St. George races Sand Hollow (May 18) and Kokopelli (Sep 21) have once again earned spots in the Utah Triathlon Championship Series, which welcomes triathletes from all states.
In addition to Utah, BBSC also puts on fantastic races in Colorado & Nevada, which you can check out here.
Thanks for the time, Cedric!
People (at least up north) may not know you as well as some other RD’s in our state – what’s your personal athletic background and what got you started with race directing?
I have been a racer since I was very young. I grew up as a runner, swimmer and slalom skier in Switzerland, competing in various races in Lausanne, Geneva and the Alps. When my family moved to the States, I quickly joined the track and field team and raced for my High School in Michigan, competing in the 400m and 800m. In 2003, I moved to Boulder to attend the University of Colorado which is where I met Brent Herron, the owner of BBSC and founder of Your Cause Sports. My passion for race production came from volunteering at Your Cause Sports events at the Boulder Reservoir while in College. I started off as an aid station volunteer at the Boulder Sunset Triathlon in 2007, trying to nail down a successful hand-off of a Gatorade bottle to an athlete riding by going 20+ mph. I absolutely loved it, and quickly became obsessed with the intensity of race production. It wasn’t long until I had tried out every volunteer position at a race.
Seeing the accomplishment and emotion of athletes crossing the finish line sold it for me, and I had to try it for myself. My first triathlon was actually a Utah race! It was the San Rafael Classic Tri that BBSC was contracted to time. In 2011, I continued my involvement with BBSC and was the bike course coordinator of the SG Tri and then the transition coordinator at the Pumpkinman Triathlon in Las Vegas. In 2012, I was the assistant race director for the Boulder Sunrise Triathlon and at the end of 2012, Brent asked me if I was interested in being the Race Director of all BBSC and Your Cause Sports events. That is when I quit my fulltime job in IT sales, and dedicated my life to producing events and promoting health. Fast forward to the present, and my team and I have produced over 95 races together! It has been the most fulfilling and amazing adventure one could ask for.
What would you say was the highlight and lowlight of the tri season for you as an RD last year?
2018 was a great year for me as an RD. Not only was overall participation up, but BBSC celebrated two weddings! My wife and I were married in June, and owner Brent Herron married BBSC’s Michelle Lund in August. As you can expect from a BBSC wedding, both weddings started on time, the weather was perfect, and all attendees were safe!
Jokes aside, we partnered with amazing groups/clubs in 2018 with the intention to expand the sport of triathlon. We introduced the Nevada Senior Games to the Las Vegas Triathlon to increase participation for athletes 50+ years old. We partnered up with USAT to host the High School Nevada State Championship to increase participation for athletes 19&U. We also introduced the USAT Mountain Collegiate Conference Race to Kokopelli to increase Utah’s collegiate presence. And last but not least, we partnered up with you guys to include the Sand Hollow Triathlon and Kokopelli to the Utah Triathlon Championship Series.
Jokes aside, we partnered with amazing groups/clubs in 2018 with the intention to expand the sport of triathlon. We introduced the Nevada Senior Games to the Las Vegas Triathlon to increase participation for athletes 50+ years old. We partnered up with USAT to host the High School Nevada State Championship to increase participation for athletes 19&U. We also introduced the USAT Mountain Collegiate Conference Race to Kokopelli to increase Utah’s collegiate presence. And last but not least, we partnered up with you guys to include the Sand Hollow Triathlon and Kokopelli to the Utah Triathlon Championship Series.
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| Cedric's 1st tri as RD |
As for a lowlight, we said good-bye to long-time Park Manager at Sand Hollow State Park, Laura Melling. As an RD, you get a peace of mind when you work with managers who are familiar with your events. I’m sure the new manager will do a fantastic job, but they have big shoes to fill!
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| SG Tri 2011 |
From your perspective has the entrance of the Ironman brand in St. George helped or hurt your UT races?
Unfortunately, it has hurt us quite a bit. The SG Tri (now known as the Sand Hollow Triathlon) used to be in early May and would attract close to 1,400 participants. When Ironman came to St. George, we were forced out of our early May date. There is only a small window in the Spring in Southern Utah that is prime for putting on a triathlon before we travel to Colorado in June, so we had no choice but to move our race back to mid-May. Our participation numbers just haven’t been the same since.
We’re hesitant to ask this because Colorado is considered such a gold standard for triathlon… but how would you compare CO races and triathletes in general to UT?
