Race Previews

Make Short Course Triathlon Great Again...

Friday, 28 July 2017 23:10

By Erin Beresini (triathlete.com)

The eight-race series just kicked off a huge makeover at last weekend’s Minneapolis Triathlon.

In January, IMG announced its Escape From Alcatraz series, five races that gave top athletes slots to the iconic, always-sold-out (and expensive) Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Now Life Time Tri aims to give IMG a run for its money by taking pages from obstacle course racing and Ironman to create its own short course series, culminating in the inaugural Life Time Tri New York City Championship next July. The goal: to make tri friendly and accessible to new triathletes, while getting vets stoked on going short. Here’s how they plan to do it....

First, USAT is out. You don’t need a USAT license to race the Life Time Tri series, and the series won’t apply USAT rules. Participant licenses and sanctioning primarily benefit races by providing them with liability insurance. Life Time Fitness is a massive company (127 gyms in 27 states) with its own insurance policies that the tri series is leveraging to eliminate the need for coverage through USAT.

What that means for racers: you don’t need an annual USAT card and you won’t get $15 tacked onto your entry fee if you need a day license. The entry fee is the final price tag.