Apr. 8th – USA Triathlon Rocky Mountain Region website

Posted: April 8th, 2010 | Author: Chris Bowerbank | Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

Check out the new USAT Rocky Mountain Region website: http://usatrmr.wordpress.com/  If you’re an annual member of USAT, we want you keep you informed of everything going on in our region (Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, West Texas).

Feb. 16th – TriUtah at USAT Race Director Symposium

Posted: February 16th, 2010 | Author: Chris Bowerbank | Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

TriUtah enjoyed two and a half information-packed days at the USA Triathlon race director symposium in Colorado Springs, CO. In addition to presenting a seminar on crisis management, we also attended seminars on event safety, new risk management issues facing triathlon, improving methods for communicating with athletes, and providing triathletes with the best possible race experience. We look forward to implementing many of the new things we learned for the 2010 TriUtah triathlon season!

Jan. 25th – TriUtah shirts headed to Haiti

Posted: January 25th, 2010 | Author: Chris Bowerbank | Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

TriUtah is donating race shirts in our inventory to the recovery effort in Haiti. A medical relief group from Utah has requested clothing items and will be transporting the shirts along with medical items and other supplies.  Just one small way that we are trying to help those who have suffered so incredibly.

Dec. 13th – John Anderson awarded Level 2 USAT RD

Posted: December 13th, 2009 | Author: Chris Bowerbank | Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

Colorado Springs, CO – USA Triathlon has awarded its Level 2 Race Director certification to TriUtah’s John Anderson. This certification demonstrates an ongoing dedication towards the development of race directing skills and commitment to USA Triathlon.

As a Level 2 Certified Race Director, he has chosen to devote significant time and effort into furthering his capabilities as a race director. This investement was considerable and USA Triathlon is proud to recognize John as one of the leaders in the race directing industry.

Nov. 25th – TriUtah’s Chris Bowerbank recognized as a USA Triathlon Level 2 Certified Race Director

Posted: November 25th, 2009 | Author: Chris Bowerbank | Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

Colorado Springs, CO – USA Triathlon has awarded its Level 2 Race Director certification to TriUtah’s Chris Bowerbank. This certification demonstrates an ongoing dedication towards the development of race directing skills and commitment to USA Triathlon.

As a Level 2 Certified Race Director, he has chosen to devote significant time and effort into furthering his capabilities as a race director. This investement was considerable and USA Triathlon is proud to recognize Chris as one of the leaders in the race directing industry.

USA Triathlon is grateful that Chris has chosen to continue in the Certified Race Director program by furthering his education.

Liz Tucker, USA Triathlon Race Director Certification Manager

Oct. 12th – TriUtah invited to present at the USAT Race Director Symposium

Posted: October 12th, 2009 | Author: Chris Bowerbank | Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

TriUtah owners Chris Bowerbank and John Anderson have been invited to present a training session on Event Crisis Management at the 2010 USA Triathlon Race Director Symposium to be held in Colorado Springs, CO in February.  USAT Certified since 2007, Chris and John have attended the Symposium the last several years as part of their race director education and professional training. Terri Walters from USAT stated, “We are very grateful to all the certified race directors who volunteer to help us with the Symposium and feel that we have a strong program scheduled.”

Sept. 26th – Mentor of the Year (Female) – Jo Garuccio

Posted: September 26th, 2009 | Author: Chris Bowerbank | Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

Jo Garuccio was named our Female Mentor of the Year. She was nominated by those whom she coaches and many commented that she is an inspiration to not only those whom she currently coaches, but she’s inspired athletes throughout Utah and beyond for years! Congratulations Jo!

Mentor of the Year (Male) – Stan Davis

Posted: September 15th, 2009 | Author: Chris Bowerbank | Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

September 15, 2009

Stan Davis was the recipient of TriUtah’s new annual award, the Mentor of the Year.  The award was presented at the Jack and Jill Triathlon on Friday, September 11th.  Two awards will be given annually to a male and female mentor who has inspired others to succeed in triathlon.

Here’s what those who nominated Stan had to say about him:

He bought his first bike from money that he earned shoveling snow off of rooftops in Park City. Stan has been racing for over 25 years, and has participated in over 250 races. He has raced at Escape from Alcatraz 4 times, and last year raced at Worlds in Switzerland.

