A major figure in triathlon's history passed away last night. Bill Fulton, the producer of the L.A. Tri Series held at Bonelli Park in San Dimas, California, has died at the age of 93.
Virtually every top West Coast triathlete raced the L.A. Tri Series at some point, and during the 1980s the L.A. Tri Series was unavoidable. Bill Fulton's races were a fixture, as 1980s triathletes traveled a Deadhead tour that included Bakersfield and Wildflower Triathlons, Bass Lake, San Diego International, Del Mar Days, Carlsbad along with the U.S. Triathlon Series in Los Angeles and North San Diego County.
“Bill was a corporate executive,” recalls Mark Montgomery, pictured with Bill Fulton just below. “He had a heart attack, gave up the corporate world, started running, ran some marathons, and running became his passion.”
To fulfill his passion Bill Fulton opened The Complete Runner, a retail store in West Covina.
The young sport of triathlon was was gaining momentum in 1982, and through mutual friends then-pro-triathlete Montgomery and Fulton met. “We hit it off right away,” recalls Montgomery, “and I went to work on building him a course at [Bonelli] Park. I suggested producing a series of races we would call the L.A. Championship Series Triathlons.”
The first of these races took place in 1983, and they continue today under the guidance of one of Fulton's daughters.
It was always a family affair, and the entire Fulton family – wife Joan, along with his son and daughters – produced each event. Son Chip Fulton was the timer, and Bill Fulton laughed at the oft-told joke that his race series debuted Chip timing.
There is no Southern California triathlete racing in the 1980s who did not depend on Fulton's series. “If you are a triathlete who raced in the 1980's, or are from Southern California, chances are you have done more than one of the over 150 races they put on at Bonelli Park,” wrote Emilio De Soto upon hearing of Fulton's passing. “His race series put my name on the map in my early days as a pro. Bill and his family welcomed me into their homes when they learned I slept in my truck in the Bonelli parking lot; I was too broke to afford a hotel.”
De Soto (pictured with Fulton below) says he never paid an entry into any of his 75 races at Bonelli Park and in return De Soto's apparel and wetsuit company has sponsored the Los Angeles Triathlon Series for many years.
De Soto's comments echo mine. When I started Quintana Roo in 1987 Bill Fulton's races are where the triathlon wetsuit debuted. In the first of his trio of L.A. Tri Series events in 1987 almost no one wore a QR wetsuit. By the third race, a couple of months later, almost the entire pro field and a large number of amateurs were in wetsuits. I drove an old orange Dodge van to these races and, like De Soto, I'd sleep in the van overnight and sell wetsuits at the races before the start and after the finish.
The Catalina Island Triathlon started as a Bill Fulton race, which was annually the race I most looked forward to although I never raced it, rather always attending as a spectator. To this day I have never had more fun than every year at that Bill Fulton race.
Amazingly, considering his long and impactful career producing triathlons, Bill Fulton did not produce his first event until age-60.
Bill Fulton served in the European theater in World War II, as a combat MP in Patton's 3rd Army. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He married Joan in 1946 and they were married until she passed in 2011.
Bill Fulton leaves behind two daughters, Anne and Carolyn, and son Chip; 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.
