April 3, 2022

Ocean Key Triathlon Final Instructions

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Important Notes

Hi Athletes,

Thank you for registering for the Ocean Key Triathlon on Key Biscayne. You will find Crandon Park to be an absolutely beautiful venue for our event! There are a few things I’d like to share with you in advance of the event:

T-Shirts - We are trying a new shirt material. It is a rayon/polyester blend, so it is very soft but thin and breezy (good for South Florida). We hope you like it and look forward to your feedback on whether we should stick with it or go back to 100% polyester.
Crandon Park - Unfortunately, Crandon Park has a master plan that prevents any commercial signs/banners/flags, etc. Last year we were able to put up generic mesh and flags that just said Triathlon on them with swim, bike, and run icons. I’m told that won’t be allowed this year. I’m trying to get a copy of the master plan to see what, if anything, we can do, but expect the venue to be a little bare looking compared with last year or other venues we do races at. That won’t affect us having a great race though!
Post-Race Food - You wouldn’t believe how much time and discussion we put into this item which seemingly has very little to do with a triathlon. It is a challenge because we want to do something nice but we aren’t a restaurant and have few resources in this area. For this race we’ll have water, croissants, bananas, tangerines, cookies, chips, and soda. We’ll also have BASE sports drink in coolers for you to fill your cups with. Unfortunately, BASE doesn't have a ready to drink bottled product, so you’ll have to use a cup and save a plastic bottle from going to the landfill.
Believe it or not we have gotten flack from some people for having cookies, chips, and soda since they are “unhealthy” and we are running a “healthy” sport. It is a personal choice; if you don’t want those things, then please don’t take them! Some people feel that a can of soda after finishing a triathlon is an allowable sin…
THANK YOU CITY BIKES! Please give a thank you to Jaime and his team at City Bikes for their support of this event. Without their support, this event would not be possible.
Race Medal - If you cannot stay for the awards ceremony and you qualify for an age or overall medal, please pick up prior to leaving. Please stop by the timing truck and a staff member will be happy to assist! We appreciate it!

Packet Pickup & Race Clinic

The Ocean Key Triathlon is THIS SUNDAY! Thanks for registering! This is to remind you of important information that you need to know before the event.

PACKET PICKUP

Sat April 2, 2022 - 11am - 5pm

City Bikes – Aventura

20335 Biscayne Blvd
Aventura, FL 33180
(305) 682-8889

Limited packet pickup will also be available race morning at the event site from 5:30-6:30 a.m.

Bike check-in is race morning from 5:30am-6:45am.

PRE-RACE CLINIC

April 2nd, 2022 at 2:00pm with Coach Erinnee Guthrie at City Bikes - Aventura.

Start Times

Note that due to making so many small groups we have to reuse some cap colors, so please pay attention to the time as well as your cap color. Don’t come and start just because your cap color is starting. Check that it is your time to start as well.

Racers in each group will begin starting one person at a time at the specified start time. Do not
line up until your group is called. Starting will be done approximately every 2-3 seconds. You
will announce your race number to the starter (also doing manual backup timing) then run
across the start timing mat once the starter tells you to ‘GO’.

Other Important Items to Remember

PARKING

Key Biscayne, FL 33149
6747 Crandon Blvd.
Crandon Park, North Entrance

**We have been told by the park that you will need to have the parking app activated early to pay this year and they will enforce it. So, racers please try to use the app and pay for parking. If it doesn't work, then we'll let the park know.**

The event will take place at the North end of Crandon Park, so please enter the first entrance that you come to when coming from Miami. You will make a hard left turn once in the park, and park in the northernmost section of the parking lot. This will allow you to exit the park easily even if the race is still in progress. (SEE MAP BELOW)

Keep an eye out for this sign to show you where the correct entrance is located:

Parking is done with the Pay by Phone system so there won’t be any long lines to get into the park. Here’s the link that I found online: https://www.parkme.com/lot/97603/crandon-park-key-biscayne-fl.

Call the park directly if you have questions about paying for parking.

DROPPING OUT

If you cannot finish the race for any reason, please come to the finish line and let us know and return your chip. This way we know that you are OK and don’t send a search crew out to find you.

