Special Instructions
Spring Classic Half Marathon, 10K, 5K & Duathlon
Pre Race Instructions
The 39th Annual Spring Classic Half Marathon, 10K, 5K & Duathlon is FAST APPROACHING – SUNDAY, April 23rd. Keep that sunshine dance going –we’ve been fortunate enough the last six years with dry weather for this race, so we’re hoping and praying for the same! Remember to wear some very bright spring racing gear to go with our Spring Theme! Plus, it will make your photos that much better!
There is a lot of important information in this email for you to review – especially for you rookies! We put the important information for everyone at the top so veterans can focus there. If you’re a newbie, read the whole thing, including the link at the very bottom, which will provide you with very useful information as you prepare. It’s a long email, but we want to answer all your questions so you can enjoy a stress-free race. So sometime over the next couple of weeks, sit back and relax – may we suggest with a glass of wine or Crux Fermentation Project Brew – review the material and get excited for Spring Classic – a race with a ton of history!
Note: Online registration is still open, and prices go up on Monday, April 17st at midnight – tell all your friends they can still join in the fun! Forward this email and registration link, and maybe you’ll inspire them to DU it! And definitely tell all your runner and walking friends about the Half Marathon, 10k & 5k distances. It will be an exciting race day for all! Don’t forget, kids 12 & under get to race the 5K for FREE, and juniors under 17 get to race for 50% off!
BE a BEAST and earn this year’s coveted BEAST COIN (Magnet). Run in one of our running events between 7 AM – 10 AM and participate in the Duathlon at 11 AM.
Also, be sure to join the Spring Classic Facebook event page for any last-minute race updates.
PACKET PICKUP/REGISTRATION:
Foot Traffic Vancouver
305 SE Chkalov Dr #122
Vancouver, WA 98683
Saturday, April 23rd, 10 AM – 6 PM
Vancouver Lake Regional Park – Event Site
Sunday, April 23rd, 6:30 AM – 10:30 AM
NOTE: Our events are sanctioned by USAT; you are required to pick up your own packets and be sure to BRING YOUR ID. No ID – NO PACKET, no exceptions. If you cannot make it to Packet Pickup, USAT is pioneering a program with us that allows you to have someone else pick up your package, but you must sign and print this form and send it with them and a copy of your ID. Race Packets will not be released without both forms, no exceptions. This is an insurance requirement helping to assure that athletes don’t give their Bib to someone else to race – an act that would be strictly prohibited for safety reasons. If you registered someone else online for an event, make sure they have signed their Liability Waiver before picking up their race packet. If you are unsure of the waiver, please complete this WHY RACING LIABILITY WAIVER and USAT WAIVER (for DUATHLON ONLY) and make sure to send it along with the authorization form & PHOTO ID. Race packets without a signed LIABILITY WAIVER will not be released, no exceptions.
Parents, please do not send a child under 18 in by themselves to register, as they will need a parent to sign the waiver.
LOCATION & PARKING: Race festivities & transition areas are located at Vancouver Lake Regional Park 6801 NW Lower River Road Vancouver, WA Note: Parking for Spring Classic athletes will be on the park’s west side.
Duathletes – Bike Transition opens at 9:00 AM. You must be in the park no later than 11:00 AM, as we will close the road for the event to local traffic only.
THIS IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION – Staff at the gate will pass out the parking passes to facilitate a quicker traffic flow. They will not be taking payments at the gate. If you don’t have a 2023 Clark County Regional Park Pass, please make sure to purchase your parking passes before heading to the event site. You have several options to do this:
- Upload the https://flowbirdapp.com/app/ and pay for your parking prior to arriving on-site the day of the event – prior to your start time.
- Add parking to your registration using the Spring Classic Event Store
- Pay via Shopify at any time, before or after your event:
- https://why-racing-events-inc.myshopify.com/products/parking-vancouver-lake-regional-park
START TIME & WHEN TO ARRIVE: There will be a line of cars getting into the park, please make sure to give yourselves enough time to park and get ready before your event start.
Runners: The Half Marathon starts at 7 AM, and the 5K/10K starts at 8 AM. We suggest runners/walkers arrive at Vancouver Lake Regional Park in enough time to get into the venue, park, and be ready for your start time. Pre-race announcements for the Half Marathon will begin at approximately 6:30 AM, 5K & 10K at approximately 7:45 AM.
Duathletes: The Duathlon starting times begin at 11 AM. Duathletes need to be in Vancouver Lake Regional Park before 11:10 – the road will be closed to traffic at that time. If you arrive after this time, you will need to walk into the park. For Duathletes, the transition area will be open at 10:00 AM. Duathletes – when you are warming up on your bike, please take a right onto NW Erwin O Reiger Memorial Hwy, and stay clear of any runners. This road will be closed heading South of the park for the duration of the event. Pre-race announcements for the Duathletes will begin at approximately 10:30 AM for the Duathletes. The Start Chute for Run Only/Run 1 of Duathlon will be marked – You will be directed to Start Chute.
