Rev3 Mighty Matapeake

Be a part of a celebration of the parks in beautiful Queen Anne's County, Maryland. Just over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, this straight forward event will be a great way to end your season! 

Come experience the Matapeake Beach area with a 1/2 mile swim in the Chesapeake Bay, a 12 mile out-and-back bike ride along the straight and flat Route 8 (Romancoke Road) corridor, and then it's back out for an out-and-back 3.1 mile run on the South Island Trail. Once you see the views from here, you'll be sure to be back for training!!

 
 
Good evening everyone! In continuing our emails about our course, we wanted to go over the Swim Course with you. Duathletes.... you may leave the room..... 

Ok! Now that THEY are gone, the swim at the venue isn't anything to be scared of. First and foremost, water temperature this morning was around 64 degrees. That means WETSUIT LEGAL, and we certainly encourage them. The swim IS on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay BUT it is in anywhere from 3 to 4 feet of water, so if you start to panic, you can stand up. This depth actually goes out significantly farther than we originally thought, so there is NO fear of you going out too far. 3 feet of water, 64 degrees... check... 

So how do we do a swim in COVID-19 times? We do this by allowing SELF SEEDED swim starts. 10 folks at a time will enter the water.  Remember we gave you a disposable facemask in the bag we discussed on Monday's email? This is where its journey comes to an end. As you enter the water, there will be a trashcan for you to throw your mask in to. 

In order to enter the water for the start, these 10 MUST CROSS OVER THE TIMING MAT. Once they cross the mat, they will move towards a green buoy in the water. YOU HAVE NOT STARTED YET!!! Once everyone is around the buoy, we will count down the start and you will be assigned to that gunshot wave. We will wait about 20 seconds, to make sure that everyone is alright and then we will load another 10 swimmers across the timing mat. This process is very precise and must be done in an orderly fashion, so that we can accurately record everyone's start time. 

You are going to be aiming for ORANGE BUOYS. Orange buoys are your TURN BUOYS. Keep the two orange buoys at the end of the course on your RIGHT. Swim back towards the beach area where you will see one last orange buoy. THIS BUOY YOU PASS TO YOUR LEFT SIDE, so you have to go around the buoy to finish. 

Should you want to leave a pair of sandals or flip flops at the swim exit to put on for the run up the trail and to your bike, please do so in an orderly manner. 

Want to see what everything looks like? Check out the video we created TODAY on site at https://youtu.be/Yd78h3DaqXA

We will also be placing this email at the top of the page (under the EMAILS tab) and will try to pin the video at the bottom of the page as well. 

Please reach out (info@tcreventmanagement.com) if you have any questions. With the current water and air temperatures projected for Saturday morning, we are still expecting to have the full distance swim. If you are concerned with cooler temperatures that what you are used to, please reach out and let us know and we will switch you over to the DUATHLON event (.9 mile run, 12 mile bike, 3.1 mile run). 

Thank you and tomorrow we will discuss TRANSITION and the bike course!

Jason

We are going to be talking about the transition area for the Mighty Matapeake this morning. And what would a race be in 2020 without lots of twists and turns along the way. We had to scrap our original plan for being on a nice grassy area 1) Because of spacing for COVID restrictions and 2) Because of rain in the forecast for Friday. 

**We are still playing with the final layout and the Duathlon start for the event, because many of your are expressing concern over the projected air and water temperatures for race morning. It IS going to be chilly. We ARE going to allow you to switch to duathlon, but we need to KNOW that you want to switch (info@tcreventmanagement). We are going to let you switch up to about 745 am on race day, but PLEASE let us know. Remember, the water was 64 degrees, and it is 3 feet deep. Your bike is 12 miles after. Neither of these paramters warrant a shortening of the bike course. We ARE monitoring the rain for Friday night and are working with our local environmental agencies to see if there is any concern regarding that. **

Transition is going to be in the parking lot of the Matapeake Beach Clubhouse, at the end of Sonny Schulz Blvd. When you arrive on Saturday morning, you will be greated by our staff and volunteers and have your temperature taken. You will also be checked off to make sure that you FILL OUT THE COVID SCREENING FORM THAT WILL BE SENT TO YOU ON FRIDAY MORNING AT 8AM. If you do not fill out this form, you will electronically fill it out on site by scanning a QR code with your phone. In addition to the email, we will also put a link at the top of our page for the questionnaire. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PRINT THIS FORM OUT. 

When you come to transition, all you have to have is your photo ID. Your USAT membership has already been verified when you registered. 

