So my family and I enjoy the Banks Lake/Grand Coulee area.
Before it started cooling down too much, we decided to get in one last "camping" trip. We also decided to volunteer for the Grand Columbian and support them in whatever way we could.
Since we had our 2 kids with us (5 and 4), we knew that we would have to be creative with the volunteering effort. I let TriFreaks know that we are able to handle important roles, however we will probably have to "tag-team" each other since we have the kids.
First off, here is a video recap from triathlete magazine's Ann Wessling:
Part 1:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/12/nutrition/video-ann-wessling-takes-on-her-first-iron-distance-race_43978
Part 2:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/12/nutrition/video-fuel-your-fast-featuring-ann-wessling-part-two_43981
Part 3:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/12/nutrition/video-fuel-your-fast-featuring-ann-wessling-part-three_43991
Results:
http://www.accustatsportstiming.com/results3.asp?ei=146
Photos:
http://coulee.photoshelter.com/gallery/2012-Grand-Columbian-SuperTri-Triathlon/G0000yg9ZTH8RiUk
These are AMAZING pictures from Scott Hunter at "The Star":
We were put in charge of managing the Swim-Bike transition area (This race had 2 transition areas).
This involved managing other volunteers for the following tasks:
-Pre-race setup (Cones, markers, aid, timing mats)
-managing volunteers (Advise on where to stand, what to tell athletes)
-Encourage athletes, ensure that USAT rules are followed.
-Tearing down T1 when athletes are completed.
The Grand Columbian consists of the following races:
-Olympic Distance Triathlon (.93m swim, 25m bike, 6.2m run)
-Half Iron-Distance (Long) (1.2m swim, 56m bike, 13.1m run)
-Iron Distance (Super) (2.4m Swim, 112m bike, 26.2m run
-Super-Iron Distance (Ultra) (3.1m swim, 120m bike, 30m run)
I am always inspired and encouraged by the athletes doing the longer distances.
We drove out the afternoon before the race.
We got to Banks Lake about 8:30PM.
We stayed in a resort called Sun Banks Lake Resort. We saw this place the last time we stayed out there and we thought it looked awesome. By the time we got there, I anticipated that most athletes were sleeping, as they needed to be awake about 3:45 the next morning. We also needed to be awake at 4:00 to be at the transition area by 4:30.
Our cabin was right next to one of the Olympic distance athletes. I talked to his father for a few minutes as I unloaded the car. He was proud of his son. We also ran into one very lean, tall fellow who was going to do one of the longer races but opted to do the shorter Olympic distance because his training was interrupted for 3 weeks by out-of-country travel. He told me to look for him. "I'll be wearing the RWB kit".
We did our goodnights and prepared for the next morning.
Woke up at 4:00AM.
We got dressed and carried the kids out to the car. As we were leaving, I noticed that the owner of Trifreaks was also staying right near us. He was clearly sleeping.
We then headed to the transition area which was at Spring Canyon Campground. Since we did not know 100% of what we would be doing, we just reminded ourselves to just always be looking for an issue that would affect the athlete. As long as the race issues are invisible then the racers will have a great day.
We got there at 4:30AM and relieved the volunteer who kept watch over the bikes overnight.
-We started setting up course markers.
-We set up the Arch for the Swim landing, timing mats, and cones from the water shore up to the transition area.
-We prepared the water and Heed drink station at the entrance of the transition area.
-We made sure that the change areas were ready, swept (as best we could) the parking lot where the runners would be running, and had everything about ready.
Then the athletes began arriving, the sun started to rise and the music turned on.
There is still haze in the air from recent forest fires.
...And the race begins...
I had a few points where I was able to go down and watch the swimmers, but I had to be cognisant of the people around me and be prepared to answer questions and such so watching wasn't top priority.
I do have to say: TriFreaks did a GREAT job of assigning "start" times for the races. At no point was there overlap in the transition area for the different races. Did that sound confusing? Essentially, if you were in the transition area and you looked at everybody else in the transition area, they were all in your race. Usually there are different distance races with multiple start waves. When you get into T1 there are plenty of people there...but you have no idea who is in which race and where you stand within your own race. That was a non-issue with this transition area even though there were 4 distances with 6+ events going on in that transition area.
I am always encouraged by those in the back of the pack of the shorter distance because you can tell that it is taking everything out of them just to get to each point. The great thing about triathlon is that everybody on the course, short or long, is hurting just the same. "It doesn't get any easier...you just get faster"
The last person entered the transition area, and she mentioned a few times that she is in last place. I felt the need to remind her that there is NO SUCH THING AS LAST PLACE in these races. Last Place is reserved for the people who never toed the starting line.
