Have you ever violated a rule in a triathlon? Do you even know if you have or have not? For a complete list of regulations please visit www.usatriathlon.org and refer to the current USA triathlon competitive rules.
If you are racing with your club this year, be sure that your club is registered.
For more information on point and division breakdowns, visit Club Scoring
For more information on club eligibility, visit Club Eligibility
For race information and registration, visit the PumpkinMan event page.
USA Triathlon is dedicated to growing and developing multi-sport from the ground up. To this end, USAT is excited to announce to all clubs competing or thinking about competing in the National Club Championship in 2006 that the sprint event will be scored, along with the intermediate distance event, to decide the overall club champions.
By including the sprint event in the scoring, USAT is hoping to see a greater turnout from club members- from the first timer to the veteran, all working towards the same goal. The club system is an important vehicle to introducing new participants to the sport and we want to encourage all club members to contribute to the overall team score at the national championship.
The point breakdown will be the same for both distances. Clubs will be placed in the division that corresponds to their total team roster. The sprint distance points will be added to the intermediate distance points to decide the overall club champions in each division.
For more information on point and division breakdowns, visit Club Scoring
For more information on club eligibility, visit Club Eligibility
For race information and registration, visit the PumpkinMan event page.
Jef Mallett’s comic strip “Frazz” has been in newspapers nationwide for five years. That’s a while for a guy with his attention span, but about right when you consider his first daily comic strip was published 30 years ago when he was in high school. He just bounced around some, collecting stories in between.
Mallett raced in his first triathlon in 1981 but only rarely has to worry about looking nice for the awards. He did some bouncing around between now than then in that regard, too.
Mallett grew up in Big Rapids, Mich., in a family of musicians and teachers, and right from the start he spent a lot of time around creative chaos and a thirst for learning. He didn’t take up music, veering toward the visual arts instead. But he loved the almost musical rhythms of language and dialogue, and comics were a perfect fit. When he was 15 years old, he started drawing a daily comic strip for the Big Rapids Pioneer, and he continued it until he graduated in 1980. By then, he knew he wanted to draw a strip and syndicate it for a wider audience, but he also understood the unpredictable nature of the entertainment business – and the wisdom of a back-up plan.
He started studying nursing until an illustration opportunity came up at the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Press, and Mallett made the decision to go that way. The back-up plan was in place. It lasted for 20 years. He moved from the Press to the Flint Journal in 1987 as a staff artist and columnist, and in 1989 to the Booth Newspapers chain’s capital bureau in Lansing as art director.
Mallett wrote and illustrated a children’s book, “Dangerous Dan,” published in 1996. Following that, he began doing editorial cartoons for Booth’s eight newspapers, and thoughts of the original comic-strip plan began resurfacing. “Frazz” was launched in 2001 and now runs in 150 newspapers nationwide.
He first heard about triathlon with the original Ironman, and decided if he started learning to swim right then, he might have a chance to do it in his lifetime. After a miserable swim and remarkable bike split in his first race, he got the hint and took up bicycle racing. Career, marriage, injuries and mononucleosis had him bouncing back and forth between the two sports, along with distractions like hang gliding, boardsailing and even idleness, for years. With the comic strip and marriage going strong, the schedule, safety and personalities of triathlon make a lot more sense, so Mallett is staying put.
“Frazz” won the Religion Communicators Council’s Wilbur award for excellence in portraying ethics, values and religion in the secular media in 2003 and 2005. It was a finalist for the National Cartoonists Society’s 2005 Reuben award for best comic strip. And as if to cement its status in modern culture, “Frazz” has been mentioned in Newsweek, quoted in Ann Landers and – yes – been an answer on “Jeopardy!”.
Mallett lives in Lansing, Mich., with his wife, Patty.
The 4th Annual Rage Triathlon is set for Sunday, April 22nd 2007.
Rage is the official Team in Training Triathlon in Las Vegas for 2007!
We have raised this cap from 500 to 600 this year, as we already have over 100 athletes registered for this event. From the first Rage Triathlon in 2004, this race has been growing at a great rate, don’t miss it this year, as it will be capped at 600 and no doubt will sell out this year. With all of the feedback we received last year, we will be keeping the 2005 bike course. For those of you that raced, you know what we are talking about…
Registration is now open for this race, and early bird pricing will be open until January 1 2007. Don’t delay!
Contributing Coaches: Andrea Watkins and Steven Pye of Practical Coaching.
Eight more weeks until USA Triathlon’s National Club Championship race at PumpkinMan Triathlon. Because this is a championship race many of you may be traveling to attend, so we thought it might be good to discuss how to travel to a race and minimize the impact of travel both mentally and physically.
First things first! Set up a file folder with all of your pertinent information in it. Travel itineraries, emails those crazy race directors send out to you before their race containing all kinds of useful information, active.com confirmations, race location address and maps, expo/packet pick-up location address and maps, course maps, hotel reservation, bike shop contact information, and a copy of your drivers license and USAT membership card. (If traveling internationally we find it helps us to also put our passports in this folder as soon as it is created.) This folder will contain everything you need to know about your trip. It is better to have too much information in this folder than having to scramble the day before trying to locate information.
Next, if you are flying to your race you need to be prepared to travel with your bicycle. Check with the airline you are flying for weight restrictions. Some airlines charge an extra fee for being over 50 pounds. Generally, it costs $80 each way to fly with your bike. Also, remember there are no CO2 cartridges on the plane. If disassembling and packing your own bike is something you are not comfortable with, you will have to make arrangements to have your bike taken apart, packed, and reassembled at your destination. Call the bike shop ahead of time. Be prepared and know what the costs of assembly and disassembly are ahead of time. (Make sure to also schedule an appointment at the bike shop to disassemble your bike and pack it for your trip home.) It is important to have all of this arranged ahead of time. BBSC Endurance Sports uses Las Vegas Cyclery. Contact them at 702.596.2953 or email them at bike@lasvegascyclery.com. Pro Cyclery at 702.228.9460 and also Nu Vision Cyclery @ 702.228.1333.
With very little effort you can minimize the effects traveling can have on you. Remember to hydrate well. Bringing an empty water bottle and asking for fill ups may prove to be less frustrating with the current restrictions. Carrying your own food on the plane also helps you maintain control of your nutrition needs. Having a supply of water rich fruits will also help with hydration. Because of the current conditions check with your airline to see what is restricted.
Once at your destination, keep managing your time wisely. When picking up your race packet don’t spend too much time at the race expo. This is really the time you need to be off of your feet. Utilize the time to evaluate the course set up and prepare yourself for the race. View the transition area, swim in/out and if possible bike the run course.
Being prepared and aware helps minimize any mental stress you might experience and any negative physical effects traveling can have on your body. Practical Coaching wishes you the best of luck in your travels and your racing. If you ever have any questions feel free to contact us at info@practicalcoaching.net.
BBSC Endurance Sports would like to wish you all the best with your race season, and thank you for all your support. We are looking forward to being the host event to all of the talent coming out for Nationals this year. We wish you all best of luck with your training and we shall see you all out in October!