After screening you will enter transition and find TWO spots per bike rack for racking. You will find a bag hanging on your rack with all of your gear in it. Want to know what's in the bag? Check out our video at https://youtu.be/jNmDQvovurE   

After you are all set, you can head on down to the swim area or just get a lay of the land for SWIM IN/RUN OUT, and the BIKE IN/BIKE OUT areas. 

Once you are done your swim, you will run back up the hill (sorry about that) and head in to grab your bike. You should have plenty of room to set up your area so finding your bike should be a  piece of cake. Once you exit the transition area, you will find the BIKE MOUNT/DISMOUNT line. Up until this point, please walk/run with your bike, but DO NOT RIDE YOUR BIKE IN TRANSITION. 

Once you complete the bike course, you will get off your bike at the MOUNT/DISMOUNT line and rack your bike in your spot, before running out the opposite end of transition, through the RUN OUT gate. There will be volunteers on hand to help direct you but there is one entrance for when you have a bike in your hand (going out or returning from the ride) and one entrance for when you have NO BIKE in your hand (Swim In, Run Out). Make sure you know where you are going. 

For a walk through of transition, be sure to check out our YouTube video breakdown at https://youtu.be/6jW5zv0iOko  

As always, feel free to reach out to us at info@tcreventmanagement.com with any questions/concerns

Athletes will grab their bikes from their rack in the parking lot of the Matapeake Beach Clubhouse and mount on Sonny Schulz Blvd. Hang a right out of the complex on to Route 8 and GO GO GO!!! This 6 mile straight shot is super fast! Turn around at the end of the road (literally) and it's another fast shot back! Local law enforcement will be on hand to make sure that you can safely cross over Route 8 and return back to the Beach Clubhouse for your run!

12 total miles and we bet some of you can do it in 30 minutes or less!

A 0.9 mile run to get your day started. Run from the Swim In/Run Out area of transition and on to Sonny Schulz Blvd. Out to Route 8 and make your first right on to Marine Academy Drive. A quick right on to the rails to trails and you will follow Aquaculture Road back to transition, where you will grab your bike and go go go!!!

Good afternoon racers! We are so excited to have you on board for the 2020 Mighty Matapeake Multisport Festival, and can’t wait to see you in the morning.

First and foremost, be sure to fill out the COVID Survey that was sent out at 8am this morning. Didn’t get it? Check the top of the page at www.MightyMatapeakeTriathlon.com and you can fill it out there. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PRINT THIS FORM, JUST COMPLETE IT. We electronically record your information.

All of our athlete emails are located at the top of the website as well, if you want to review anything. All of our videos are ALSO at the bottom of the page, if you would like to review THEM.

WATER CONDITIONS

The water was 64 degrees yesterday. The DEEPEST point of the swim is under 4 feet, so if you panic, STAND UP. Water testing was completed and the health department is currently ok with us proceeding, even after the rain.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

Yup… we know… it’s raining… and it’s going to be cold….

We are closely monitoring EVERYTHING that is going on with race conditions right now and are speaking with the local health department and our friends at Emergency Services. Our plan right now is that the swim is still on. If you want to wear Neoprene socks, or a neoprene cap, feel free to. IF you wear gloves, there cannot be any type of webbing between the fingers!! As you come to the start line, we will be evaluating all of the gear. We are within the parameters set forth by every major sanctioning body, but we don’t anyone to feel like we are MAKING you swim. EVERYONE will have the ability to switch, up to 7:30 tomorrow morning, to the duathlon, should you choose. PLEASE give us that 30 minute buffer so that we can get everything switched over in the system.

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OUR SUGGESTIONS FOR RACE MORNING ARE TO:

BRING A JACKET FOR THE BIKE/RUN PORTION OF THE EVENT.

BRING A TOWEL AND DRY OFF A BIT AFTER THE SWIM
*************************************************

Even if you feel great coming out of the water, and you WILL because it was 64 degrees yesterday, put on a jacket. When you get 6 miles down that course and turn around, you might feel REALLY COLD, and then it’s too late.

So we want YOU to have a jacket, well what are WE going to do. We are adding hand warmers to your gear bags tonight, and we will have Mylar sheets for you at the finish line. We are sorry to say that with COVID spacing requirements, we can’t feasibly do any type of warming tent for you, as we would love to do. What we CAN do is tell you to make sure that you put your car keys in your bag in transition, so as soon as you are done you can get to your car and warm up.

BIKE COURSE - Don't forget a jacket!!!!

