What NOT to do in a triathlon

Written by Marc Thompson

Let me start off by saying that I have just now, 09/21/2009 at 10:12:52 pm downloaded and thoroughly read the official USAT rules (updated March 2009) available at the USAT website. Please visit the USAT website to see any rules as publishing them without permission is not allowed.

I can’t think of how many times I have finished a triathlon and run back down the run course to find a friend or cheer on other athletes or gone back out on to the bike course to get in a cool down ride. On a few occasions I have gone to watch a triathlon and used the course as part of my training. I always keep the race and the competitors in mind and stay clear of anyone else on course as to not impede anyone’s race. I know of other athletes out there that can say that they are in the same boat. This I feel is a common occurrence but I want to warn you that it could cost you dearly.

As I found out at a recent triathlon there are some race directors that think these activities are an infraction of a USAT rule and would be willing to file a complaint to have a person banned from USAT membership and barred from USAT races for a full year. The rule in question is 3.5.a. A USAT official explained that based on her interpretation of the rule is that any of the above mentioned activities should not take place in any race, although that because it is an open course there is nothing that she can do about it. That is a little bit confusing. I personally don’t read the rule in the same manor. But, none-the-less, I am not a USAT official and the officials can make decisions and interpretations of these rules on their own and appealing a USAT official’s judgment will cost your time and money based on the USAT rules.

Now let me explain myself and everything that has happened in regards to this issue/event. I will leave out all names other than my own as I hold myself responsible for my actions and my mistakes.

Some friends and teammates of mine traveled together to a local triathlon not too long ago to cheer on our fellow teammates and friends as well as get in some good training. I arrived at the race site about 45-60 min before the race started with a friend and a teammate. We began getting our gear together to train as well as pump up everyone we knew participating in the race. At one point while we were getting ready (about 50 yards from the transition area) my friend noted the race director, got his attention, and asked directly if he minded if we got in our training of swimming before the race started and then hit the bikes right afterward. The race director said “sure” and we proceeded to get ready. Based on time and potentially getting in the way of the race we clipped the swim and went straight to our bike workouts. We started pedaling about 10 min before the first wave was set to go off in the swim so we were well ahead of any bike competitors at this point. Two of us lit out pretty well and were working a strong steady pace together. The girl that was riding with me was working my draft as she could get her workout in by “holding on” to my wheel. As we neared the end of the bike course we turned back out early to finish another outer loop of the lollypop style course. We rode mostly on the yellow line well wide of any racers that we passed unless we were on our own in which we would go back to the right side of the road as the race is an open course (cars, tractors, bikes, people, etc can be on the road). A few times we would vocally call out to other racers that we were not racing along with our cheers to keep pushing. At one point a USAT official (the same one I questioned after the race) rode next to us on a motorcycle. My training partner that was in my draft called out to the official that we were not racing. The official then waved, tapped the driver of the motorcycle, and went on without any other motions or notifications of anything being wrong. As we finished our bike ride back in the park we pulled even farther out of the way into the oncoming lane to get back to our bags (again about 50 yards away from transition).

When we stopped our bikes the race director was on top of us yelling and having a fit about how we were going to be banned from USAT for being on his race course and that we almost ran him over. My first reaction was “Whoa, I’m sorry. What’s going on?” as I thought I must have done something and not known it. This race director was very rude and yelling at us. The only thing I could do was question what he was claiming. He even threatened to call the police on us for being in his park (this is a public, government run park that only reserves cottages, picnic sites, camp grounds, and group shelters).

After the race director grew tired of not getting any of our information he stormed away saying that he was calling the police. I was dumbfounded at this point. Aside from the people that witnessed the altercation saying that the race director acted poorly and inappropriately I was determined to find out if I had truly broken a rule that I somehow missed. While waiting for a USAT official I discussed the chain of events with a few folks that all had mixed opinions of what the rules stated about people being on a race course. After a few minutes I was able to track down a race official and question the allegations of the race director. AT NO POINT DID A USAT OFFICIAL CONTACT ME OR MY TRAINING PARTNER TO TELL US WE HAD VIOLATED A RULE. I contacted the USAT official to question the validity of the race director.

I already mentioned what I learned from the USAT official. I promptly apologized to her and admitted that by her interpretation that I made a mistake and that I would not make the same mistake twice. I then asked what some proper alternate options might be so that I could share my experience with my friends and teammates that often swim, bike, and run on race courses as training. She mentioned doing the bike and run in the opposite direction and even pinning a note to your jersey stating that you are not a race participant. I can’t agree more as with the vagueness of this rule, 3.5.a, any USAT official could interpret the rule in their own way and submit you for violation or ignore your presence all together. Again the appeal process could be a pain so avoiding it all together will be our best bet.

I won’t go into any more details of the ordeal here as this is not the place or time. I just wanted to let everyone that I can possibly reach know what happened to me and to help prevent anyone getting called out for a violation of rule 3.5.a. This has even caused grief for an athlete that was in no way involved with the issue due to our lovely team kits that always show power and dominance in racing and training.

So, if you are going to a race and not participating but want to train consider these things…
–Swim in another portion of the lake/ocean/river away from the race course
–Bike on roads not affiliated with the race or bike in the opposite direction with visible markings that you are not participating in the race
–Run on trails or roads not affiliated with the race or run in the opposite direction with visible markings that you are not participating in the race
–Never bike or run on an out and back course if you are not participating in the race
–Avoid transition areas

Sorry for the long post but I hope this helps everyone out there, teammates, fellow athletes, spectators, officials, and even race directors. USAT rules are good rules even if they can be vague at times. I suggest that we all take the time to read and understand the LATEST set of rules.