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Important 2011 Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon Participant Information
Greetings!
The 6th Annual Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon is just 3 days away on Sunday, August 21, 2011, and we can't wait to welcome you to this empowering event! We hope that you have enjoyed every minute of your journey toward the finish line; gaining strength, confidence and celebrating your unique grace as you have trained.
The temperature of Centennial Lake as of 8/15/11 is 85 degrees F; wetsuits will not be allowed.
Please read the important information in this email, and remember to download the 2011 Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon Athlete's Guide and other resources located on the TriColumbia Iron Girl Columbia webpage to address questions or concerns you may have. Of particular note is a change in swim cap color for the last swim wave (Relays) from Cardinal to Silver.
If you haven't yet had your free, MANDATORY bike and helmet safety inspection, we strongly advise that you take your bike to Princeton Sports in the next couple of days to have it done. Please do not wait until the day before the race, as the lines tend to be long, the weather could be inclement, your bike could need parts unavailable at the park, or repairs could take longer than just a few minutes.
Also, don't forget to attend one our our informative Pre-Race Course Talks at The Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel during Packet Pick Up on Friday, August 19th at 5:00 pm or on Saturday, August 20th at 12 noon or 5:00 pm, presented by TriColumbia President and Race Director, Robert (Vigo) Vigorito. There will be ample opportunity to ask any questions you may have.
If you need to speak to TriColumbia Staff on race day, please go to the TriColumbia tent located on the grass island near the Swim Start.
Your training is complete - hydrate and nourish your body well in the coming days. Sunday is your day to shine, so enjoy the entire event, and get ready to cross the finish line a proud, courageous, and strong Iron Girl!
Celebrate Life,
Robert Vigorito and The TriColumbia Team
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Achieve Your Best at the Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon
Polar heart rate data gives you race day decision making ability. Learn easy-to-use heart rate training tips to improve your race day results and more!
*Race day and post race tips from experienced Iron Girls
*Polar heart rate zone training info
*Polar Fitness Test assessments
*Free Polar giveaways for the first 25 attendees
When: Thursday, August 18th @ 7 PM
Where: Princeton Sports, 10730 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044, 410.995.1894
RSVP: Please email polar@princetonsports.com
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 Announcing The All NEW 2012 Iron Girl Columbia 1/2 Marathon & 5K - The First of Its Kind in The Mid Atlantic!
Join Joan Benoit Samuelson, the inaugural Gold Medalist in the Women's Olympic Marathon, at the first Iron Girl Columbia 1/2 Marathon on April 29, 2012!
The first of its kind in the Mid Atlantic, this inspirational all women's event is about empowering women toward a healthy lifestyle, and celebrating your unique grace as you journey toward the finish line. Join other women on the quest to live better and challenge yourself to be the best that you can be!
Produced to benefit the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource Center, Howard County General Hospital's resource to assist those living and coping with cancer, the Iron Girl Columbia 1/2 Marathon & 5K, seeks to raise money and awareness for this amazing facility.
Meet Joan Benoit Samuelson on Friday afternoon at packet pickup! With a passion for women's health and fitness, Joan is pleased to be the face of this event.
Registration opens on August 19th at 9:00 am....and if you register on or before August 21st, you can save $10. As a special convenience, Iron Girls will be able to register at packet pick up on Friday and Saturday.
MORE
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 PLEASE AVOID THE CONGESTION ON RACE DAY BY TAKING THE FREE TRICOLUMBIA SHUTTLE
There will be a free shuttle service to take athletes, family, friends and volunteers to and from the host hotel, The Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel and Centennial Park beginning at 4:30 am on Sunday and running continuously every 15-20 minutes until 2 pm. The actual shuttle bus stop at Centennial Park will be across from the main entrance located on Rt. 108 on Ten Mills Road. Please note that you will not be able to transport your bike on the shuttle. If you pack a backpack, you can bike back to the Sheraton after the race to access your car.
Race Staff and Police strongly encourage use of the shuttle to facilitate entrance to the park and to help avoid traffic and race delays.
Parking at Centennial Park is EXTREMELY LIMITED. If someone will be driving you to the venue, they MAY NOT stop in the driving lane to drop you off. The Centennial Park entrance on MD Rt. 108 will close to vehicles at 6:35 am. Please plan on early morning traffic delays, and prepare to arrive earlier than you may have initially planned. There are thousands of athletes and their fans attending this event. Don't miss your swim wave - BE THERE EARLY! Transition will close at 6:50 am before the first swim wave at 7:00 am, so be sure to arrive in time to get body marked and set up your gear in transition.