Once the last of the bikes were gone, we had to start cleaning up. Since this was a 2 -transition area race, we needed to get all of the athletes' equipment back to them at T2. This meant collecting all of the bags with their gear and moving them out. There were several things that didn't end up in a bag. Unfortunately, we couldn't "guess" which bags to put it in for fear of somebody going home with a real nice wetsuit. So we setup the "extra" stuff as best we could to make sure the athletes could collect it at the end of their race.
After cleaning up most of the stuff, we took the kids out of there so that we could give them some attention.
We returned for about an hour in the afternoon to continue tear-down and then spent more time with the kids. We helped out at T2 to make sure things went a little better there as well...but it was time to get in some naps.
About 7:30, we went back down to the T2/Finish line area. It was right at the base of the dam and it was pretty darn cool. At this point, everybody was finished, or they were off the bike and on the run. The sun started to go down. Every Saturday at 8:30, they open up the spillways on the dam and have a laser show on it.
So then it happened:
We are sitting there in the grass. Occasionally, a runner would come in. They were either finishing the Iron Distance or starting their second lap for the Ultra distance. So it is dark. The stars are very bright. You can see the depth to them and it was amazing. It was as if they were just saying, "Look how awesome this world is!". We were sitting at the base of one of the largest man-made structures in the world. They started the world's largest (albeit cheesy) laser show and playing the music. You can hear the thunder of the water falling, the music and watch the lasers, and it was as if they were saying, "Look how awesome the human brain is!".
While the laser show is playing, there would be an athlete entering the park. They have been going non-stop since 6:30-7:30 in the morning and have traveled 140 miles. When they would enter the park under the laser show, they would have their headlamps on or glow sticks and everybody would scream and cheer for them. They would either cross the finish line or be starting their second lap to continue their run. It was as if they were just saying, "Look how awesome the human spirit is".
So I was sitting there in the grass witnessing all of this. The stars, the athletes silhouettes in front of the laser show crossing the finish line, and I just had this thought about how amazing it is to actually witness how awesome the world is.
Amazing race...And I think I may be doing 2 TriFreaks 70.3 races next year....
Before it started cooling down too much, we decided to get in one last "camping" trip. We also decided to volunteer for the Grand Columbian and support them in whatever way we could.
Since we had our 2 kids with us (5 and 4), we knew that we would have to be creative with the volunteering effort. I let TriFreaks know that we are able to handle important roles, however we will probably have to "tag-team" each other since we have the kids.
First off, here is a video recap from triathlete magazine's Ann Wessling:
Part 1:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/12/nutrition/video-ann-wessling-takes-on-her-first-iron-distance-race_43978
Part 2:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/12/nutrition/video-fuel-your-fast-featuring-ann-wessling-part-two_43981
Part 3:
http://triathlon.competitor.com/2011/12/nutrition/video-fuel-your-fast-featuring-ann-wessling-part-three_43991
Results:
http://www.accustatsportstiming.com/results3.asp?ei=146
Photos:
http://coulee.photoshelter.com/gallery/2012-Grand-Columbian-SuperTri-Triathlon/G0000yg9ZTH8RiUk
These are AMAZING pictures from Scott Hunter at "The Star":
We were put in charge of managing the Swim-Bike transition area (This race had 2 transition areas).
This involved managing other volunteers for the following tasks:
-Pre-race setup (Cones, markers, aid, timing mats)
-managing volunteers (Advise on where to stand, what to tell athletes)
-Encourage athletes, ensure that USAT rules are followed.
-Tearing down T1 when athletes are completed.
The Grand Columbian consists of the following races:
-Olympic Distance Triathlon (.93m swim, 25m bike, 6.2m run)
-Half Iron-Distance (Long) (1.2m swim, 56m bike, 13.1m run)
-Iron Distance (Super) (2.4m Swim, 112m bike, 26.2m run
-Super-Iron Distance (Ultra) (3.1m swim, 120m bike, 30m run)
I am always inspired and encouraged by the athletes doing the longer distances.
We drove out the afternoon before the race.
We got to Banks Lake about 8:30PM.
We stayed in a resort called Sun Banks Lake Resort. We saw this place the last time we stayed out there and we thought it looked awesome. By the time we got there, I anticipated that most athletes were sleeping, as they needed to be awake about 3:45 the next morning. We also needed to be awake at 4:00 to be at the transition area by 4:30.
