Making The Most of Your Race Weekend

TriDot Podcast Episode 330

Making The Most of Your Race Weekend

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Andrew Harley: Welcome to the TriDot Podcast. Really fun episode today. We are talking about race weekend. I love going to the races. I know you guys love going to the races. We would not be in this sport, listening to a podcast, if you didn't like doing races. So today I have two folks with me here to talk with us about how to make the most of your race weekend. We do a lot of training, we spend a lot of money, a lot of blood, sweat and tears all through the training week after week, after week. I want your race weekend to be a smash hit, and for you to enjoy it. And our two guests are going to help us do that today. My first guest today is the Chief Operating Officer of Clash Endurance, Andre Lapar. Hey Andre, welcome.

Andre Lapar: Hey guys, thanks for having me. Always a pleasure with the TriDot folks. Excited to spend some time with you guys, and I know we got a bunch of fun stuff to talk about and hopefully present some good information to all your listeners.

Andrew Harley: Hopefully. Hopefully, that's the goal, as always. Also with me is Coach Dan Caskie, the leader of TriDot Ambassadors. Dan, good to see you, friend.

Dan Caskie: Hey buddy. How we doing, Andrew? I'm excited. You know I love a good race-cation, good race weekend. So this is going to be fun. I know we've got some good tips for folks on how to make this out of the park for them.

Andrew Harley: I am Andrew the Average Triathlete, Voice of the People and Captain of the Middle of the Pack. As always, we're going to start off with our warm-up questions, settle into our main set conversation, learning from these two guys, and then we'll wind things down on the Cool Down with a question from the audience for Coach Dan. Lots of good stuff. Let's get to it.

Announcer: This is the TriDot Podcast, the triathlon show that brings you world class coaching with every conversation. Let's get started with today's warm-up.

Andrew Harley: For our warm-up question today, I want to know what is the best finish line moment you have witnessed at a multisport or endurance event? This can be one of your personal finish lines. It could be the finish line of a friend. It can be the finish line of a stranger, an athlete you knew. But all three of us have been at the races a ton. Andre, probably the most. Of every athlete you've seen cross the finish line, what is your favorite finish line moment? Over to you, Andre.

Andre Lapar: Alright. I guess the easy low hanging fruit is when my kids crossed the finish line in their first triathlon here at the Daytona International Speedway. But the one that really got me after being in the sport for 25 years now, 28 years, geez. I was race director of the IRONMAN 70.3 in Costa Rica. And you guys may be familiar with professional triathlete Tim Don.

Andrew Harley: Yeah.

Andre Lapar: From the UK. Olympian, World Champion. If you guys are familiar with the story with him and the bike accident breaking his neck -- being in the halo, with all the stuff fused together to keep his spine in line. He went through that -- I know we were talking about our kids before jumping on the podcast -- with young toddlers running around the house. His wife was taking care of everything, from bathing, all -- I mean, you name it. He went through that. And he came back from that type of injury, and that was his first race back out of that injury, and he won. And I don't get choked up. But knowing Tim, and I've known Tim for years and years, and being a father myself and knowing just the amount of dedication and blood, sweat, and tears for the entire family that he had around him, to get him not only to win, but to get him back to the start line and for him to cross the line in first, I mean, it was, that was it. I had tears in my eyes because I've known him for so long. And again, if you have kids, and you know how hard it is with toddlers, imagine going through that and that kind of rehab to get back to world class level. So that one really got me.

Andrew Harley: I think there's a documentary about Tim, and that documentary is called "The Man in the Halo" or something like that. And I watched it with my wife years ago. Really impactful story. For listeners that don't know, when he had that injury, the doctors basically told him there's two routes to treat this. And I don't remember the nuances of what those two routes were, but Tim's response was, “Well, which route lets me still train?” And they're like, “What are you talking about?” “I still want to train.” And so the answer was, you can put this metal halo around your head that basically immobilizes your head at all times, and you could, hypothetically, still train that way. And so he did. And it was wild. Fascinating documentary, and a really great answer here.

Dan Caskie: It's screwed into your… Yeah, it's crazy

Andre Lapar: Screwed to his collarbone to stabilize. So you think about the open wounds of something being screwed into your -- and this is for weeks and months at a time. I mean...

Andrew Harley: Yeah.

Andre Lapar: And the screws coming into your skull to hold it in place. I mean, that, as you said, in and of itself is an amazing story to see that, and an athlete of that caliber to come back and then cross the line in their first race back and win was, I mean, he was choked up and emotional.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, really good answer. Coach Dan, over to you. Follow that. Good luck.

Dan Caskie: It's hard to follow that. I definitely, having recently experienced that family moment with my son who's been mimicking me for years, getting to cross a few finish lines this summer, including in December at Daytona, was just a beautiful thing. And I, too, have seen this. I love the comeback story. I'm a huge fan of that. We've been through -- my wife's a cancer nurse, and so we've done some events with the cancer folks who are putting on some runs here locally. But I think today I'm going to go with not a podium finish, but actually the dead last finisher at a half marathon I put on. When she showed up, she had asked questions. She was concerned and said this was a really goal of hers. She had promised it to her family and had lost somebody, but was committed to it. She wasn't the healthiest person, but she wanted to show up. She was asking about cutoff times beforehand. And I told her if she made it to ‘X’, get off the road – we had trails – we would let her finish. And I told her if she made it to ‘X’ by that time, we'd let her finish. And sure enough, we had done awards, and they said she was coming in. And  you know that lull that happens after the race. We said she was coming in, and I'm telling you, hundreds -- people getting out of their cars to come back. It was so moving to just cheer her on that last -- as they come through the parking lot to the finish line, and everybody was super excited about her. And I mean, it just fires you up that you can do it and talk about the hugging, and everybody's like, “I'm not crying, you're crying,” kind of thing. So that was just one of those push-through moments that was beautiful, just to do something hard and to stick to your commitment. So that's what I'm going with today.

Announcer: Let’s go.

Andrew Harley: Alright, into our main set for today. We're going to learn from the two of you how to make the most of our race weekend. And Andre, you work for Clash Endurance. We've had the founder and CEO of Clash Endurance, Bill Christy, on the show before, but our listeners haven't met you before, so can you just tell our friends and folks what your background in the sport is, how you got connected with Clash, and what your role is for the company?

