the end of last summer less than a month before nationals and was presented with an award for being first in my AG. But the overall winner was also in my AG so technically I was 2nd. There were only 9 in our AG. So I contacted USAT, told them I got a 1st in AG award. They looked up the results on line since the RD hadn't sent in the results yet. I was very pleasant and appreciative in my email correspondence and the next day I got the registration link. Sometimes you just have to ask  , nicely, say pretty please with sugar on top |
| 2016-01-15 12:00 PM in reply to: reecealan |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by reecealan Originally posted by TriMyBest I did a race at the end of last summer less than a month before nationals and was presented with an award for being first in my AG. But the overall winner was also in my AG so technically I was 2nd. There were only 9 in our AG. So I contacted USAT, told them I got a 1st in AG award. They looked up the results on line since the RD hadn't sent in the results yet. I was very pleasant and appreciative in my email correspondence and the next day I got the registration link. Sometimes you just have to ask Originally posted by dmiller5 Originally posted by mike761 Originally posted by Left Brain That's funny, I've won my age group is a couple of USAT sanctioned sprint events and have yet to get an invitation. I would only do it if it were on the East coast any due to costs. It's not a fluke AND lots of people qualify....and you're right, it's 10% from each AG and they round up generously. That being said, AG Nationals is an excellent race. You will have a ball and the experience is worth it. USAT puts on great races. Keep in mind, what you qualified for is the Olympic distance race.....BUT, you can still do the sprint race if you want, there is no qualification needed for that one, just sign up. if an overall podium came out of your age group they are still counted in the calculation ^^^This^^^ or the RD never sent the results to USAT. That happens too.
, nicely, say pretty please with sugar on top I have dozens of dealing with the folks in the USAT office........based on my experiences with them I can't imagine that anyone ever has a bad one. I have never found them unwilling to help, no matter what the issue. |
| 2016-01-15 1:08 PM in reply to: Left Brain |
| 1502 Katy, Texas | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by Left Brain Originally posted by dlaude6 Gotcha, thanks. Maybe we'll hold off a year or so until we're actually decent. Is it 10% from each AG from every USAT sanctioned race? Oh, good point about the Sprint distance - I just assumed that was a qualification race as well, but it's not. Yes, I believe so....at least for sprint and oly distance races. You know, if you want to go do the race then go do the race. You get "decent" by getting an idea of where you'd like to get to and talking to people about how they got there. That's a great place to figure it out. Nobody cares where you finish. Omaha is an easy drive for you......4 years ago it was in Vermont....same race, not so easy, or cheap. Omaha might get two years and then my guess is it goes to the west coast for a few years. Go while you can.....you won't be sorry. I got the invite for B2B half Ironma....I mean Iron "distance" triathlon, so apparently they use that distance too. |
| 2016-01-15 2:29 PM in reply to: Left Brain |
Pro 6011 Camp Hill, Pennsylvania | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by Left Brain Originally posted by reecealan Originally posted by TriMyBest I did a race at the end of last summer less than a month before nationals and was presented with an award for being first in my AG. But the overall winner was also in my AG so technically I was 2nd. There were only 9 in our AG. So I contacted USAT, told them I got a 1st in AG award. They looked up the results on line since the RD hadn't sent in the results yet. I was very pleasant and appreciative in my email correspondence and the next day I got the registration link. Sometimes you just have to ask Originally posted by dmiller5 Originally posted by mike761 Originally posted by Left Brain That's funny, I've won my age group is a couple of USAT sanctioned sprint events and have yet to get an invitation. I would only do it if it were on the East coast any due to costs. It's not a fluke AND lots of people qualify....and you're right, it's 10% from each AG and they round up generously. That being said, AG Nationals is an excellent race. You will have a ball and the experience is worth it. USAT puts on great races. Keep in mind, what you qualified for is the Olympic distance race.....BUT, you can still do the sprint race if you want, there is no qualification needed for that one, just sign up. if an overall podium came out of your age group they are still counted in the calculation ^^^This^^^ or the RD never sent the results to USAT. That happens too.
, nicely, say pretty please with sugar on top I have dozens of dealing with the folks in the USAT office........based on my experiences with them I can't imagine that anyone ever has a bad one. I have never found them unwilling to help, no matter what the issue. I've also always had great experiences dealing with USAT staff.
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| 2016-01-18 7:09 AM in reply to: TriMyBest |
| 754 | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by TriMyBest Originally posted by dmiller5 Originally posted by mike761 Originally posted by Left Brain That's funny, I've won my age group is a couple of USAT sanctioned sprint events and have yet to get an invitation. I would only do it if it were on the East coast any due to costs. It's not a fluke AND lots of people qualify....and you're right, it's 10% from each AG and they round up generously. That being said, AG Nationals is an excellent race. You will have a ball and the experience is worth it. USAT puts on great races. Keep in mind, what you qualified for is the Olympic distance race.....BUT, you can still do the sprint race if you want, there is no qualification needed for that one, just sign up. if an overall podium came out of your age group they are still counted in the calculation ^^^This^^^ or the RD never sent the results to USAT. That happens too.