Important Instructions for Parents: We love offering kids the opportunity to race the 5K for FREE. However, please have them start at the back unless you know your kids are on the cross-country team and will win the race. Kids are notorious for sprinting at the beginning and then stopping abruptly after a hundred feet posing a big safety risk for themselves and everyone behind them. Also, please make sure there is an adult on course with your children. Please don’t send your youngsters on course by themselves!
DUATHLETES – BEFORE ENTERING TRANSITION AREA: You must have your body marked and your bike sticker on your bike, no exceptions. Only registered athletes are allowed in the transition area. Please know that this rule is in place for the safety and security of your equipment.
*BODY MARKING: When you arrive, there will be volunteers to mark your body with a marker for safety reasons. This is mandatory for Duathletes and just for fun for runners (not necessary, but fun to see who is in your age group!)
You are encouraged to self-body mark before the event. Please make sure to follow the instructions below. Check out our instruction video on how to Body Mark – from last year’s PDX Triathlon – from our founder, Sherri McMillan – Body Marking 101
Left Calf – Your event will go on your Left Calf – that way, you can easily see if you are racing another athlete in the same category.
- “D” for Duathlon.
- “DR” for Duathlon Relay.
- “Half” for Half Marathon
- “10k” for 10k
- “5k” for 5k
Right Calf – Your age will go on your Right calf – that way, you can easily see from behind if that athlete is in your age group and whether you need to speed up! 😉
Both Arms – Your Bib # will go on both arms or One Arm and One Hand
TIMING CHIPS, BIBS & BIKE/HELMET STICKERS: All Runners will wear a Bib that includes a Disposable Chip. Duathletes, in your packet you will find your Bib with timing chip which must be visible and worn on your front during both runs and your bike, your Helmet Number (put on the front of your helmet), bike number (place on your bike before entering the transition to set up). At Packet Pickup, you will also receive your finishers’ shirt and a goody SWAG bag.
COURSES: We believe this is one of the prettiest courses in the Northwest! You’ll be running and biking along the mighty Columbia River and Vancouver Lake, along the majestic Pancake Flats – as we like to call them. All courses are flat and fast – perfect for a PR! If you would like to study the courses, please visit the following link, where you review both online maps and images. https://whyracingevents.com/springclassic/course-details/
Please be careful as you enter and exit the transition area that is located to the North of Vancouver Lake Park. The road will be closed at this point and this is not the park entrance, but always be vigilant for others when entering the roadway on your bike. There will be Police, flaggers, dedicated volunteers, and members of the Why Racing Events Crew on the course to help direct you and provide safety.
BIKE TROUBLE: Dialed Cycler is your bike mechanic will be available in the transition area to assist you with any bike issues. If you have a mechanical failure and are unable to fix it along the course, flag down a volunteer, motorcycle team, or event crew so they can help you get back to the finish line.
DUATHLON RULES OF THE ROAD AND THE RACE: Duathletes will be competing under the USAT Rules of Competition. You need to be familiar with these rules. Important rules include:
- No Drafting or blocking – you can’t ride right behind another cyclist or right beside another cyclist because it offers an unfair advantage. So if you come up to another cyclist, you must pass them in a timely manner and they must drop back and not draft off of you.
- You must wear a helmet and it must be strapped before you leave the transition area.
- ABSOLUTELY NO PERSONAL MUSIC DEVICES/IPODS/EARBUDS during the Bike course. Due to the safety risk, this is grounds for immediate disqualification.
- Do not ride your bike inside the transition area. Watch for the Mount and Dismount signs.
- Bike Course is closed, but local traffic is allowed, so be aware of your surroundings.
RULES FOR MUSIC ALONG THE RUNS: During any running segments, we prefer for athletes NOT to use music devices to maximize safety, assure a fair competitive environment and assure athletes can hear all course marshal instructions. With that said, we also understand that many athletes rely on music to help endure the challenge of running. To accommodate the needs of our athletes while still assuring maximum safety and a fair, competitive environment, here is the arrangement that we can accommodate. - If you choose to use a personal music device, you must always keep one ear open for instructions so only one earbud can be used at any time.
- If you are using a personal music device with two earbuds, you risk disqualification. Trust us, we don’t want to enforce a disqualification, but to assure the safety of all athletes, this is a very important rule.
- We also request that if you choose to use a personal music device, please keep the volume to a minimum to ensure all instructions can be heard.
WATER & ENERGY STOPS: Water Stations will be available at approximately every 1.5-2 miles with Electrolytes available also. We do strongly suggest you carry your own water. Water Stations will be limited to water, Gatorade, and PowerBar Gels and Shots. Duathletes, you will have to carry your own hydration and fuel on your bike during the bike courses.
