The duathlon (run/bike/run) race format is back in Charleston. The AB&T Sprint Duathlon will take place on May 11, at 7:30 a.m. at John’s Island high school. The distances are 2 mile run, 14 mile bike, 2 mile run. Short and sweet.
This is great news for the local multisport race scene for a couple reasons. Not only is this another multisport event to add to your calendar, but it's also the only duathlon in the area. Inside Out Sports has a nice long-course duathlon series in North Carolina, Setup Events puts on a great duathlon in Charlotte, and Bluffton has an cool little offroad duathlon series, but that means you have to travel. This event is right here in Charleston.
Mike Loggins of The Extra Mile and Logman Racing is the race director, and Atlantic Bank & Trust (AB&T) is the title sponsor. Loggins also puts on the Kiawah Triathlon and various road races, mostly 5Ks.
What is a duathlon?
Duathlon is an athletic event (not to be confused with biathlon) that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg, and then another running leg. Three segments, like triathlon, but only two disciplines. You typically see road duathlons, but in communities with a strong MTB presence, you'll see off road duathlons as well.
The duathlon is really a beautiful event and I can’t figure out why more people don’t do them. I guess because it’s even more a niche sport than triathlon. At least with triathlon, people have some sort of reference point. Everyone has heard of the Ironman. But with duathlon, you usually have to explain what it is.
I hope this race is successful, and I'm happy Loggins is keeping the format alive. There used to be a race called the Stono Ferry Biathlon (which was in fact a duathlon), that later became the Daniel Island Duathlon (5K, 20miles, 5K). But after a couple years of low turnouts, mainly because of bad weather, that duathlon was cancelled last year. Loggins, who put on both those races, is trying once again to make it happen, so please, if you have any interest at all, register soon.
Thanks for reading,
Justin W
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Tri Season Begins
The Parris Island Triathlon went off without a hitch on Saturday. Race director Jeremey Davis reported it was the largest field (500 plus) in the history of the event. So it's official, the 2008 tri season has begun.
I hope everyone had a great race and got their season started with a bang. Conditions could not have been more perfect -- comfortably low temps, cloud cover, and little wind.
Unfortunately, my race didn't unfold quite like I had planned.
My 2007 time was 1.07:23, and I was hoping to break 1.07 this year. My swim split was 20 secs faster than last year's, and my bike split 30 secs faster, so I thought I had it made. But as soon as I headed out on the run, I could tell it wasn't going to happen. I felt a bit nauseous and just couldn't get into any kind of rhythm. My run split was 22:45 -- 2 minutes 20 secs slower than last year. My overall time was 1.09:05.
I was a little bummed at first, but I'm over it now. It happens. I'm just happy the season has started and I'm able to race another year.
Parris Island Profile Update
I want to make a few corrections to my last post in which I profiled this race. For starters, the pool temperture was not the 85 degree bath water of years past. I'd guess it to be around 79 degrees or so. The race T-shirt was short sleeve, not long. And the run water station was not at the 1.5 mile turn around. This year they had it at the 1 mile mark.
Anyway, good luck this year. I hope you stay free of injuries and reach your goals, whatever those may be.
Thanks for reading,
Justin W
I hope everyone had a great race and got their season started with a bang. Conditions could not have been more perfect -- comfortably low temps, cloud cover, and little wind.
Unfortunately, my race didn't unfold quite like I had planned.
My 2007 time was 1.07:23, and I was hoping to break 1.07 this year. My swim split was 20 secs faster than last year's, and my bike split 30 secs faster, so I thought I had it made. But as soon as I headed out on the run, I could tell it wasn't going to happen. I felt a bit nauseous and just couldn't get into any kind of rhythm. My run split was 22:45 -- 2 minutes 20 secs slower than last year. My overall time was 1.09:05.
I was a little bummed at first, but I'm over it now. It happens. I'm just happy the season has started and I'm able to race another year.
Parris Island Profile Update
I want to make a few corrections to my last post in which I profiled this race. For starters, the pool temperture was not the 85 degree bath water of years past. I'd guess it to be around 79 degrees or so. The race T-shirt was short sleeve, not long. And the run water station was not at the 1.5 mile turn around. This year they had it at the 1 mile mark.