Andre Lapar: Yeah, so I am COO at Clash, so that means I'm the head of operations. So that's everything from course design to logistics of how we're getting cones out on course, and stuff out at aid stations. We've got a great staff. My history: I came up, swam through high school and college, got into triathlon, did my first triathlon after my senior year of college. That was back in 1998. I've done at least one triathlon a year since then.

Andrew Harley: Amazing.

Andre Lapar: Did a full IRONMAN -- did Lake Placid back in 2000. Did a number of 70.3s way back in the day, and then just grew and evolved with the sport. Started working for a company called IRONMAN North America, which came in many sports. They launched Lake Placid, Panama City, Coeur d'Alene, all those races. So just the last 25 years, sort of grew up in the industry. I did some coaching. I worked at USA Triathlon for a few years, coordinating their coach education program, so had a Level 2 coach certification. And then just working on the background, I found I'm much better at producing events than I ever was at racing them. I will tell you, it's also a lot harder to produce races than it is to actually race them, because you cross your finish line, you know you're done. Our finish line just keeps moving. The weather's bad, we have different things happen. But wouldn't trade it for the world. I work in an office setting, but we get to put on swim, bike, run. It's always swim, bike, run, but it's never the same, even from year to year with the same event. We have spreadsheets and PowerPoints and everything else, Word documents. But we get to see all that work come to life on event weekend, and the smile of athletes, and the pain and suffering, and all the emotions that go with it. So it's a very rewarding experience and career that I've had. Spent a number of years, 14 years at IRONMAN prior to Covid. So my quick feather in the cap is I was race director for the first, in eight different countries, for the first IRONMAN branded events across Latin America. So experience with big events, small events, marathon events, all kinds of stuff. And so I've really seen the industry grow and evolve to what it is now. And so trying to just use all those experiences to help Clash provide a great product for the athletes and still be relevant in the market that we're in today.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, and all that experience you have is exactly why you're the perfect guy to be on this topic today. Our athletes have certainly heard me talk about Clash Daytona, and Dan, I know, is a big fan of Clash Daytona. Dan and I have both raced that many, many times. And a lot of our athletes, a lot of our ambassadors, have done Clash Miami over the years, Clash Daytona over the years. Clash Watkins Glen -- which you and I were talking about before the podcast started -- that was a race I wanted so badly to do, and you guys did it one time, and it had to be, maybe temporarily, discontinued. But for our folks who maybe have heard about Clash Endurance, or heard about us talk about these Clash races but aren't as familiar with the company, and what you do at a race weekend, just tell our folks what is Clash Endurance about? What are you trying to do with these experiences, and what makes you different and special in the marketplace?

Andre Lapar: We try to offer something for everybody at our endurance weekends, right? We have the kids races. We have duathlons, triathlons. We have some standalone bike events, standalone 5Ks. Stuff that we can kind of marry together in a way that makes sense at these amazing venues that we have access to, like Daytona Speedway, Miami Speedway. And I like to say we focus on the big rocks, which is swim, bike, run, big show. People have said that they go to a Clash event and they're like, “Wow, that has one of those big race feels. They have a great expo, athlete food. The place is dressed to the nines.” So that's kind of the world I came from, is that big race feel. And we want to make every athlete, whether they're doing their first sprint triathlon or just a 5K, we want them to have that big event experience, and hopefully that sinks the hook in them. And we're doing our part to just try to get people across that finish line and have a good experience, and hopefully they stay in the sport for years and years to come.

Andrew Harley: I love, personally, how every time I do a Clash event, it truly feels like a race weekend and not just a race. A lot of events you go to them, and everybody there is prepping for the one race, and the race goes off, and then it's done. I'll be checking in my bike and racking my bike, and there's a kids triathlon happening at the same time, a day or two before the race. And then the next day there's a couple of other things happening, and then the day after that there's a professional event happening. You can go watch the pros race after you're done. It truly feels like a multisport festival, every time I've rolled into a Clash event, in a way that really feels alive and feels different. And it lets you do different stuff. We've had TriDot athletes, in Daytona for example, do the Jingle Jog 5k a couple nights before the race. And the next day we're all doing a middle distance. And the next day people can do the sprint. And Dan and I did a relay one year at Clash Daytona. Me, Dan, and Coach Tony all did the middle distance as a relay, and then the next day we all did the sprint. And so there's just so many different ways to plug in. It's kind of my personal, what I like about Clash. And you guys have a new race on the calendar in 2026. Tell us what you're doing in Coastal Mississippi!

Andre Lapar: Coastal Mississippi. I mean, we're super excited--

Andrew Harley: I've had a lot of espressos today. I've had a lot of espressos. It's a Friday.

Andre Lapar: I had a solid one this morning. Coastal Mississippi. And I got a map up of all the counties around here pinned to my wall. But just a beautiful community really looking to showcase their beaches and their tourism side, and just Mississippi as a destination. They are 100% on board. I mean from the tourism at the state level for Visit Mississippi down to the local tourism board, which is Coastal Mississippi. The mayor of Gulfport, I've got his personal cell phone. He said, “Anything you need.” I mean they want the event there. So what is the event? It's Clash Endurance weekend. But there's a few different facets to what we're bringing and doing in Coastal Mississippi. The one, and probably the biggest one of all, is USA Triathlon's Collegiate Club National Championship. So that's cool. We hosted that last year in Miami. So you're looking at 1,400 college kids across 80 plus schools represented. It's a true national championship. They're all flying their colors, whether it's Michigan, or University of Wisconsin, or UC Berkeley, or Air Force Academy, or Navy -- they're all there. And what's exciting about that is their marquee event is the olympic distance. They all race olympic distance

Andrew Harley: Draft legal. Draft legal olympic distance.

Andre Lapar: No, the marquee one is the non-drafting olympic distance race. Then we have a sprint distance draft legal race, which is capped at 75 men, 75 women. Same format as the Elites, and the World Cup, and the developing Olympic cycle. So the best of the best in the collegiate world are racing on that draft legal format. And then probably the most exciting triathlon I've been a part of producing is the Collegiate Mixed Relay.

Andrew Harley: Yes.

Dan Caskie: Amazing.

Andre Lapar: And you were there. Tell us about the energy of what was there.

Dan Caskie: Well, I was going to say that it's, I mean, it’s so intense. Talk about – and the stories, because it's three races, it's three sprints, and so it's over and over again.

Andrew Harley: Four. Four sprints.

Dan Caskie: Yeah, it's four.

Andrew Harley: Two men, two women.

Dan Caskie: That's right. Four.

