NEWTON 24 Hours of Triathlon presented by Suzuki

Free Newton Running Shoes and more

2008-03-08T16:46:00.004-07:00

The first 200 athletes this year will receive free Newton Running race shoes. 24 Hour athletes will receive these beginning in May and 8 hour athletes can pick them up at registration. This is a $155 value, equal to or exceeding the race entry for most people.

We have not quite reached the 200 mark on entrants so there is still time to take advantage of this opportunity. All entrants can buy a pair of Newton Shoes at pro-deal and will receive the information on how to do this in their registration confirmation packet.

Competitors also receive a tech running shirt and race hat (value $64) plus many other goodies from our sponsors. The minimum value of the goodie bag alone is $100, and a great deal more form the first two hundred entrants.

2008 Race Course

2008-03-02T13:46:00.002-07:00

This year we are modifying the race course to be 1/10 th Iron distance: 0.24 mile swim - 11.2 mile bike - 2.6 mile run. This means (obviously) that you can gauge your total distance in terms of IronMan races.

Last year Joe McDaniels covered almost 1.9 full Iron distances at 266.7 miles. Team GoFast covered 2.3 Iron's with 330.2 miles. Joe is defending his title and with some stiff competition this year I expect the 2x Iron distance to fall to the record books in the solo category.

We area also adding more value to maintain our reputation as having the world's best goodie bag. In addition to free Newton Running shoes ($155 value) for the first 200 competitors, we are giving away tech running tops and tech hats for all entrants, an additional $60 value. For a race entry fee starting at $100, that's pretty good.

Apart from the value in giveaways, there are some other exciting additions to this years race which I will be announcing shortly.

Behind the scenes of 24 HOT nd 8 HOT

2007-05-07T10:27:00.000-06:00

OK, it's been a while since I posted, and partly because I am still working on the permit approvals for Cherry Creek State Park.

We are now in our 8th month working through this, and for those of you who aren't familiar with the details of event production, one of the challenges we face is securing approvals. This is often a catch 22 since insurance is required for permits, and permits are required for insurance. In fact the catch 22 extends beyond the permit process to sponsors, advertising, resource partners, marketing.

Many athletes are not familiar with the "behind the scenes" action for a race, and may not know that 99% of an event is in the financing, sponsorship, partnerships, permitting, marketing, administration and general business details.

The end point isn't the race itself, rather in moving the event forward to make it bigger, better and the post race wrap up - paying contractors, staff, permitting bodies, police fees, on and on.

I read an interesting editorial in Inside Triathlon some time ago from a race directors perspective on entry fees. While some races make money, the vast majority are lucky to break even, so it really a labor of love for the director(s). It's easy to sound like a disgruntled complainer on this subject, but the reality is the majority of directors love the sport and love putting on races for the racers. A scant few make a profit, and those lucky (or smart) enough to do so are pretty thin on the ground.

One of my primary goals is to give back to the athletic community. As I stated in an earlier blog, I took from the general competing population as a professional athlete for over ten years, and want to spend the next ten and beyond repaying this debt. I am passionate about the athletic lifestyle and it is important for me to encourage this as widely as possible.

I do want to make money, but not at the expense of giving the best possible experience for the most competitors. My financial investment last year in 24 HOT was significant (some might call it a loss), since we had 39 competitors at about $200 per person and the event cost is was excess of $50K with no $ sponsors.

Part of my costs are due to the fact that we do not put on a bare bones race, in fact we have an event, with 100 staff and volunteer, and trimmings and luxuries that make the experience unique and satisfying for everyone involved!

Bike HOT

2007-04-09T15:38:00.000-06:00

I was at the Colorado Department of Transport (CDOT) office last year discussing our bike course and noticed several photos of cyclists on local roads. On closer inspection it was apparent that these were before and after shots. Before being “before we put in the bike lane.” Small brass plaques noted the national awards for safety and improvement, not surprising given the county leads the nation in bike lanes and bike paths per capita.

Despite the abundance of smooth, wide shoulders and bike lanes adorning the roads around our race site, CDOT and the police departments were not overjoyed at the idea of having cyclists racing around their roads at night. Especially a Saturday night, and I couldn't disagree.

