City & County of Broomfield

	Recreation Services Special Events
	8th Annual Mini HaHa Triathlon
	Sunday, June 8, 2008 7:30 a.m.
	Surveys and Past Comments
	Please contact Dawn Rachjaibun

Click here for the RESULTS of the 2007 Mini Ha-Ha!

The 2007 Survey

Mini Haha Triathlon 2007 Participant Comments

How Was Your Overall Race Experience?

What did you enjoy the most?

Any other questions or comments?

What can we improve/suggestions?

Survey Responses

Timing Chips

Heating

How was your overall race experience?

I wanted to drop a quick note to say thank you for bringing such a great event to our community and congratulate you on its quality. I’ve participated in a number of triathlons in the past few years and have found this to be among the best: fantastic atmosphere, reasonable price, and professionally run. This event epitomizes the Broomfield Recreation Services mission: “to provide a variety of fun, high quality, and safe recreational and leisure opportunities. ….. enhancing the quality of life by promoting good health, well being, and a strong sense of community.” Jason Meyers
The excitement in the gym prior to swimming.
Great! I met my two goals: to finish and to have some fun.
Great, always fun, participants are always very encouraging as you race.
It was fantastic and very well run. I really enjoyed the training program with Jay Wiley. I would suggest this race to anyone remotely thinking about starting a triathlon. I loved it.
Because I was in the last heat I could complain about that but it was just how it has to be, someone has to be in the last heat to start. I thought it was well organized and people were so friendly so I guess I don’t have anything to tell you to improve on J.
It was great! I raced as a combined time team this year & it was even more fun that racing as an individual.
I liked everything. The people were awesome; the volunteers were really nice and it was very organized. It's better done than Danskin or Tri for the Cure.
I had a great time. The guy with the snorkel was my favorite.
Excellent as always when the sun shines bright on Broomfield on race day!
Awesome!!! It was my first triathlon and I will definitely do it again! Everyone was so encouraging, the volunteers were great and the race was so well organized with the heats that my husband was able to bring my three little kids to come watch and hang out at the Bay afterwards. I have done many running races and this just usually is too much of a hassle to bother with.
It was great x 3
Loved it – everything about it!
Thanks Dawn for everything you've done for the Mini Haha! I talked to several people, who said that after going to the orientation they were much more relaxed since you stressed the "Haha" aspect of it all! :) I really enjoyed my first experience in a triathlon! I think everything worked out great for me. I was very lucky to be in an early heat since I'm a super slow swimmer. I think that was great to put us slow folks at the beginning so we had plenty of time to finish before the last racers. I hope to be in a slow early heat next year too!! :)
Excellent. It was my first triathlon and I thought the event was organized in a great manner.
Fabulous. Fun. Fantastic. Exhausting and invigorating.
This was my 1^st triathlon and I thought it was great.
Great! As always, you guys did a great job!
This is just organized enough – not too serious – I’d be cautious about creating too many “improvements”- for fear that it would change the “vibe”
Loved it!
Thanks – a truly enjoyable experience. I appreciate your hard work- I hope it was profitable for the Parks and Rec, in some way. The people – staff, vols, and participants were really wonderful!
THANKS DAWN FOR PUTTING TOGETHER A GREAT RACE. FOR MY FIRST TRI EXPERIENCE IT GOT ME HOOKED.
THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THE EFFORT.
Great Job! Thanks for making it a great enough experience that I want to do more triathlons.
Thanks for organizing a great event.
Loved the bike set up. Worked well to have the heats together. Also liked having Golden Bear in the bike area to help.
Just a big thank you for putting on a fun race!
How would you like to organize an Olympic Triathlon, 10K, or half marathon in Broomfield?
Well done!! Keep up the great work. I can’t wait until next year!
Thanks for organizing a great event Dawn!!
Dawn, you’re doing a really good job and the race has matured. My hope is that even after you’ve burned out and left the race to someone else that it doesn’t just fade away like so many other multi-sport events have in this state. (Feel free to forward / read aloud my comments.)
Thank you for setting up a fun, safe, and well-run event. I really appreciate all of the volunteers and police support that you provide.
You did awesome. Thanks so much for all your work.
I’m very happy that we have a triathlon of this length right here in Broomfield. Keep it up!
Can you do a similar one in the fall or Spring? Anything to keep motivated.
How about a triathlon for kids?
If participating with friends it would be nice to be able to start the race with them, have a category of buddies or something like that where if you want you could race together.
Fr my first triathlon it was AWESOME! All the volunteers were cheering me on which was just wonderful and kept me going!
Thanks for a great experience!! As a first time
triathlon participant, I couldn't have asked for better!
I had a lot of fun, thanks for a great experience!!
Well done!! Keep up the great work. I can’t wait until next year!
Any chance to run more than one a year? How about a sprint distance triathlon?
Hi Dawn, First, thanks for putting on a wonderful event. This was our first time at the Mini Haha, and not only did we have fun-- it gave us good reason to train throughout the winter and spring. We're already planning for next year : ) Lori Meiskey
Good, I did it last year so I was familiar w/ the process. It was pretty fun and challenging again this year since I didn’t train at all this year 
I love this event! I plan on doing it for the next couple years as long as my body allows! It’s perfect for some of non-regular athletes! And it’s a great family activity my boys love it! Thank you so much for all your hard work
My overall experience has been very positive. The race last year was my first ever triathlon, and I had a good enough time to want to do others. Also, it is short and not serious enough that I can actually do well, which is kind of motivating for me (although it conveys a false sense of ability).

