Random Thoughts and Musings

Some big news recently in the triathlon world. First, WTC has announced a foray into the (former) Olympic distance with the introduction of the 5150 series of races. Just as 70.3 is the total distance covered in miles, 5150 is the total distance in decameters(?). I think it's great that there is now a series culminating at national and world championships for age-group athletes at this distance. It will be interesting to see how they control fields, as these are supposed to be non-drafting. If they have fields over 1000-2000 as they do for IM and 70.3 races, and can sometimes barely control drafting over 56/112 miles, how will they fair over 40km?

(Best comment I've seen on the news: "5150? I hate Sammy Hagar. It's not Van Halen without DLR.")

It needs to be noted on the 5150 schedule that the championship is now in Clearwater, FL, in November. Of course, this is where the 70.3 Worlds have been, sometimes referred to as Draftwater. And that leads to the latest set of rumours: that the 70.3 Champs have moved, perhaps to Las Vegas. Now, this is big. The first effect this will have is that the course will presumably get a lot more difficult. To the minds of many, this will be a "fairer" race, and worthy of being a world championship. So then the second effect is that getting a qualifying spot in the next couple of years will get a lot harder. I don't think nearly as many people will be turning down slots to avoid Clearwater. The level of racing is going to go up if you want to make it to the big show.

A possible side effect of both of these announcements will be the effect on local racing scenes. Silverman is an up and coming full and half IM distance race in Las Vegas, and it seems to be somewhat targeted by this anouncement. A number of race directors around the continent are left wondering is WTC is going to horn in on their sprint/Olympic races, or if they'll potentially be bought out. Hopefully we won't see a monopoly in races, and most of the best local races will be able to continue undisturbed. Maybe they'll even be able to grow with the influx of new racers looking at the 5150 distance.

This weekend is Hawaii Ironman, so good luck to everyone who is competing. Good luck especially to my lanemate Paul White, and coach Tereza Macel. Let's see some podiums this year.

I want a Timex Global Trainer, so I'm linking to DC Rainmaker's blog for an extra entry. You should enter too, and read the blog regularly to keep up with sports technology. Most of it over my head, but worth a read.