After decades of adventure racing, where we typically go for a week or more with only a few hours sleep, I am well aware that it is motorists pose the greatest danger to cyclists. As one officer put it, a flashing light is like a magnet to a drunk driver. Despite a 12 ft shoulder on highway 119, flashing digital displays, bright orange announcement signs, cones every 100 yards of the bike course, and police with patrol cars at every intersection there was still a collective holding of breath.

One of the concessions we made was to use north 55^th St and Monarch Road, both dirt, and away from most of the traffic. This course also minimized intersections and turns, reducing police and traffic staffing (still a $20,000 cost on my event budget) and making a much safer course.

The challenge of having dirt sections (34% of the bike course distance) was to make sure it was rideable on at least a road bike. For local cyclists this is no problem, in fact handling (and better still enjoying) the local dirt roads at speed on a standard road racing bike is regarded as standard. The Boulder Roubaix is a must-do on the bike racing calendar, and 80% of the course is on dirt, replete with steeps and tight turns. Imagine the fun with categories sporting packs of over a hundred riders. Yippee.

24 Hours of Triathlon is no Roubaix, and I was determined to cater to all comers, including out of towners who may not be familiar with local dirt conditions. To this end CDOT graded the course the weekend before the race, and I rented a roller to drive along the shoulder pre and during the race. The net result was a surface that some competitors rode on their TT bikes, although I would have chosen a road or cross bike.

Some of the athletes were smart enough to bring several bike choices and used a combination or road, TT and mountain set ups. Our “retro bike” competition brought out all sorts of beautiful classic machines (you had to ride the bike for at least one leg), and we saw everything from beach cruisers to 1970's "10 speeds" with coaster brakes and even a vintage 1950s European racing bike.

This year's bike course will be on smooth bike lanes in Cherry Creek State Park, no through traffic and virtually vehicle free at night. This is assuming our permit comes through, oherwise we'll back in Boulder, just as picturesque, and a little more challenging to boot.

Boulder HOT

2007-04-04T10:03:00.000-06:00

When I moved to Colorado in 1991 I was amazed at the caliber and number of athletes. Actually, I was most impressed with the caliber of Boulder athletes. This small college city, well it’s technically a town since there are less than 100,000 permanent residents, is packed with runner’s, cyclists, swimmers, climbers, skiers, paddlers, … and has aptly been named "the endurance capital of the world."

There is a particularly famous bike ride every Tuesday and Thursday year round in Boulder called “the Bus Stop Ride.” This refers to a strip joint called The Bus Stop, which is named for the bus stop next to it on Broadway. The riders meet in the parking lot before rolling out north on highway 93 to Lyons and then the excrement starts to fly.

It’s not uncommon to see pro riders mixing it up with talented amateurs as the pack thins and stretches out, then explodes as the pace goes ballistic. The bus stop ride is a test piece, as is Boulder Peak Triathlon and Jane Scott’s (sister of Dave Scott) masters swim program. Any athlete worth the salt crust on their jersey has at one time or another jumped in on the Bus Stop Ride, the Peak or Jane’s swim squad.

As an Aussie native (and now US citizen), I pride myself in being able to swim a bit, meaning that like most Aussies I was born and bred around the water. Swimming to Australians as like Apple Pie to Americans, so my first experience at the local masters swim squad was humbling, more like apple crumble for me. My expectation from swimming at Aurora Masters was that I would comfortably slot in to lane 5. Not in Boulder. Try lane 3 or 4. Ouch. Olympians and pro triathletes took up 7 and 8. Age group champions filled 5 and 6.

The same experience can be enjoyed at the Bus Stop Ride, any number of the dozens of weekend ride groups, running groups, triathlon groups, masters groups … and I mean dozens. There are more than 20 masters swim groups each week and cyclists in their hundreds fill the roads on weekdays, thousands on weekends. I constantly ponder if anyone works in Boulder, then remember that I am one of “them.”

Now don’t get the wrong impression here. Boulder is not all about elite athlete’s strutting their cut quads and sleek carbon bikes. Sure you can watch the Japanese and Kenyan marathon teams glide along the roads around the reservoir at sub six minute mile pace, but there is also a huge number of mortals. The Bolder Boulder is a good example. It is one of largest and most prestigious 10K road races in the world and also caters to 50,000 walkers, joggers, families and crazies in costumes who shuffle, leap frog and party through the picturesque streets on Memorial Day.