What did you enjoy the most?

I really appreciated that the transition area was more organized this year with everyone setting up according to their swim heats. I think the layout of the transition area worked really well, too.
I enjoyed getting back into some sort of competition after having children. It has been a long time since I have done something like this. I really enjoyed the atmosphere, very well done.
The fun supportive environment!
The volunteers were really great and the refreshments available after the race were FABULOUS!!! I thought it was very well organized. I wasn't able to stay for the Bay festivities since my little girls and husband were exhausted (as was I!), but I hope to see that all next year. Thanks again for everything...I wouldn't change a thing...except maybe to start earlier! Take care and have a great summer! Tiffany Thibeault
Everything! It was so well run I thought it was just so fun. I really appreciated the volunteers around the course. Everyone was so helpful and it was great having someone to cheer you on.
The short swim! J
This race was well-managed. Course (swim, bike, run) was nice. Volunteers were great!
THE COMPETITION ITSELF.
I enjoyed the camaraderie and the support of the volunteers/onlookers cheering us on.
The small town local feel, the Bay time at the end. The friendly volunteers. I appreciate that it has such a “doable”, yet challenging feeling and is the first tri that many people try. I love that those that are not ‘athletes” feel safe and comfortable rising to this challenge. The water was cold and the snacks were perfect. The starbucks stand was great and it was a bonus that there was a charity that benefits from that.
Excellent! It was really fun to do the home town race! The transition area was well controlled. I liked the bikes by heat (rather than open, first come, first serve). The course was well suited for triathletes of all abilities.
It was fun to hang out at the Bay afterward!
The volunteers were well placed, encouraging, and did a great job!
Seeing all my neighbors and friends (we had about 12 people from our small neighborhood participate) and cheering on my wife in her first tri!
The small size, friendly people, close to home (Broomfield), and reasonable entry fee.
I was also impressed at the organization and flow of the event - especially how quickly the race times were posted – both at the event and online. Your manual system was faster than the “automated” system at the BolderBoulder event. They failed miserably this year at posting race times.
I wasn’t thrilled about being in the last heat, but being allowed into the transition area late to set up was great. Had this not been allowed, it would have been a very long morning for me coming up from Littleton to participate. I really thought having the transition area organized by heat was brilliant - which also made possible my comment above.
All of the volunteers! As I started the second loop of the bike ride, I called to “the jumping lady” to ask if it had been her at the top of the hill last year (I missed her there this year – she was a great help!), when she confirmed, I told her I remembered her and I cheered for her. I hope that made her day!
Community involvement – the kids with the hose spraying riders, and the boy in the backyard swing set across Sheridan (your volunteer man at Sheridan and Midway was great too!) – this is a great event.
The small venue that allows slugs like me to actually get a prize! (3^rd in 45-49 males)
I always enjoy finishing off by going to the bay with my kids.
I just enjoy hanging out with people I know and like and having fun.
Nice work, and thanks for keeping me in the medals in my “post-competitive” age.!
As always, great. This was the 4^th year for me and my friends.
(for the most part) non-competitive and fun atmosphere.

