Since we announced that both our PDX Triathlon Festival and our Pacific Crest Endurance Sports festival were going virtual, we've had so many questions from athletes. We decided to go live last night on Facebook to explain all the rules and guidelines for
"How the heck do you do a Virtual Triathlon?" The link to the presentation is below so you can watch it at your convenience or you can read the summary below also. Please read and review all the options because whether you're ready to swim or not, we've got you covered! We hope you will join us for our first ever Virtual Triathlon events! 

Many of you have asked how we're doing at WHY Racing Events and have asked how you can help. First, thank you SO MUCH for your support - that means so much to us! Second, the absolute best thing you can do is keep doing the virtual events with us and share and inspire your friends, family and racing buddies to do it too! 

 
Why go Virtual?
  • Why not just cancel and see you next year? That's not what we do. As athletes, we set a goal & train for that goal. We can still do that and put purpose to our training. Virtual racing is still challenging and competitive - even though we're not racing together, we're still racing and that makes us push harder! Crossing the virtual finish line still provides a huge sense of accomplishment.
  • We need our physical strength, mental health and stress release now more than ever. Continuing to race will assure we are still committed to our health and fitness which is very important to our immune system!
  • Virtual racing gives us something positive to focus on. It feels so much better to focus on what we can do versus what we can't do. We can't control what's going on right now, but we can control our response and attitude. Plus triathletes thrive on obstacles!
  • Virtual racing provides a sense of community. Looking at the virtual photo album, watching the official race video or participating in the virtual awards ceremony is proof that we can be apart, but together!
  • Have you seen the upgraded gear & swag?! It's pretty awesome! You'll get a glimpse at the bottom of the email.
What is Virtual? Basically, you d o the distance you signed up for whenever and wherever. It is like the DVR of racing. Back in the day, if you had a favorite show, you had to be home to watch that show on the same day, same time each week. If you missed it, you were out of luck until the re-runs aired. Now, with DVR, you can watch your favorite shows at the perfect time and location for you. Virtual racing is like that and there are some perks. If you're not a morning person, sleep in and do your race when you want. No long lines at the porty potty! You can create your perfect course. You can create your own perfect post-race experience with your beverage and meal of choice! For PDX Triathlon, you have from May 30th - June 7th and for Pacific Crest Endurance Sports Festival you have from June 19-July 4th to complete your race(s). Plenty of time for ultimate flexibility with your scheduling and provides you the opportunity to race multiple distances and go for the BEAST challenge!

How to do a Virtual Triathlon:

