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Race Day Is Almost Here - 2012 Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon
Greetings!
 Welcome to the Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon. Your unique journey to the finish line is almost complete. Congratulations on taking the challenge; on setting your goals, and on gaining strength and confidence while overcoming obstacles to get to the start line on Sunday, August 19th.
Please read the important information in this email, and remember to download the 2012 Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon Athlete's Guide and other resources located on the Athleta Iron Girl Columbia webpage of our website to address questions or concerns you may have. If you still have questions, feel free to email us at or give us a call.
In order to eliminate long lines at bike racking, we strongly urge you to have your mandatory, free bike inspection and helmet safety check done in the weeks prior to the event at Princeton Sports in Columbia or Baltimore, instead of waiting until Saturday.
Don't forget to attend one our informative Pre-Race Course Talks at The Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel during Packet Pick Up on Friday, August 17th at 5:00 pm or on Saturday, August 18th at 12 noon or 5:00 pm. There will be ample opportunity to ask any questions you may have.
And as an added bonus, you will have the opportunity to meet and hear from legendary professional triathlete, Michellie Jones after the noon course talk on Saturday.
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, Founder/CEO, USAT Certified Level 2 Race Director Kari Ebeling, COO, USAT Certified Level 1 Race Director & The TriColumbia Team P.S. If you're looking for yet another Iron Girl challenge, registration for the 2012 Iron Girl Rocky Gap Triathlon on September 9, 2012 is open - and you can sign up at a discount! Just enter coupon code "IRONGIRLFAN" when registering and receive $20 off your individual entry fee. Need Training help? There is still room in the TriColumbia August Bike Training Series on Tuesday evenings than began 8/7 or Thursday evenings that began 8/9. Coaches will break attendees into appropriate groups based upon experience. |
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Important Race Information
Be sure to take a look at all the important information about the 2012 Athleta Iron Girl Columbia
Triathlon on our website.
And don't forget to attend one of the Pre-Race Course Talks, which provide important information about the race, and include a question and answer segment. Legendary professional triathlete, Michellie Jones will be speaking and answering questions at 1 pm, after the noon course talk on Saturday.
When: Friday, August 17, 2012, 5:00 pm
Saturday, August 18, 2012, 12:00 pm & 5:00 pm
Where: The Official Host Hotel, Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel, 10207 Wincopin Circle · Columbia, Maryland, 21044, (410) 730-3900 |
 Mandatory, Free 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 18th at the Official Race Bike Support Shop, Princeton Sports, (410) 995-1894, 10730 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044 or or 6239 Falls Rd., Baltimore, MD 21209. No appointment is necessary and it only takes a few minutes. 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, August 18th, 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.
Please remember that the roads will be open to traffic during the race; please obey the rules of the road, always stay to the right side, and never cross the yellow center line! Support vans will be on the road with you, and need to be able to pass safely in order to help athletes along the course.
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Athlete Check-In, Packet Pickup, and Health & Fitness Expo
When: Friday, August 17, 2012 from 2:00pm - 7:00 pm
Saturday, August 18, 2012 from 10:00 am - 7:00 pm
Where: The Official Host Hotel, Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel, 10207 Wincopin Circle, Columbia, Maryland, 21044, (410) 730-3900
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 (17 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
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 $12.00 (Adult) or $10.00 (Youth) 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!
Enjoy browsing the Health & Fitness Expo featuring many vendors offering the latest in endurance and health related gear and products including Athleta, EnduraFit, Boston Bill, Race Pace, Tri-Sack, Spunkwear, Feet First. Athletes' Closet, Milestones Jewelfry and Polar.
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Meet Fellow Iron Girl, Olympian and Professional Triathlete Legend, Michellie Jones!
 You will be on the course with 6 professional triathletes on Sunday including legendary, Australian, Michellie Jones.
Jones' career has spanned over 20 years, and she has been called the best triathlete in the world. She won the Silver Medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the inaugural triathlon competition, finishing just 2 seconds behind the Gold Medalist. Her career highlights include the 2006 Ironman World Championship, 2x ITU World Champion, 2x ITU World Cup Champion, XTerra World Champion, 3x Ironman Champion, 12 ITU World Cup Victories, 8 ITU World Championship Medals, 8x Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon Champion, 7x Chicago Triathlon Champion, 7x St. Anthony's Triathlon Champion, 10x San Diego International Triathlon. 7x Triathlete Magazine Triathlete of the year, and has had over 175 career victories.
