The 4th Annual Luray International and Sprint Triathlons were held at Lake Arrowhead in Luray, VA this past weekend with more than 500 athletes competing each day including 30 athletes who earned a “Luray Double” hand-engraved goblet by successfully finishing both races. Athletes represented 19 different states with 75% coming from Virginia. The youngest competitor was 14 and the oldest was 76.
As triathletes, we tend to write and read a lot of athlete race reports, so I want to write something from a different perspective: a Race Director’s Race Report.
Brief Background
After visiting Luray and Lake Arrowhead at the suggestion of my friend, Steve Smith, in 2005, I thought, “Wow! What an ideal venue.” I then made a fortuitous phone call to Luray Parks and Recreation Director Pat O’Brien who, after first asking “What is a triathlon?” agreed to work with me to host this new event at Lake Arrowhead.
I produce the race through my endurance sports company, EnduranceWorks, LLC, in partnership with Set Up Events as part of their Virginia Tri Series, the Town of Luray, Luray Downtown Initiative and the Luray-Page County Chamber of Commerce. This year we also brought on board the United Way of Page County as a key partner and benefiting charity for the race. The United Way provided more than 80 volunteers on race weekend!
Pre-race Planning
Much like planning to compete in a large event like an Ironman, planning for this year’s race began a year ago, immediately after the 2008 Luray Triathlon. After every race, I sit down with the Town of Luray, local EMS, police, staff, volunteers and businesses involved in the race and we compile feedback about the race: what went well, what didn’t go well, what would we like to do next year, etc. This feedback compilation then becomes the blueprint for improving the following year’s race.
One thing that sets this event apart from any other event that I’ve seen is the level of ownership and passion of the local community to make this race the best possible race.
The focus of this year’s race was to improve communication, which could be broken down into four broad areas:
Throughout the year, I traveled from my home in Reston to Luray multiple times for planning meetings with Pat O’Brien and his staff as well to run the three Race Prep Clinics that offered athletes the opportunity to practice swim, bike and run on the actual triathlon course. My volunteer coordinator, Cory Churches, was on the phone and email contacting potential volunteers and communication job descriptions working closely with Nina Long from the United Way. My step-mom, Charlotte, took charge of determining how much food and drinks we’d need for the weekend and coordinated with the local Wal-mart for pick up. I ordered the t-shirts and awards and communicated to the race partners regarding their involvement to ensure giveaways such as De Soto Sports brochures, Deloitte water bottles and Rehab to Racing race bags were all delivered to the site of packet pick up.
Crunch Time
The final two weeks are “crunch time” and the pace of activities increased exponentially. Everything else in my life was put on hold as a flurry of race emails, phone calls and meetings took over. I emailed or spoke with Greg and Gwynne from Set Up Events on almost a daily basis as we discussed planning, registration, communication and a new course change for the Saturday swim. The week before the race, I created a new swim map and we updated all the course maps online and sent copies of the map to the EMS team and park staff. I spent more than a day writing up the athlete guide with the goal to provide the athletes with the information they needed in a clear and concise manner in order mitigate confusion on race weekend as much as possible. Gwynne and I handled registration questions and had to deliver quite a few, “I’m sorry, but we’re full.” I really hated to turn people away from the race.
I was nervous about the weekend, more nervous than if I were racing an Ironman.
On Thursday morning, I picked up race announcer Brad Rex from Dulles Airport and we headed to Luray.
To be continued with Luray Triathlon: Viewpoint from the Race Director: Race Weekend
Live life richly and boldly!
David
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David B. Glover
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine: Fitting Iron Distance Training into Every Day Life
© 2009 David B. Glover
Whether you're training to win a triathlon, training to finish or just need inspiration from my life journey as a cancer survivor, Navy officer and sub-nine hour Ironman triathlete, my book will inspire you to chase your dreams and live life richly and boldly.
[...] This continues my “RACE REPORT” on the Luray Triathlon from the Race Director’s perspective. Please read the “Pre-race” article before you read this one if you haven’t already: CLICK HERE. [...]