Suzie's Favorite Race..

July 28, 2010

July 31 Last Day to Register for YWCA Women’s Tri!

A Letter From Paul...

MN Tri News crew ... I’ve been meaning to touch base for some time now but the YW crew and I have been a tad busy getting the YWCA Women’s Tri ready for its new venue at Lake Nokomis. First, the big news for all to know is that July 31 will be the LAST day to register. If anyone is on the fence...

or has a friend that is still considering doing the race … it is time to get off the fence.

We have over 1000 women registered! Very cool since our cap last year was 500. We figure the main reason is that it is so accessible by bringing the race “home” to Minneapolis (we are the YWCA of Minneapolis, after all). And the women-only aspect really does give the race its own unique vibe.

As one of your and our favorite people, Suzie Finger, last year’s second place finisher, recently wrote to us … “Your race was BY FAR my favorite last year. It is fantastic that the new venue will allow for double the participants at a popular event! There is a very unique and special female energy, the day has a very positive vibe, is well run, and I had a fantastic experience last year.”

It has been BIG energy. Our last Tri Race Skills class had 50+ women. Of the 1000+ registered, nearly 500 are self-identified first-timers. It comes to just about 48% newbies. We love it. And fun stuff like 30+ mother-daughter teams and 30+ sister-sister teams. Nearly 300 have chosen our buddy wave where we ensure that they are racked together and start in the same swim wave.

We always try to add or raise the bar a little each year. This year we are adding relays, a bag check option and have taken the Pledge of Sustainability by Athletes for a Fit Planet. The Pledge to get greener involves stuff like doing away with plastic bottles at the finish line, composting, zero paper registrations, old shoe drive at packet pickup and shirts made from recycled polyester. It’s a start.

Always grateful for experienced volunteers from the triathlon community. Try a fun job like Noodle Swimmer! What’s that? Check out the race website: www.ywcawomenstri.org. Five days and counting until registration locks down! Tri on!

Paul J., co-race director, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (photo)