For more information including the schedule of events please download the Athlete's Guide
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Important Race Information
Be sure to take a look at all the important information about the 2011 Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon on our website.
Please note that there will be a TriColumbia table at swim start for athletes to leave medical devices such as prescription glasses, artificial limbs, etc. for transport to the swim finish area. These items will be placed on a similar table at swim finish.
And don't forget to attend one of the Pre-Race Course Talks given by Race Director, Robert Vigorito, which provide important information about the race, and include a question and answer segment.
When: Friday, August 19, 2011, 5:00 pm
Saturday, August 20, 2011 12:00 pm & 5:00 pm
Where: The Official Host Hotel, Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel
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Athlete Check-In, Packet Pickup, And Health & Fitness Expo
When: Friday, August 19, 2011 from 2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Saturday, August 20, 2011 from 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Where: The Official Host Hotel, Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel
Please note that there is NO RACE DAY CHECK-IN/PACKET PICKUP. All registered entrants, including all relay team members, MUST attend packet pickup on Friday or Saturday in person. Per USAT rules, each participant MUST pick up his/her own packet. If you do not check in during the designated check-in times in person, you will not be able to participate in the event.
All participants, including youth (16 and under) must bring the following to packet pickup:
- A photo ID
- USAT membership card to show proof of annual membership unless you purchased one-day USAT event insurance at the time you registered for the event. Note that USAT youth annual memberships are available for only $5.00 per year via USAT website at http://www.usatriathlon.org/member-services
Special Notice Regarding USAT membership cards for check-in
Athletes MUST bring proof of annual USAT membership or purchase one-day USAT event insurance. Failure to do so will disallow participation in the race. (Athletes may have purchased one-day event insurance at the time of registration. Staff will have a list of those one-day USAT participants at check-in.) Athletes who forget their USAT membership card will have the following options:
- Go to your home or hotel and retrieve your card.
- Print a temporary membership card from the USAT website, www.usatriathlon.org
- Show a current membership card on a smart phone or PDA.
- Purchase one-day event insurance for $10.00 at the USAT desk at check-in. Payable by cash or check ONLY.
- Renew your annual membership at the USAT desk at check-in.
- Renew your annual membership online and bring proof of renewal.
Race staff and/or volunteers cannot search for USAT membership information or allow use of staff computers by athletes to retrieve information.
Please remember to pack your USAT membership card. Don't leave home without it!
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 Mandatory Pre Event Bike & Helmet Safety Inspections
AVOID THE CROWD AND GET YOUR BIKE CHECK DONE EARLY. Checks can be done any time from now until August 20th at the Official Race Bike Support Shop, Princeton Sports (410) 995-1894, 10730 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044, or 6239 Falls Rd., Baltimore, MD 21209. No appointment is necessary. Princeton will be checking all major bike components to help ensure a safe bike leg. You must bring your CPSC-certified helmet and your race day bike. The age of your helmet does not matter as long as it is ANSI or CPSC approved and in good condition.
You may also have your bike inspected at the race site prior to racking your bike in the Centennial Lake transition area beginning at 11:00 am on Saturday, June 25th, after you complete the registration process at the hotel. However, we strongly advise against waiting until the day before the race, as the lines tend to be long, the weather could be inclement, your bike could need parts unavailable at the park, or repairs could take longer than just a few minutes.
In addition, now through August 21, 2011, Princeton Sports is offering an additional 10% off all Tri and bicycle clothing, bicycles, and bicycle parts and accessories to anyone registered for The 2011 Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon. Why not stop into Princeton Sports, and have your bike checked out for safety? And while you're there, take advantage of this special offer. |
 Mandatory Pre-Event Bike Racking
All bikes must be racked on Saturday ONLY at the Transition Area in Centennial Park between the hours of 11:00 am - 8:00 pm. To enter transition for racking you must be wearing the security wristband received at packet pick up. Please note that the transition area is RESTRICTED TO ATHLETES ONLY. Any accompanying friend, spouse, parent or child WILL NOT BE ALLOWED into the transition area. Please make appropriate arrangements to have children supervised while you are racking your bike. Once racked, your bike cannot be removed. Full security is provided overnight. NO exceptions!
For a great way to protect your bike, check out the RackJacket below.
