RESTON TRIATHLON HISTORY

"I first found out about the Reston Triathlon when Jerry signed up for it in 1984. He used it as a training triathlon for the Iron Man Triathlon in Hawaii, which he completed in October of 1984. I volunteered to work on the food committee and became the food captain in 1987. I remained the food captain until I joined the Board of Directors as a director in 1994, and I still act as a director to this date. Our Board of Directors remains a dedicated group of volunteers who value this race as a community effort and hope that it stays as a community event. Many outside forces have tried to make the Reston Triathlon their own by taking over full sponsorship and renaming the triathlon to reflect their own business ventures. I have made so many lifelong friends and have respect for all the volunteers who have spent time and commitment to this community event.

"Here are some more notes regarding expenses, donations, and budget items. In 2007, the Board gave the police a raise from $35 to $50 per hour. This came because of a request from Officer Sue Lamar who mentioned that she was having trouble getting the police to sign up for that special Sunday event for $35 per hour and could we possibly give the police a raise so that we can get the 30 policemen that you need for the event? There is a minimum of 6 hours for each police officer, so the math worked out to be $300 per officer times 30, which is $9,000. A major sponsor paid that full amount. The sponsor is John Jacquiem, who is the CEO of Mooring Financial Corporation, Vienna, VA. He is a triathlete who has done our race 10 times. Our total budget for 2008 will be $72,000.

"Reston Hospital has always been our MAJOR sponsor. They provide all medical services, including 4 or 5 nurses and 2 doctors per event, medical supplies, and TLC to all bruised and tired athletes. In addition, they have sent us a $2,000 check each year since 1990 or so. Papa John's Pizza gave us a good deal of $4.25 per pizza (1991 to 1998). Now it is $5.25 per pizza. We order 450 pizzas from them each year. We pay each driver a tip for their delivery efforts. We pay about $2,300 for all those pizzas. For awards and premiums we usually spend between $20,000 and $23,000. Volunteer shirts are $7.00 apiece for 600, totaling another $4,200. Other expenses are: 15 Life Guards at $100 apiece ($1,500); band ($700); drinks and water ($1,000); ice, paper plates for pizza, napkins, trash bags, trash boxes (about $100); Porta Potties ($1,000); timing company (Set-Up Events, $14,000); school use ($980); banners for sponsors, signs, etc. ($500); swim caps ($2,500); hats and socks to give to each athlete ($4,500); USAT insurance ($6,000); printing ($800); and bibs and bike numbers ($650). Last year, we spent $6,000 on security fencing for the lake and the high school track (this fencing should last for another 10 years or so). There are also many other miscellaneous expenses.

"The 2008 entry fee was $100, plus $10 for the one day USAT insurance. If an athlete is already a member of USAT, then they do not pay the $10 as it is already covered in their membership. USAT is sort of our corporate Mother. We are sanctioned each year by USAT, which means that each athlete is covered up to $1 million against injury. Everyone on our Board of Directors is insured as well. The sanctioning process is a long and difficult process as we must provide maps of each venue. Water testing must be done 3 months, 2 months, 1 month, and 2 weeks before the race. USAT cannot let the race happen if the lake is too polluted. Also, the water temperature must be checked the day of the race.

"Because we are a sanctioned race, we must pay at least 2 USAT officials to cover the race from every aspect, from course safety, end caps on all bicycle handlebars, helmet use, course markings, proper packet pick-up procedures, awards, timing, etc. These officials wear special red uniforms and are capable of disqualifying any athlete that is not showing good sportsmanship or if they are not wearing a helmet or don't have end caps on their bike handlebars. We must pay USAT the $10 insurance fee, which can come to a lot of money. Only about 25% of all our athletes are USAT members. The athletes get their membership directly from USAT, which is located in Colorado Springs.

"Each year, USAT has a great conference for race directors. Jerry and I attended in 2007; Donna and Richard Rostant in 2004; Terry Troxell in 2005; and B.J. Silvey in 2006. Before that, we did not send directors to this annual conference because we just didn't have the money.

"The structure of the organizers of the Triathlon has gone from two or three people to a Board of Directors that meets monthly all year long. In 1998 or so, the organizers discovered that committee chair people were needed to run certain parts of the event. Now we have a board of 8 people and 15 captains responsible for different parts of the event. We have a Run Captain, Swim Captain, Bike Captain, Food Captain, Swim Clinic Captain, and Volunteer Captain, and captains for body marking, awards, announcers at the start and finish, logistics, equipment rental, packet pick-up, course marking, permit person, police and school liaison person, and probably a few more that I forgot. The captains meet 3 or 4 times a year in the summer."