Andre Lapar: Yeah. For those who don't know, it was added to the Olympics two cycles ago. So mixed relay is two males/two females comprise a team. So in the Olympics it's from a country. And so it's male, female, male, female. They've actually switched it for the coming cycle into LA. So it'll be female, male, female, male. But each athlete does their own super sprint triathlon. So 300-meter swim, a 5k bike, and a 1k, or roughly half mile run. So each triathlon takes between 15 and 18 minutes.

Andrew Harley: Yeah.

Andre Lapar: And as soon as they finish the run, they high-five their teammate, who then runs down into the water, does their mini triathlon, high fives, and so forth and so on. And so in the Olympics, amazing venue. Paris was great. The US won the silver medal. But you had about 30 teams, 30 teams of four. For this collegiate national championship, we had 65 teams of four. So you're already thinking that's 250 athletes racing, and all 1200 other athletes from those respective universities, that were not racing, were all lined up around the transition area, the relay exchange zone, the finish line cheering. They had the vuvuzelas going. It was nuts. Probably the biggest mixed relay in the world, I would say. Not even at the World Cup circuit, or the Olympics, do they have that many teams. And just when you pit those collegiate rivalries one against another, it's just such a unique atmosphere. Dan, you were there. You saw it, you felt it.

Dan Caskie: Electric. It's the only way to describe it, Andrew. If you've ever been in that tight environment, they're flying around you. It was so cool and so inspiring. I was totally looking forward to it this year, I think. And we need to find, Andre, my request to you is we need to find the adult version of that. It's kind of like roller derby or something. There's an adult version of this that is just so compelling and epic. So I'm ready for you to put on an adult version. And I got a team ready. It's amazing.

Andrew Harley: I did it once, Dan. I did it once. USA Triathlon, when they put the national championships in Los Colinas, Texas, right up the road from me, I did a mixed relay with some TriDot folks that traveled in for that race, and they made me go first. I put us in the back of the pack with my strong opening leg. But it's a super fun format for sure. But that's what I'm talking about, Andre. That's what I love about Clash events, is you roll into one -- and at most triathlon events, I'm showing up, racking my bike, doing the race, and going home. You get to watch that. You get to be part of that scene. As you're going through the motions of getting ready for your own race, and the next day you race, or the day before, just to have all that happening in the same weekend and you can participate in the stuff you're participating in. You can witness the things that are going on that have nothing to do with you. It is super cool. So in Mississippi specifically, what's the course going to be like for our age-group folks? And I know it's coming up. It's I think in March, right. So how can folks jump into this?

Andre Lapar: End of March, this year, 27th through 29th. I'll give you the other. So the collegiate piece is amazing. Sunday is dedicated to the age-group athletes. So we have a 1-mile open water swim, we have sprint triathlon and duathlon, and then we have -- what we affectionately have dubbed the Daytona Distance -- which was adopted by the pros for our pro races here, but it's 1 mile swim, 30 mile bike, and a 9 mile run. So that is longer than Olympic, not quite 70.3. Those athletes who are racing longer later in the season, it's a great way to come out, test your fitness, see where you are without completely overcooking yourself that early in the season. So for athletes looking to get an early season tune up, it's perfect. So age-group racing is going to be amazing. And then one other piece that we have, we've now done three years in a row, we're the only ones hosting Continental Cups. So that's one step down from the World Cup level. And that race will be Friday, right before the collegiate draft legal. So 75 men, 75 women, all the developmental US athletes that are gearing up for LA 2028. We'll have a number of Olympians on the start line, both from the US and Canada. It's an Americas Triathlon Cup. So that means US, Canada, and everything down through South America, and in between, falls into that Americas. So they'll be chasing prize money and valuable points towards qualifying for the World Cup circuit, which leads them to Olympic Games qualifying. So we have found our niche to support elite-level triathlon on this front. That's the only chance for our elite national team to race on home soil. If you go to World Triathlon's website right now, and you sort upcoming events by country, and you put in US, it is Clash Endurance Gulfport Mississippi, and LA Olympics 2028. Those are the only two high performance draft legal races in the US at the current moment.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, very cool. Dan, you and I have been in Daytona together quite often. And you, man, you got the right setup, because anytime you want to go to a triathlon, you throw the family in the RV. You drive there as a family, you make a family weekend of it. Your kids race the kids races, you race the adult race. Your wife sometimes jumps into the mix. You mix and mingle with all the athletes in the village, wherever the RV campground is. So you really, my friend, nail these races, especially Daytona, where you can camp in the infield. But are you going to Mississippi?

Dan Caskie: It's on the radar. We've got a lot of things going. We had a great conversation about how we're helping some folks get there, but I'm getting a lot of requests about, ‘will you be on my relay team’ questions. We've got TriDots going. My philosophy, if I'm going, I want to spend the weekend there, and I want everybody having fun. I just love how family – it’s athlete first, as you mentioned. They make the athlete experience great, but family friendly – and where's the parking, and where's the hydration? We'll call it that for post-race, and for free hydration for anybody that shows up. Spectators can engage all over the place. So super excited to see the layout in Mississippi. Had a great time in Miami and Daytona, of course, for those previous ones. The energy, like you said, sometimes you get in your car, you show up at the race, it's dark, you finish, you get back in your car and you're gone. This is, it's just the casual. It's fun. I wouldn't miss them.

Andre Lapar: Yeah. And you said family environment. I mean some of the specifics for Coastal Mississippi and Gulfport, it's amazing for sea life. You can take some amazing dolphin tours out there towards Ship Island or Cat Island, literally across the street from our venue. Our venue is Jones Park there, right at the Gulfport Marina, which is all a brand new facility. It's about seven years old, but multimillion dollar facility. All these mega sport yachts out there, some shrimp boats. I mean it screams Coastal Mississippi. Right across the street, there's a pedestrian bridge that goes up and over US-90, from Jones Park, right into the Mississippi Aquarium, which was just completed in 2021. So it's a pretty new facility and amazing aquarium. They have an aviary there. We're working with them as a partner to get some discount codes out to athletes that will be racing with us. So lots to do for the family. If you want to stay 15 minutes down the coast in Biloxi, there's the big resorts and casinos there, if that's your thing. If you like the small boutique hotels and the coastal feel, you can be on the other side in Ocean Springs or Long Beach. It really does offer a little bit of something for everybody. And it's one of those off the radar destinations that once you get there, you're like, “Man, I got to come back to this place.” This place is cool, it's affordable, the people are polite. I felt welcome being there. And that’s part of why it works.

