General Discussion Triathlon Talk » 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :( Rss Feed  
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2010-06-19 4:46 PM


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Subject: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
Anyone else miss the good old days with Barry and a functional packet pick-up line!  Come back please!!!!  Maybe the mDot circus can learn a thing or two from Racing Underground and Without Limits, the local guys who get it right.  Looking forward to My Way and Oktoberfest!


2010-06-19 4:56 PM
in reply to: #2931950

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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
I heard them say something about there being a glitch or something and that it won't be like this for the other races. Not sure what happened since they have double the amount of volunteers this year.  This is my first time doing this race so I know no different but it was very long and hot!!! Definitely room for much improvement.
2010-06-19 5:12 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
I was surprised at how long that took, but considered that part of it might have been self fulfilling prophecy...I got there at noon in case there was a crowd, and thought there were a lot of like-minded people.  At the same time, I didn't see what was slowing the flow down so much aside from the waiver cards, but even that was pretty simple. 
2010-06-19 5:47 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
I got in line at 10:45, and didn't walk out of the registration tent until 11:55.

Based on how SLOW today went, they should open transition earlier than 6:00am tomorrow........just my 2 cents
2010-06-19 6:30 PM
in reply to: #2931950

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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
I got there at 10:30, and it took an hour to get through packet pick up. Lots of volunteers, but the line went very slow. The volunteers were great, but it seemed like nobody was in charge to make adjustments to get it to flow faster. Oh yeah, the race shirts are crappy. The Siff's sure spoiled all of us with thier race coordination, attention to detail, and those cool technical shirts! Hope the Peak is better, but at this point I'm skipping the 5430 sprint next year in favor of one of the many other June races out there. Not that it will matter to the IM folks, they'll have no problem filling this race despite the long lines and high cost of entry.
2010-06-19 7:54 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
Yeah, that was a mess. I spent at least 45 minutes in line. And I dragged my poor mother-in-law, who literally had JUST landed in the state of Colorado, and my 4 year old through it with me. Sheesh.

And seriously...a cotton t-shirt? A lame one, at that? I don't know how much the registration was for the Sprint alone, since I'm signed up for the series, but I bet it was enough to expect a tech shirt! :-(

Edited by trimama530 2010-06-19 7:54 PM


2010-06-19 8:20 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
x3 on the shirt quality, the one I was expecting  was for sale in the store tent for $25...
2010-06-19 8:51 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
That was so disappointing.  I was alone with my 2 kids - ages 2 and 4 - and we spent over an hour in line.  It was so difficult.

Last year I brought bought kids to packet pickup with no problems, but we also went a lot later (like 3 pm instead of 10:45 like we did today.)  I definitely won't be arriving early for the Peak or 70.3 packet pickup.  Hopefully they'll have the process working better by then.

I too am worried about chip pickup tomorrow morning.  Handing out 1600+ chips in an hour & twenty minutes???
2010-06-19 8:51 PM
in reply to: #2932103


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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
agreed, and you can do a really cool cotton t.  I saw a ton of red t's from the Summer open this year, that's a great looking shirt that I'd want to wear out.  I have too many technical bike rags these days!  Good luck to all racing tomorrow
2010-06-19 8:52 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
Glad i got there early. I think I was about the 15th person in line. Did I miss anything at the meetings? I had to run to do a bike time trial. Do I really need to wear the paper number on the bike?????
2010-06-19 8:57 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
acefaser - 2010-06-19 7:52 PM Glad i got there early. I think I was about the 15th person in line. Did I miss anything at the meetings? I had to run to do a bike time trial. Do I really need to wear the paper number on the bike?????


I asked about wearing the paper number on the bike. The guy I spoke with (he was one of the guys on the stage) said he didn't know "why they want that" but he didn't think that anyone would be penalized for it. I said that was good as I might forget to put it on. He suggested I hang my race belt on my bike so I don't forget.  I have never had to wear my number on the bike. I mean we have numbers stuck all over the place on the bike as well as written on our bodies.  Oh well.
Does anyone know how the aid station on the bike works?  I assume they have cups of drink and you either stop for it or.....?


2010-06-19 8:58 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
A guy near me in line got into an argument with one of the organizers.  Her response "it's just different this year, instead of 25 slow lines we have one fast line."  Um, no.  Instead of 25 fast lines you now have one huge and very slow line.

I hope the race is better organized. 
2010-06-19 9:17 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
Kath2163 - 2010-06-19 7:57 PM
acefaser - 2010-06-19 7:52 PM Glad i got there early. I think I was about the 15th person in line. Did I miss anything at the meetings? I had to run to do a bike time trial. Do I really need to wear the paper number on the bike?????


I asked about wearing the paper number on the bike. The guy I spoke with (he was one of the guys on the stage) said he didn't know "why they want that" but he didn't think that anyone would be penalized for it. I said that was good as I might forget to put it on. He suggested I hang my race belt on my bike so I don't forget.  I have never had to wear my number on the bike. I mean we have numbers stuck all over the place on the bike as well as written on our bodies.  Oh well.
Does anyone know how the aid station on the bike works?  I assume they have cups of drink and you either stop for it or.....?



The lady that gave me my packet said I "HAD TO WEAR" my number on the bike!!!!! she stressed that part.  sounds like conflicting reports....but I'm not surprised based on how today went. Wearing my race belt with my number on my back during the bike sounds retarded.

Glad I'm not the only one who's disappointed in the WEAK t-shirt!!
2010-06-19 10:11 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
Kath2163 - 2010-06-19 7:57 PM
acefaser - 2010-06-19 7:52 PM Glad i got there early. I think I was about the 15th person in line. Did I miss anything at the meetings? I had to run to do a bike time trial. Do I really need to wear the paper number on the bike?????