WATER STATIONS

Water stations will have water, BASE Performance sports drink, and Hammer Gel. Aid stations will be located approximately every mile throughout the course. There will be no aid station on the bike course, so please bring enough fluids to complete the course. There will be an aid station next to the Run In/Out end of transition that you will pass after the swim and at the start of the run (also at mile 3.1 of the International distance).

SWIM COURSE

The swim is the safest ocean swim you could possibly do. The reason for this is that most of the areas at Crandon are very shallow. We will swim in a relatively narrow channel that is deeper than the surrounding water (see Google Earth image below - the dark narrow area is deeper than the surrounding area).

If you swim either away from or towards the shoreline you will encounter shallower waters if you’d like to take a break. This is why we don’t have a different shaped course as this is the ONLY area deep enough for swimming. International distance participants will start at the swim exit, go out and around the green buoy, swim down keeping the orange buoys on their right, u-turn around the last green buoy, swim back keeping the orange buoys on their right, then go around the last green buoy and back to through the swim exit chute.

SEE MAP The orange buoys are place to create a gap between international racers swimming in different directions.

Sprint distance participants will only swim one direction, keeping all buoys on their right then exit the water (see map).

BIKE COURSE

The bike course makes a right turn out of Crandon Park, goes up and over the William Powell Bridge, u-turns at the bottom of the bridge (look for sign), then returns all the way back to the SOUTHERN END OF CRANDON PARK where you will u-turn again (look for sign), and then finally make a right turn back into Crandon Park. International Distance athletes will go straight and do a 2nd lap instead of turning into Crandon Park after their first lap.

VERY IMPORTANT - DO NOT TURN LEFT INTO CRANDON WHEN COMING BACK FROM MIAMI! Keep going until you see the u-turn sign at the Southern end of Crandon Park (see map). Click here to see the full bike course map at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34754584.

RUN COURSE

The run course is a very scenic loop through Crandon Park and we have improved it since the 305 Triathlon as we added the scenic old zoo and eliminated a run around the parking area. It is 3.1 miles long and International Distance racers will do 2 loops, while Sprint racers will do 1.

See the map at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34754357. There will be a water station before mile 1 at the circle and again before mile 2 at the circle.

Duathlon (run #1) - All duathletes will start at 7:15 a.m. just outside of the transition area. The first run will be ¾ of a mile and go down to the track, around the track, and back to transition.

See the map at https://ridewithgps.com/routes/34754477.

TRANSITION/FINISH AREA

The transition/finish area is mapped below:

● Blue in the water is the end of the swim
● Purple is the run to transition from the swim
● Blue is the bike course start/finish
● Red is the run. International distance racers will continue going straight after the first lap
rather than making the right turn to the finish line. There will be a Lap/Finish Arrow sign
there as well as a timing mat to ensure that all Int’l distance racers do 2 laps.
● Yellow is the transition area
Note that the Aquabike ends once you enter transition after the bike. You may continue and go
through the finish chute to get your medal, but the clock will have stopped.

RESTROOMS

There is a permanent restroom facility right between the transition/finish area and the beach as indicated on the map above. It has about a dozen stalls for each gender. There is also an additional restroom facility on the way to the swim start (as indicated on the swim map) and several restrooms along the run course (one right next to the water station at the circle).

SWIM PRACTICE

Please exit the water before the first wave starts at 7:00 a.m.

CUTOFF TIMES

● The swim course must be completed by 7:40 a.m. (20 minutes after last sprint starter)
● International Distance athletes must start the 2nd bike lap by 8:20 a.m. (1:11 from the
last starter) or you will be directed into transition where you can finish the race but be
disqualified for not completing the entire race.
● All athletes must complete the bike course by 9:00 a.m.
● International Distance athletes must start the 2nd run lap by 9:43 a.m.
● All athletes must complete the race by 10:25 a.m.

AWARDS SCHEDULE

9:15 - Aquabike awards
9:20 - Sprint Duathlon Awards
9:30 - Sprint Triathlon Awards
9:50 - International Duathlon Awards
10:00 - International Triathlon Awards

FEEDBACK

We ask for feedback after every race to keep improving. Thanks for your support!

NEXT RACE!

We are limiting the KB Half Marathon participation numbers so we can use scenic paths in Crandon Park and they have limited space. The KB Half Marathon will definitely sell out! Register now to be sure to reserve your spot!

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