That’s a tough question. Both states produce an enormous amount of races. I think Colorado athletes are a little bit more likely to travel to race. We have a very large following of athletes at our CO races who drive over 3-4 hours to race in our events. I also see a lot more beginners or first-timers at our CO events. Although I do not see as many beginners in UT, the local scene in Southern Utah is absolutely amazing. We work closely with the Southern Utah Tri Club whose members have been coordinators at our races, volunteers at aid stations, and athletes in our races. As I walk down transition on race morning at the Sand Hollow Triathlon, every athlete seems to know one another which I love seeing.
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| Brent & Michelle |
Participation has been down a bit for Sand Hollow in general over the last several years, although it was up close to 10% in 2018 vs. 2017. Do you think we’ve turned a corner for participation or is there still work to be done?
I certainly hope so! It has been an uphill battle for us for several years, but we will never stop working on getting this race back to its full potential. In addition to the BOGO 50% off deal we have had for a few years on UT races, we are going to be doubling down on advertisement and marketing in the SLC and Las Vegas Area to get more traveling athletes to Southern Utah. Afterall, Sand Hollow State Park is one of BBSC’s most spectacular and beautiful destination venues so these are the races to travel to! We are also teaming up with USAT to bring the Mountain Collegiate Conference Race to Kokopelli, so you should start seeing an increase in participation from CO, NM, UT, AZ and WY.
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| Cedric (& Chris White?) @ San Rafael Classic |
What are your thoughts on the Utah Triathlon Championship Series (Sand Hollow at #6 and Kokopelli at #3 both earning spots again this year)? BTW, this is open to out of staters as well... anyone who races 3+ UTCS races is eligible for rankings and awards.
I love what you have done with it. I appreciate all efforts to increase statewide participation, especially since our goal is to get more UT athletes down to Southern Utah. We are ready and look forward to hosting the State Champs race in the next few years!
When it’s your turn to host (with the rotating venue format), we’d imagine the state championship race would be Kokopelli in September. Is that a fair assumption?
You read my mind. Late-September climate in Southern Utah makes for an amazing race experience. Did I mention that Sand Hollow Reservoir is one of the most spectacular venues to host a race? Athletes will enjoy views of this turquoise oasis engulfed in the sandstone mountain ranges in which it is surrounded. The Olympic bike course will test its participants as they conquer ‘The Beast”, but they will fall in love with the flat run course that lays alongside the red sandstone beaches of Sand Hollow Reservoir.
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| the BBSC team |
What BBSC races previously existed in UT, and have you considered adding another race or sticking with St. George?
We used to produce the Women Rock Tri, Scofield Tri, Park City Tri and Mountain Tropic Tri. As of now, our schedule is pretty full with 18 races/year so we are not planning on adding more races in the near future.
What are the hardest aspects of putting on a race, and do you have any pet peeves as an RD that maybe us triathletes can work on?
One of the hardest part of race production is dealing with factors that are out of our control like bad weather, construction, and government shutdowns. When we have no choice but to modify parts of an event due to these factors, we hope that athletes can understand that it is out of our control, and that our foremost priority is athlete safety. I also really appreciate it when an athlete comes to a race prepared. We send out Athlete Guide emails and all of the information about the race can easily be found on our website. Athletes who have looked at the course maps and race details in advance are more likely to have a great race experience than the ones who arrive on race morning with many questions about the race.
Check out all BBSC races and register at bbsctri.com !
UTAH TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES 2019 DETAILS --> SEE POST HERE !
Below are links to all the races in the 2019 Championship Series:
Below are links to all Challenger Races:
We started a Patreon account (link below) with the hope of raising a few bucks towards awards & swag for athletes of all abilities in our tri community. We've given out a lot over the past 2 years, but would like to continue to expand our offerings & the volume we can do.
Below are links to all the races in the 2019 Championship Series:
We started a Patreon account (link below) with the hope of raising a few bucks towards awards & swag for athletes of all abilities in our tri community. We've given out a lot over the past 2 years, but would like to continue to expand our offerings & the volume we can do.
If you enjoy Utah Tri Buzz and would like to pitch in, any amount would be greatly appreciated... (there may be something in it for you as well!)
We're also always grateful for talented people who contribute in terms of time... let us know if you'd like to be part of the Utah Tri Buzz team.
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