Couldn't have done it without you....

I am putting the finishing touches on the Operations Manual, which details the various course maps, safety plans, and schedule of events. It is a lot of work, but it also made me appreciate all of the people who have been so kind to the triathlon. Here is just a few of the many who deserve credit:

Marge Quinlan-- my mother in law. She has been such a supporter since the beginning. A couple of her contributions-- recruited our very first registered participants, posted the race concept out to her email directory, visited over 70 businesses in Sea Isle (yes, SEVENTY) for sponsorships, and even signed up her own relay team! I often wonder if the little Marine Drill Instructor inside of her inspired her to be such a helping hand. THANKS MOM!

Mike Patton-- family friend and, according to my wife, my "BFF". Mike is a former Marine and in charge of our bike course safety. He has a great eye for details, which is welcomed.

Gerry Quinlan-- my father in law. I have mentioned his contributions in past blog posts, but he has been so instrumental and deserves another credit. Director of Volunteers, Chief Note Taker, and my "local" connection. He has saved me countless hours!

Bill Dalton-- President of Bridgepoint Insurance Group, our Founding Sponsor. When this event was little more than an idea, Bill was in our corner. Like me, he is not a veteran but deeply believes in citizens caring for our military veterans. Bridgepoint was our 1st sponsor before we even had a official sponsor package! Talk about trust. Thanks Trooper!

Sherree and Paul McCulley-- "Iron-Granny" and SGT Swartzkopf. My Mom and Dad. Mom was a huge source of encouragement and one of our registered athletes. Dad (and his father) are veterans and both inspired me to help our soldiers.

Fordham-- for teaching me two important concepts: "men for others" and "to whom much is given, much is expected".

And finally, Heather, Caroline, Emma, and Lila: Thanks for inspiring, listening, and coping with the hours of planning this event has taken. Girls, I am very proud of the fact that you have learned about the role of our brave men and women in uniform. Freedom isn't free; instead, it is paid for by our soldiers, 4,000+ who have recently died in Iraq. I now know you understand Memorial Day is more than the start of the summer.

See you in Sea Isle....just 26 days to go.....

T-minus 32 days

August 16th, 2007. I wrote Sea Isle's Mayor, Len Desiderio, on this date, proposing the idea of a Sea Isle triathlon. Now we have 32 days to go. Where did the time go? Things continue to progress. From a race director's seat, job duties switch from marketing the race and filling the registration list, to more of an operational one. We have 271 racers signed up-- yes, 21 people signed up in the last six days-- so I am very confident we will hit 300+. In fact, we will probably inch towards 350. The city has not cut us off and we have a very large transition area, which will accomodate our racers with plenty of room to spare.

From an operational perspective, I just put the finishing touches on the race manual. 18 pages...wow! I am lucky to have two people to lean on when writing this paper-- Chuck Brodsky, who is behind The Nation's Triathlon and has a ton of experience-- and my father-in-law, Gerry Quinlan, who was a logistics manager for Verizon before retiring (and he still retains his keen eye for details). Gerry is a Sea Isle resident and has saved me countless trips to the beach. These two guys have helped me get this off the ground. Thanks, guys!

Details, details...I think I have put together a solid course. The swim is what it is-- 400m in the ocean. The real key here is protecting the athletes by providing plenty of lifeguards and lobbying for some back-up...like the Coast Guard. They will have a boat on the scene, which is very reassuring. (And, no, it is not going to be cold...Sea Isle water temperature is 56 today and will only go up...expect high 60s!).

The bike course is the trickest venue because of traffic control. The city has been kind enough to close Pleasure and Landis (southbound) Avenues, but there are other concerns: 30+ cross streets to block, five 90 degree turns, four "s" curves, and lots of parked cars. Obviously, we will need to have a good number of volunteers (70+ so far) and educate our athletes about the twists & turns. On the positive note-- bikers will enjoy the very long straight aways-- almost 9 miles of straight riding. I have been to some races where they force you to do a 180 degree turn on each lap (Philly Tri, Wildwood Tri)-- not fun and SLOW. I estimate the bike course contains more than 9 miles of flat, laser straight road (Landis, 79th-42nd, is going to break speed records).

Finally, the run. This has been the easiest to organize-- a 3.1 mile, out and back course on the hard sand. No traffic to worry about, only the occassional, washed up jellyfish.

All in all, I would have to say, a race director should be required to particpate in 5-10 triathlons before starting their own race. I have tried to eliminate any concern for the racer and put on a bodacious (did i really just use that word) venue for you athletes!

Have any suggestions? Add a comment to the blog!

250.............

Wow. I feel great today. We just broke 250 registrations!

When I came up with the idea of launching a triathlon in my favorite beach town-- my second home-- I figured a figured a good goal would be roughly 250 racers. Then I actually launched it and watched the numbers trickle in via Piranha-Sports. Many times, I questioned whether or not we could hit that magic number. During the cold months of January and February, racers slowly started to show up-- but most of them were friends, family, and familiar racers. Now, we are seeing a ton of activity and racers from as far as Massachusetts and Virginia.

Some interesting numbers:

2,690-- the number of visitors to the race blog
7,596-- athletes in Piranha's database...we sent 2 emails announcing the race
1,291-- number of postcards I sent to area triathletes
10-- number of Team Semper Fi racers

$21,000 -- Amount we are predicting we will raise for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and Sea Isle's new Veterans' Memorial Fountain

Thank you! This has been an amazing experience and I am so pleased to give back to our community, our veterans, and call attention to the sacrifices made by our military. With 250 racers as of today, we should probably climb all the way to possibly 350 (we do have 36 days to go and a lot of racers wait until the last minute).

See you in Sea Isle City!

Race Article in The Press of Atlantic City

The Press of Atlantic City was kind enough to feature Tri for Our Veterans in today's newspaper. Click here to read the article.

40 days 'til race day...

Race news, tidbits, & 44 days to go...

Race registrations are up to 225 and we are expecting a sellout...which is great news.

This week, Michael Monsoor, a Navy SEAL, was posthumously awarded the nation's highest military honor-- The Congressional Medal of Honor. Monsoor was in Iraq with his SEAL Team, flushing out insurgents, when a grenade landed next to him. He dove on the exploding grenade and saved the lives of his fellow SEALs in doing so. Though he lived for 30 minutes after the explosion, Monsoor eventually died, becoming the 16th SEAL killed in Iraq/Afghanistan. Another debt that can never be repaid.

I am planning something special at the race to remember those brave men and women who have given their lives in Iraq. With more than 4,000 killed in the war, it is a challenge, but I have something up my sleeve to honor all of them AND call out our local heroes (NJ-DE-PA) in particular. More details to follow...

Thanks go out to the Yacht Club of Sea Isle, the Commodore Club, the TI Yacht Club and the various organizations who have been pledging volunteers for the race. THANK YOU.

44 days until the race...you ready?

EXTRA, EXTRA: Triathlon breaks 200 registrations

200 registered racers for the triathlon. Remember, first 300 racers to register receive the best race swag on the Jersey shore-- Polar water bottle, t-shirt, and beach bag complete with race logo.

Tell your friends and sign up today by clicking HERE.

Today's Inspiration: Ripples of Hope

Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance...

All of us will ultimately be judged, and as the years pass we will surely judge ourselves on the effort we have contributed to building a new world society and the extent to which our ideals and goals have shaped that event. (RFK, 1966)