BATHROOM FACILITIES: We’ve ordered Porta-potties for the start/finish, and for approximately Mile 3, 7 & 9 along the runs. Hopefully, the lines will be minimal plus you can use the restrooms located in Vancouver Lake Regional Park and Frenchman’s Bar.
DUATHLON RELAY TEAMS: Teams are a great way to bond with friends, family & co-workers in a fun and active way! After having your body marked, please place your gear and bike at the designated RELAY area in transition. Each Relay member will receive a timing chip to place around your left ankle. The Runner will wear the Running Bib. The Biker will place the Bike Stickers on their bike and helmet. After body marking, please place your gear and bike at the designated “Relay” area in the Transition. During the competition, the runner will complete their Run1 and then tag the cyclist in the relay zone who will un-rack their bike and walk/run through transition to mount their bike. Once they return from their ride, they will rack their bike and tag the runner, who can take off for the final running segment. Once your relay segment is complete, remove your timing strap and leave it in transition so you can freely walk around without it inadvertently affecting your team splits. We encourage all Relay Members to meet their runner at the finish line and run across together to collect your finishers’ medal as a team.
FINISH LINE: All Racers will finish in Vancouver Lake Regional Park, close to the start line. Just look for the black Why Racing arch as you approach the finish line. You’ll love that you’ll get a view of Mount Hood and Vancouver Lake as you receive your beautiful Spring Classic medal. Once you finish, we will have volunteers direct you through the finish line area towards the Post-event festivities, Expo, and Awards Party. For you Run Only participants, you will have a closed road leaving Vancouver Lake Park after 11 AM, so if you want to stay and watch the Duathlon, please feel free to do that, but you can’t leave the park until the end of the Duathlon.
CHANGE OF CLOTHES: Please be sure to bring a change of clothes so you can get out of your racing gear and enjoy the post-event festivities. It will make all the fun activities so much better if you aren’t sitting around in cold, wet clothes.
SHIRT SWAP: We hope you like your Spring Classic commemorative T-shirt and will wear it proudly as a reminder of your accomplishment. If the size of the shirt you ordered does not fit, we will be hosting a ‘Shirt Swap” after the event in the Information/Packet Pickup area. We cannot guarantee you will be able to swap since it will depend on leftover shirts, but we will do our best to accommodate your request.
GEAR CHECK: Duathletes can leave their personal items within the transition area. We will not have a gear-check available for runners; please make sure to keep all your valuables in your vehicles.
LOST & FOUND: Any unmarked equipment will be returned to the stage during the event. After the event, we will take it to the Why Racing office; please contact us to locate it. Please come to the event with all personal belongings well marked with your name.
RESULTS:
- LIVE EVENT – Cascadia Sports Timing will be timing the LIVE event. Results will be posted online post-event at https://whyracingevents.com/springclassic/results-photos/. Please review your results before leaving the event site. If you notice an error, please alert the Cascadia Timing van immediately (located at the FINISH LINE) – sometimes people change race distances and don’t let us know, which negatively affects results, or sometimes there is a timing chip malfunction. If we can be alerted to these errors before the Awards Ceremony, it helps a ton! Cascadia Sports Timing also offers a complimentary custom finisher certificate linked to each result and specific to the event. Athletes can view and print their certificates at home or share them electronically from anywhere by email or social media. Great reminder of your accomplishment!
- VIRTUAL EVENT – Results will be available for posting starting April 17th through April 24th at midnight. Please post your results for the virtual events here: https://whyracingevents.com/springclassic/results-photos/
AWARDS/PRIZES: Awards will be presented to the Overall Top 3 Male & Female champions, Overall Masters Male & Female, Top 3 in each age group, Top 3 Clydesdale, Top 3 Athena & Top 3 Relay teams. Stick around after your event; the Awards Ceremony will commence at the conclusion of each event once we have enough finishers to announce. You can check your results here: https://whyracingevents.com/springclassic/results-photos/
SPECTATORS: The best approach for your family, friends, and cheerleaders is to park either at Vancouver Lake Regional Park or Frenchman’s Bar. They can take a short walk to the pathway and see the Half Marathon & 10K athletes. The 5K athletes will run North and can only be seen from the event venue space. Duathlete spectators can see your athlete on course throughout Vancouver and Frenchman’s Bar path.
FREE PHOTOS: Race photographers will be on-site to capture your event performance. Be sure that your bib number and bike/helmet stickers are visible so your photos can be matched to your race number. Watch for the cameras en route and give us a big, cheesy smile, a thumbs up or a goofy jump – those are always the most fun! Once photos are available, they will be emailed to you and posted here, and you will be able to download them for FREE, courtesy of IQ Credit Union. Be sure to use #WHYracing and #SPRINGCLASSIC so we can add them to our album and you can be entered in for prizes.