Any other questions or comments?

Excellent!!
The complete experience, I can’t single out any one thing. I felt that it was well organized and easy to figure out what I needed to do to be in the right place at the right time.
I would like to commend Dawn on all her hard work and organization in making this event fun and successful. The volunteers were wonderful and keep cheering us on which made a big difference when you are looking for that finish line. I enjoyed the whole day!
Thanks for all your hard work!
Awesome….Very well organized, and everything went very smoothly
Just being able to participate. Distances were very reasonable for us “everyday” athletes. I enjoyed it all.
Thank you for organizing this great event!
Excellent – very well organized.
We had over 15 friends sign up and we requested to be all placed in the same heat – Dawn made that happen and it was a blast!
It was a very wonderful first time experience for me. It felt that it was well organized and had the right number of participants given the facility and amount of staff.
This experience was pleasurable because it appears that it was well organized; had appropriate number of staff; and included all levels of athletic talents as well as all age groups. I also enjoyed the after event activities i.e. The Bay, and treats i.e. fruit and snacks.
It was Great!!!. I love people cheering you on. The weather was perfect.
The training for the event I enjoy the most, especially when you have a friend to train with. You feel so good when you have finished it, I said to myself “ You Did It”.
Thank you for organizing the event. It is great to do. People seemed a little more intense this year. Some people I think forgot about the Ha Ha part of it.
I enjoyed it very much, for the second year in a row.
I enjoy the atmosphere of fun. There’s still a healthy amount of competition, and I enjoy working on my performance and being able to count on accurate and professional timekeeping. But the emphasis on having fun is what makes me look forward to this event each year. This attitude seems to start with you, and carries on in the volunteers, and is present in the participants as well. Having the awards inside the park, and providing free passes, is also a nice touch.
Thanks for your obvious hard work setting up this event and successfully carrying it off. It’s the only event of this type that I participate in, and I can’t imagine missing it in the future.
It was great! It didn't feel so "mini or haha" during the run!
What did you enjoy the most? The camraderie of the other participants and the support of the staff and volunteers along the way.
Check out www.fitlink.com . This site lets you map run and bike routes. You don't have to sign up to use it. I believe that if you do sign up, it will keep track of your runs for you. Thanks for another great race!
Great. Everyone is really friendly. Dawn is really good at keeping the mood light & making the triathlon fun.
What did you enjoy the most? I enjoyed the bike ride the most. Crossing the finish line felt pretty good too.
This is an awesome event. Very well done & a lot of fun. I know I ended up writing some things in the improvements section, but that was minor stuff & overall it was a great experience.
I think you put on a wonderful race.
I enjoyed getting to watch my friends compete.
This is a very fun race, short and sweet. Very non-competitive.
The people and the distance.
Also pretty inexpensive

What can we improve/suggestions?

· Every event of this type has areas of needed improvement, but in this case I can’t think of any!

