DATE:  MARCH 16, 2020

CDC 8 WEEK IMPACT.  Until the CDC’s Sunday, March 15th announcement recommending “that for the next 8 weeks, organizers (whether groups or individuals) cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States” we were cautiously optimistic that our May race schedule would proceed as planned.  Based on the new guidance our determination is holding these events in May would not be in the best interest of our athletes, volunteers, production team or the communities that support them.  

IMPACTED EVENTS 

• 2020 Cal Tri Events Lake Monticello - 5.3.20
• 2020 Cal Tri Events OffRoad Miller School - 5.16.20
• 2020 Cal Tri Events Newport SwimRun - 5.17.20
• 2020 Viking Dash LA - 5.24.20

NEXT STEPS & NEW DATES BY MARCH 25.  We are working with our partner agencies to reschedule these events later in 2020 and provide visibility by Wednesday, March 25.  In the event we are unable to reschedule later in 2020 or the new date is problematic for an athlete, they will be allowed to transfer to any race in 2020 or the same race in 2021.  

THREE TRANSFER OPTIONS.  Athletes will be afforded the following options:

1.  Transfer to the same Cal Tri Events race in 2020 (new date if available).
2.  Transfer to another Cal Tri Events race later in 2020
3.  Transfer to the same Cal Tri Events race in 2021

For most of us, coping with a global pandemic is definitely uncharted waters.  Your race schedule is likely prioritized behind the health and well-being of your friends, family, coworkers and community.  Still, we are planning for the days in the not too distant future where the only thing you have to worry about catching is the athlete in front of you.

On behalf of the entire Cal Tri Events Team.

Thom Richmond

thom@CaliforniaTriathlon.org

The triathlon community was both saddened and stunned by a historically tragic June 2019 that witnessed a total 7 North America race related deaths (6 US & 1 Canadian).  Our thoughts go out to the families and friends of Scott Beatse, Dennis McDaniels, James Olayos Jr, Todd Mahoney, Michael McCulloch, Jill Leavy Morris & Quy P. Pham. How did June 2019 compared to previous months and years?

A recent 2017 study, Death and Cardiac Arrest in U.S. Triathlon Participants, 1985 to 2016: A Case Series, indicates an average of 4.2 deaths per year (135 deaths in 32 years).  Included below are the conclusions and limitations of the study.  

Conclusion:   “Deaths and cardiac arrests during the triathlon are not rare; most have occurred in middle-aged and older men. Most sudden deaths in triathletes happened during the swim segment, and clinically silent cardiovascular disease was present in an unexpected proportion of decedents.  

Limitation:  “Case identification may be incomplete and may underestimate events, particularly in the early study period. In addition, prerace medical history is unknown in most cases.”

Six deaths in a single month (U.S.) in a sport that averages 4.2 deaths per year (U.S.) is absolutely an outlier.  Determining the scope and scale of these tragedies was difficult due to the “proprietary” nature of the available data including the 2017 study.  Dr. Kevin Harris, who authored the 2017 study was unaware of any public location for the data.   

We created a  Wikipedia page, “List of Triathlon Fatalities”, to serve as both a way to memorialize those that passed while competing in triathlons as well as a resource for those investing time in making triathlon safer.  It was built with a sortable list of individuals who died as a result of competing in a triathlon or duathlon. The initial focus was U.S. but we have opened that up to any country globally.  This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Special thanks to my daughter, Karena, for organizing and posting the data on Wikipedia as well as the multitude of race directors who assisted in the search for source materials.

California Triathlon is a 501(c)(3) charity that provides a premium no-fee membership to over 5,000 athletes worldwide.  Our mission is to make the sport of triathlon affordable, accessible & sustainable by providing the resources, coaching and support needed for athletes to accomplish their goals.

We are three weeks away from our next Epic Ride.  This one is a perfect ride to test your fitness.  If you’ve got a triathlon coming up — St. George, Santa Rosa, Bonelli — you’ll have an opportunity to ride hard on a course with only two stop signs over the span of nineteen miles.  Nineteen miles not far enough for you?  When you get to the end of the ride, turn around and hammer back another 19.  

And it’s not only your fitness you can test.  This is a chance to work on your hydration and nutrition.  How comfortable are you reaching back for a water bottle or electrolyte?  Do you have to slow down when you grab a gel or a sandwich?  Nutrition is not as important on a short course tri, but on a longer course, you really need to ingest some food.  This is a chance to get comfortable doing it.  It’s also a chance to try something new — a new bar, a new drink, etc.

If you’re just interested in a regular Epic Ride, we’ve got you covered.  Start with a 10 mile group ride to the beginning of the time trial.  Then we start the time trial, leaving at 30 second intervals.  Ride as hard as you can along beautiful PCH to the Las Posas exit.  Take the exit to the stop sign and turn left.  Note:  CROSS TRAFFIC DOES NOT STOP.  It’s not worth a trip to the hospital just to shave a few seconds off your time.  Then it’s a quick right turn onto Main St. and a straight shot to the finish line.
Then we’ll regroup and ride back to Malibu, enjoying one of the most beautiful views anywhere.  Sign up today on the Epic Rides page at https://www.californiatriathlon.org/home-page/epic-rides/

See you on April 27th!

***The red dots indicate a year over year decrease and the green dots indicate a year over year increase.**** 

2018 GRASSROOTS 70.3 MILE DOWN 29%.  2018 was a bad year for grassroots 70.3 mile races with decreases in the total finishers (-29%).  Comparatively, WTC’s Ironman did well by only being down -10% at the 70.3 mile distance and down -5.5% at the 140.6 distance.  WTC’s acquisition of Rev3 hurt the results while Motiv’s Wildflower return in 2018.  Sadly, Wildflower has already been cancelled for 2019.

Several years ago the 70.3 mile distance was selected to track as the “canary in the coal mine” because there were enough of them to track without getting overwhelmed with all the sprint & Olympic distance races.  Only finisher data was used as announced participant numbers are typically inflated. Races only 50 finishers or above are included. A handful of bandit races or those found to be unsafe are not included in the data.

Grassroots events are typically family owned and operated and run in places that wouldn’t be economically viable for corporate interests.  Quite often the race director and the athlete know each other. Athletes that prefer staying at a B&B versus a national hotel chain should also enjoy grassroots racing.  Those race producers are typically located in the community and they either get supported or your little part of the world might become a triathlon desert.

US Grassroots 70.3 mile distance races by the numbers

Total Races -28%

2017 = 80

2018 = 58

Total Finishers -29%

2017 = 12830

2018 = 9058

Total Races With 50 Or More Finishers -33%

2017 = 70

2018 = 47

Total Finishers For Races With 50 Or More Finishers -31%

2017 = 12488

2018 = 8644

Total Finishers for the top 20 Races -15%

2017 = 7381

2018 = 6308