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2012-05-19 2:48 PM
in reply to: #4183015

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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed
http://m.jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2012-05-19/story/man-dies-du... />
Godspeed. Prayers to his family. The swim was rough.


2012-05-19 3:24 PM
in reply to: #4183015

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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

Wow.  I didn't hear anything about the fatality during the event.  My sympathy to his family.  What a horror.  I can't imagine the anguish if my family were waiting and couldn't find me on the course or at the finish.

I wonder if he was wearing a wet suit and if he had any other health complications or simply drowned.

The swim was rough enough many people were freaked out.  But it was an ocean swim, that's par for the course.  I'd say a "6" on a 1 to 10 where 1 is flat and 10 is small craft advisory/duathlon.  The current helped and most of the waves were pushing the right way, well, except the first 100m.  I love playing in the waves, so I thought it was fun.

2012-05-19 3:41 PM
in reply to: #4183015

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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed
My crew saw the boat bring him in. No wetsuit, unless they took it off on the boat.
2012-05-19 6:40 PM
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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

My wife was close to this so I will post in her words what she saw happen.

 

Completely devastated by this today. After pushing out halfway past the first buoy of the sprint triathlon i heard several people begin to yell for help. I too was exhausted and began to panic as the waves were dragging me against the direction I was trying to go. Folks in the rescue boat had a hard time hearing, as a man near me was yelling for help but the recuers were not responding to his call. I yelled and pointed and they sped over and plucked him out of water. I called out for help at this point and they picked me up as well. When I got in the boat I saw another man in distress. It was so crazy. I looked and his face was in the water. I called out to a lady rescuer who was close by and she got to him just as he was slipping under the water. We finally got him pulled inside the boat along with another woman who was exhausted. It was crazy! The first man pulled out of the water was a nurse and he began working on the man that ultimately died. I did not know that he had died until I found this article. My prayers have been on him all day! Now praying for his family. I heard someone say that there was talk about canceling the swim portion of the race. I wish for this mans sake they had.

Our prayer go out to this mans family.

 

Matt


2012-05-19 8:40 PM
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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed
Gosh, this is so hard to hear about.  My prayers and thoughts go out to the family and all those who close to this tragedy. 
2012-05-20 5:13 PM
in reply to: #4183015

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Alpharetta, GA
Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

I had NO IDEA that there was a tragic death at the race until 11pm last night when watching the news in our hotel room.  My husband and daughter, who were at the finish/transition the whole time, also had no knowledge of a medical emergency during the race.  It sickens me to think that one of the athletes in one of the waves before me didn't make it.

My prayers are with his family and friends.

Andi

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/257094/483/Man-Dies-During-Triathlon-in-Jekyll-Island?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Cbc%7Clarge



2012-05-20 8:11 PM
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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

I heard him screaming and saw them performing CPR when I got out of the water. It was awful.

Swim was awful, and I heard the rescue staff talking about canceling the swim before it started because they couldn't even get the buoys secure.

For comparison, I swam 8:30 on this course last year and a 23:00 this year. Undecided

2012-05-21 12:52 AM
in reply to: #4183015

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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

Am I getting too picky in my old age?

Dear Race Director,

Thank you for hosting the 2012 Turtle Crawl. My sympathy to the family of the athlete who died, 
and to you for managing the tragedy.

Regarding the race, please consider the following in the spirit intended, that of constructive criticism. There are many things which were done very well, here are a few which could be better.

1. The website states USAT age up rules. I agree with my listing I as 50 years old, per USAT rules.  
The website states the age group is 50-54. I was surprised at the awards ceremony to hear my 
name called in the "46-50" age group, rather than the 50-54 age group.  This mistake cost me a 1st place award. 
2. The Friday night packet pickup closed at 6:30. When I arrived at 7:15 there were many Setup 
staff standing around while someone was doing a Q&A of random beginner triathlete questions.  
I suggest for next year, to keep the Friday night packet pickup open until dark, 8pm or so.  Most athletes at this event live more than 1 hour drive away, so by the time they get off work and drive to the venue, it's after 6:30.
3. Race day please do not have one line, waiting for one person, with the one copy of the list, 
who is handling race day registration AND pre-registered packet pickup. I registered months in 
advance and at 6:15am I had to wait 25 minutes in the same line as race day registration.  Why bother to pre-register? Thanks for delaying the start 15 minutes, but this inconvenienced others.
4. Thank you for not cancelling the swim. It's an ocean swim. Some days the ocean is rough.  
For me the surf was not "too rough".  
5. The bike and run courses were well monitored by volunteers and police and well marked with signs.  There were 4 or 5 places on the bike course where a few more directional arrow signs would help.  The first 100 feet of the run needed more cones, signs, volunteers, etc. The area was crowded with spectators.  A boy ran onto the course and bumped into me and fell down, and then I didn't make the left turn, etc.  Perhaps flagging tape, or caution tape, lining the route would help.
6. Was Michelob Ultra a sponsor? I didn't see any Michelob Ultra.
7. The food was good.  The music and the band were nice. The combined 4 events (5k, 10k, Sprint, Oly) awards ceremony was too long.  Tell the DJ to "keep it moving". Start the awards sooner. Seriously, 2+ hours of awards ceremony? Painfully long and no beer.
8. The website states Champion Chip Timing System (5 splits provided).  What's up with the "Bike+T2" in the results? (4 splits provided)
9. Please provide some electrolyte (Powerade) at the aid station at mile 2/mile 4 on the run.  
The Olympic distance athletes are 2+ hours on the course at this point and electrolytes are needed.