Our cabin was right next to one of the Olympic distance athletes. I talked to his father for a few minutes as I unloaded the car. He was proud of his son. We also ran into one very lean, tall fellow who was going to do one of the longer races but opted to do the shorter Olympic distance because his training was interrupted for 3 weeks by out-of-country travel. He told me to look for him. "I'll be wearing the RWB kit".
We did our goodnights and prepared for the next morning.
Woke up at 4:00AM.
We got dressed and carried the kids out to the car. As we were leaving, I noticed that the owner of Trifreaks was also staying right near us. He was clearly sleeping.
We then headed to the transition area which was at Spring Canyon Campground. Since we did not know 100% of what we would be doing, we just reminded ourselves to just always be looking for an issue that would affect the athlete. As long as the race issues are invisible then the racers will have a great day.
We got there at 4:30AM and relieved the volunteer who kept watch over the bikes overnight.
-We started setting up course markers.
-We set up the Arch for the Swim landing, timing mats, and cones from the water shore up to the transition area.
-We prepared the water and Heed drink station at the entrance of the transition area.
-We made sure that the change areas were ready, swept (as best we could) the parking lot where the runners would be running, and had everything about ready.
Then the athletes began arriving, the sun started to rise and the music turned on.
...And the race begins...
I had a few points where I was able to go down and watch the swimmers, but I had to be cognisant of the people around me and be prepared to answer questions and such so watching wasn't top priority.
I do have to say: TriFreaks did a GREAT job of assigning "start" times for the races. At no point was there overlap in the transition area for the different races. Did that sound confusing? Essentially, if you were in the transition area and you looked at everybody else in the transition area, they were all in your race. Usually there are different distance races with multiple start waves. When you get into T1 there are plenty of people there...but you have no idea who is in which race and where you stand within your own race. That was a non-issue with this transition area even though there were 4 distances with 6+ events going on in that transition area.
I am always encouraged by those in the back of the pack of the shorter distance because you can tell that it is taking everything out of them just to get to each point. The great thing about triathlon is that everybody on the course, short or long, is hurting just the same. "It doesn't get any easier...you just get faster"
The last person entered the transition area, and she mentioned a few times that she is in last place. I felt the need to remind her that there is NO SUCH THING AS LAST PLACE in these races. Last Place is reserved for the people who never toed the starting line.
Once the last of the bikes were gone, we had to start cleaning up. Since this was a 2 -transition area race, we needed to get all of the athletes' equipment back to them at T2. This meant collecting all of the bags with their gear and moving them out. There were several things that didn't end up in a bag. Unfortunately, we couldn't "guess" which bags to put it in for fear of somebody going home with a real nice wetsuit. So we setup the "extra" stuff as best we could to make sure the athletes could collect it at the end of their race.
After cleaning up most of the stuff, we took the kids out of there so that we could give them some attention.
We returned for about an hour in the afternoon to continue tear-down and then spent more time with the kids. We helped out at T2 to make sure things went a little better there as well...but it was time to get in some naps.
About 7:30, we went back down to the T2/Finish line area. It was right at the base of the dam and it was pretty darn cool. At this point, everybody was finished, or they were off the bike and on the run. The sun started to go down. Every Saturday at 8:30, they open up the spillways on the dam and have a laser show on it.
So then it happened:
We are sitting there in the grass. Occasionally, a runner would come in. They were either finishing the Iron Distance or starting their second lap for the Ultra distance. So it is dark. The stars are very bright. You can see the depth to them and it was amazing. It was as if they were just saying, "Look how awesome this world is!". We were sitting at the base of one of the largest man-made structures in the world. They started the world's largest (albeit cheesy) laser show and playing the music. You can hear the thunder of the water falling, the music and watch the lasers, and it was as if they were saying, "Look how awesome the human brain is!".
While the laser show is playing, there would be an athlete entering the park. They have been going non-stop since 6:30-7:30 in the morning and have traveled 140 miles. When they would enter the park under the laser show, they would have their headlamps on or glow sticks and everybody would scream and cheer for them. They would either cross the finish line or be starting their second lap to continue their run. It was as if they were just saying, "Look how awesome the human spirit is".
So I was sitting there in the grass witnessing all of this. The stars, the athletes silhouettes in front of the laser show crossing the finish line, and I just had this thought about how amazing it is to actually witness how awesome the world is.
Amazing race...And I think I may be doing 2 TriFreaks 70.3 races next year....
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