We know, we never did a bike course video… because it is quite simply the easiest bike course you will have ever done. Come out of transition. Mount line. Ride to the end of Sonny Schulz Blvd and turn right. There you will see the shoulder has cones all the way down. There should be plenty of room for you to ride on the shoulder (No Rumble Strips!!! YAY!!!) and still be able to pass. This is an open course, so there will be traffic going next to you. Every intersection is controlled by a stop sign and has signage letting people know that there is a race. That being said, just keep an eye on cars…. It is their responsibility to stop… it is yours to protect yourself.

When you get to the end of the road (literally) you will see a trooper making sure that you can make a safe turnaround. Go around the cones that are set up and come on back up on the opposite shoulder of the road. As you approach Sonny Schulz Blvd, troopers will make sure that traffic is stopped so that you can turn left, safely, on to Sonny Schulz and down to the mount. So, simply put. Right turn off of Sonny Schulz, turnaround when the road end, left turn on to Sonny Schulz

DUATHLETES

We are going to do the DUATHLON start similar to the swim start. You will cross a timing mat to be collected in to a CORRAL (10 people at a time). We will say GO and wait a few seconds, and then the next 10 people will load in the corral. This will all happen near the FINISH LINE of the event. So the first wave will go with the first wave of swimmers (8 am), and the second with the 2nd wave of swimmers (about 8:02), etc… until we have everyone out.

DUATHLON RUN. Duathletes, your numbers are growing more and more every day as triathletes are moving to the du. Your first run will be STRAIGHT ON SONNY SCHULZ BLVD to Route 8. PLEASE IGNORE THE FIRST RUN TURN ARROW (we will have a volunteer telling you to go straight). Turn right on route 8, first right on to Marine Academy Drive and then immediate right on to the trail. Right off of the trail and follow the road back to Sonny Schulz. Left back to transition… It is a circle, .9 miles long. Run back up and go through the SWIM IN chute.

AQUABIKE
You will do the same self seeded start at the swim that everyone else will do. Feel free to join in the middle of everything. Your official finish time will be when you cross the BIKE IN mat in to transition, but feel free to put on your shoes and jog through our finish line for that race day feel!

RELAYS

Your swimmer can start with the other swimmers. Relay members can wait in transition, at your bike rack spot. The ankle chip will be shared from person to person (shh.... don't tell the COVID police).

RUN

The 3.1 mile run… as your exit from transition you will run up Sonny Schulz Blvd and you will see a large GREEN arrow pointing you to the right (where you parked). Follow those arrows and you will find the entrance to the trail to your left (also green arrow marked). You are going to follow this trails for 1.55 miles until you find a SELF SERVE aide station. The volunteer there is just there to replenish the water and Gatorade mini bottles on the table, not to hand you anything. Please grab what you need and turn around and head the exact same way back to the finish line.

FINISH

Once you are done, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Please be considerate of other athletes who are still racing as you go in to transition and get all of your gear. IF you need to head to your car/vehicle first, to get warmed up a bit, please feel free to do so. We won’t start breaking down transition, and will keep an eye on everything for you. As soon as we are able to, we will push results to BOTH the website AND Results on our TCR Event Management app, found on both google and apple store

ABSOLUTE EMERGENCY PLAN

So, let’s say we get low water temperatures, low air temperatures, or our emergency services just can’t handle what we have going on… what then? Well the answer is that EVERYONE becomes a duathlete. We will still try to get things started at 8am but might have to reconfigure a few little things. IF THE EVENT IS FORCED TO BECOME A DUATHLON, EVERYONE WHO WAS SIGNED UP FOR THE TRIATHLON STILL RECEIVES TRIATHLON RANKING POINTS THROUGH USA TRIATHLON!! We have called, verified, and double checked this. We will try to make this decision by 7am, based on water and air temperatures on site. We hope this is not the case, but the safety of all is imperative for the event.

As always, any questions, feel free to reach out to info@tcreventmanagement.com.
Excuse us if it takes a bit to answer them today... we are a bit busy (and wet). 

Jason

Thank you for being a part of the Mighty Matapeake Multisport Festival in beautiful Stevensville, Maryland this coming Saturday. We wanted to reach out with a breakdown of the events this week, starting today with what you should expect that may be different from races you have done in the past. 

So what should you expect for the Matapeake race? The biggest change that you will see will be an assortment of mitigation strategies designed to keep everyone safe on race day. 

PARKING
As you enter Sonny Schulz Blvd, you will see parking flags and arrows, pointing you to a parking lot to the left. This is our main parking area. We ask that you respect the businesses that are in the area and not park in any of the business lots that may be open on Saturday. Please try to NOT park on Sonny Schulz Blvd, as this is our Bike In/Bike Out route! We DO have some overflow parking in the lot for The Rag Lady, directly across from our main parking area. 