Patch the asphalt where we turned into the parking lot to eliminate the 2 or 3 inch drop that was there.
The race might move along more smoothly & quickly if you set the swim heats to go in order from slowest to fastest swimmers. In general, the fastest swimmers are going to be the more experienced triathletes & will be better able to race in the warmer part of the day. This is such a great triathlon for first timers, and most would be more comfortable racing earlier in the morning when it is cooler & they don’t have all morning to be nervous. I overheard several first-timers who were disappointed and disheartened that they had to start at the very end of the day -- they were worried about it being too hot for the run and worried about being the last person to finish.
If you can spread out the swimmers it would be cool because 5 in a lane seems a bit much. I am OK with starting earlier and like the early June date because later would be too close to the Danskin.
The T-shirts should say “triathlon” on them! This was my first triathlon, so I was excited about the shirt, but disappointed that the shirt didn’t say anything about what it was for!
The only thing I would suggest is to not allow volunteers to wear IPODS or talk on the phone while volunteering, esp. on the road/directing traffic. It seemed kind of dangerous.
Swim waves, starting times. Waiting until 10:00 to start my wave was kind of a downer, since it was getting hot already. Plus waiting around for 2 hours after the transition area closes is kind of tough, too. But I know there isn’t much we can do about that since it is a pool swim.
Have you considered a snake swim? Where you swim up and down each lane, then move to the next one? I don’t know if people could start in order of swim time and maybe it would go faster. Just a thought! J
The bike course always presents a safety challenge to race directors and this event is no exception. I was a concerned with the very low number of volunteers at the cross-streets up on 136^th since on the bike we are really flying and it only takes one impatient or witless driver to turn a nice race like this into a nightmare by pulling out in front of a 25+mph racer. There seemed to be other volunteers in locations that were not as important like on the run (given your arrows) and they could have moved up to 136^th and been more effective.
I’d also like to suggest that the cops and volunteers on the bike course be instructed to be assertive! I had one old lady heading westbound on Midway move into the intersection of Lamar and Midway (I had to cross in front of her) and she really didn’t understand that the cop wanted her to stay put – she must have thought it was a stop and go situation. Anyway the cop and volunteer were pretty much just standing there watching it all unfold and I yelled to them that she moved regardless of their instructions – dangerous!
Also Dawn I’d suggest you stand closer to the microphone during awards – you are a soft and gentle speaker and we can’t always hear you J.
Use timing chips.
I also think there should be some “etiquette” with regards to multiple swimmers in a swim lane. I did not have problems; but in watching some of the other heats, I saw some problems. It was mainly with the slower swimmers. It’s not okay to walk/swim 3 abreast and cause the other swimmer(s) in the lane to stop. Stay on the right side unless you are passing.
Did people actually take water from the vols on the bike route? If they did, keep it
MAYBE INCREASE THE BIKE ROUTE TO A SINGLE 11 NILE LOOP.
Somehow shorten the wait time from bike drop off to start time
When I entered the run portion it was not clear which direction to go. There wasn’t a volunteer posted there. Placing some cones on the path blocking the portion closest to the building would have prevented confusion. I was in an early heat, but if I had been in a later one I would have wanted more water stations.
Great race! It was so well organized and so much fun! I do have two suggestions for whatever they are worth! One is that I think an extra drink station would be great, maybe right around the batting cages. It got hot for the last heats! The last suggestions is that the enrty point into the run/out of the transition area was a little confusing. There was someone inside the transition area pointing me towards the area but once there I couldn't tell exactly where to go and ended up a little lost inside there! The other transitions were perfect!!!
Timing – the use of chips would be great. It would give everyone all their splits, which is really fun to see, and part of the uniqueness of triathlon – there are really 5 races going on back to back and even if you’re not a great overall finisher, its fun to see if you had the best swim in your age group, or the fastest T1. Plus it would be more accurate. The current system penalizes all but the first swimmer in each heat. I also heard a few stories of large time differences between the official results and participants’ stopwatches. Don’t know if chip timing is expensive or not, but it would be cool.
I think the run was probably a fair bit short of 2 miles. I would add a zig and a zag somehow to get the distance to 2 miles. It would also be nice to have a marker at mile 1, and another marker about ¼ mile from the finish.
