Races as art
If we’ve talked in the last month or so, you know I’ve sworn off all triathlon-related websites/media/social-media/etc for the sake of my sanity. I’ve also sworn off writing about said sport*, because when you spend hours and hours training each day, who really wants to write about it? And does anyone really want to read about it?
However, as I prepare for my first foray into race directing (Littlefoot Triathlon on May 17th), I did make my way over to Slowtwitch this afternoon. My intention was to scan message boards for people’s favorite awards/race momentos, but then I was drawn to my all-time favorite recurring article on Slowtwitch, Jeff Henderson’s pieces on his experiences as race director. This one is my favorite, as it spoke of triathlon as art and not in the cliche human performance sense, but in the art of putting on a great race. Check it out, it’s a quick and worthwhile read.
http://www.slowtwitch.com/RD_Aids/Henderson_s_2010_RD_diary/On_Design_1153.html
…also feel free to share what your favorite race awards have been (aside from cold hard cash, obviously!).
*Except for random and sporadic entries on the Riptide blog.
Tags: article, design, race directing, triathlon
January 18th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
That’s awesome that you’re taking over the race promoting for Littlefoot. Let us know if we can help at all.
I think my favorite prize as a competitor was a gift certificate for a Night Rider light - prolly worth like $200 and it was donated by a sponsor. I still use it and that was 10 years ago, and it was only a Sport race. As a promoter, the donated stuff was the best - it was so much nicer than what we could actually buy, or a medal, or a t-shirt. Once we got patagonia fleeces, tires, and jerseys to give away. It was sweet! Almost everyone who did that little race got something.
You’re going to do a great job, and that is such a fun race!
January 23rd, 2010 at 9:44 pm
Thanks for the feedback Laura!! I’ll definitely keep those ideas in mind! =)