Andrew Harley: Beautiful beaches. Yeah, beautiful beaches.

Andre Lapar: Part of why we're excited. A lot of athletes have commented to us that getting to Coastal Mississippi is six hours closer than getting down to Miami. On the college team side, they are super excited. So we're hopeful that we're going to be closer to 1500 collegiate athletes, and just all the energy and the vibe that they bring. So all good things. We're going to be sharing all that out on our website. The tourism folks, as I said, even from the mayor on down, they're all welcoming. So we'll have eating guides, hotel guides, the ‘stay and play’ things, what to do there. So something for everybody.

Andrew Harley: And along those lines, Andre, that's kind of what I wanted to tap into today, because we've had a lot of episodes where coaches come on the podcast and talk us through pacing our race, or fueling our race, or how to troubleshoot the things that can go wrong on your race. And today I really want you guys to help me focus on how to get the most out of your race experience. Because sometimes that's a soft skill, or it's intangibles, or it is taking time to enjoy the scenery, or taking time to enjoy the location of the race. And I just want to pick both of your brains. Dan, as a coach, Andre, as a very experienced race producer, on what really takes a race weekend from "Yeah, I went and did a race this weekend" to "Oh, man, I had an experience this weekend," right. And that's what I want to talk about today. So as we get into that, what I want to do is we're going to walk through the race week, right. What can an athlete do on race week to set themselves up for success? What can they do in travel mode? What can they do on race morning? What can they do during the race, after the race, to really make the most of the experience? But just to ease us into this, from all the athletes you've watched go through their race process on site, what are the big ticket things you see athletes get wrong about race weekend? Coach Dan?

Dan Caskie: This is a good one.

Andrew Harley: How do we sabotage our race experience before it even has a chance to be amazing?

Dan Caskie: I think that athletes try to control too much, when the goal really should be prepare well and let the weekend unfold. Over scheduling. Gear panics because they didn't have a good system to make sure they got everything. They treat the weekend like it's the test of their fitness instead of celebrating what they built. Or maybe they're glued to their watch and every second they got to hydrate and when do they got to do two squats. So that's what I would say. That's what my start is: it’s too much. It's the party has -- the hay is in the barn, that old phrase, as they say. So if you plan it well, it can be just a celebration from beginning to end, stress free, and just a joy.

Andrew Harley: Very, very good. Andre, same question over to you. What do you see athletes get wrong about their race weekend?

Andre Lapar: Exactly what you call it, race weekend. They make the entire weekend about their race. Are you traveling with a spouse? Are you traveling with kids? Are you traveling by yourself to a place you've never been? You want to get a little bit outside of your race box. The race is why you're going, but give yourself another reason to be there and another thing to look forward to. Whether it's, you're coming in from Michigan in March, and you know what, you're just excited to be able to lay out on the beach for two hours and get some sun. You stay hydrated, whether that's the day before the race or post-race. Maybe it's a new type of coastal cuisine. You can't wait to go get shrimp and grits at that Michelin recognized southern restaurant, the Siren Social Club there in Gulfport. Or you and your spouse are traveling together racing -- or one is racing, the other one's not -- and you guys want to go. post-race, hit the tables at the casino. Whatever it is that signature thing for that area, put that on your to do list. Whether it's catching a show the night before, or a dinner or a breakfast spot. So you have more to look forward to than just the race. Because we all know, if you've been around long enough, things happen in races. They can be awesome; weather can be great and all these things. And things can go sideways. You get a flat tire on the bike. I mean, you get food poisoning, who knows? There's all kinds of things that can go awry. Give yourself something else to really look forward to and enjoy on the weekend with your little core nucleus of people. Maybe it's folks with your tri club. You guys want to plan a dinner out or something. Add one other thing to your to do list outside of just racing and make that the secondary focus of the weekend. So when you get home, no matter what happens out on the race course, you had a successful weekend.

Andrew Harley: What I love there, Andre, is the mindset of this is a race weekend. It's an experience weekend. And the race day, the race itself, is just part of that. It reminds me of -- I flew to Florida one time. You and I were talking about my family's from Florida, and I flew into Miami airport. My dad picked me up in Miami airport. We drove down to Key West for the Key West Triathlon in December. They have it every December in Key West, Florida. A great Olympic/sprint race. I forget what the race producer was, but a really well-run event. And the first time I did that, the first time I flew in for that, I flew into Orlando. So it was a flight into Orlando and an 8-hour drive with my dad from Orlando to Key West. And that year it was beautiful weather, totally fine. Everything was going great. The morning of the race, one of those Florida 2-hour thunderstorms rolled in for the exact two hours the race was supposed to take place. And there was lightning popping everywhere, and wind blowing, the palm trees blowing. They delayed the start 30 minutes, delayed the start 30 minutes, delayed the start 30 minutes, canceled the race. And so that was it. It's done. And so you're talking round trip, 16 hours of driving, five hours on plane in the air, and didn't get to do the race. Guess what? I got a lot of time with my dad. I went down to Key West and back with my dad. If I had flown on my own for that, just a solo trip, I want to do this race on my own accord, that would have been such a wash. But it was a weekend experience with my dad where we had a lot of memories, aside from the fact that the race got rained out. And then the next year, went back and did it the next year, everything went fine. Wonderful race. But I think of that first, because there's so many times where -- I remember my first half IRONMAN. There was so much pressure on man, like I've done all this training, I put all this pressure on this race. I want to do so well on this race. I've never done this distance before. That one went fine. The weather was great. We had a great trip. We had a great experience. But if that race had gotten rained out, I would have been crushed. And so not putting all this pressure on the race itself because the experience is larger than that. Love that mindset, Andre.

Andre Lapar: And I think the pendulum is swinging back around. I mean, back in the 90s, very early 2000s, it was about train hard, race hard, and then get a beer and a burger afterward and have a good time. And then it somehow became you had to upload everything into your spreadsheet. And I just crossed the finish line. I don't have time for a beer. I got to send my workout to my coach, so he can critique my performance. And people kind of lost sight of -- we're not going to the Olympics, none of us here. We're not going to be racing Pro. We're doing this for fun. And I think that is swinging back around now, where people are realizing that it can be fun and it should be.