The fact you are asking is probably why you are so successful to begin with!
I didn’t know the registration would fill up so fast. I was lucky enough to get in from the wait list (Thank you, Dawn!). Maybe a warning on the website before the sudden notice that registration is closed would help motivate me to get off my butt and register early.
How about race shorts or sun visor or anything other rather than a race T-shirt? I have 12 boxes of race T-shirts I never wear…but at least yours have some color!
Party atmosphere – It would be nice to have more going on at the finish line. Vendors, more massage tables, Maybe some fun things to do for the kids waiting on mom and dad (face painting, a bounce castle, a dunk tank, whatever)
Let all the volunteers in transition know about allowing the later heats being allowed in late. One gentleman let me in with a smile, and as I was walking to my rack another told me I was only allowed 2 minutes to set up b/c I was late. I tried to explain I was in the last heat, but he was not pleased.
A white or grey tshirt is best I think (as opposed to turquoise and other various funny colors that don’t necessarily go with things), but those are just my two cents.
Offer split times for swim, bike and run so you are able to see times for each part of the race.
Awards ceremony earlier, but I understand we have to wait for all to finish of course.
more water stations everywhere!!! especially on the run but also on the bike, it gets hot, i like to just keep dumping water on me, it kept me going
heat times for swim better organized by time of swim versus being put with your teammates even though swim time was 1 minute or more different
The only thing I was unhappy about was starting so late since I registered so early I thought it would be fair to start earlier. But I had to feed my kids breakfast anyway so it all worked out!
As far as the race, I think it is pretty good and really hits just what it is trying to accomplish. The size is certainly limited by the venue, but I think that is ok. You could have as many as 7-8 in a lane for the faster heats, but it is ok as is.
As far as the race, I think it is pretty good and really hits just what it is trying to accomplish. The size is certainly limited by the venue, but I think that is ok. You could have as many as 7-8 in a lane for the faster heats, but it is ok as is.
I honestly can’t think of anything I had a great time.
Get the weather to be a little cooler for the run J. Actually, I can’t think of anything to improve…all was good
Would like to have some recycle containers at finish line for all of the water and Gatorade bottles, so that they don’t end up in the land fill.
Nothing that I can think of!
The swim heat times are not always the exact start times for participants, based on what order they fall in the heat. For example I started fifth out of five people, delaying my time by twenty seconds, but my actual time does not reflect this. In addition I ‘ve heard there are other timing devices that are more accurate given these concerns, that would allow people not to have to wear bibs or numbers.
This year you had the bikes set up by heat. That didn’t work well with me. My whole heat seemed to be done at the same time and it got a bit messy during transitions. I didn’t have the best experience with a lady next to me.
I think that assigning swim heats to bike racks was great, however since an entire heat had a single rack, it was pretty conjested. Perhaps assign a lane (like lane #1) from heats 1, 3 and 5 to a single rack. Also, deliniating space for each biker. I'm not very familiar with this etiquette and there was a participant who was pretty nasty about his "area" prior to the race.
Have the t-shirts be on time next year. (Just kidding, I know that wasn’t your fault.) This triathlon is very well done & I wouldn’t change much, but it would be nice if people estimated their swim times a little more accurately. I’ve done this triathlon a few times now & I’ve been in swim lanes with people who are much slower than they thought they would be. I was surprised at how many don’t even attempt to swim before the triathlon & just take a guess. I even overheard one person saying they were going to put 4 minutes on their form next year because they want to be in the first wave.(I’m not totally sure how serious they were. They might have been just venting about the heat.) It really helps the swim part go smoothly if everyone in a lane is close to the same pace so there isn’t a bunch of passing. I realize you really don’t have much control over this. I mean you could make people qualify for the first couple waves, but then this thing might start to become like a serious triathlons & that would take away from some of it’s charm & fun. Maybe you could just encourage people to try & be accurate about their swim time & emphasize why an accurate swim time is important. They should at least time themselves once before submitting a time. One other small note, I have 3 kids & it would be nice to have a Bay pass for each family member, but that being said, I am very grateful for the free Bay passes we do get.