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Race Day Notes
 The Athlete's Food Tent, featuring all natural food from David's Natural Market will be located up on the hill above Swim Start, and your athlete wristband will provide you access to that tent all day. TriColumbia's Complementary athlete post race massages are also available in the massage tent near the Athlete's Food Tent.
Columbia Presbyterian Church (located across Route 108 from Centennial Park) will also be supplying coffee (donations welcome to support a mission trip to Belo Horizonte, Brazil) on race morning until 10 am. Stop by the main entrance at Rt. 108 and grab a cup a joe. For more information on Columbia Presbyterian, visit their website.
Pandora at The Mall in Columbia is pleased to provide the top finishers in each age group with a PANDORA four petal flower sterling silver charm with pink enamel combined with a sterling silver PANDORA clasp bracelet.
We are also pleased to announce Iron Girl Columbia's partnership with Yelp, the site that offers a fun way to talk about great local businesses through reviews.
A HUGE thank you to ALL our 2011 Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon Sponsors, including Athleta, Gatorade, Hammer Nutrition, TYR, Princeton Sports, Subaru, Xterra Wetsuits, Endurafit, David's Natural Market, Fitness Concepts, RackJacket, Yelp, Pandora Columbia Mall, PNC Bank, ASI Photo, The Sheraton Columbia Town Center, MPT, Rhoto, Aqua Sphere, Muscle Milk Light, Deer Park, Polar, Trek Women, Ryka. Thanks as well to our community supporters and volunteers including Howard Conty Police, Howard County Fire and Rescue, Howard County Recreation and Parks, Howard County General Hospital, and all our charity team, Tri Club and community partners who help make the event great!
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Follow All The Excitement On Race Day With TriColumbia TriLights
Once again, TriColumbia will be live blogging all the race excitement. Friends and family can follow the race on our website. Go to Tricolumbia.org, and click on the TriLights Drop Down under the News tab. Check out the TriColumbia Facebook page for updates as well.
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TriColumbia Protects The Environment
As many of you know, we have banned the use of plastic bags of any kind on bikes stored overnight in the transition areas. The bags fall off, blow off, or are simply left behind. If you attempt to use plastic bags, staff will remove them.
TriColumbia and Endurafit are pleased to announce a brand new product, The Rack Jacket, an alternative to using trash bags to cover your bike. We fully embrace the "leave no trace behind" concept, and strive to eliminate litter produced at our events. You may also use an old swim cap to over your bike seat if you like.
The Rack Jacket is the essential item for those of you who wish to protect your bike from the elements.
Key Benefits of the Rack Jacket are:
- Designed specifically for triathlon bike racks
- Made of highly water resistant ripstop nylon
- Environmentally friendly
- Reusable
- Cord locks and Velcro straps keep it securely fastened in windy conditions
- Reasonably priced
- Available in a variety of colors
- Team orders are welcome
Click here to order
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Please Respect The Area And Thank Our Volunteers
PLEASE respect both the environment and the areas that this event travels through. Do not drop trash anywhere other than aid stations and use the portable toilets, not the neighborhoods. The County and TriColumbia take pride in the designation of Centennial Park as a, "leave no trace" park. Help us to maintain this special facility. We encourage you to use trash receptacles and to take your trash with you when you leave the park in order to protect the environment.
Remember, the use of profanity or disrespect of any staff, volunteers or other officials who are there to assist you can be grounds for a USAT official to disqualify you - this includes packet pick up and the bike racking stages.
Thank you for your cooperation.
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 Inspirational Story to Be Chosen for The Athleta Award of Inspiration
Thanks to all who have submitted their personal inspirational story to be considered for the Athleta Inspirational Award. We have received stories of amazing courage and determination, and salute all our Iron Girls for persevering with grace! From women battling cancer, to mother's of children with special needs, to amputees, Iron Girl Columbia is proud to provide an opportunity for women to achieve their goals, and promote healing and self-esteem. Congratulations to all for taking the journey! Most stories will be mentioned on race day, and highlighted in our social media and TriLights live blogging. The winner will be announced just before the National Anthem at the Swim Start.
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FIND US ON THE WEB
Columbia Triathlon Association is now on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Please join us on these site for daily updates, special offers, and race reports.
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Frequently Asked Questions & Resources
If you're not sure about some of the rules & regulations for CTA's races or if you're just looking for answers to commonly asked questions, download the FAQ
Nutrition is a key component to proper training and racing. TriColumbia sponsor, Hammer Nutrition, has an extensive resource page
If you still have questions about specific races, feel free to email us |
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