Andrew Harley: Yeah. So, Dan, obviously at TriDot, we are all about triathlon training. It's kind of our thing, kind of our specialty. If you listen to the podcast and you don't know, we have wonderful training in the TriDot app for you to get ready for your Clash Coastal Mississippi race coming up in March. But Dan, having a good race weekend can start with training. And I've certainly rolled up to some races having not really trained and gotten through it. It wasn't the best experience. So talk to us about what can we do in our training, leading up to a race, to make sure that the race experience is good?

Dan Caskie: Absolutely. I think you build that confidence in the weeks before with your nutrition plan, and even the timing of the day. If you normally work out super early in the morning, that helps you, because you got to get up early on race day. But what if you're in one of these ones, especially running events, where the waves may be later? You need to dial in that what I'm eating before, what I'm eating on the race -- race morning routines can be part of your training. I’d say dial that in early. That'll build confidence in those. You can't just figure that out in the last 48 hours. We do two race rehearsals -- four weeks and two weeks out. So the other one tip I'll say that helps you, that you can do to have, is transitions. Confidence in your transitions. Lay stuff out ahead of time. Like you set your bike up, maybe make a little bike rack in the garage and have your stuff there. So you're thinking about it. It's natural to you, and that gives that systems. So it builds the -- you need fitness, but you need some clear systems on how you're going to get from A to B, and how you're going to get set up for the event. I think you can test those all the time.

Andrew Harley: Very well put. Now, sometimes we get lucky, and there's a race right up the road. We can sleep in our own bed, use our own toilet in the morning, and drive down there and do the thing. Most of the time, we have to travel a little bit of a ways. So when an athlete slips out of real-life-person mode into weekend-triathlon mode, and we're traveling to whatever our upcoming event is, what are some things that we can do to make sure that we're maximizing that travel experience to the race, and making sure everything goes smoothly? Andre?

Andre Lapar: I think first thing you got to look at is what type of travel is it. Is it you're driving three to six to eight hours? Some people driving up to ten hours, based on budgets. Or maybe there's three or four people that are going in together. They’re like, “Hey, I got a rack on the back of the car, put all the bikes there. We'll make it a road trip, fun of it.” Or are you boxing up your bike and you're flying somewhere, and then you got to get it built on the other side. So I think there's a couple variables with the type of travel, right? That's the first thing you got to figure out. And then once you do figure that out, is the front end and the back end. Do I have my packing list? Do I have everything I need? Is there specific type of hydration or nutrition stuff I've been working with? Did I buy enough ahead of time that will last me through the weekend, and I can premix my drinks?

Andrew Harley: Can I buy it there, or can I not?

Andre Lapar: Exactly. Or is there a running store or a bike shop on the receiving end? If I'm flying in, and I'm the common triathlete who doesn't know how to lube the chain on their bike, just the pot calling the kettle black or whatever, but is there somebody on the flip side that can help me out, do that sort of thing? So that starts with, believe it or not, reading the athlete materials, the athlete guide. Most race directors try to put the info in there for you, but people might not read it. If you can't, if you don't have time, reach out to the race or put something on their Facebook page, on their socials. Most of them -- we try to be really good about answering folks within 24, 48 hours via email inbox. So it's all about that planning and preparation. You're trying to leave as little unknowns and as few curveballs as can be thrown at you, because that’s just added stress, and you don't want to be thinking about, “Oh gosh, who's going to build my bike together, and I got to be there for packet pickup, and I got to get across town, and I need to get a rental car.” Athletes go into this crazy spiral in their brain, so cut as much of that opportunity for stress out as possible and try to make it an enjoyable trip.

Andrew Harley: It's such a boring, unsexy answer to just say plan ahead. Make sure you have your stuff. Make sure you have your logistics worked out. But that's the truth. That's what, when you're in travel mode to your race weekend, that's what you can do to maximize your race weekend. Don't forget anything. Make sure you got all your boxes checked, because yeah, that can throw a wrench in your race weekend real quick. If you show up to the race site, and you forgot something or you can't buy something you thought you were going to be able to buy, or you don't have a part for your bike that you thought you were going to have, or if there's something broken on your bike and you don't have what you need to fix it. So very, very well put, Andre. Again, not a sexy answer, but the truth. And like you said, that removes the stress to help you maximize your race weekend, right?

Andre Lapar: Yeah and I always boil it down to the most simple: do I have something to swim in? I got a cap, goggles, and a suit. Do I have my bicycle, a helmet, and bike shoes. The very basics. And I have running shoes and a race belt. And I mean, that's the bare minimum of what you need. Put that away. No stress. And if you forgot your sunglasses, you'll be okay. If you forgot a hat, maybe you end up with a sunburn on your receding hairline, like me. You'll be okay. But just simplify it. So many athletes get so stressed in all the little outside details and the minutiae. Triathlons, it's swim, bike, run. It doesn't have to be too complicated.

Andrew Harley: I don't have a question really geared for this, but when I think about this topic, and when I think about what I would tell an athlete, in terms of how to maximize their experience going to a race, the number one thing I would say -- and you said the word logistics, Andre, and it made me think of this. I would say stay as close to the race site as you humanly, possibly, and budget-ly can. Don't blow the budget, but if you can afford the host hotel, or if you can afford the resort right there by transition, or the hotel across the street, or the hotel just down the road, or an Airbnb that's close, stay as close as you humanly, possibly can. Because that makes so many logistics easier. It makes it that much easier for you to pop down to the expo and back. It makes it that much easier for you to go partake in the events that are happening, or the meet and greets that are happening, or the welcome dinners that are happening, or the whatever. I have never regretted paying double for a hotel accommodation because it was right there on site, or across the street, than saving a little bit and having to cart in 10, 15 minutes every single day. Never regret it.

Andre Lapar: And if you're staying farther away, which is okay for whatever reason, I cringe when people say, “I'm not going to show up till race morning, try to get your packet checked.” Whenever you can see things during the daylight, just get some semblance of parking--

Andrew Harley: Yeah.

Andre Lapar: Doesn't matter how many light towers you put up. Just that familiarity ahead of showing up race morning is worth its weight in gold. Just takes a whole stressor off the whole thing. It makes it a much more enjoyable experience. And you can look at maps, you can look at Google Earth, you can talk to somebody who's done it a dozen times, but until you see something and you've been to a place in person, it's just another unknown that you can fix so easily.

Dan Caskie: Yeah.

Andrew Harley: I think one of the coolest race experiences I ever had -- my wife and I went out to Greece for the inaugural 70.3 Greece.

Andre Lapar: That is cool.

