Race Coverage

Not Quite Race Coverage...

Tuesday, 02 August 2011 03:00

By Horace Sezbutt

Almost Race Coverage - The race announcer was totally bummed.

He backed his loaded van out of the garage of his chronically unfixed fixer-upper at precisely 3 AM on Saturday. He was anxious to hit the road. The next four hours were to be spent talking to himself, something he calls rehearsing, and drinking Diet Vernors. He figured he'd arrive at the race venue in Walker between seven and seven-thirty.

The thumping he heard when he turned from his driveway onto McKnight Road was unmis-farging-takable....

Language that many would find obscene, filled the van. For a brief instant he imagined driving the next 230 miles on the rim. If Claire Bootsma can ride 16 miles (Lake Geode) that way, perhaps...Nah.

He then wondered if covering the distance on the ridiculous donut wheel that he'd spend the next 30 grimy minutes installing was feasible.

It soon became painfully clear that he would miss the event, which is something that has happened only three times in his 1700+ race career. A missed plane, a gout attack and now a flat tire. The Law of Averages would have predicted greater absenteeism. But that didn't make him feel any better.

Later that day he learned that predicted winners Taggart Downare and Michelle Andres had done just that. Their respective margins over their nearest competitors were, as forecast, sizable: 2:14 and 5:48. David Lewis finished 2nd, as did 2010 women's champ, Leanne Bronson. No surprises there.

It had rained, sprinkled really, during the event, though not at the start or once the finishing had begun. For most of the morning, Leech Lake was a slate gray, like the sky it reflected.

So, the race was largely predictable and the weather, though not necessarily yucky, was less than ideal. The race announcer didn't miss much, right? He was better off back in Woodbury, waiting 2 1/2 hours for the "pros" at Tires Plus, which were probably "Jiffy Lube" cast-offs, to install TWO new rear tires (one was flat the other was treadbare) then show him a computer printout that said his van's alignment was not good.

With the $25 online upon, the bill came to just over $300. Yup, the "pros" saw the race announcer coming.

Later that day, when the announcer was given a race recap by someone who was actually there, he DID NOT feel like he was better off not having made the trip. Nothing was going to make him feel better. Nothing could.

He not only doesn't mind predictable races, he loves them. But he loves unpredictable races just as much. He not only doesn't mind inhospitable weather, he enjoys it. It's part of the deal. Sure, he loves great racing weather. When that happens he doesn't want the race to end. For him, these things are just a tiny part of the total experience.

What he did miss was the lake and the park. He loves lakes and parks. And every weekend in the late spring, the entire summer and the early autumn, he gets to go to a park and a lake. Best case scenario, he goes to two parks and two lakes on the same weekend.

And he missed the people. So much. The athletes are paragons of fitness and capability, and this never fails to excite and inspire him. He also missed the volunteers and the spectators, who were there to support and enjoy, which also describes a big portion of the race announcer's job. He wanted to be there on Saturday to help those folks to better support and enjoy. What a cool job.

But most of all, it is the spirit of friendship that pervades a triathlon venue that the announcer missed the most. If you can't get happy at a tri, perhaps you should see someone about that. Triathlon is more social than any other participation sport, i.e. running swimming, track and field, cycling. And for the most part, triathlons are the race announcer's social life.