Scott Swanson
Blair Bronson had big hopes for this year’s Best In the West triathlon series, which is celebrating its 10th year in Sweet Home this weekend.
“We were hoping for our biggest and best yet, with close to 1,500 athletes, which would make it the largest multisport event in the state,” said Bronson, who founded the triathlon event as a project when he was a student at Oregon State University. He now directs the event with his wife Stacy, who just finished her Ph.D. and is an anatomy and physiology professor at OSU.
With the entrance of COVID-19, things have changed, and Bronson is thankful to be able to offer a much-reduced version this weekend at Lewis Creek Park.
“We’ll be about the same as Year 1,” he said. Due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions the event will be capped at 200 athletes per day, and 50 volunteers. Bronson said most of the competitors will likely be local, instead of streaming into Sweet Home from all over – 17 states last year.
Nearly all the normal events will be offered, with the exception of the mixed-team relay, the Beer Mile, and the Splash and Dash event for triathlon rookies. Courses have been changed this year to minimize impacts on neighbors and traffic, Bronson said. Starts will be time-trial style, with intervals of approximately 30 seconds between competitors.
The county has given the triathlon series a green light for a reduced field, he said.
“It was a late approval,” Bronson said. “We put a plan together not totally thinking things would happen. We figured we’d go through the motions but the county and the Parks Department were supportive of it.
“This will be a pretty quick turnaround with minimal volunteers.”
Volunteers are needed, he said. Anyone interested in volunteering for one or both days can sign up at http://www.bestinthewest triathlon.com/volunteer.html.
Spectators will not get the normal proximity to the action, as the change-over area in the center of the park will be closed to all except competitors and volunteers. However, Bronson said, as competitors begin arriving at the finish line, spectators will be allowed to get close enough to cheer on their finisher.
“The park is still open to the public,” he said. “Spectators will just not be able to get quite as close as they are usually able to.”
Organizers have also changed some things to reduce impacts on Lewis Creek Park, which has seen an increase in traffic this summer, as the coronavirus has reduced recreation and entertainment opportunities. On hot summer days the lineup of overflow parking has extended as far as half a mile from the park entrance.
“We’re going to try to maintain access (for park visitors),” Bronson said, noting that North River Drive is normally shut down from Quartzville Road to Foster Dam on Saturday and Sunday mornings to ease traffic congestion as competitors ride and run on that stretch. The closure this year will be only on Sunday morning, for the Sprint Triathlon, from the park to the dam, and all the races will start at 6:45 a.m., as soon after sunup as possible, to clear the area as soon as possible for the general public. Also, the usual shuttle service from Sunnyside Park will not be offered and some parking spaces will be reserved for general park visitors.
“There are a lot of tweaks and changes we couldn’t do with a normal event,” he said. “Just to be on the safe side, our goal is not only to meet but exceed all of the regulations and guidelines put in place.”