Maybe do the raffle and door prizes while compiling the results.
Announce the overall winners first so they don’t wonder why they weren’t announced with the age group winners. I think you had overall men and women and first masters (40 and over) men and first masters women but I don’t know since it wasn’t clear. I would announce overall woman, overall man, overall masters woman, overall masters man and then the age groups I liked that you removed the double awards.
On the bike course, when approaching the transition area, put a sign or volunteer at the median to direct cyclist either to the second loop or the transition area. The volunteer was positioned near the entrance to the transition and if he was a little further up the road, it would have made it easier. You could also put a sign with one arrow pointing to the transition and a second arrow point for second loop.

Timing chips!! (I would pay a little extra to have my split times)
Maybe do a Spring Mini Haha and a Fall Race?
Slowest swimmers start first? Or alternate heats slow/fast
Add a water station 2/3 way through run – down by batting cages
Start with the slowest heats first and then fastest people at the end
Would you be okay with starting at 7:30am instead of 8:00am?
Yes, that would help get the last heats out a little earlier to avoid the hot weather.
Yes, 7:30 or even 7:00 is OK. I’ll just wear warmer clothes – no biggie.
YES! Definitely. A 7:00 am start would even be great! Get it started before it gets hot! J
I think it might be a good idea to start earlier to avoid the heat.
I would start as early as 6:30 if we could bring our bike there the night before!
Definitely!!
Yes – 40
Sure! Even better – I would start at 7am!
I would love if it started a bit earlier. I was so nervous that I just wanted to get started and get going so that's a great idea to start at 7:30.
It is already hard to get childcare early enough to have time to get from home to transition set up. I would still do a 7:30 am race, but I think 8 am is better suited for a community race.

Definitely…I think the more people who can take part in the day the better. I was in a later heat and starting earlier would help with the day heating up.
Swim heats are difficult…Starting the swim at 10:30am and running in 80 degree heat seems rough.

Traditionally we hold the Mini Haha the second Sunday in June. What if we changed it to the fourth Sunday in June???
It is better earlier in June -- it’s a great first tri of the season & while there will always be some conflicts, having it the 2nd Sunday in June seems to present the least amount of conflicts with other events that occur towards the end of June. This is evidenced by the large number of participants and those on the waiting list.
I prefer earlier in June because of better chance for cooler weather. However, whatever works easiest for you. Will give me incentive to train more at swimming since faster swimmers go earlier, more or less.
I’m OK either way. I’d suggest you peek at the race calendar to see what other events conflict with yours – potentially drawing down your numbers. I was OK when it was on Father’s Day.
I would rather see it in early June. Although early June can get hectic with the end of school activities, people aren't usually making vacation plans that early and it isn't quite as hot.
I’d prefer the 2^nd Sunday in June….I think this is a nice 1^st tri for the summer, but I would still participate if it was the 4^th Sunday.
THE ONLY CONCERN WOULD BE THE ADDED TEMPERATURE FOR THE LATE HEATS.
I would still do it. But the run might be a little hotter this time of year – especially with a later heat. Figure some people might be running ~ 12:00 and the risk of heat stroke increases.
Another consideration: on some years this would be the weekend before July 4^th and people might go on vacation (not necessarily a bad thing ;-)
Prefer earlier - 25
I don’t think this is ideal since it will coincide with the weekend prior to 4^th of July when many people vacation or host out of town company. Plus it might be a lot hotter then.
Doesn’t matter – I would do it whenever it was held – I love it
I like the 2^nd Sunday in June better.
I also liked it on the second Sunday in June since that's right after the kids get out of school. I think you'd have less participants if you did it later when many people are on vacation.
Okay!

Survey Responses!!!

I want to thank all of you for filling out the surveys from last year. It was a great response and I truly value and appreciate your feedback. There were so many wonderful comments - I cannot thank you enough for your support and dedication to the event and to doing some great for your self!!! If you have any other comments – feel free to share! Thanks again!

In a nutshell - here were the big suggestions and what we will be doing...

