WTC doing away with mass starts at races - Discuss (Page 2)

Yeah, but like a LOT of things in life, they are trying to save their image and appear like they are making attempts to make it safer.  Damage control.

Kind of sucks that people are so "knee jerk".  If WTC continues to do nothing, people will criticize so it's easier to appear to do something which may or may not have any effect just for appearance sake.

Gosh, can't think the last time the government did anything just for appearances! 

Point of order, there was no time limit at the first Konas.  As I recall there was one or more 24 hour finishers?

I decided to vote "bad" after some thought.  Mostly because I'm a traditionalist and like it the way it is.  Why mess with a good thing?

But if they changed it to a wave start, it won't impact my decision to do another one or not in the least.

I suspect it has more to do with insurance cost.

lower risk (as seen by insurance companies) = lower insurance cost.

or..to add more people to the race.

Probably.  Both.   Ironically, the problem seems to have arisen as a result of adding more people.

I would answer the same on all counts.  Glad I got to experience it a couple times, but no big whoop if I ever do again

The wave start at Auckland meant a lot of waiting around - I was in the last wave at 7.40?  My friend was in the first after the pros an hour earlier.  It was cold.  And you had to line up in your wetsuit so bathroom breaks were kind of out of the question for that hour.

Having said that, I felt great during that swim, only 40 or so in my wave, no one behind swimming over me, there were 5mins between each wave so it was really clear water.

Cairns HIM last year, no wave start but IM went off 20 mins after us (pros first), i got totally swum over by a few of them - thanks Macca - but really it was no drama.

So I think I'm on the fence - whatever they tell me I do it, thems the rules I suppose.  Waves are normally given different colour caps to wear so you can see your age group pretty easily...for seeing where you are in the running.

The swim deaths are not all from IM mass starts, when usat looked at swim deaths there was no correlation the type of race (sprint vs IM) or experience of the athlete.

I agree though that this would seem to try to avert an accidental injury or death.

The only people that this would hurt would be those that want to be competitive.  There is 0% chance of getting injured during a mass start because the swimmer CHOOSES to participate.  If you don't want to get in the may-lay, then you wait until it's gone and start your day.  It's that easy. 

If you want to play, then play. 

This would be yet another lowering of the bar for the least common denominator.  It's not because of actual safety (maybe perceived safety).  It's either to get more people on course or to bring in fresh blood by saying it's 'easier or safer'.

The medical consensus (from the cardiologists) is that increased adrenaline, along with other factors, is a potential significant contributor.  It makes sense for WTC and other race directors to try and minimize as many potential contributing factors as possible.  Look for more warm-up swims before races also.

For those who are stating that the number of deaths in triathlon are insignificant....give thanks that you are alive to state that.

How?  There were more deaths in wave and time trial starts than in mass starts. 

This is largely because there are more wave and time trial starts, but there is NO reason to believe that mass starts are more dangerous.

Deep water starts at least force a warm up.

I would prefer mass starts. 

I also think that the decision needs to be based on the course.  The only WTC mass start race I've done is Honu 70.3.  As a MOP swimmer, and FOP biker, it usually takes me about 15 miles before I ever move to the right side of the road because I'm constantly passing (right before the climb to Hawi)...sometimes at a high rate of speed.  If this race were changed to a wave start, where the last wave is about 30 minutes after the first wave, I would imagine you would see carnage on the bike course.  The reason being that the fastest bikers in the later waves would not yet have passed the slowest bikers from the early waves before the descent from Hawi.

Because there are 30-40 mph crosswind gusts coming from your left shoulder on the descent...NOBODY rides on the right side of the road as it is (FYI the road is closed to vehicle traffic).  You honestly need to ride closer to the middle of the lane just in case you get blown 2-3 feet right...otherwise you get blown into the lava rocks.  Now imagine if you're ripping down Hawi in you're aero bars at 38 mph and the person you're trying to pass is sitting up, death gripping their bull horns at 22 mph (in fact, I know people who were applying their brakes, going down the descent much slower because they were so scared).  As it is...I already feel a little uncomfortable passing someone on the descent when the speed difference is less than 3 mph...because you need to give so much room to pass safely, you often have to look back to make sure someone isn't passing you as well.

This is just one race specific example.  I don't think that the WTC should suddenly convert all races to wave starts without thinking it through.

IMCDA will be more of a TT start (they have been calling it a "flow" start) than a wave start.  You pick when you want to start based on your anticipated swim time - the fastest line up first, the slowest line up last. 

They will launch groups of about 100 every fifteen seconds starting at 6:35 (the pros go at 6:00).  The last group leaves at 7:00 and the cutoff is 9:20 for everyone.  The timing mat is at the edge of the water, and once you cross it you have 17 hours.  Everyone that crosses the finish before midnight gets a medal, shirt and hat - but the official results will show DNF if you didn't make it in 17 hours.

This will be my first IM, so I don't have any experience with the mass start.  I have to say that even though it was something I stressed about, I am kind of disappointed I won't get to experience it.  But, with 100 people every 15 seconds, I'm sure I can get in all the contact I want, or more importantly, have a better chance of avoiding it.

My biggest disappointment is that my finish line photo won't have my actual time on the clock!

FWIW...XTERRA Worlds went to a wave start for 2012.

it didn't really matter too much over all, yet the swim was still chaos...but you felt like you didn't know what's going on relative to others during the race. Since it's a championship, you like to know that if you pass someone, you really did so time-wise, but you might not have.

also they tried to save time by not marking the calves w AG, so you were really "blind" for competition.

I've never done an IM and have never done a mass start but there is something very "IM" about the mass start. I love watching the videos.

The thing that would concern me about a wave start is how much waiting around you'll potentially have to do. It's already a long day to begin with so to add another hour where you can't be in transition and you're just waiting would probably suck.

I imagine WTC is trying to cover their behinds with all the press about swim deaths.

Chris: You say this is a rumor, have you or anyone else seen any firm info on this? Seems like it would have to come out pretty soon if they were going to implement it for races this year.

I voted bad idea. I'm doing IM WI this Fall (my first) and one of the reasons I chose it over Louisville was I wanted to experience the mass start of an IM. I agree with several others, if you don't want to be in the scrum all you have to do is wait a few minutes and you can have all the clear water you want. I also agree with others that I like the idea of everyone being on the same clock. Lastly and less important but still a factor, when I cross the line of an IM I want the clock to read my actual time. It's something I have pictured in my head for years and may seem silly but still a factor for me.