1. Know your distance:The distances vary for multisport and we are going to have you do the exact same distances that you would have done for the live event.
  • PDX Triathlon Distances:
    • Super Sprint Triathlon - 1/4 mile Swim, 10 mile Bike, 2 mile Run
    • Sprint Triathlon - ½ mile Swim, 12.5 mile Bike, 5K Run
    • Olympic Triathlon - 1500m Swim, 40K Bike, 10K Run
  • Pacific Crest Triathlon Distances:
    • Olympic Tri: 1.5k Swim/28mi Bike/10k Run
    • Ultra-Sprint Tri: 1/2 mile Swim/28mi Bike/3.5 mile Run
    • 72.3 BEASTMAN Tri - 1.2mi Swim/58mi Bike/13.1mi Run
2. Swim leg - If you opt for the SWIM/BIKE/RUN Triathlon option, we need to figure out how and where you will swim. This is the trickiest of all three of the disciplines. You may not be ready for an actual swim for PDX Triathlon Festival but may be ready for Pacific Crest. We have many options for you. Keep reading. Here are your two options if you want to swim.
  • Pool swim - It is uncertain when public swimming pools will be open but assuming they open and/or for those of you who have access to a home or condo pool, you will perform your swimming distance and record on your smart watch. If your smart watch does not record swimming distance, you can opt to have a support person record your laps and time. Your verification will be a photo of that person showing and authorizing your distance and time. 
  • Open water swim - Many of our athletes are swimming outdoors. Since we will not be at your race with lifeguards, kayaks, paddleboards, boats and medical support crew, you have to consider all safety precautions. If you swim outdoors for your virtual triathlon, you must swim with a swim buoy and/or support crew in a kayak/paddleboard. You must swim with a buddy and/or have someone overseeing your safety.
3. Bike leg - You have two options for your bike segment.
  • Indoor Bike - Your safest option is to complete your bike segment on a Smart trainer, Power Meter, Peloton, Schwinn etc - Any indoor bike that will track your distance counts. Ride your distance and then record your time.
    • For the PDX Triathlon events, it's a flat course, anything goes on your indoor ride.
    • For Pacific Crest, it's an extremely hilly course, so if riding indoors, we would like you to choose a course option that provides at least the following:
      • UltraSprint/Olympic Bike Course - 1100 feet of elevation gain
      • Beastman Bike Course - 2800 feet of elevation gain 
  • Outdoors - If you are going to ride outdoors, we want you to be on a trail safe away from traffic. We won't be there to shut down roads and provide flaggers and police so we want you to be safe away from vehicles. Follow all traffic laws.
      • For Pacific Crest, since many of our athletes are racing from across the country/world and may not have access to safe outdoor climbing routes, elevation gain will not be a requirement for outdoor riding. That will help level the playing field against those racing indoors. 
4. Running leg - You have two options for your running segment. 
  • Indoors on a treadmill - Run until you're done you're distance.
  • Outdoors - A path, trail or a track is your safest option.
5. Transitions - We won't be setting up a transition for you where you safely store your bike and all your gear, so you need to consider the logistics. Consider the following:
  • Your transition times do not count towards overall time and results. If you want to be eligible for awards, you must do all segments consecutively under the following guidelines and while maximizing safety. 
  • We are allowing as much time as needed between the swim and bike leg because there are logistics involved depending on where you swim and how long it will take you to start your bike leg. Before your Triathlon race day, consider how you will quickly move from each leg and get all your gear and equipment ready to go. For example, if you have access to a pool, complete your swim. Then, depending on whether you will be biking indoors or outdoors, start your next leg as soon as possible and then finish with your run (indoors or outdoors). If you have a friend who agrees to be your support person, you could for example, complete your open water swim at a venue like Vancouver Lake, while they oversee your swim leg by kayak/paddleboard. Then, you could quickly transition to your bike and ride the bike path between Vancouver Lake and Frenchmans Bar. Then, your friend could watch over your bike as you transition and complete your run along the trails. There are many options and part of the fun is figuring out your race logistics. 
  • You are allocated 5 minutes max between the bike and run segments. 
  • If you do not have someone who could be your water safety support person, SWIM OREGON has agreed to provide water support for the open water swim leg for our triathletes. Reach out to them at info@swimoregon.org and they can arrange for someone to be there to help keep you safe for a small fee. 
  • Remember to start your watch and record your time for each leg of your Triathlon if you want to upload your results.
  • If you don't care about results and awards, all of these logistics really don't matter as much! You could literally do the swim in the morning, the bike in the afternoon and the run in the evening. You could even do it over multiple days. Swim one day, bike the next and the following day, do the run. That's the beauty of virtual, and if you don't care about posting results and being eligible for awards, this is your virtual race, so do it the way that is perfect for you. Some of you may be more open to try the BEASTMAN 72.3 distance for Pacific Crest under that scenario since you don't have to complete it all at once. Maybe this is your chance to TRI THE BEASTMAN!
6. What if don't want to swim?! Most of us haven't been swimming. Public pools have been closed and many aren't ready for open water swimming yet. No worries! We've got you covered!
  • Do the DU! Register or transfer to the Duathlon, which includes running and biking only! Cut out the swim!
    • PDX DUATHLON - Run/Bike/Run course
    • Pacific crest duathlon - Bike/Run course
    • Same bike & run guidelines as above
    • In order to be eligible for the Duathlon awards, we are asking you to do all three segments consecutively with a maximum 5 minute break in between each leg (it will be on the honor system).
    • Transition time also does not count for Duathlon results 
  • Do the Paddle Tri! Register or transfer to the Paddle Triathlon which includes Kayak, Paddleboard or Row instead of swim! Indoor rowing counts! #PADDLE/BIKE/RUN
    • In order to be eligible for the awards, we are asking you to do all three segments consecutively.
    • We are allowing as much time as needed between the Paddle and Bike leg due to logistics of venues etc.
    • You are allocated a maximum 5 minute break in between the bike and run leg (it will be on the honor system).
    • Transition time also does not count for Paddle Triathlon results
  • Be creative and have fun! If you don't care about results, you can make that first leg anything you want. Have fun with it. Do 30 minutes of strength, hiking, yoga or axe-throwing! Be creative and enjoy your virtual race ;0
7. What if you don't want to run? No worries. Do the AquaBike division which is Swim and Bike only! #SwimBikeDone. Follow the same rules as above. You'll only be recording a swim and bike time.
 
