Columbia Triathlon : Official Thread (Page 6)

I would imagine I was much later bc I was so slow, and all the stops seemed able to more than handle our numbers, though I imagine that if you were sprinting & in a crowd, it might've been a challenge. Can't imagine how tough it is to get that many volunteers, though, thinking about just the sheer number involved from packet prep to registration to venue, bike, run, etc..

That was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life! Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement over the past few months. For those of you there yesterday ringing cowbells, and giving such great words of encouragement, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! (If you are wondering who I was, picture the 280 pound guy on the road bike). I had NO IDEA what "hilly" meant. I was about an hour and a half slower than I thought I'd be even after a decent swim leg (30 minutes). That bike course CRUSHED ME. But I finished and I could not have been more excited! Can't wait to get a real tri bike and crush my time next year. It was an amazing experience and everyone here at BT had a role in me getting through yesterday. Thanks again everyone.

joe

Agreed on the mile markers. I was really hoping to see those. 

There must have been variation over time in the drink station staffing. I was running the most drink-intensive part of the course in the 9:20 - 9:40 am range, and there seemed to be both a lot of runners and a lot of volunteers around. Not sure when the peak flow of runners would have been, based on the mix of wave starts. 

OY! definitely not like that at any that i passed...and I was going slowly enough to notice! lousy timing for you... good thing you were OK without it...

I had the same issue in the neighborhood.  I was one of the last waves, so I was out there late.  Didn't finish until 11.  Not sure if it was different earlier.  I overheard some of the volunteers (at the beginning/end of the neighborhood) saying they wished they had more help.  The volunteers that were out there were great.  They were working really hard to get everyone what they needed.

Congrats to all who raced!  I was one of the volunteers on the run course.  They did have difficulty getting people to volunteer.  I convinced my bike training partner to help out.  He graciously complied even though we had to be there before 6:00 am.  There were only a handful of volunteers for the earlier part of the course.  Actually three of us directed the runners around the first up hill loop.  I was the course "marshall" at the very first turn telling all of you to make a hard left and run up the hill.  Sorry about that.  Even though I stood there for about 5 hours I did enjoy watching all of the athletes.  It was great to see a triathlon from another perspective.  Everyone should volunteer and give back so others can enjoy.

Again, congrats to all who raced!

sure, i BET you're sorry

you & everyone on the run course were so encouraging - really helped minimize the pain! THANKS. My middle-schooler worked the finish line & had a ball.

Nice job, Joe!  Glad to hear you had a great experience and that you are coming back for more pain next year!!

That's true - there really weren't many of us.  I couldn't race so I volunteered and I got post just under 2 miles into the run just before you went up a hill and at 5.something coming back (at the big triagle in the path).  I was supposed to be directing runners at both intersections on the triangle (at least 30 yards apart).  yeah right!  Luckily I was able to direct runners coming down the hilll to the left around the lake and a spectator (actually a few) volunteered to direct the runners coming off the lake up the hill (but they came and went so there wasn't always someone there).  I did the best I could, but I'm sure a few runners took a wrong turn and didn't exit the path around the lake.  We just didn't have the manpower to direct people and staff the water stops I guess.

Oh - and if you're the lady who ran up to me said "hey can you throw this away for me" and shoved your trash into my hands before I could even react - not cool (and illegal).  On the other hand, I was hungry and the half eaten package of Sport Beans you gave me were tasty.  But still, really not cool.

Bummer on the amount of volunteers but thank you Joe for coming out to help.  I thought there were plenty of volunteers and were there to assist in any way possible. 

Free sport beans rounds out a pretty good day.

Im still slow, but at least this year I was 15 minutes less slower than last year.

My only gripe is the 198 year old woman driver on the bike course who refused to pass a slow rider on the return on Homewood Rd. She had at least 50 riders backed up behind her. When she got to the roundabout at Folly Quarter (??) she came to A COMPLETE STOP blocking the road. The police officer saw what was going on and made her pull her car off the road, but not before everyone behind her had to off-road it or ride over the curb on the roundabout.