 

2012-05-21 5:54 AM
in reply to: #4219804

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Alpharetta, GA
Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed
AtlantaBill - 2012-05-21 1:52 AM

Am I getting too picky in my old age?

Dear Race Director,

Thank you for hosting the 2012 Turtle Crawl. My sympathy to the family of the athlete who died, 
and to you for managing the tragedy.

Regarding the race, please consider the following in the spirit intended, that of constructive criticism. There are many things which were done very well, here are a few which could be better.

1. The website states USAT age up rules. I agree with my listing I as 50 years old, per USAT rules.  
The website states the age group is 50-54. I was surprised at the awards ceremony to hear my 
name called in the "46-50" age group, rather than the 50-54 age group.  This mistake cost me a 1st place award. 
2. The Friday night packet pickup closed at 6:30. When I arrived at 7:15 there were many Setup 
staff standing around while someone was doing a Q&A of random beginner triathlete questions.  
I suggest for next year, to keep the Friday night packet pickup open until dark, 8pm or so.  Most athletes at this event live more than 1 hour drive away, so by the time they get off work and drive to the venue, it's after 6:30.
3. Race day please do not have one line, waiting for one person, with the one copy of the list, 
who is handling race day registration AND pre-registered packet pickup. I registered months in 
advance and at 6:15am I had to wait 25 minutes in the same line as race day registration.  Why bother to pre-register? Thanks for delaying the start 15 minutes, but this inconvenienced others.
4. Thank you for not cancelling the swim. It's an ocean swim. Some days the ocean is rough.  
For me the surf was not "too rough".  
5. The bike and run courses were well monitored by volunteers and police and well marked with signs.  There were 4 or 5 places on the bike course where a few more directional arrow signs would help.  The first 100 feet of the run needed more cones, signs, volunteers, etc. The area was crowded with spectators.  A boy ran onto the course and bumped into me and fell down, and then I didn't make the left turn, etc.  Perhaps flagging tape, or caution tape, lining the route would help.
6. Was Michelob Ultra a sponsor? I didn't see any Michelob Ultra.
7. The food was good.  The music and the band were nice. The combined 4 events (5k, 10k, Sprint, Oly) awards ceremony was too long.  Tell the DJ to "keep it moving". Start the awards sooner. Seriously, 2+ hours of awards ceremony? Painfully long and no beer.
8. The website states Champion Chip Timing System (5 splits provided).  What's up with the "Bike+T2" in the results? (4 splits provided)
9. Please provide some electrolyte (Powerade) at the aid station at mile 2/mile 4 on the run.  
The Olympic distance athletes are 2+ hours on the course at this point and electrolytes are needed.

 

Agreed. 

To add to #8, add timing mats immediately after exiting the swim.  (This is how GA Multisports did it.)  This way, you have a more accurate swim time because it doesn't include a 400 yardish run to transition, where the timing mat was located.  That run should be part of the T1 time, not the swim time...

Adding to #1, they messed up the sprint female top 3 at the awards ceremony.  I went up and so did another girl.  We stood on position #2 and #3 looking around for #1.  Well, apparently I was #1, she was #2 and #3 never even got her overall award becuse they messed it up... those are cool awards and I feel for the #3 girl who didn't get hers!  Now to fix it me & the other girl would  have to mail ours back... etc.

Because of the death as far as I am concerned I'm overlooking everthing and won't hold anything of these little things against Set Up Events (like I normally probably would). 

Andi

2012-05-21 7:45 AM
in reply to: #4183015

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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

I've had a good race overall it was my first ocean swim and it was rough, no buoys nothing to orient yourself and the last two buoys were so far out I had no idea if I was swimming in the right direction. I saw peole to the right of me swimming down the shoreline and I don't think they even went around the buoys to go back in.

That transition from Swim to Bike was just horrible, up the beach, up the stair around the curbs I was wondering where in the world the transition was.

Bike was ok and well marked and it was fine my GPS did show it little longer then the race said but no big gripes there.

Now the run was something else, where did all the aid stations go? I saw two on the whole course and another one that had one guy working it and he couldn't pour water fast enough so no water there. Last two miles in the run i didn't see an aid station. No electrolytes just water and it killed me.

Agree with the awards way too long and when they print the results why not put persons age on the print outs so you can see where you stack up? I don't get that part.

Overall a good race and has potential to be a fast race if conditions were right. Wind and surf got me in this time around but I'll probably do this race again

Edin

2012-05-21 8:25 AM
in reply to: #4183015

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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

Condolences to the family of the man who didn't make it

The water was very rough, I haven't been tossed around in the water like that since I was a teenager surfing in SoCal. Joel (hubby) and I both did the olympic, he told me after the race he was having such a tough time in the water he almost quit the race in the water, but was able to hold it together. I saw many people neglect to go around both buoys, but with the conditions I don't think officials were really concerned at that point. Despite this, I was happy the swim wasn't canceled. With the current, my swim time was about 10 minutes faster than my 1500 pool swim time. 