8. What if you're not ready for multi-sport? No worries! We've added a 5K, 10K & Half marathon distance for PDX Triathlon Festival. Pacific Crest Endurance Sports Festival offers a Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K & Trail runs! Perfect events to add on for the BEAST CHALLENGE!
 
9. How does a Relay team work? If you are doing the event as a relay team (whether you will be doing this at the same location or not), complete your leg, tag off to your team member (virtually and/or maintaining 6 feet distance of course) who then completes their leg. Report your results in the relay team area. That's the beauty of a Virtual Relay event, your team could be scattered from all over the country/world! How fun is that! 
 
10 How do you transfer from one division to another?  Please go to your Race Roster account and/or confirmation email and transfer your event. There are no transfer fees. For example, if you're not swimming at all and would prefer to do the Paddle Triathlon or Duathlon, go to your account and switch to your race of choice. Here is a video that explains how to transfer your Registration.

11. Don't forget about the Kids! Both PDX Triathlon & Pacific Crest offer Kids' events. Let's give them something to train for and look foward to also!

12. What is the BEAST MEDAL? If you are doing the BEAST CHALLENGE, you choose any 2 or 3 of the events to complete over the time period and yes, any combination counts. Runners, you could do a 5K on Friday and the Half Marathon on Sunday for the Beast Medal. If you're up for the ultimate Triple-headed Beast medal, you could do the 10K on Friday, Sprint Duathlon on Saturday and Olympic AquaBike on Sunday. Since you have 9 days, some of you may want to try for two Triple-headed beast medals! 6 events over 9 days?! Since we have so many options between run-only, duathlon, aquabike, paddle tri and more, it is doable! If you haven't signed up for the BEAST challenge yet, Email us at registration@whyracingevents.com for more details. #BEAST

13. Document it: After your virtual race, you will upload results (if you want to), photos and videos. We will provide you those specific instructions in your pre-race materials. We will create an Official Race photo album, Office Race video and host a Virtual Post-race awards ceremony!

You will always remember that when the world was going through a Pandemic, you opted to thrive and challenge yourself physically and mentally. That's what athletes do! We are used to overcoming obstacles and pushing through hard times. These are tough times but you are proving that you are tougher! We may not be able to race together physically, but we will definitely be racing together in spirit!
 
If you haven't registered yet, check out the SWAG below and be inspired to just DU it and/or TRI it during the #QuarantTRI #QuaRANtine!

We hope to see you in real life soon!

Sherri McMillan & your WHY Racing Crew

PDX Triathlon Festival athletes get a Collector's item Beach Towel, Tank and Sunglasses. You can race a Super Sprint, Sprint & Olympic Triathlon, Duathlon, Paddle Tri, AquaBike, & Kids races, and we've also added a 5K, 10K & Half Marathon. There is something for the whole family! Register here! Also, SHARE and Special Olympics are our beneficiaries so let's raise some money while we train and race!




Pacific Crest athletes - If you haven't registered yet, hurry to guarantee your SWAG! Everyone gets a Beach Towel, BLING and Draw-string bag. Different Finisher's Merchandise for different events. There is a Marathon, Half, 10K, 5K, 28K & 50K Trail Run, 72.3 Beastman, Olympic & UltraSprint Triathlon, Duathlon & AquaBike, Bike Tours, & Kids races! Register here.









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