I have wondered about that. I have taken first in my AG in a couple of races, and second OA in a duathlon, but have never gotten an invitation. I thought maybe it was because I tend to do smaller races. |
| 2016-01-20 9:11 AM in reply to: happyscientist |
| 47 New Lenox, Illinois | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Wife and I both decided to sign-up, so we're all registered. Thanks for the advice, all. Our goals? To not be last to cross the line and not be slowest to finish the race. haha. |
| 2016-01-20 2:42 PM in reply to: dlaude6 |
| Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by dlaude6 Wife and I both decided to sign-up, so we're all registered. Thanks for the advice, all. Our goals? To not be last to cross the line and not be slowest to finish the race. haha. Good luck and have fun!!!! |
| 2016-01-20 5:52 PM in reply to: dlaude6 |
| 538 Brooklyn, New York | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by dlaude6 Wife and I both decided to sign-up, so we're all registered. Thanks for the advice, all. Our goals? To not be last to cross the line and not be slowest to finish the race. haha. Good luck. Keep us posted on the experience. |
| 2016-08-15 8:42 AM in reply to: dlaude6 |
| 47 New Lenox, Illinois | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by TJHammer Originally posted by dlaude6 Wife and I both decided to sign-up, so we're all registered. Thanks for the advice, all. Our goals? To not be last to cross the line and not be slowest to finish the race. haha. Good luck. Keep us posted on the experience. Well, here's an update, just in case anyone reading this is in a similar situation as we were/are. We got to Omaha on Friday around 4:30pm. Wife was nervous we'd be cutting it too close. There was no line at all at check-in (I had a feeling that would be the case because we were so late to get there) so that was a breeze. Went to drop off our bikes, also a breeze. The venue, set-up, volunteers, etc. - all were great. Race was a great atmosphere. Overall, the experience was great. We're really glad we did it. We were both nervous about the race because everyone of all ages would be passing us all throughout the course, but we knew we'd be fine if we just stayed to the far right haha. There was a little bit of parking lot congestion, but it wasn't too bad. Lot of space for parking. Overall, good venue and course, except for one massive climb on the bike on the way out, brutal. Originally posted by dlaude6 Wife and I both decided to sign-up, so we're all registered. Thanks for the advice, all. Our goals? To not be last to cross the line and not be slowest to finish the race. haha. As for our goals, well, they were somewhat vague on purpose haha. I was the first wave and she was the second, so fortunately we were not the last to cross the line, that was our main goal. Second goal was to not be slowest to finish the race. Well, I was 1934 and she was 2020, out of 2045 who finished, so I guess we accomplished that goal as well haha. We were both the last finishers in our age group (2 DNFs in her AG and 1 in mine), but that wasn't really a surprise to us . She was about 20 mins the person ahead of her in her AG and I was about 30. Yikes lol. In all, good experience and we're glad we did it. We don't foresee ourselves ever qualifying again, so we're glad we did it. After the race we were both a bit deflated due to the realization of just how slow we are, but we tried our best to spin it as a motivator. We're more leisure triathletes though, we just do it to stay in shape, so we're not sure how fast we'll ever get. The race reminded me of that quote, something like "throw an average person in the mix for each Olympic event just to see how fast/good the Olympians are"...yeah, that's how we felt haha. We have a sprint distance at a little venue up in Michigan on the 27th of August, so hopefully that'll help us bounce back to enjoying races again. |
| 2016-08-15 10:03 AM in reply to: dlaude6 |
| 1660 | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Qualifying for AG nationals isn't a fluke, but it's HIGHLY dependent on the races you pick. The top 10% AG criteria is solely based upon who shows up - it is not based on the USAT score (which is normalized so even if a weaker field shows up, you get less points if you don't go as fast.)
Where I am in typically very-competitive Norcal, you often need beat top KQ-qualified triathletes just to get a podium slot in a local tri in M30-45 age groups. These guys are fast. When the whole team from EverymanJack shows up at every race, you're talking sub 2:08 Olys just to have a chance at qualifyign.
However, I did one race out of Norcal this year, and it was super soft field, and thus it was a literaly cakewalk to qualify. I think the guy who finished 3rd in the typically competitive M40-45 AG and thus placed in the top10% criteria that day wouldn't have even gotten to the dead MOP (like 20/40) in a typical Norcal race where it's a stacked field with tons of guys from Every man Jack and other amateur-sponsored teams taking all the top slots.
So it's a nice accomplishment, but I'd put a lot more weight on your USAT% score, which isn't field dependent. If you're hitting 90%+ in USAT, you're doing very well.
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| 2016-08-15 11:04 AM in reply to: dlaude6 |
Master 3888 Overland Park, KS | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by dlaude6 "... We don't foresee ourselves ever qualifying again" Don't count yourselves out. You can still be "Leisurely" triathletes and get a little faster each year. Look at it this way, you can be MORE fit, not just fit. Anyhow congratulations on your finish! |
| 2016-08-15 11:21 AM in reply to: reecealan |
| 47 New Lenox, Illinois | Subject: RE: Qualify for AG Nationals? Originally posted by reecealan Originally posted by dlaude6 "... We don't foresee ourselves ever qualifying again" Don't count yourselves out. You can still be "Leisurely" triathletes and get a little faster each year. Look at it this way, you can be MORE fit, not just fit. Anyhow congratulations on your finish! Great points, thanks! |
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