Anyway, good luck this year. I hope you stay free of injuries and reach your goals, whatever those may be.
Thanks for reading,
Justin W
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Parris Island Race Profile
The Parris Island Triathlon is the first race in the South Carolina Triathlon Series (SCTS), and the first race of the season for most triathletes in the area. It means spring is here and the off season is officially over. I love this event and have raced it six times since 2000.
For those who don't know, Parris Island is located in Port Royal, SC, just outside Beaufort, and serves as the Marine Corps recruiting depot for the east coast. So you have a massive military base on this scenic lowcountry barrier island, complete with vast expanses of marsh, tidal creeks, palm trees, oak trees draped with spanish moss, parade decks, marching Marines, military monuments and buildings, barracks, and more marching Marines. You feel like your on a movie set when you drive onto the base. As far as race venues in South Carolina, this is at the top of the list in my opinion.
Like a lot of the SCTS races, this event fills to capacity, so you have to register early. The registration fee is $50. The race cap is 500, and this year there are 513 registered participants. This is a USAT sanctioned event, so you must show your membership card, or pay a $10, one-day fee. And whatever you do, don't forget your photo ID. You need it to pick up your race packet and to get on the base.
The course
This is a sprint distance tri (500mtr pool swim, 13m bike, 5k), and like the race description says, it's flat and fast.
The swim is in the Combat Training pool and the water temperature is a balmy 80 to 85 degrees. That's warm. You might even say bath water warm. Since you can't have a mass swim start in a pool, swimmers go off one at a time every 10 seconds, swimming down and back in each lane, then changing lanes by swimming under the lane line. Sounds tricky, but it's not.
The bike course is a 13-mile loop with no elevation change, but there are long stretches of road where you are completely exposed to the wind - remember what I said about vast expanses of marsh? You're likely to hit a head wind, cross wind, and tail wind at various points. It's not the lava fields of Kona, but don't be surprised to drop from 20 MPH to 15 MPH for extended stretches if it's blowing that day. Traffic is super light, but the course in not completely closed. The volunteers do a good job of stopping traffic for racers, but I've encountered vehicles on the course each year. Many of the roads need to be repaved. There are a lot of pot holes and poor surface conditions, particularly on the back side of the island. The race director has mentioned this in years past and even marks many of the holes with orange spray paint, but do be careful.
The run is a simple out and back, with a water station 1.5 miles out, which also serves as the turn around point. After the turn, you can get a good look at who is coming on strong and might be making a move, but otherwise, just your basic 5K.
Marine platoons
You'll be told numerous times not to break any Marine formations you encounter on the course. And by formation, I mean full-scale, multi-platoon, 200-person formations. This is a live military base with Marines drilling, marching, training, etc. You will definitely see these formations, but it's unlikely you will have to stop to let them cross the road. It hasn't ever happened that I'm aware of. But if you do come across a platoon crossing the road in your direct path, please stop. Do not cut through or think you have the right of way. According to the race director, you'll be escorted off the base. But I worry more about losing the venue altogether, and that could happen if someone were to get injured. So please don't ruin it for everyone else. I know it would be a complete bummer to have to stop while racing, but it is what it is. So be cool.
Thumbs up
Thumbs up for the quality of the awards, long sleeve race T-shirt, and especially, the post race meal. Along with assorted fruits and bagels, a hot lunch is served. At least, that's been the case the past few years. So you won't be tempted to stop and get a quarter pounder w/cheese at McDonald's on the ride home. You are assigned a rack for you bike, so the transition area stays organized. There are locker rooms and showers to use after the race. Go Tri Sports and a handful of other sponsors/vendors set up shop at the site. Race officials are out on the course and not afraid to assess penalties for rules violations, i.e., drafting and blocking. If you're anxious about getting your results, they post early, unofficial results as they are ready -- usually for the first 200 finishers or so. And the results include all splits and transition times.
