This past weekend 1208 athletes jumped from the near Cape May, NJ to challenge themselves in the Escape The Cape triathlon and we surely noticed.

Typically the What We Have Noticed feature is filled with a variety of items, but on occasion a product or event requires or deserves focused singular attention - and that is the case with the Escape The Cape.

This triathlon is in its second year and sold out all 1,500 spots, but race director Stephen Del Monte, who is also one of the race directors for Challenge Atlantic City, offered a few words of important advice a week before the race to ensure that folks who had registered would indeed be ready to take that plunge of the ferry. After all 35% who had registered were first timers. Del Monte also allowed athletes who weren't ready to defer. No charge.

There are only a few races where you get to jump of a boat to start your triathlon day. Among them are the legendary Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon and Norseman in Norway. A big problem for athletes is that a start like this can't really be practiced and it requires athletes who participate to be very confident in the water.

We often call events like these bucket list races, but all 3 races we mentioned here do indeed require great fitness and skills and confidence in the water. Are you ready to take that kind of plunge?

On the race website athletes were given the following advice "If you feel that you cannot jump, we will have the services of Dr. Mitchell Greene, sports psychologist, to assist. If you still do not want to jump, don’t. We will gladly take you into dock where you may complete the bike and run and receive a finisher medal."

It appears that a couple hundred athletes decided they were not ready and stayed away, but over 1,200 had the experience of a lifetime after they time trial started their race.

Boats and surfboards are lined up so swimmer have a channel of sorts that guides them to the shore. And man, that distance does seem far.