This was another inspiration for 24 HOT. The near perfect climate, outdoor environment, pervasive sense of community athleticism and race friendly permitting bodies all converge to embrace new ideas and events. I love it!

Swim HOT

2007-04-03T14:09:00.000-06:00

Brass tacks. That’s what athlete’s see. From their (our!) perspective it starts with the initial impression of the race, advertisements, magazine articles, web sites, blogs, pod casts, newsgroups, or good old word of mouth. Our challenge as a first year event was to let people know the what, where, when and how’s of the race.

It’s pretty easy to describe the basics: swim, bike and run in small circles repeatedly for 24 hours. Those covering the greatest distance win. The reality is less straightforward, and considerably more interesting.

We were restricted to having swimming only between the hours of 6:30 am and 6:30 pm, so we wanted rules that kept the race fair and unbiased. Our original idea was to keep the run-bike-run-bike order and allow swimming at any time to make up for “lost” swims at night. After a lot of to and fro between triathlete clubs and discussion groups, we came up with modified USAT rules to allow swimming in any order at any time during light hours.

Eventually we came up with the a leg rule that required the first three legs in swim-bike-run order, and then legs in any order after that. “Complete” triathlons count towards the total (and no night swimming), with the possibility of an additional swim and bike counting since they are in "triathlon order." This means a competitor could have, for example, ten complete triathlons plus one swim, or plus one swim and one bike.

The leg rule lead to some fascinating strategies, with most people opting to bank swims on the first day to account for the weather, cramping and fatigue, then adjust the next morning. I'm really not sure how it will play out this year, but competitors are already formulating their strategies.

Where HOT?

2007-03-30T10:06:00.000-06:00

OK, I was going to talk about the race course and format today, but the location would determine a good part of this, so I’ll do this next week.

One of the main concerns I had with building this event was where to hold it? I mean, what permitting bodies will allow night swimming? Early inquiries yielded disappointing results, in fact as the County Sheriff’s department said, the county commissioner might come back with “maybe”, “no” or “hell no” on our permit request.

I wanted a location close to home (Boulder, CO that is) and with a nice quiet body of water, safe roads, good views of the mountains and with ready access to transport, stores, accommodation, ... not too much to ask?

My short list of locations near Boulder included Lake Dillon, Chatfield Reservoir, Aurora Reservoir, Cherry Creek State Park, Horsetooth Reservoir, Carter Lake and Boulder Reservoir, within 90 minutes drive from Denver International Airport. Eventually I settled on Boulder Reservoir for 2006, mainly because of it's proximity to my house and the fact that it is already permitted for the Boulder Triathlon Series with sprint, international and long course races.

Working with the reservoir staff and police bodies was pleasant and surprisingly easy. I had anticipated we would have problems getting the permits, based on hearsay from within the tri community, but this was not the case. Our priorities for safety and a world class race experience for he athletes were well received by everyone involved and everyone worked together exceptionally well.

Boulder Reservoir is also home to 5430 Sports Boulder Triathlon Series, and our event was a nice compliment to the series, with their races in June, July and August and ours in September. Race sites really don’t get much better, with a quiet, enclosed swim and run, and smooth roads with a shoulder. Actually the bike course would prove an interesting challenge, mainly because of a dirt sectoin and the use of highway 119, but more about that later.

What HOT?

2007-03-29T08:06:00.000-06:00

Most people do a double take when I tell them I am producing 24 Hours of Triathlon. Triathletes and other endurance athlete’s get it right away, but Dick and Jane Weekend Warrior (not the Jim Cary Dick & Jane type, although he would be a blast to have on course) get a quizzical look and raise one eyebrow asking for details. My original idea was to hold an Olympic distance tri with endlessly repeated swim-bike-run legs, the relay team / solos with the most number of accumulated legs the winners. Seems simple yes? Actually, no.

As we started developing the race rules and format, I found out that to be certified by USA Tritahlon (for insurance requirements and credibility), to get permitting AND to have a fun, rewarding, challenging, doable race format was, well challenging.