We will be starting the race at 7:30am this year - so 30 minutes earlier!!!
We will continue to set up the transition area according to your heat - however, we will try to get more bike racks for more space
We will have more water stations on the routes
We will be patching the asphalt going into the parking lot, out to the run, and around the course to make sure you have a smoother ride!
The t-shirts will say "Mini Haha Triathlon" on them!
We will have more volunteers on the bike route to help with directing traffic and make sure they are paying attention and are assertive!
I will provide more information about swimming etiquette; how to determine your swim time, etc for everyone in hopes that we have people heated accordingly. More to come on this!
I will do my best to heat you with friends/family/team when requested as long as you have the same swim times!!!
I will post a volunteer in the transition area to help direct you to where the run starts!
We will add large signs for 2 laps then enter here – with directional arrows to help you on the bike course/entering the transition area.
For those of you starting in the last 4 heats, I will allow you to come later to the event to set up – hopefully that will help!!!
I will continue to spice up the finish line some more - alter it a little and where it ends so it is a little more exciting and try to have a few things for kids to do while they wait!
We will do the raffle prizes first this year while we wait for the results!!!
I will pull the overall winners out of the age group awards – but still recognize them as the overall winners.

Now – the two big ones…

TIMING CHIPS!

Many of you suggested that we use timing chips to help provide splits and more accurate times. I have looked into this option however; I have decided that we are not going to use them at least this year. Here are my reasons…

Timing chips are expensive – this would significantly increase the registration price by like $15/20 per person to cover the cost of the chip, as well as the staffing needed, time, lost chips, etc. Part of the Haha in this triathlon is the affordable price. I would really like to keep the costs down so that I can in turn – keep your costs down.

A big part of this event is keeping it fun for everyone! When you start adding things like timing chips – it starts to add more of the competitiveness and gives it an edge that I am again trying to stay away from. The timing system we are using is accurate with the exception of the swim start – meaning if you started last in your lane – your time may be off 5-20 seconds max! Going to the chip system would not solve that problem. I would have to assign everyone not only a heat and lane, but a starting order in your lane in order to get your exact time. I could do that – but again, I believe part of the fun in this event is that you get to decide your starting order in your lane – you get to meet people and talk about what kind of a swimmer you are – some are more comfortable about going first, while others would prefer to go last. I want to keep that open – this is again a fun, low key event.

HEATING!

Let me start off with how I have heated in the past. I am not sure many of you understand what I have done and why…

The past two years I have started the race with the two fastest heats – those with the fastest swim times and overall predicted finish times. The 3^rd heat has been the slowest heat (those with the slowest predicted swim times). From there I have alternated between a fast heat, slow heat, fast heat, slow heat. So – it looks like this…

Heat 1 and 2: Predicted swim times of 3:00-5:00

Heat 3: Predicted swim times of 10:00 or more

Heat 4: Predicted swim times of 5:00-5:30

Heat 5: Predicated swim times of 10:00

Heat 6: Predicted swim times of 5:30-6:30

Heat 7: Predicted swim times of 9:00 to 10:00

And so on

The last 4 heats were actually all the average times – around the 7:00-8:00 minute swim times. This is all approximate and changes every year according to everyone’s predicted swim times. A good flow is dependent upon everyone making as accurate predicted swim times as possible to stay consistent with each heat!!!

- Heating the event this way actually sped up the event dramatically so that I was able to add more people to the event without adding more time on the end of the event. We start the next heat of the swim as soon as the previous heat exits the water – it helps to keep the event flowing!!!

- Because we have a two loop course on the bike – it would make it very difficult for me as well as for the fastest participants to go last. I honestly believe that it would create more problems for everyone – especially safety concerns!

- The first few years I did heat from fastest to slowest – however, it really takes the fun away from first timers – and very difficult for them to finish last after everyone has left. Again, I am trying to keep it fun and exciting for everyone – especially for first timers!!!

Unfortunately – someone has to start last. However, for those people in the last 4 heats, I am going to allow you to come late to the event to set up so you do not have to wait the entire time before starting the race. More details to follow!