Registration

August 20, 2007 in Registration

So when a competitor told me that I would have to sign up early in order to ensure a spot in teh 2008 Lake Placid Ironman, I took it to heart. 7:30 AM on July 23rd found me sitting in front of my computer, ready for the Ironman site to upload instructions on how to register. I had been under the impression that things would get rolling around 8 am, but unfortunately, nothing was posted until 10, which meant that I spent two hours frantically emailing anyone I could think of, worrying that my dream was slipping away from me by the minute. Finally, at 10, they posted that the site would go live at 1 am EST. I breathed a sigh of relief, and settle down for a few hours of reading the news, chatting to friends, and watching every single video on YouTube posted by Ironman Triathlon.

At 1 pm, I checked back on the registration site, but I could find nothing that was going on. I checked back three minutes later – nothing. “Well, that’s okay, because as soon as it comes up, I’ll know about it,” I thought. Finally, when I checked the site at 1:27 pm, I saw a link to the registration. Clicking furiously, I awaited the regisraation screen, but instead only saw “busy… please reload” screen. I hastily hit back and tried again. Nothing. Again. Nothing. Back-click-back-click-back-click. And then, curiously, the page said “The registration for Lake Placid Ironman 2008 has sold out.”

I read the words, but hit back again and attempted to reload. It was like that part in the movie when the guy gets shot, but he keeps going forward because he’s so resolute in his goal. Again, I thought. If I simply keep trying, I will get through. But I didn’t, and the red letters didn’t go away: “Sold Out” stared back at me from my monitor. I slumped back in my chair, utterly lifeless. Hadn’t I been sitting there for six hours? Hadn’t I been planning on doing this Ironman for months and months? How could I not have gotten a spot? I was utterly dumbfounded.

Being the kind of person I am, I resolved that nothing was going to stop me from getting a spot in this race. I emailed the race directors, I called the race directors, I emailed the TriLife coaches, emailed other race participants, called the coaches; I left no stone unturned. Ross Galitzky, the head coach of TriLife, which is the team on which I had been pursuing a spot for several months, took my call and offered to see if any TriLife members could pick up another spot for me. This did not end up happening. As he described it, the only spots left available, which I had indeed already seen but dismissed as too expensive, were the Community Fund spots, which go for $1000. Why so expensive? The Ironman Corporation has a monopoly on Ironman-branded events, and due to increasing international demand to participate in these races, can charge whatever they like. I told him that I was already scheming on how to raise the money.

I had a dream the Community Fund spots became available the night before they did. Upon arising from bed, I found that yes, the CF spots were available. I immediately printed out the application, filled it out, and cut two checks from my savings for a total of $1000, and headed to the FedEx office. I had discovered by this time that due to huge demand for on-site registration, there had only been 800 spots available online, and these had sold out in three minutes. Knowing that regular mail would not reach the Colorado Ironman office soon enough, I asked the FedEx representative how much same day delivery would be for my application. “Oh, like a hundred bucks,” he said, and I laughed. I opted for next day morning. After all, what was the point if going to all this hassle if I didn’t even get my registration in? That, and given how badly I wanted to race, the $25 dollars for postage was well worth it.

Later that day, the CF site posted that eleven of the 150 spots had been filled. The next day, I checked the Ironman website to see how many CF spots were left – there were precisely zero. I hoped that my overnight postage had paid off.

A week later, I received confirmation from the Ironman folks saying that my application had been processed. I was in! I emailed Ross to let him know that I had gotten in, to which he replied: “I think you will find training with TriLife to be less of a struggle.” One can only hope…