What a summer it's been at Austin Triathlon Club!  We just wanted to take a minute to share a few of the exciting landmarks -- 

Rookies No More (May): We kicked off May with 54 club members racing the Rookie Tri, including 18  racing as Rookies. We couldn't be more proud of our triathletes, new and old, for supporting one another across the finish line. It was a wonderful way to start the local race season!

First Place at Cap Tex (May): This past Memorial Day, Austin Triathlon Club took home 1st place in the co-ed Olympic Team division and 2nd place in the co-ed Sprint Team division at the Cap Tex Triathlon. It was a truly a team effort as 20 club members raced as Austin Tri Club and helped us take home bling, prize money, and beer! Just as important, club members were everywhere on the race course. We were volunteering, we were cheering, and we were celebrating at the finish!

USAT Grant Award (June): Austin Triathlon Club is proud to announce that we have been awarded a $1,000 grant from USA Triathlon to expand programming for new triathletes here in Austin. With this money, the club will be able to reinvest these funds directly in the Austin community, so that more members of the Austin community can complete their first triathlon. In upcoming weeks, we will be announcing details of our new triathlete programming and how you can get involved!

Volunteers and Community Service (June): Austin Tri Club showed up big time at the Lake Pflugerville Triathlon. Our team of volunteers manned water stations, handled packet pickup, coordinated race setup and breakdown, and more. We had over 10 club members volunteer at the race -- thank you for being amazing stewards of the Austin community!

Club Happy Hour Expansion (June): It was only a matter of time before we doubled up our club happy hours! June saw our first "north" happy hour at the Brass Tap at the Domain. We had a wonderful time hanging out and making new friends. We can't wait for the next happy hour on Thursday, August 2nd!

Hot! Wind! Hot! (June): A small band of tough-as-iron club members made the journey to Lubbock for Ironman 70.3 Buffalo Springs Lake. We are proud to say every club member who started the race finished race, battling 105 degree heat and 30 MPH winds. We came home 3rd in our club division, earning Austin Triathlon Club our first podium at an Ironman event in this, our first year of the club.

New Club Tent: Earlier this month, we were honored to premier our brand new club tent at the Marble Falls Triathlon. Scraping together our prize earnings at Cap Tex and a portion from member dues, we were able to purchase the first ever Austin Triathlon Club tent, ensuring that no one will have a hard time finding our Austin Tri Club green tent.

501(c)(3) Non Status: Earlier this month, we learned that the club had officially been awarded 501(c)(3) charitable status. Already a Texas nonprofit, the club spent hours preparing our application for 501(c)(3) status -- it is by no means any easy process. 501(c)(3) status guarantees that the club will fulfill its commitment to the Austin community for years to come.

200 Members on the Horizon: As we approach the turn of the calendars from July to August, the club is approaching 200 members. We cannot be more proud, enthusiastic, and honored that so many local triathletes have come together to help build this community triathlon club!

Thank you to everyone for making this such a great summer! 

****

Austin Triathlon Club is a non-profit social and training club that promotes triathlon across the Austin area. Our members include triathletes of all abilities, from beginners to experienced Ironman athletes. We are a welcoming and inclusive club, meaning that you can be a member of Austin Tri Club, and still be a part of another team or train with a personal coach. The Club is an all-volunteer, member-run community.  For more information and to join, please check out our membership page.

​It’s only April and this weekend at Ironman Texas will be my second spectathlon of the year – welcome to Texas! Spectathleting is HARD, so I thought I’d share some tips for fellow-spectathletes on how to have a successful day:

PRE-RACE PREPARATION:

• Study the map of the race site, or go down there to check it out the day before, and have an idea of where you want to park. Your Ideal parking scenario is close enough to the transition area that your triathlete doesn’t have to walk too far, but in a spot where you won’t be trapped in should you want to get out early (or go back for a nap during the bike).
• Bring warm clothes for the swim start – even in Texas (Galveston this year was FREEZING!). Chances are you are going to be standing on exposed concrete for several hours so bring a hat and sunscreen and use them. Wear shoes you can walk/run around in all day.
• Have breakfast, and bring sandwiches and drinks to the race site. This is going to be a long day for you too, but don’t expect the race to have thought of offering anything edible for you. (It makes me crazy that spectators are not provided for on race morning… Austin Tri Club has ambitions to change that!)
• If standing for hours at a time isn’t going to work for you, bring a chair or a blanket.
• Carry everything in a backpack so your hands are free, and leave plenty of room for the crap your triathlete ends up giving you before and after the race.
• Bonus tip: throw some Vaseline, safety pins, a power bank, and a spare pair of goggles into the backpack and you will inevitably be someone’s hero.

THE SWIM:

• Trying to spot your triathlete coming out of the water is nearly impossible. Stand a little further up towards the transition area as you’ll have a better chance of spotting them as they take off their caps, goggles and wetsuits.
• Bonus tip: if there are wetsuit strippers, position yourself where you have a really good view of them. It will be the funniest thing you have ever seen – I promise.

THE BIKE:

• I’m over standing around waiting for my triathlete on the bike when he just speeds past me without noticing. (For the record, when I did Ironman Louisville, I stopped to chat with my sherpas for at least five minutes on the bike course… I really hate biking and was happy to take a break though!). Here are some of the things you can get done while your triathlete is on the bike: go back to the hotel/car to take a nap, get a manicure (but be careful with gels… I missed a bike-run transition once because of gels), go for a swim, go for a run, catch up on work, catch-up with friends on Skype, etc. I’m sure I’m just scratching the surface here.

THE RUN:

• NOW YOU’RE UP! If you don’t see your triathlete at least three times on the course you have failed at spectathlon. Try to pick a spot close to where the course loops around and the finish line for maximum exposure.
• Since you are there you may as well cheer everyone else on as well. Ring a bell, wave your sign (if you do signs… I don’t do signs), shout encouragement – “good work”, “looking good”, “looking strong” etc. – you sound like a broken record and might drive yourself crazy, but they REALLY appreciate it. Especially the ones with desperate eyes.

THE FINISH:

• Make sure your athlete knows where to find you at the finish.
• Apply your interested face to their minute-by-minute debrief of the race. Tell them they looked great, it was hard to tell they were in pain, etc.
• Encourage them to eat before they get cranky, drink plenty of water (a beer is ok too), and if it’s a long-distance race, don’t let them sit down until you are fine with them not being able to get up again.
• Hopefully you were smart and brought some clean clothes for them to change into (they almost certainly did not… They are not thinking about after the race) or some towels to protect your car seats from getting super-stinky on the way back to the hotel/home.

Finally, even though you know your day was as hard as theirs – if not harder – never EVER say this out loud. Happy spectathleting!

Meghann Jones, Spectathlon Champion 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017

-----
Austin Triathlon Club is a non-profit social club that promotes triathlon across the Austin area. Our members include triathletes of all abilities, from beginners to experienced Ironman athletes. We are a welcoming and inclusive club, meaning that you can be a member of Austin Tri Club, and still be a part of another team or train with a personal coach. The Club is an all-volunteer, member-run community.  For more information and to join, please check out our membership page.