Monday, July 27, 2009

2010 Race Calendar

I had to start planning my 2010 race calendar now since some of these events close out within minutes of registration opening. For example, Ironman Eagleman 70.3 registration opens next week and I need to decide before then if I should to be at the computer the moment registration opens. It isn't as bad as trying to get Springsteen tickets but on second thought, maybe it is.

This list is my planned "A" and "B" priority events. There will be "C" priority races that will sneak in or be more like opportunitistic training days than race days. I'd like to minimize travel but not necessarily eliminate it. I also like to repeat some events to be able to gauge improvement as the training continues but I want to introduce some new ones too. So, the 2010 plan for A and B races looks like:

  • St Anthony's Triathlon (Olympic) April [registration opens 12/1/09, 9am EST]

  • Eagleman 70.3 June [registration opens 8/4/09, 9am EST]

  • Montauk Lighthouse Sprint Triathlon July [registration opens 1/1/10 but it doesn't immediately close out] or NYC (Olympic ) Triathlon July [registration is 11/1/09 at midnight but that'll be hard for me since a few hours later I'll be running the ING NYC Marathon]

  • Tobay Triathlon (Sprint) August [this one doesn't sell out fast]

  • Firmman 70.3 September [a new race for me that doesn't sell out fast]

  • NYC Marathon 26.2 Novemember[qualifying makes the sign up easy]


  • The last item to note is that I will not be doing the 9+1 NYRR races in 2010 to guarantee entry into the NYC marathon in November 2011. If all goes well, dare I say out loud, November 2011 have a different marathon scheduled. This one will be preceded by a 2.4 mile swim and a 112mile bike ride. They call it Ironman.

    3 comments:

    Diane said...

    Hi Rockstar,
    Awesome goals. Looks like you'll be pretty busy the next few years! Question for you since you seem to know your way around the system pretty well - do you have any advice on the best way for my husband and I if we want to get into the NYC Marathon together? I'm thinking 2010 or 2011... This is my big dream marathon and I'd like to make it happen with my husband at my side. It would be awesome for us to have that experience together. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

    RockStarTri said...

    The short answer is that there is no short answer. Here is a link of the official guaranteed entry options.

    http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/entrantinfo/guaranteed_entry.htm

    The way I got in for 2009 (and most likely 2010) was through the NYRR 9+1 program. That won’t work for you if you are not local as you need to run in 9 of the designated NYRR races. It doesn’t matter how fast you are or how long they are you just need to start and finish them. I don’t know how long this program will be in effect as I think too many people are going this route so they will adjust the program.

    Most people I know try their luck at the lottery and use a charity program as a backup. There is a nominal fee to apply for the lottery that you don’t get back (I seem to recall about $15). However if only one of you make it in via the lottery for 2010, you can defer your entry (up to the day before the marathon) and have the other give it another shot for 2011. I've heard of people defering multiple years and I also know some unlucky losers who only got in after losing out on the lottery 3 years in a row. I was oh for 1 in the lottery.

    I heard of people “buying” numbers outside the expo but I wouldn’t be comfortable with that myself but to each his own.

    In summary, I would make the investment in the lottery and use the charity as a back up plan knowing that not all charities have guaranteed slots (Team in Training for example) and they also reach their capacity limit.

    Hope this helped.

    Diane said...

    Thank you! Lots of great information. Sounds like we'll try the lottery and maybe defer until we both get in. I'll be very interested to hear about your NYC marathon experience. I have a friend who did it a couple of years ago and her pics/stories really inspired me.