Thumbs down
Thumbs down on the waiting around. The awards presentation doesn't start until the last finisher crosses the finish line, which will be around 1:00 p.m. because of the staggered swim start. That's a long time to wait since many will be finishing as early at 10:00 a.m. And speaking of swim start times, you could be starting as late as 10:50 a.m. this year. That's a long time to wait considering you have to be at the race site by 7:30. But, with a pool swim, that's just how it goes. My biggest thumbs down goes to the racers who don't submit the correct swim times. You guys are clogging up the system. Please try to submit an accurate 100mtr PACE time for a 500mtr distance -- not your 100mtr high school city meet record. The race director makes this clear every year, but it still happens, even with people who have raced this event before. If you've raced the event before, just divide your swim time by 5 and make the necessary adjustments. Looking over the swim seeds for this week's race, I see several names that are way off. Just try your best to be accurate. You probably won't nail the exact time, but if you start in the 20 position, and your swim time is 235th, there is no excuse for that.
But if you're keeping score at home, the good far outweighs the bad. Jeremey Davis and the Setup crew know how to put on a race. They have it down to a science and I for one appreciate the contribution they make to multisport scene in the region. This is a great event and one you should put on your calendar each year to get the season started.
For those who don't know, Parris Island is located in Port Royal, SC, just outside Beaufort, and serves as the Marine Corps recruiting depot for the east coast. So you have a massive military base on this scenic lowcountry barrier island, complete with vast expanses of marsh, tidal creeks, palm trees, oak trees draped with spanish moss, parade decks, marching Marines, military monuments and buildings, barracks, and more marching Marines. You feel like your on a movie set when you drive onto the base. As far as race venues in South Carolina, this is at the top of the list in my opinion.
Like a lot of the SCTS races, this event fills to capacity, so you have to register early. The registration fee is $50. The race cap is 500, and this year there are 513 registered participants. This is a USAT sanctioned event, so you must show your membership card, or pay a $10, one-day fee. And whatever you do, don't forget your photo ID. You need it to pick up your race packet and to get on the base.
The course
This is a sprint distance tri (500mtr pool swim, 13m bike, 5k), and like the race description says, it's flat and fast.
The swim is in the Combat Training pool and the water temperature is a balmy 80 to 85 degrees. That's warm. You might even say bath water warm. Since you can't have a mass swim start in a pool, swimmers go off one at a time every 10 seconds, swimming down and back in each lane, then changing lanes by swimming under the lane line. Sounds tricky, but it's not.
The bike course is a 13-mile loop with no elevation change, but there are long stretches of road where you are completely exposed to the wind - remember what I said about vast expanses of marsh? You're likely to hit a head wind, cross wind, and tail wind at various points. It's not the lava fields of Kona, but don't be surprised to drop from 20 MPH to 15 MPH for extended stretches if it's blowing that day. Traffic is super light, but the course in not completely closed. The volunteers do a good job of stopping traffic for racers, but I've encountered vehicles on the course each year. Many of the roads need to be repaved. There are a lot of pot holes and poor surface conditions, particularly on the back side of the island. The race director has mentioned this in years past and even marks many of the holes with orange spray paint, but do be careful.
The run is a simple out and back, with a water station 1.5 miles out, which also serves as the turn around point. After the turn, you can get a good look at who is coming on strong and might be making a move, but otherwise, just your basic 5K.
Marine platoons
You'll be told numerous times not to break any Marine formations you encounter on the course. And by formation, I mean full-scale, multi-platoon, 200-person formations. This is a live military base with Marines drilling, marching, training, etc. You will definitely see these formations, but it's unlikely you will have to stop to let them cross the road. It hasn't ever happened that I'm aware of. But if you do come across a platoon crossing the road in your direct path, please stop. Do not cut through or think you have the right of way. According to the race director, you'll be escorted off the base. But I worry more about losing the venue altogether, and that could happen if someone were to get injured. So please don't ruin it for everyone else. I know it would be a complete bummer to have to stop while racing, but it is what it is. So be cool.
