wow, that was fast.
I haven't checked with the race director to see if he's OK with me publishing this.
but...
***
Jane,
Thank you for your well thought out letter. We are very familiar with theOutlaws and are happy to host your team at our events. I am also happythat we were able to accommodate you with a transfer to this year.Your case is very unfortunate and I apologize that it ruined your day.There were SAG wagons on the course and marshalls. However, as you know,it is a busy course with a lot of athletes, so I'm assuming they werehelping others at the same time, with is unfortunate. I hope that clearsup your issue. There were a few accidents out there, and of course wehave medics, mechanics, SAG and USAT out there.
I am not rubbing this into you, because I am very sympathetic to yoursituation, but I did put in the website and said it in the meetings thatyou must be able to fix your own bikes and you can not rely on SAG. It issimply impossible to accommodate all 1900 athletes at the same time oreven 10%.
The reason you were in the last wave is for your protection. If I put 35+in any other wave (which I have done before)I get screamed at, because themajority of racers in that wave are slower. They get swam over, passedtoo fast, etc. Trust me, I tried to make it work, because I understandthe other side of the argument, but to cons outway the pros by four tons.
I hope you understand my decision and we will see you again at anotherrace in the future.
Regards,
Jeff Suffolk
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14 comments:
i think your letter was well put. I know jeff from the community and while I have also had issues with him, i support red rock. overall he runs some of the best races in the southwest. too bad soma 2007 was not one of them.
i think his response is the best he can give for now. i think he gave you the answers he wants to believe not the reality. had he said, "they were supposed to..." then that would make me 'happier' that he had a good plan and it was not executed by teh volunteers
First, wow, what a crappy race experience for you. Ugh.
Second, I grant that RD'ing (i've directed 5K/10K races and I thought that was hard) is tough. And he did apologize and sympathize. (And I actually agree with the wave order, although it screwed you over. Grr.)
But somehow that second paragraph rubs me wrong. It's not like you had a flat, or your chain had just slipped off, or any other small things that riders should be able to take care of, and couldn't fix it. Obvioulsy many riders stopped to help and couldn't. Thus, he should have gotten that this wasn't a run of the mill problem that you should have been able to fix on your own. Can't rely on SAG?!? Hmpf. Are we not supposed to rely on medics? (ok, that's a little harsh, but....) And he didn't reply about the Landis techs being directed not to leave thier posts, or that racers weren't told about fixed tech support locations.
Plus no comment on the drafting and potential for cheating.
I'm frustrated, and I didn't even do the race.
Jeff should have sat on that letter for a bit before sending it out and let's not even mention the words 'edit' and 'spell check'. On the other hand he got back to you really quickly so he gets props for being attentive.
I'm sorry but there is NO excuse for a 2 hour wait - none. I'm sure Jeff is doing the best job he can but still - that response was too fast and as a result sort of inadequate with respect to the bike.
With respect to the start I get what he is saying. Not that I ever like being in the last wave but that's generally how it goes.
I ditto what Comm said. I did Soma the 2nd year and this race, compared to all others run in PHX is by far one of the best in organization. I think it says a lot that he responded so quickly to you. I can't imagine being in his shoes, trying to make 1800 people happy, you know?
That being said.. Landis.. the bike support, I'm NOT one of their biggest fans.
I hope next year your race experience is much better!!! And, of course we all hope for cooler weather!
well, poop! I don't know much about all this stuff...still kinda sucks, but at least he replied to you quickly.
Well, that last part was crap, sorry. It is a 3 loop course. Everyone is going to be passed, period, no matter where they are. However, it's crazy and kinda dangerous to have the slowest triathletes out when it's hotter, and it's not fair when there's a cutoff.
Like I told you out there, I'm really sorry about your race :( I really like your letter. His response was very generic and about what I would have expected. I'm still not sure what good techs are that can't leave their aid station. So I guess the lesson here is that if you're going to break down, make sure it's at an aid station with techs.
What a mess. I don't know whether I'd feel better or worse after reading that. It seemed one step above a form letter.
Hopefully your next race will be a LOT better!
Your letter was well written and to the point and you deserve in depth explanations for your queries. Suffolk's response smells just a wee bit dismissive to Moi. Sorry you had to go through all this.
It just occured to me-I went around that course 3 times and never saw one "mechanic" (as he stated there were) helping anyone on the side of the road so not sure why they could not get one to you. I know it took Hartley an hour to get a ride back to the medical tent so I wonder if the "sag" people were the same as the "mechanical" help..At least he responded with something I guess..
Sorry your race went sour - that sucks.
My mom always said you can't bitch unless you say something to the right people and that you did. Feel free to bitch about this until you feel better - you deserve it!
I wasn't even there, and I'm not happy with this response. You brought up issues that he didn't even discuss. It felt almost like a form letter.
Maybe he has so many letters of complaint to respond to, he can barely read them all, let alone respond.
sorry about your race, but you write a helluva letter!
i think that is quite possibly the worst response I've ever read. I'm with Donald--it's one step above a form letter, and its tone is quite defensive.
Would have been much better if he'd apologized and said things went awry or whatever and said he'd take your experience into account for next year.
That's outrageous! Where is an acknowledgement of the mistake or a genuine apology? How about giving you a comp entry for next year or a refund? It's not like you were being a pansy with a flat or something-- you experienced a legitimate problem that should have gotten attention in fewer than 2 hours.
Being a less forgiving type than you, I'm still unsatisfied. If you can't put on a safe, efficient race for 1900 people, then don't put on a race for 1900 people. It is implicit in a race director's job to be accountable for his race. This situation is stinky.
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