Swimming and riding at night poses some unusual hurdles. For example, bike lights are required by law, and of course for safety. The swim has to be extremely well lit and we needed to somehow keep track of swimmers in the gollom. I imagined a bunch of green chem lights bobbing around in circles like a school of swimmers with frinkin lasers on their heads.

The idea of night swimming became academic once we started getting permit approvals and working with the police. We also faced some interesting challenges with the bike course, both of which I’ll discuss later.

HOT evolution

2007-03-28T10:13:00.000-06:00

What do you do when you retire at 42? I mean, really. At my age, most people aren’t ready to spend the rest of their days watching sunsets in Florida. …… I have a strong drive to stay busy, very busy. Racing is like this, going non-stop as fast as we can, and this becomes embedded after 30+ years of competition.

I want to stay connected to the sport, get back to my roots, stay fit, and bring the opportunity of athleticism to everyone. I really do mean everyone. In this years race we had professional triathletes, runners, bikers, swimmers and first timer any-sport athletes.

24 Hours of Triathlon combines my passion for the three sports of swim-bike-run, the ultra-endurance and camaraderie of adventure racing and the festival atmosphere of 24 hour mountain bike and running races.

It took a while to decide how to combine each passion into a new and unique format that would appeal to a wide range of participants. My ideal was to come up with a sport that was part competition, part party and a celebration of athleticism. It had to work equally well for the serious competitor looking for the next challenge beyond IronMan and for weekend warriors who wanted to play and socialize with their buddies.

After much discussion with my mate Danny Suter, we came up with 24 Hours of Adventure, which morphed into 24 Hours of Endurance and finally 24 Hours of Triathlon. The idea had arrived.

HOT motivation

2007-03-26T09:58:00.000-06:00

I was enjoying a hot cup of tea one cool spring morning in Boulder in 2005, and thought “Enough!” Enough taking from sport, it’s high time I give back. I’ve been a selfish athlete over my competitive career. As a professional adventure racer since 1996, I have reaped the benefits of sponsorship, endorsements, equipment, travel and prize money; things most people only dream about. Now I’m facing retirement at the grand old age of 42, I’m feeling the pressure of my sporting karma.

The motivation behind 24 Hours of Triathlon stems from my passion for multi-sport, which began with my first race at the Nepean Triathalon (note the Australian Spelling) in 1984. This year also saw my first experience with adventure racing at the University of Sydney Canoe Club Quadrathlon (swim-bike-kayak-run) and overnight racing at the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic, a 70 mile kayak race that starts the evening of the first full moon each October.

There are many ways to give back, and after several years mulling over the idea, I decided that to create a completely new race. This ended up being 24 Hours of Triathlon.

Why 24 HOT?

2007-03-25T20:43:00.000-06:00

The Hawaiian IronMan started in 1978 with only 15 people (incidentally, it was won by a guy from Colorado, Gordon Haller.) When word got out about what they were doing, most thought they were crazy. In 1981 when Julie Moss was captured by ABC Sports crawling across the finish line, EVERYONE thought IronMan Triathletes were crazy. Millions of people have now competed in IronMan races and NO one thinks they’re crazy.

So what next? There’s the UltraMan. Even by today’s standards, this is pretty out there. Expedition adventure racing like the Eco-Challenge and Primal Quest, another type of race on the fringe. But what captures the challenge of these races, the spirit of competition, the variety of sports, the fun of a festival, the camaraderie of working in a team and appeals to weekend warriors and professional athletes alike? 24 hours running and mountain bike races are close. Team triathlons are close. Adventure racing has some of the elements. No single event has captured it all.

Until now. 24 Hours of Triathlon (24 HOT) does it all. OK, it doesn’t do the laundry, or pick up the kids from school, but once you have your shirts neatly folded and a baby sitter lined up, you can launch into 24 HOT and have an experience you never dreamed of. This is an epiphanal race. Everyone can finish and no one leaves without a wonderful, lingering taste in their mouth. It’s something to savor and an event that grows with age. Retrospective enjoyment if you will.

Truth be told, I come from a background of extreme ultra endurance multi-sport racing, which is fun in it’s own way, but dang expensive and ridiculously time consuming. For most mortals the idea of completing a single expedition adventure race is a BIG deal. In fact people spend small fortunes getting to a race, and then most don’t complete the course. It’s such a shame. This is why HOT and I will share how it all started next time.