Even after all her career highlights, Michellie can't wait to experience the empowering aura that surrounds the Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon.
Jones will hold a forum discussion moderated by TriColumbia Founder, President and CEO, Robert "Vigo" Vigorito. She will be there to discuss her life as a professional triathlete, and will offer tips and suggestions to participants. There will be a question and answer session, and opportunity to get autographs.
When: Saturday, August 18, 2012 at 1 PM after the noon course talk
Where: Sheraton Columbia Town Center in "The Grove" (weather permitting)
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Special Offers ONLY For Iron Girls at Princeton Sports
Princeton Sports is pulling out all the stops for Iron Girls. Drop in to have your bike checked and enjoy the following special offers exclusively for you!
 The first 100 women who buy an Under Amour Bra between now and August 19th, will receive a FREE Under Armour Tech T and an Under Armour Tumbler (A $38.00 value!). Plus an Under Armour representative will be on site at Princeton Sports in the Columbia and Baltimore Stores on Saturday, August 18th from 11 am - 3 pm to do custom bra fittings.
 Polar will be offering a FREE Polar Training Clinic at Princeton Sports, Columbia, MD only on Thursday, August 16th at 7:00 pm. The clinic will get you ready for race day. 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! Get race day and post race tips from experienced Iron Girls. Take a Polar Fitness Test. Free Polar giveaways for the first 25 attendees.
 Aqua Sphere will also be on hand at Princeton Sports in Columbia, MD on Saturday, August 18th from 11 am - 3 pm for a special swimwear fit party. A representative will be fitting women to the best suits for their bodies and will be offering 20% savings on the entire Swim Collection. Plus simply trying on a swimsuit will get you a FREE towel!
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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!
Princeton Sports, TriColumbia's Official Bike Support Shop will be at the Transition Area on Saturday during bike racking, and on race morning. Mandatory bike & helmet inspections can be done during bike racking, but 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. You may have your free mandatory inspection done at Princeton Sports in Columbia or Baltimore any time before race day.
For a great way to protect your bike, check out the RackJacket below.
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PLEASE AVOID THE CONGESTION ON RACE DAY BY TAKING THE FREE TRICOLUMBIA SHUTTLE
 There will be a free shuttle service on race day 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 and will not reopen until 11:30 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 6:55 am, so be sure to arrive in time to get body marked and set up your gear in transition. Transition will open at 4:45 and body marking will begin at 5:00 am.
For more information including the schedule of events please download the Athlete's Guide under Key Race Info on our website.
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Race Day Notes
Columbia Presbyterian Church (located across Route 108 from Centennial Park) will be supplying free coffee on race morning until 10 am. Stop by their tent in the park just down from the main entrance at Rt. 108 and grab a cup a joe. For more information on Columbia Presbyterian, visit their website.
 After the race, all participants are invited to enjoy refreshments located in the Athlete's Food Tent with delicious food from David's Natural Market and manned by the Women's Giving Circle volunteers.
TriC olumbia will provide complementary massages on a first come, first served basis. The Massage Tent will be located near the Food Tent and massages will be executed by BodyMason Performance Therapy.
The Awards Ceremony will begin at approximately 12:00 pm at the post race celebration. Overall and age group awards will be given. Please note that the results posted at the event are for time purposes only and will not reflect Award Results.
Please note that those entered in the Athena or Clydesdale divisions may be required to weigh in to verify their eligibility at packet pick up and at the event. There may be challenges by other athletes at the Awards Ceremony.
A HUGE thank you to ALL our 2012 Athleta Iron Girl Triathlon Sponsors, including Athleta, Gatorade, Hammer Nutrition, Aqua Sphere, Princeton Sports, EnduraFit, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Baltimore Sun Media Group, Polar, Milestones Jewelry, David's Natural Market, RackJacket, Brightroom Photography, The Sheraton Columbia Town Center, and MPT. Thanks as well to our community supporters and volunteers including Howard County 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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Share Your Personal Story and Celebrate Power to the She!