Andrew Harley: Yeah. When we got married, my wife wanted the honeymoon there. And at the time, we couldn't afford it. But years later, I'm a triathlete. And when I saw brand new race, IRONMAN 70.3 Greece, I was like, yeah, we can do this. So we made that our Greece trip. And anyway, they've moved -- that race still exists, and they've moved it up the coast a little bit. But that first year, it was based around two resorts that were side by side and there was nothing -- no town, no city, there was nothing else around other than these two resorts. And so it kind of, not forced you, but you kind of needed to stay on site in one of the two resorts. And it was so awesome, because you literally had all 2000 people doing a race staying in the same little -- it was like being back at college. Everywhere you walk it's just triathletes hanging out, and talking, and chatting, and playing in the pool with their kids. And eating at the restaurants that are on site. It made it this little microcosm of we're all doing this together, not just the race, but the whole experience. Because there was nowhere else to stay. And it was one of the coolest experiences, talking about the whole weekend, other than the fact that we were on the coast of Greece, in my life. And anyway, I think of that here. But let's move from traveling to the race to we are at the race. Now some events, depending on what the event is, there might just be the day before and then it's race day. Some races have events a couple days leading up to your race. So there's kind of some differences there. But no matter what, there's always the lead up to race day, on site, at the event. And what should an athlete do, on site at the race, before their race and the days leading up, to make the most of their weekend? Coach Dan?

Dan Caskie: I think this is a great one. So my tips are –

Andrew Harley: Buy everything in the Expo. Spend money. Easy. Shopping makes everybody happy.

Dan Caskie: I think it's a great one to budget for, for sure. It can get you pretty easy. But I'm a fan of checking in early and walking that, like Andre said, you got to put your eyes on -- go find the finish line, go find the transition with your eyes, so that you can really see that, learn that flow. It's going to drop some things down. Definitely want to see some other people. The Expo -- the reason the expos exist is to sell you stuff. They're not here to help replace stuff. But listen, plan for it, right? I mean, you want to get the shirt, okay, plan to get the shirt. You're already this far in. But don't end up, “I’ll take a look,” and then come out with new shoes, and shirts, and stuff, and then just regret it afterwards. Don't rely on it as your backup situation. Definitely plan ahead for it. And one ‘gem’ I'll toss in here -- you're always wondering what to buy a triathlete in your life -- is the VIP pass. A lot of VIP passes, with Clash for sure, and with IRONMAN, right, IRONMAN VIP status -- you get what? Easy check-in; you're not standing in line. The Nirvana program, and some others of those programs -- I love what Clash does because they do NASCAR Foundation, and I'm a big fan of Speediatrics, and so our family always supports that organization. But the team then has all our packets ready to go. We just walk up and smile, and we're walking away, and our bike's ready to rack. There's some other perks that come with some of those things. They're all a little different. I know at Clash they do a really good job of having a private orientation, a private area with food and shelter for the family. And so if you got your wife, or spouse, the VIP package, where they get to sit in an area so they're at the finish line for the photo, and you get the perk of race day check-in without the line, I mean, win-win, right? So that's my Christmas gift. If you got a race on the schedule, and you want to tell people, to say, “What can you get me?” Well, this VIP package might be the gift.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, that’s cool.

Dan Caskie: That's where I'd spend my money and not in the expo.

Andrew Harley: Really good point. This is a total side tangent, that maybe I'll cut out for time later, maybe I won't. We'll see. But Andre, while you're on, I will personally thank you, as the COO of Clash Endurance. You guys got me freaking hooked on Nespresso coffee. True story. This is a true story. Clash Daytona years ago, a couple of us from the TriDot team had VIP passes, as leaders of the TriDot team. And it was a day I wasn't racing, and we popped up to – it might have been the day the Pros were racing – we popped up to the VIP area, which was indoors at one of the NASCAR pit lane facilities. And you guys had snacks there, a whole snack tray, and there was a Nespresso machine. And I popped a little dark green Stormio pod in that bad boy, and I came out a changed man. And now that is all I will have in terms of coffee at my house. And it's all thanks to you guys.

Andre Lapar: No, we had that conversation earlier today in the office. I spent a lot of years managing IRONMAN events all over Latin America, and coffee culture is strong there. The coffee is good and having just a nice little espresso shot, you get your caffeine fix. It's not this ‘Starbucks way’ of 32 ounces of coffee, sugar-frothed latte, where you're just full and bloated. You just have your little shot, like you're shot out of a cannon. You're ready to go. You're not bloated. Yes, you're speaking my language.

Andrew Harley: Anyway, totally agree there Dan. Some great stuff. And the VIP experience, whenever I have had a VIP pass, has always been like, man, this is so helpful. Like, genuinely, it's so helpful. Andre, anything you would add there, about what you would recommend to an athlete on those days leading up? What you might say to them to hey, maximize these days. Enjoy these days.

Andre Lapar: Just enjoy it, right? You're going to an event with a couple thousand like-minded people, right? You can geek out. You want to talk about gear ratios, or your Di2 batteries, or spend time bouncing around the expo. See some new products and stuff you might not even know exists, right. Try some things out. Maybe go light on trying new types of flavors of snacks. Some people run through an expo like they're getting the free samples at Costco. I wouldn't necessarily do that the day before an event, but like I said, spending time with the like-minded folks, talking about different things. How you train in your area, what you've been up to. Maybe you're meeting up with some old friends. And then on that coffee kick, scope it out. We always have a coffee vendor in our expo, and we always make sure they're there for race morning. But in some of these places, some of these parks, these event venues, especially if you got to get up super early, and you're a caffeine in the morning person, just make a little plan for it. Like “Hey, I saw there's a Starbucks there.” Maybe look at their hours. If they're not open when you need it, maybe plan on making the hotel room coffee, whatever it is, but you want to try to just have those plans for those simple little creature comforts that you're so used to, on the home front, when you're in familiar surroundings. Maybe you're in a different state, different city, or even a different country, and you wake up and you're like, “Oh man, I really need that coffee so I can have my bio break. And now I'm stuck without it, and it's going to wreck my whole morning.” So yeah, coffee is important.

Andrew Harley: I can't tell you again, this is a slight aside, but when we did Escape from Alcatraz, they had –

Andre Lapar: Such a good race.