Please take pics and videos of your race festivities and upload them so they can be included in the event Video and Photo Album.
https://whyracingevents.com/springclassic/results-photos/
WHY RACING MULTI-SPORT EVENT SERIES: We created an annual Why Racing Event series in order to acknowledge both speed AND the ability to endure within the sports of Triathlon & Duathlon locally. Winning one race or your age group is extremely impressive but can you sustain that type of performance throughout the entire season? Matt LeGrand, a local computer programming expert, who also happens to be a triathlete, designed a program that is based on a point system that is easy to understand and functions to acknowledge both overall and age group competition. Matt will strive to have the race series points posted to our website within a week after each race. This is your first chance to earn points for the series!
SPORTS & FITNESS EXPO: Expo’s are back! Join us before or after your race and visit all of our local vendors. Vendors at the 2022 Spring Classic include; Renewal by Anderson, Kona Ice, KMB Body Works, Bluum Coffe, Las Chicas Carnitas, Kahuna Kombucha, Avacan and Therapedia.
SPONSORS & PARTNERS: There is absolutely no way we could have pulled this event together without our sponsors’ support. So please check out their displays, sample products, learn about these great companies, and join us in thanking…
PeaceHealth * IQ Credit Union * Foot Traffic
*McCord’s Vancouver Toyota
Northwest Personal Training* Visit Central Oregon* Corwin
XTERRA * PowerBar Sport
Frank Goulard *Crux Fermentation Project* NOMO* Why Bar* Dr. Jared Boyer*ZYM* Dialed Cycle* Reed Creative* Why Community
CDM Caregiving
Ainsley's Angels
The best way to thank these companies is to do business with them because you appreciate the support they give to athletes like YOU and all the schools and clubs which will benefit from the event.
BENEFICIARIES: CDM Caregiving Services and Ainlsey's Angels are our partner beneficiaries for Spring Classic. CDM Caregiving Services is Clark County’s oldest and largest provider of in-home care to the elderly and people of all ages with disabilities. Ainsley's Angels of America aims to build awareness about America's special needs community through inclusion in all aspects of life. Why Racing Events Inc., is proud to support High School Sports programs and various local non-profits. As a result of your participation in these events, we have exceeded $3,000,000 in donations and funds raised for various local clubs, teams, and non-profits. Some of the sports programs we support rely completely on our donations for their yearly funding. We want to thank all of you for participating in this event allowing us the opportunity to extend this support to high school athletes.
VOLUNTEERS: If you have family or friends who are coming to support you, ask them if they’d like to volunteer and get front row seats to all the action. They can email marla@whyracingevents.com if they are willing to help out. If you recruit a volunteer for us, you can earn a $20-$25 race credit towards a future race! Remember, there’s no way we could put on this event without the help and support of our volunteer team, so please be extra nice to our course marshals, aid station helpers, body markers, and anyone helping out, including our Flaggers, Police Officers, and Motorcycle Safety team. Thank them as often as possible because we want them to all come back next year! ☺
FACEBOOK: Can we be friends?! If you haven’t yet, please like our Why Racing Events Facebook pages for all event updates, tips, and inspiration.
https://www.facebook.com/WhyRacingEvents
Also, please follow us on Instagram @why_racing_events where YOU, our athletes, are often our supermodels!
REMEMBER YOUR WHY: You are all racing for different reasons. Some of you are super competitive and are racing to win overall or in your age group or division. Some of you will just be ecstatic to cross the finish. Some of you are racing to reach for your personal best or to get into great shape. Some of you race to be able to eat whatever you want. Some of you do it for energy, to help you look and feel better, some do it for fun or to meet new people. Some of you do it so you can have a beer or a glass of wine. Regardless of your WHY, let us congratulate you on pushing your limits, and by doing so remember that you will inspire so many others! One of the best things you can do immediately to help support running, multi-sport, and your fellow athletes of all ages, fitness levels, shapes, sizes, and abilities, is to offer lots of support and praise to each other on race day. As you pass someone, tell them how great they’re doing! And as you’re getting passed, tell them how strong they look. Cheer each other on, it makes the time pass by quickly and empowers you and everyone else on the course! Have fun, be safe and enjoy the entire experience! You’re already a winner just by showing up!
Last, I’d like to give a big shout-out to our team at Why Racing Events for working so hard as a team to pull this event off! I feel so honored to work with a team that is so passionate about helping others get to the finish line and giving back to our community.
See you at the starting line!
Karissa & Rod Schoene and your Why Racing Events Crew
P.S. IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR OUR ROOKIES: You probably have a lot of questions! We pulled together some tips that you can access here to help you know what to bring, how to set up your transition, nutrition tips, and other important race day info. Take your time reviewing it to help assure a fabulous race day experience!