 At Athleta, we're inspired by women like you. Women who truly embody what it means to achieve your personal and athletic goals while always reaching for more. You're awesome at your jobs, great pals and even better partners and moms. But we also know there's a bigger story, a whole journey that has brought you to this race event. And we're here to celebrate that story.
At the Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon, we will present an award to honor one woman whose story has the power to inspire us all.
Whatever it is that makes you kick asphalt, we want to hear about it.
Below is just one story, that of Susan Doucet as told by her husband, Dale.
I wanted to take a moment and tell you about my wife Susan who is battling Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). But I should start at the beginning, before she was diagnosed with CLL.
Susan did not own a road bicycle, was not an avid runner nor could she jump into a pool without holding her nose, but she wanted to participate in an Iron Girl Triathlon. I thought that this was a huge undertaking and I had doubts that she would actually participate or complete the course.
Susan joined Team in Training and we raised some monies for her participation (the remaining balance we paid ourselves). She took swimming lessons and bought a road bicycle. Susan persevered through the training, even though others progressed better than she did. She learned to swim very well knowing that the swim part was the most difficult for participants. Susan completed her first Iron Girl in 2007 and I could not have been any prouder of her. She went on to participate in the Columbia Triathlon in 2008 and subsequent Iron Girl Triathlons in 2008 and 2010.
Susan was diagnosed with CLL two weeks before Christmas of 2009. For two years the doctors played the waiting game and she did not need treatments. In December of 2011, Susan started to experience problems with her eye and the doctors thought that the cancer may have spread to her brain. In February of this year, we travelled to MD Anderson in Houston, Texas for an evaluation with Dr. Michael Keating. Through many test, the cancer was found in her spinal fluids and treatments were started immediately. In May, her eye was not responding to the treatments. She had to undergo a Skull Based biopsy, something that we were told is more dangerous than removing a brain tumor and that not too many doctors perform this type of surgery. The cancer was found in her skull and stronger treatments were administered. Throughout this adventure, Susan kept saying that she wanted to do another triathlon. So in between treatments Susan started to train again and enlisted several other women also.
Susan is now prepared for her fifth Triathlon this weekend and I can't seem to hold back the tears watching her prepare for it. I know that the finish line will be extra special for her and our family this year. Special because she will complete the course in spite of the treatments she has had this year. Special because, our son is leaving for the United States Marine Corps the following week (August 27th) and we are travelling back to Texas for more testing and possibly more treatments.
A lot of emotions go through a mother when she has to tell her children goodbye, without knowing if or what condition she may be in when she returns from treatments. But Susan has embraced this adventure courageously and with a sound resolve that God will provide and the He is in charge of her life.
I am extremely proud of my Iron Girl!
Sincerely,
Dale Doucet
If you would like to share your story and inspire others, please send us an email with your inspirational story. We want to hear from you!
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TriColumbia Protects The Environment
 TriColumbia and EnduraFit are pleased to present a revolutionary 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 |
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.
And don't forget to thank the many enthusiastic volunteers stationed throughout the race course and venue. Our volunteers are comprised of many charity and community groups as well as individuals who simply enjoy helping out. We would be unable to provide events such as this one without their capable assistance! If you would like to help out with this or any of our other events, simply visit our website and let us know.
Thank you for your cooperation!
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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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2012 Event Schedule
July 22, 2012 - TriColumbia Kidz Triathlon
August 19, 2012 - Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon - Registration is closed - CTA Community Slot are no longer available.
September 9, 2012 - Iron Girl Rocky Gap Triathlon - Registration is open
September 29, 2012 - ChesapeakeMan Endurance Festival benefiting Make-A-Wish Foundation® of the Mid-Atlantic featuring the Ultra Distance Triathlon, Skipjack 75.2 Triathlon, Aquabike & Bugeye Classic (intermediate distance) - Registration is open.
** The ChesapeakeMan Ultra Distance Triathlon has been designated as the 2012 USAT Mid Atlantic Championship and was named by Triathlete Magazine as a "Best 140.6"
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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 |
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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