Andrew Harley: Oh my gosh, it is. They had a -- not where the athletes were, because obviously we were getting bused to go down to the boat, to go out into the bay, or whatever -- but for the families waiting in the Marina Green, they had some breakfast vendors there. And my wife, to this day -- I probably did that race five, six years ago -- my wife still, to this day, will talk about the breakfast burrito she got from a breakfast truck, from a vendor in downtown San Francisco. And she's just like, it just lit her up. I finished the race, alright. I just jumped into shark infested waters, swam across a bay with a current by the Golden Gate Bridge, exited, biked through the hills of San Francisco, trail-ran down the sandy beaches, came across, survived the thing. I find my wife, and she goes, "I had the best breakfast burrito. You'll not believe it. We got to go to this taco truck so you can get one." That was the first thing she said. Anyway, we'll get to the post race in just a little bit. But I love what you guys are saying about maximizing pre-race. The one thing I would add, depending on the race you're at, there's either tri clubs, or when TriDot's on site, we certainly do this. Sometimes some of the brands like Hoka, or Precision Fuel & Hydration, or Varlo -- there's certain brands that will put on shakeout runs or pre-race events like that. Pre-race meet-and-greets with some of your favorite pros, or course talks with coaches from the area that know the course really well. Go to some of that stuff. Go to some of that stuff. Plug in, meet some people. I used to go to a lot of that for TriDot, and I had an athlete one time at IRONMAN 70.3 down in Galveston, he came up to me at the end of the race weekend -- and he showed up to our shakeout bike ride, he showed up to our shakeout run -- we said hey to him that morning as he was getting his stuff ready in transition, and after the race weekend, he was like, "Hey, I really appreciate you guys being here. I'm an introvert. I have a lot of social anxiety. I almost didn't come to the shakeout stuff, and I'm so glad I did because I met some people, I felt I had some friendly faces on course, and it really changed my weekend.” And that really stuck with me. And I'm slightly introverted as well, and my predisposition is to not go plug into things. But I would encourage you to go plug into things. Look at the list of what the race is offering beforehand, and the things that appeal to you, go test them out. Go try them out. I think a lot of triathletes are afraid to do too much of that because we want to stay off our feet, and we want to save our energy for race day. Like Andre and Dan said earlier, it's a weekend. Experience it. Don't be in a hotel for four days, and then go do your race and go home. Okay. So we've done everything we can do before the race. It is now race day. The gun goes off, we're out on the course. Of course, we're going to do our best. Of course, we're going to try our hardest. But once we're actually out there racing, what can we do to make the most of the experience itself? Coach Dan, what do you think?

Dan Caskie: I mean, you got to smile, right? When you smile it makes you feel better--

Andrew Harley: Smile through the pain.

Dan Caskie: Yeah, smile through the pain. Smile at the volunteers. Smile at the people passing you. You're in it, right? We said earlier, the hay was in the barn. And you may have a podium in your sights, but man, stay in the moment. You want to take it in. I'm not saying stop or walk through an interesting thing. I know a lot of folks do the Run Disney and things like that, and they're doing all the photos and everything, but at the same time, get the work done. Classic coach tips are stay patient early. Know your zones, know your paces. We use RaceX to help you know what you're on with and make sure you're confident in that. And you practice it, so you're just executing, right? A big tip is: think about the landmarks on race day -- not necessarily the splits. Hey, when I get to -- I think about when I've done Florida a few times -- hey, when I get to that fire tower, I know I'm feeling this way. When I get to here, you know how you got to check in with yourself, say those happy things to yourself, and remember why you're there. I mean, you gave a lot to do this. I feel like if you can smile mid-race at somebody, you're doing it right. So, give yourself that grace. Have fun. It's hard to, again, another one of these things that it's the answer you expected, but I promise you, it feels better when you're smiling.

Andre Lapar: I mean, you guys hit the nail on the head.

Andrew Harley: Yes!

Andre Lapar: You get out of it what you put into it. You ever heard that phrase, "your vibe is your tribe"? So you're out there, interact with some of the volunteers. Say, "Hey, thanks for helping out." You give out a high five, you'll get five of them right back. You give out a little, "Hey, thanks, guys, for working so hard." Or, say it's a volunteer group from a school rowing or cross-country team. Say, "Hey, how's your guys' season?" Just something to interact, and that energy will come back to you tenfold. You're running one way, and somebody's coming back the other way, because they're either a mile ahead of you on course, or they're a mile behind you. Some of those small little interactions, they do a little bit for you, a little bit for the other athletes, and just makes it an enjoyable experience. And I think one of you guys said, sometimes you got to stop and smell the roses. Sometimes just look up.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, look around.

Andre Lapar: Whether it's Daytona, and you see the sheer vastness of the grandstand, or coming up Coastal Mississippi, just look off and just see that sugar white sand, and the ocean, and the sun glistening off -- just for a split second. I'm not saying riding the whole time with your aero bars looking like this, because you're going to crash. But maybe just take your eyes off of your bike computer, off your head unit, and how many watts you're pushing, just for a second, just to realize, “This is cool. I'm doing triathlon in X-Y-Z location. This is a unique opportunity.” And I promise those are the moments that you'll remember, not when your watts dipped for just a second because you had to stop pedaling, because you're coming around a tight left-hand turn. So try to enjoy the moment, and realize that 99.9% of us are doing this for fun and wellness, and that's what it should be. So make sure you're having fun out there.

Andrew Harley: I forget who it was, but before my wedding, someone said to me and my wife, "Hey, you're not going to remember the whole day. The whole thing goes by so quickly. But try to walk away from the day with 2, 3, 4, 5 vivid memories that you've banked and you'll remember forever." And try to, in the moment, recognize, "Oh, this is one of those moments I'm going to remember from this day forever." And it's almost the same thing, right? You're not going to remember every second of your time on course. Sprint up to iron, full distance. Like, you're not going to remember all the blow by blow, but try to cross that finish line with 5, 6, 7 tangible moments that you remember. Two or three good stories you're going to tell your friends and family when you go get breakfast or lunch or dinner afterwards, or catch up the next day.

Andre Lapar: I'll tell you a funny story about this, though. You want to make sure not to go too far the other way. This is maybe, I don't know, 2010, 2011 IRONMAN Louisville. There's a lot of folks who were right close up on that bike cutoff time, but they just made it in. This one guy, who's the last guy at transition, made the bike course cutoff by two minutes. Spent a long time in T2, came out of T2. He's chatting with his wife, they're having a little kissing session. He's explaining everything that happened on the bike. And we're watching this guy, we're like, "Bro, you just made the cutoff, man, you got to get moving."

