Trouble in Topeka

Trouble in Topeka

A couple of weekends ago I participated in the annual Topeka Tinman Triathlon long distance course. The Tinman is always a great event. It’s always a large event with big crowds. This year it was a little smaller than normal, with many perspective participants taking up the challenge of the Kansas Half Iron Man in Lawrence.

The weather was fantastic for the Tinman, clear and warm. This was very fortunate considering that severe storms hit the area two days before the race and the day right after. One hit the Lawrence area causing the race officials to end the race early.

I started out in the first wave of the swim. It was a great spot to be, but also a little intimidating because this is the longest distance tri that I’ve done up to this date. The swim went well. I got boxed in during the first leg of the swim, but was able to get out to the left side right before the first turn. From there it was smooth sailing. I was excited to see that I was passing people all the way through the swim.

The first transition went well, with no major problems getting out of the wetsuit ha. Once I got on the bike and was rolling the adventure really started. I had a great start going. Following the course arrows, I made great time. Before I knew it I could see the water tower near the park. Checking my mileage, I knew that something was wrong. I arrived at the transition zone, only to discover two other cyclists stopped with puzzled looks on their faces. After a quick chat, I confirmed that they only had 8 miles on their computers. This was far short of the 20 course, not even half. I quickly proposed that we make a better ride out of it by doing the 8 mile course a second time, knowing that we would still be short of the official distance.

The second time out went just a quickly as the first. In no time I was onto the run. Coming out of the second transition, I quickly realized that there were no signs for which direction the runners needed to go. I started to ask around and didn’t get any answers from the spectators. So, I just guessed which direction to go and started running. Fortunately, about half a mile later the course volunteers confirmed that I was on the right course.

The run went well. I quickly passed four people on the course and wasn’t passed by anyone faster. The course was shaded and very scenic, which was a good thing because I didn’t run into any other competitors. Eventually, the course merged with the short course. It was a neat experience to merge into the mob of folks. From there, the finish came pretty quickly.

The awards were really interesting. The event organizers must not have looked at the results before they handed out the awards for the long course. Some of the awards went to people with 30 minute bike rides for the 20 mile course (something even Lance Armstrong would have a difficult time achieving ha). After discussing the bicycle course with other participants, I discovered that we were supposed to go straight at the second turn. It turns out that the organizers had a right turn sign for the short course, but never put out a sign indicating that the long course folks needed to go straight. It even confused some folks who have participated in this event for multiple years.

The initial results listed me as fourth place for my age group. The results were later revised and posted on the Tinman website. The revised results indicated that I finished in 4th place. It was a riot. I have contacted the race organizers to let them know that they should disqualify me for not completing the full course. I wonder how many other long course participants also did the short course bike twice. I truly doubt they will ever get it all sorted out.

Here’s hoping that the race organizers take all the comments they have received as constructive criticism and use it to make the race easier to navigate and an even better participant experience.