Tulsa Area Triathletes Tulsa Tri 2021

We appreciate your patience as we work through race planning. As Governor Stitt announced re-opening our state we were hopeful that Tulsa Triathlon 2020 could race as scheduled. Unfortunately, we have no alternative but to postpone Tulsa Triathlon to June of 2021 because there is too much uncertainty surrounding athlete, volunteer, staff and supporter safety at the event.

Many factors went into this decision. Personal safety and comfort, lack of clarity regarding mass gathering restrictions, and newly issued USA Triathlon COVID-19 race guidelines weighed heavily in our decision-making process.

Race volunteers, including medical staff, are a critical element to race success. Tulsa Triathlon requires over 75 race volunteers. We reached out to several of our regular volunteers and learned that many feel understandable hesitation volunteering at this time. Additionally, medical volunteers couldn’t be certain of their availability.

Rescheduling to late summer or fall was considered however this is not an option due to uncertainty related to ongoing mass gathering/event restrictions, scheduling conflicts and weather challenges.

All registered participants will be deferred to Tulsa Tri 2021 race. If you would like to transfer your registration to TAT Chris Brown Tulsa DU in August 2020 please email barbara@runnersworldtulsa.com. If you would like to transfer your registration to another person for 2021 please email barbara@runnersworldtulsa.com with the contact information for the person you are transferring your registration to for 2021 race.

COVID-19 guidelines from USA Triathlon, the governing and sanctioning body of our events, make it effectively impossible to conduct a safe, fun race and fully comply with these guidelines. Some of the key USAT COVID-19 guidelines are:

• Transition (we have over 350 racers)
  • Consider spacing bikes a minimum of 3 – 4 feet between bikes per rack
  • More racks and less people per rack
  • Spread bike racks apart from one another rather than right next to each other
• Bike Course
  • Provide the best possible athlete distribution on the bike course to support physical distancing
  • Under any racing format, encourage athletes to wear face coverings if possible
  • Minimize pinch points of the course where cyclists are forced to ride close to each other because of road conditions or other obstacles
• Run Course
  • Encourage athletes to wear face coverings
  • Minimize pinch points on the course that cause athletes to naturally run closer to each other
  • Consider a looped course vs. out and back
  • The athletes are recommended to avoid running directly behind another athlete at a distance less than 13 feet. If the distance is less, it is recommended to be either at a 45-degree angle or alongside the other athlete and avoid facing each other
• Volunteer staffing
  • All aid station volunteers should have on gloves and face coverings
  • Volunteers should be permanently grouped into a group that only pours cups and a group that only hands cups out. If a volunteer handing out cups comes in contact with an athlete, we do not want to cross contaminate with the pouring station
  • If a volunteer comes in contact with an athlete, they should replace their gloves and use wipes to wipe the area of the body that was touched.

We’re working to ensure that our 2021 TAT Race Series is worth the wait. In the meantime, we hope to see you having fun and training for the Chris Brown Tulsa Duathlon scheduled for August 23rd, 2020.

Thank you for understanding during this unprecedented time,
Barbara