I asked about wearing the paper number on the bike. The guy I spoke with (he was one of the guys on the stage) said he didn't know "why they want that" but he didn't think that anyone would be penalized for it. I said that was good as I might forget to put it on. He suggested I hang my race belt on my bike so I don't forget.  I have never had to wear my number on the bike. I mean we have numbers stuck all over the place on the bike as well as written on our bodies.  Oh well.
Does anyone know how the aid station on the bike works?  I assume they have cups of drink and you either stop for it or.....?


Bike aid stations should have bottles. just toss yours and grab another or have an empty cage to throw the new bottle in.
2010-06-19 10:24 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
Oh, yeah, I forgot about the number on the bike thing! How weird is that?! Do they expect a ton of drafting and are trying to make it easier on the officials to penalize people or something? Admittedly, the bike and helmet numbers are not very huge, but still. Weird.

I'm not worried about chip pick-up. Racing Underground knows what they're doing with it, it should run smoothly.
2010-06-19 10:54 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(

# on the bike is not all that uncommon.  Then again, this is a Sprint.  Best bet, where ur run belt on the bike.  That was the general theme at Ks HIM.  One less thing to worry about in the run transition.

Good luck to everyone out there tomorrow.



2010-06-20 7:43 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
Agree cotton t's suck!!!

Have a friend who was one of the officials who said they had 3 officials for 1600 participants. However I did not wear my paper number on the bike and no one said a word to me. My guess is ironman will phase out the sprint and the peak because they are so big and so important (sarcasm). Next year I will switch to local races like Loveland lake to lake, Harvest and crecent moon.

Hey and how about that line to get your bike outta transition after the race today. Did the race faster than the time I spent standing in lines.

Oh well, I guess a day racing is always better than a day at work!!!
2010-06-20 9:32 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
rjchurchill - 2010-06-20 6:43 PM  Hey and how about that line to get your bike outta transition after the race today. Did the race faster than the time I spent standing in lines.


Honestly, that line wasn't that unusual. And in a race that size, it's kind of a good thing. Speaking as someone who's on the slower side, I appreciate that they restrict the number of people allowed in transition (who are not racing) until the last participant is on the run course. It sucks to try to get in and out of transition when you're dodging people who are standing around talking to their friends or just wandering through with no regard for people who are still trying to RACE. If you've ever raced Danskin or Tri for the Cure (where they DON'T limit transition access), you'd appreciate the restriction. It's a mess. Once the last person was on the run and they opened it up for more than a couple of people at a time to go in, the line flew.

I have to admit, though, that I'm kind of burned out on the bigger races, locally based or not. They can be tons of fun, but they can also be a huge mess. I'm probably not going to get much racing in next summer, but I think I'm going to stick to the smaller races...
2010-06-21 8:51 AM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(

So it sounds like they shot themselves in the foot on the post race access.  The racer's guide says,

"Athletes will not be allowed in the transition area to claim their gear until the last cyclist has finished the bike course and started the run."

So letting 10 at a time in before the last racer was running changed the expectations. As I recall the above is consistent with how it worked last year at the Peak, and there were no complaints then. I think the solution is to spend more time at the Left Hand tent...


Edited by StMaas 2010-06-21 8:53 AM
2010-06-21 11:37 AM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
They could at least put the free beer tent near the get your bike outta jail line
2010-06-21 11:57 AM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
Glad to hear they continued the free beer tent tradition!  I knew Avery hadn't been asked to continue supplying the beer so I figured WTC would have Bud Light for $5/can.  That was part of what made the series so fun -- hanging out in the beer tent afterwards shooting the bull til awards time.


2010-06-21 12:17 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
I agree with everything that has been said. Also, does the words Amica have to be larger than anything else given out. Heck, my kids even came home with Amica cowbells!!!

It was still a fantastic race.

On a side pet-peeve..some of the bike passing was very aggressive. I had one that came up yelling "on your left, on your left" and if I would have gone any further right it would have been through a nice mess of dirt and hay. I had another pass me so close as I was coming towards a tree that I had to ride through the overhanging branches. You would think the person making the pass should be somewhat responsible for looking ahead.

Ok..my vent is over.


I had a great day and really enjoyed the race.
2010-06-21 1:04 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
acefaser - 2010-06-19 9:11 PM
Kath2163 - 2010-06-19 7:57 PM
acefaser - 2010-06-19 7:52 PM Glad i got there early. I think I was about the 15th person in line. Did I miss anything at the meetings? I had to run to do a bike time trial. Do I really need to wear the paper number on the bike?????


I asked about wearing the paper number on the bike. The guy I spoke with (he was one of the guys on the stage) said he didn't know "why they want that" but he didn't think that anyone would be penalized for it. I said that was good as I might forget to put it on. He suggested I hang my race belt on my bike so I don't forget.  I have never had to wear my number on the bike. I mean we have numbers stuck all over the place on the bike as well as written on our bodies.  Oh well.
Does anyone know how the aid station on the bike works?  I assume they have cups of drink and you either stop for it or.....?


Bike aid stations should have bottles. just toss yours and grab another or have an empty cage to throw the new bottle in.



Kind of OT, but would you really need a bottle replacement in a Sprint?  Just struck me as a lot of liquid to be carrying around in your belly on a 5k run.
2010-06-21 1:37 PM
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Subject: RE: 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :(
x2 on some of the passing.  Despite all the emphasis on safe passing, both in the racers guide and the pre-race meeting, Some Guy actually shouted "on your right!, ON YOUR RIGHT!" as I passed the gate house and was very obviously getting my feet out of my shoes to prepare for dismount.  Naturally, I moved to the right so he could pass me safely Wink
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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » 5430 Sprint Packet Pick-Up :( Rss Feed