Andrew Harley: You got to start running.

Andre Lapar: Yeah, I was in charge of the run course there that year. And lo and behold, after the first loop of the run course, there was a cutoff. I think it was 10pm to start the second lap, or 9:30, whatever it was, at night. And guess who was 25 minutes, missed the cutoff? The same guy. Like dude, I'm glad you love your wife and you guys have such a good relationship, but maybe a little less chit chat, a little more running.

Andrew Harley: Save it for after. Yeah, tell the stories after. Tell the stories after.

Andre Lapar: There's a happy medium in there, right? Let's be honest. There's a happy medium, but definitely enjoy your day. That's too far to the extreme, but enjoy your day, have fun out there. And there's always another race, right? Things don't go your way, there's always another start line.

Andrew Harley: Last part of the race weekend I want to talk about -- and we can do this one quickly, move to the Cool Down -- is after you cross the finish line, every good race offers some amenities, some things to do, some snacks to eat and drink, most importantly. Andre, what would you tell an athlete to do to just make the most of that post-finish line experience?

Andre Lapar: Enjoy it. Yeah, I mean, you earned it, right? Give yourself a chance to cut loose. Whether that's having a beer after the finish line, or you go through athlete food and they have some little packets of Swedish Fish, or Sour Patch Kids, or some candy, or there's pizza, or hot dog, whatever it is, athlete food, it's okay, that's your treat. It's your cheat day, right? I think some athletes follow that. So you crossed the finish line, you can cheat. If you want to drive through McDonald's on your way home because that's your guilty pleasure, do it. I mean that's what you put the work in for. So have fun. Cheer some other friends on. Talk to some other folks about their experience, because you'll find you have some shared experiences. "Man, that hill really was tough. That almost killed me." Or, "Man, that guy at that aid station was so funny. That loud guy with the big afro, and the tutu, and the blow horn." So just enjoy the day, enjoy the experience, share it with others, and don't be afraid to cut loose a little bit.

Dan Caskie: Yeah. That’s great.

Andrew Harley: Yeah, I love it. And Dan, I know you do, too. What I would tell somebody is to -- we talked about storing up those stories. Whatever happened to you out there, go tell someone. This is your one chance to -- when you go to work on Monday and start telling your coworkers about your triathlon, most of them aren't going to care. This is the one chance, you are still in that environment where, whether it's your loved ones, or friends, or just some strangers you connected with on the day, find someone and just compare notes. Share your war stories. Revel in what happened out there and then move on with your life. But definitely make sure you connect with somebody. And I love it when I'm there on behalf of TriDot, and athletes cross the finish line, and they come up and start sharing all their stories. I guarantee you, whatever happened to you out there, Andre's seen it before, Dan's heard it before. I guarantee whatever story you have is probably similar to something else that happened to somebody else at some race in the past. But guess what? It happened to you that day. And we're there to hear about it. And I love hearing about it from athletes, when you come up to me afterwards, and I know Dan's probably the same way. Dan, over to you. Anything additional here, after the race, you would tell an athlete to do?

Dan Caskie: Yeah, so I tell: give 10 high fives, and where you choose to use them, where you're going to use them -- whether it's the guy you saw in the corner that smoked you, because he's way faster than you, whether it's the person that you waited 30 minutes to finish, and you went and gave them a high five. Whether it's a volunteer, a family member, or there's the epic signs. There's somebody's family member who had the epic sign that just gave you the energy. Go give out those 10 high fives and just celebrate the completion. And to your point, Andrew, just make that human connection. And so that's what I tell people. You're not done until you give out those 10 high fives, and then you can get back to all the hydration, and food, and stuff. But don't rush that ending. This is the part you really remember. I'm a big fan of finding that red carpet. I'll never forget the first time I crossed the 70.3 finish line was in Gulf Coast. And when you come across, you make a quick turn, and you're suddenly on the red carpet, and it's over in 10 seconds. And I had this plan to take a minute, and it just happened so quickly that I was past it. And you can't take that first one back, so you go for the next one. And make sure you just kind of find where that finish line is, and enjoy that finish line. And we're talking about post, but I love it at Clash. They have this huge carpet and runway. I park my ‘vette at the end of it. They leave it down there. You come past the corvette, and then you're running down there with “We Did It” across the three of us, the relay team, all across that finish line. So store it in. Give those 10 high fives.

[Transition Sound Effect]

Andrew Harley: Alright, onto the Cool Down for today's show. The show's already been so packed with good stories, good information. I've really enjoyed this conversation, a more slightly lighthearted one than we sometimes have here on the podcast, but so many good stories in this one. And having a good time on race day, and walking away with some good stories is what it's all about. So for our Cool Down today, we're going to keep it light. And Andre, you've been such a sport, such a champ, just to come on and just compare notes, and let us pick your brain as a race producer today.

Andre Lapar: Thank you for having me.

Andrew Harley: I just want to give you the chance to just let other people know, if you're interested in racing a Clash event -- here at TriDot, we love Clash events for a lot of reasons -- but where can people find out more information about the Mississippi race in particular, and what else do you guys have on the calendar this year?

Andre Lapar: Yeah, so look us up: clashendurance.com. You can find us, links there, to all of our socials. But that's our website. ClashEndurance.com We have the Daytona Half Marathon and 5K coming up here on February 7th. You get to run around the speedway out towards the riverfront. Just a great course here, in Daytona. February is a great time to run outside in Florida. End of March, 27th through 29th, is Clash Coastal Mississippi, which is a Continental Cup for elites. It's USAT's Collegiate National Championship, and age group racing on Sunday. Going to be a great weekend. In November, we added last year, we have Old Florida Gravel in Lake City. Those who don't know, we have some amazing roads right in the heart of Springs country. So if you ever seen those Instagram-able spots, with the blue water in the middle of the jungle, those amazing swimming holes. We have half a dozen of them within 30 minutes of our race venue. So another great place to make a little family weekend. And then obviously, the big daddy for us is Clash Endurance Daytona, the first weekend in December. Whole myriad of triathlons, duathlons, kid’s races, 5Ks. Something for everybody. So check us out at ClashEndurance.com. Love to have you. Love to see you guys at a start line, and just love everything TriDot's doing for the sport, to grow it from the newbies coming in to the seasoned folks, to try to get them up to their potential. So really appreciate you guys having us, as always. Great partnership. Always great to see Dan, whether in person or behind the camera, like this. So thank you guys.

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