I had to go very slow at a few points on the bike course because cars on the road would not give us any space

Not enough aid stations on the run, and it would have been nice to have sports drink along with water, I was very parched from swallowing so much sea water. When I crossed the finish line I chugged a powerade and a water in mere seconds.

For the results, I agree that the printout they posted should have your division placement to prevent people from waiting around 2+ hours. My drive to the race was only 1 hour 40 minutes, but I know many people came from North GA, SC, NC, Alabama, etc. and would have liked to get on the road as soon as possible

What was with those age groups? I won the 26-30 division, but wasn't it supposed to be 25-29?

Overall, I had a good time and it was a fun race. I will do it again next year. I will carry a handheld bottle on the run next year. I got to meet and hang out with Edin and his wife, and I got to briefly meet Katie (crazyalaskin). Great meeting you guys



2012-05-21 11:58 AM
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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

It was an interesting day that's for sure.  I had no clue about the man until I was in the medical trailer after the race and another athlete asked them if he had made it (to which they were aware that he had not).  It's difficult for me to reconcile someone dying after making the choice to pursue such an active lifestyle but it seems to be a sad reality with triathlons and marathons.  I believe that someone died at IM Louisville last year and someone died at St Anthony's a few years prior.

As for the race....

The swim was rough but not as rough as two years ago.  The waves and lack of buoys definitely kept me disoriented through most of the swim.  I had they same qualm about no electrolytes on the run and was in a world of misery most of the second half of the run.  They had dismantled the last aid station (mile 1/mile 5ish) by the time I got to it (they must have run out of water at it).  I ended up laying in the shade downing the bottle of water and powerade I got at the finish and then going to the medical trailer to inhale 4 more bottles of water/powerade before I was up for moving around.  I always suffer on the run at this race but this year was ridiculous.  

My comments on the race management are as follows.....

1) No clear race day itinerary anywhere that I could locate.  The only thing I ever found was the time the transition area was to close.

2) No course maps.  I've done the race before but felt blind going in as I didn't know how the new convention center and completion of road construction would affect the race.

3) Weird age groups.  I've seen age groups merged because of the number of entrants but never an oddly arbitrary shift by one year.

4) Lack of chip timing on the swim course.  This is the first year it was a wave start and not time trial and I seem to recall them at least having the timing mat prior to the dune crossover last year.

5) Aid stations on the run.  More and, ideally, with less nasty water and or electrolytes.  

I still love the venue and was really impressed with the new park and convention center.  We will be back next year.  It was nice meeting you, Jillian.  Good race!

2012-05-25 9:00 AM
in reply to: #4218287


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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

Hi Jeff1975, Crazyalaskian, jillian_0, es185071, Andritrigirl, AtlantaBill, ijen0311, mborb,

We were with Chris and his wife that day racing and are still trying to piece together the events as no one in our group was on the beach. If you feel comfortable sharing, I would love to hear about what you saw/experienced because any nugget will help us piece the day together.  We had originally been told he was floating in the water face down for upwards of 15 min before being rescued, and now with the help of eye witness accounts we are starting to learn different.  So if there is anything you can share be it from the water or on the shorelines I'm sure it will help us wrap our heads around what happened.  Or even experiences you had during the course of the race that highlight potential improvements in racer safety. 

He was a great athlete, this wasn't his first "rodeo" so we're all a bit thrown with what's happened.   He loved the competition of it, he loved the challenge...and most of all he loved the people.  We've learned that he probably drowned because he said get the others in trouble first and then come back for me.  Our goal is to highlight some of the missed safety opportunities.  We've been in contact with race organizers, they have been very receptive to our constructive feedback and want to make sure that our feedback is objectively represented and Chris' final moments are accurately portrayed.

Thanks for any information you may be able to share,

Erin Buchanan

[email protected]



Edited by erinjb 2012-05-25 9:10 AM
2012-05-25 11:22 AM
in reply to: #4228742

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Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

Erin,

My wife met Chris's Wife at the funeral yesterday and  has left information with her to be able to get in contact with us for any help we can provide. 

Matt

2012-05-26 2:10 PM
in reply to: #4183015


6

Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed
Thanks Matt, yes Lisa told me that night of your meeting....and we will certainly reach out to collect details. Thank you for coming to honor Chris!!!
2012-06-01 5:31 PM
in reply to: #4219581


6

Subject: RE: Jekyll Island Turtle Crawl reports needed

Hi ijen0311,

I have just had a chance to finally sit down and read through some of the responses to my post.  I would LOVE to have a chance to talk with you about what you experienced and saw that day.  With the help of a few people like you we've been able piece together much more of the story of the day than any of us had just 2 weeks ago.  If you'd be willing to share, I'd love to listen.  I can be reached directly at [email protected].

Thank you, and I feel horrible that you had to see what you saw on that beach; I'm sure it wasn't a highlight.

Thanks!!

Erin

 



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