I don’t know how new Challenge Family races happen, only that when one is announced it’s usually in a place I’d like to visit. Galway, Iceland, Mallorca, Sardinia, Rimini, Venice.
Most successful large races require an assist from the venue, either financial or, in the case of Xtreme Triathlons always and Challenge Family usually, the “assist" is the venue’s physical beauty.
Let’s talk about this first-year race in Aruba. It will take place this upcoming October 23, 2016. It’s a half-distance, as noted. It’s an island surrounded by green, clear water, but its climate is arid. From the walk out of the airport up to the start of the race, and through to the finish, racing in Aruba will feel a bit like racing in Los Cabos, the Canary Islands (without the hills), and even a bit like Kona.
Aruba is well known, but it’s not a large island. For comparison’s sake, Cozumel is about 250 square miles, and Aruba is just 70 square miles. This means laps, 4 laps of the bike course, and 3 of the run course to make a total of a half-distance race. If this race eventually becomes a 2000-person success story, 4 laps will create some congestion. They’ll cross that bridge when they come to it.
There is an accompanying sprint race, and it’s a 750 meter swim, and one lap each of the 22.5km bike course and 7km run course.
Aruba is part of the Dutch Caribbean, and this makes Aruba not like any of those other arid islands. My wife and I were in the Dutch Caribbean a few months ago, visiting her relatives on Curacao, next door to Aruba. We stayed at Lion’s Dive, the resort where the late and beloved Doug Stern used to hold his swim camps so popular with triathletes. There is a 50 meter pool at Lion’s Dive named after Doug, and I split a lane in a workout with a fast local lady who I learned afterward is the reigning 40-44 World 70.3 Champion (Curacao’s Marlies Kort).
Last month while I was busy visiting you all around the country (at Slowtwitch Road Shows) my wife escaped for another Netherlands Antilles fix. We like it down there.
These islands smoosh together the structured and driven Northern European culture and ethic with a style and gift for living that comes to residents whose families have spent generations perfecting. The people on these islands are tall and handsome, a mixture of black African, indigenous Arawak, Venezuelan and Dutch ancestry. There are more than 90 nationalities represented in Aruba though the entire island’s population is only about 100,000. Aruba has one of the highest standards of living in the Americas.
My first concern when I heard of this race were hurricanes, as in my 35 years of triathlon I’ve seen important races canceled from Shreveport to Boca Raton. But upon investigation Aruba is outside of Hurricane Alley, and takes place at the tail end of the hurricane season.
I don’t know how this event knew to choose Tim DeBoom and Marc Herremans as their North American and European ambassadors respectively. They could not have made more appropriate choices. Tim became a bucket-list racer, just like you and me, after his Ironman career. He raced and won Norseman. Tim's ambassadorship is worth more than many other high-profile athletes because he’s not just in it for the paycheck. He appreciates the aesthetic of triathlon.
I have not found a triathlete more worthy of emulation than Marc Herremans in my 35 years as a triathlete. Here is his Wikipedia page for those interested in reading about an extraordinary life. I’ve swiped the above photo off of Tim DeBoom’s Instagram page (I hope that's okay, Tim). Tim took this when he was in Aruba.
The folks who’re producing this race knew where to go to tap into the triathlon culture vein. Bob Babbitt was down there recently to see the venue himself, and here’s a Breakfast video from Aruba:
As I poked around this race people of influence, whom I respect, like Bob, like Michael O’Neill of Lobsterman and the Boston Triathlon in the Northeast, keep popping up as boosters of this race.
The organizers of this Challenge Aruba want to place a special focus on clubs. The organization will talk to clubs, club-by-club, asking how best to serve as a club's social season-ending experience, both for club members and their families. I’m not sure all what they have in mind, but it sounds interesting to me and we will help in their club outreach.
More about Challenge Aruba for those interested.