Stan always helps people with their swimming technique, transitions, or any other detail about racing. He has motivated many people to race, including his daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and his wife!

Congratulations Stan as our 2009 Mentor of the Year!

Be safe out there!

Posted: April 26th, 2009 | Author: Chris Bowerbank | Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

Late Friday night while I lay in bed, I heard raindrops pounding the rooftop. To most people, it would seem like any other spring evening with a periodic storm rumbling by. However, this Friday night was different for I knew that there were two pool triathlons set for the following morning. While neither of them was a TriUtah event, my thoughts immediately went to those race directors who were probably out in the middle of the storm, trying to set up bike rack, fencing, signs, etc. I’m sure they were wondering what they were going to do if the rain did not let up. Would they be able to have the race? Should they reverse the order of the events? While these thoughts are primarily logistical, it’s the safety of the athletes that’s of primary concern in these situations.

Race directors are chronic worriers. We worry about the color of a swimcap, the label on a registration packet, and whether the bike racks look straight. But we worry most about the safety of our athletes. The last thing we want to hear is that someone went down on a turn along the bike course, or that a swimmer had to be pulled from the water due to hypothermia. We urge the athletes to be careful out there because we know that you are fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, aunts, friends. We know you have loved ones who are worrying about you on the course, and we do our best to ensure you have a great race day.

Late on Saturday while reading a handful of race reports, an athlete said that a few athletes went down on rain slick roads, and that one had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance. That is definitely a race director’s worst nightmare. As we begin the 2009 season, we hope that everyone has a safe and successful race season. And make sure to slow down around those corners on the bike!

Which way do I go? Which way do I go?

Posted: March 1st, 2009 | Author: Chris Bowerbank | Filed under: Miscellaneous | No Comments »

One of the most frustrating experiences for any triathlete is not knowing the directional “flow” of a race. The most common mistake is going the wrong way inside of the transition area. There is nothing more frustrating than when you run towards one end of the transition, only to find out from screaming volunteers and spectators that the “Run Out” is on the opposite side. For large races with long transition areas, it can mean an addition of 30 seconds or more to your overall time.

USA Triathlon (USAT) requires that all transition areas be configured in a way that is fair to all triathletes, regardless of where their bike rack is located. You’ve probably been to less-organized races where all of the “experienced” triathletes have figured out where to rack their bikes so that they can make the fastest entrance and exit. For race directors that understand USAT requirements, transition areas are set up so that an athlete’s rack location doesn’t affect the outcome of the race.

So what exactly is “fair”? Simply put, all triathletes should be required to run their bikes an equal distance inside the transition area. For races that use a single transition area, you’ll find that the entrance and exit are on opposite corners. The “Swim In” and “Bike In” are on one side, while the “Bike Out” and “Run Out” are on the opposite side.

As an example of how this is a “fair” layout, consider two triathletes: one who racks their bike near the “In” of the transition and one who racks near the “Out”. When the triathlete near the “In” finishes the swim, he runs only a short distance to their transition spot. Once he is ready to exit for the bike, he must run with his bike the entire length of the transition area in order to reach the Bike Mount line. The second triathlete exits the swim and runs the entire length of the transition area to reach their transition spot. He then has only a short run with his bike to the Bike Mount line. At first glance, this doesn’t seem fair. The first triathlete had to run much farther with his bike than the second triathlete. However, with a properly configured transition area, consider their return after the bike.

The first triathlete dismounts their bike, and only runs with their bike a short distance since they are racked near the “In”. The second triathlete, after dismounting, now had to run their bike the entire length of the transition area in order to reach his transition spot near the “Out”. If you add up the distance each triathlete had to run in the transition area with their bike, they are equal.

So, the morale of the story is this. During your pre-race setup, be sure and look around at where the “In” and “Out” of the transition area is located. If it’s not clear, be sure and ask the race staff. As a race director, I always am concerned when an athlete is confused in the transition area. If you have concerns that a transition area is unfair in any way, be sure and let the race staff know early enough before a race so that the issue can be resolved. The sooner the staff know, the better.