Thumbs up
Thumbs up for the quality of the awards, long sleeve race T-shirt, and especially, the post race meal. Along with assorted fruits and bagels, a hot lunch is served. At least, that's been the case the past few years. So you won't be tempted to stop and get a quarter pounder w/cheese at McDonald's on the ride home. You are assigned a rack for you bike, so the transition area stays organized. There are locker rooms and showers to use after the race. Go Tri Sports and a handful of other sponsors/vendors set up shop at the site. Race officials are out on the course and not afraid to assess penalties for rules violations, i.e., drafting and blocking. If you're anxious about getting your results, they post early, unofficial results as they are ready -- usually for the first 200 finishers or so. And the results include all splits and transition times.
Thumbs down
Thumbs down on the waiting around. The awards presentation doesn't start until the last finisher crosses the finish line, which will be around 1:00 p.m. because of the staggered swim start. That's a long time to wait since many will be finishing as early at 10:00 a.m. And speaking of swim start times, you could be starting as late as 10:50 a.m. this year. That's a long time to wait considering you have to be at the race site by 7:30. But, with a pool swim, that's just how it goes. My biggest thumbs down goes to the racers who don't submit the correct swim times. You guys are clogging up the system. Please try to submit an accurate 100mtr PACE time for a 500mtr distance -- not your 100mtr high school city meet record. The race director makes this clear every year, but it still happens, even with people who have raced this event before. If you've raced the event before, just divide your swim time by 5 and make the necessary adjustments. Looking over the swim seeds for this week's race, I see several names that are way off. Just try your best to be accurate. You probably won't nail the exact time, but if you start in the 20 position, and your swim time is 235th, there is no excuse for that.
But if you're keeping score at home, the good far outweighs the bad. Jeremey Davis and the Setup crew know how to put on a race. They have it down to a science and I for one appreciate the contribution they make to multisport scene in the region. This is a great event and one you should put on your calendar each year to get the season started.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Why a multisport blog?
I've been on the multisport scene here in Charleston for about 10 years now and spend an inordinate amount of time training, racing, reading and thinking about races, and of course, looking for my next race. This is no small feat considering I have three kids under age 7, and a full-time job. Over the years I've accumulated massive amounts of information on all kinds of events throughout the southeast. This blog will serve as a resource to all who are a part of the multisport community. I'm going to dump everything right here.
If you are a runner, swimmer, triathlete, cyclist, MTBer, endurance athlete, adventure racer, kayaker, duathlete, or some twisted combination of these, there is something for you here. Besides providing great links to events and multisport information, I'm going to build a race profile section so that you can get a good feel for an event before you get there, complete with course info, random tips, typical # of competitors, bang for the buck, awards, post-race meal, etc. That's my vision. We'll just see how it unfolds.
One thing this blog won't be is a self-indulgent, look-at-me-type deal. I'm not here to give you my race report on how I performed. That's useless information. Plus, my wife says that I can't put up any pictures of me without my shirt on, so this blog won't be about me. It's about living the multisport lifestyle here in Charleston.
I'll be tweaking the links over the next few weeks trying to provide the best and most useful information. If I post a link to a shop or race, it's because I recommend it and have had only positive experiences.
If you see something I'm missing, let me know. My first race profile will be Setup Events' Parris Island Triathlon, which I'm racing this Saturday.
Thanks for reading,
JW
If you are a runner, swimmer, triathlete, cyclist, MTBer, endurance athlete, adventure racer, kayaker, duathlete, or some twisted combination of these, there is something for you here. Besides providing great links to events and multisport information, I'm going to build a race profile section so that you can get a good feel for an event before you get there, complete with course info, random tips, typical # of competitors, bang for the buck, awards, post-race meal, etc. That's my vision. We'll just see how it unfolds.
One thing this blog won't be is a self-indulgent, look-at-me-type deal. I'm not here to give you my race report on how I performed. That's useless information. Plus, my wife says that I can't put up any pictures of me without my shirt on, so this blog won't be about me. It's about living the multisport lifestyle here in Charleston.
I'll be tweaking the links over the next few weeks trying to provide the best and most useful information. If I post a link to a shop or race, it's because I recommend it and have had only positive experiences.
If you see something I'm missing, let me know. My first race profile will be Setup Events' Parris Island Triathlon, which I'm racing this Saturday.
Thanks for reading,
JW
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