PACKET
There is no packet pickup the day before the race. Your bib numbers will be assigned around Wednesday of this week and will be available on the registration site by looking in FIND A PARTICIPANT at the top of the page. When you approach transition, have your bike and your Photo ID with you.  THERE ARE SIX BIKES PER RACK, and you will find your bag waiting for you at your position. We created a video of everything that you will find in your packet at https://youtu.be/jNmDQvovurE and we placed that at the bottom of the page at www.MightyMatapeakeTriathlon.com 

In your packet you will find a sticker set (big sticker for your bike, little sticker for your helmet, l). You will also find your bib (only need to wear on the run, on the front of your clothes so the photographer can know who you are), your SWAG (who knew that meant Stuff We All Get?!?), and most importantly your TIMING STRAP. Put that strap on your ankle as soon as you get in!!! (I prefer my left ankle). 

TIMES
We ask that you arrive as early as you can as we would like to have everyone OUT OF TRANSITION BY 0750 am!! We will allow athletes in transition at 645 am. Transition will be CLOSED by 8am, for an on time start. 

SPECTATORS/GENERAL PUBLIC
Spectators and the General Public ARE allowed. We ask that they park in the same area that you do, and that you consider car pooling with your spectators. 

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at info@tcreventmanagement.com any time!!

 For anyone who did not get last week's email with the Athlete Guide, we are attaching it to this email, and we have put it at the top of the page. We are also going to include each of this week's emails at the top of the page at www.MightyMatapeakeTri.com, to keep everyone up to date!

Jason Chance
TCR Event Management

USA Triathlon Certified Race Director
RRCA Certified Race Director
(443)-328-4323

www.tcreventmanagement.com

For your final leg, you'll drop your bike off at transition and follow Sonny Schulz Blvd to the Aquaculture Road. From here you will pick up the Route 8 Rails To Trails for a FAST run out and back. There will be a self serve aide station (sorry... COVID) at mile 1, so you will hit it again on your way back in as well. This trail is a beautiful path that runs parallel to Route 8. 

This 1/2 mile swim will be in the shallow (approximately 4 feet) waters that hug the edge of the Chesapeake Bay. A line of buoys will be on site to keep you in the safer shallows. Athletes will NOT be allowed to swim out past the barrier buoys. The swim will be an out-and-back swim with an in water start. Athletes will enter the water, 10 at a time, for the start of the event. 

Good morning athletes (and future athletes)! We just wanted to reach out and give you some updates on how things are shaping up for the Saturday morning Mighty Matapeake Multisport Festival. 

Don't forget that we will be opening up transition at 645 am on Saturday morning. This will let us get the ALMOST SOLD OUT crowd of 180 people enough time to get set up. Because we don't have to have quite as much distancing as last year, the transition will have a definite flow to it this year (last year we fit bikes where we could, so to allow for spacing). We would like to close transition about 7:50am and have an ON TIME start of 8:00 am. 

We will launch all males, and relay team swimmers, at 8:00am, and all females at 8:05am. IF you are an AQUABIKE, you will go with your appropriate gender wave. DUATHLETES will ALL leave with Wave 1, from the Finish Line area. 

Let's talk about the water. Current morning temperatures have been right around 76 degrees, which means that if we went today, the swim would be wetsuit legal. Remember, we allow wetsuits all the way up to 78.0 degrees, and above 78 degrees you can wear it, but won't be eligible for awards. ANOTHER great bit of news is that we paddled the whole course yesterday and there were NO VISIBLE JELLYFISH!!!! This is great news for everyone! Finally, we also tested the depth along the course and most of the course is no deeper than 5 feet, so if you are worried about the swim, you should be able to stand up with no problem. 

The bike course is probably one of the easiest bike courses you will experience. This out and back course is 12 miles long and, after you have mounted your bike outside of transition, you have a right turn out of Sonny Schulz Blvd (on to Route 8), a turnaround where the road ends (law enforcement will be present there) and a left hand turn ON to Sonny Schulz Blvd... that's it!!! Put your head down and grind!!!

Finally, the run course! The run course takes a few small turns, over towards the parking area, before putting you on the trail, but we will have plenty of signage and volunteers/staff to get you there. There will be an aide station on course with plenty of water to rehydrate, if you need!

We will send out one more email tomorrow (Friday) with any last minute notes, but we look forward to hosting you on Saturday morning. We have about 10 spots left for the event, if you have a friend on the edge... 

Any questions, feel free to reach out to us at info@tcreventmanagement.com