Participants in the Beach to the Battleship Ironman Triathlon swam, biked and ran all over the Wilmington area Saturday.
For drivers, getting around was not as easy.
With 1,000 athletes participating in the YMCA's largest event and more than 900 volunteers, roads were blocked off throughout our area, creating gridlock for motorists.
The YMCA’s Executive Director, Dick Jones, said next year the community will be better prepared for the Ironman event. “Running from literally 7:00 a.m. until midnight, that's a long day. Most of the events that we see are three or four hours in duration, so certainly some additional advance communications,” he said.
Jones said the YMCA has already looked into increasing the number of water taxis used during next years event to keep more cars off the road.
Despite the traffic, a spokesperson for the Wilmington Police Department said the event was a big success.
The traffic is all backed up
The traffic is all backed up when we have all these festivals here in Wilmington and no one complains about that. Well maybe they do but not to this extent. Could it be because they are happy that they just finshed their fried and greasy elephant ear? How about when the azalea queen is carted all over the city and law enforcement has to block intersections for her. And not to mention the crappy parades the city puts on. Atleast this event raised money for a good cause and it was an athletic event instead of a feast of junk food.
This story is now "Water
This story is now "Water under the Bridge"...both of them.
From what I've read in comments, the "No" has it opposed to the "Yes".
What I saw was a city with a poorly laid out road system that can not handle an event such as this when you close 1 lane on the only 2 means of getting West of Wilmington without driving way up 421 to cut over.
Maybe someone will learn from their mistakes over this...but for now...it's a dead story until an official comes forth with a better plan, and we know how Wilmington officials handle "better plans" :-(
These events are good for charities and especially the participants that make them so.
Thanks to all of them for their support. Next time their route should be different though to keep the peace :-)
first time never goes smoothly
I think the event was fantastic. It did wonderful things for the economy, for those who participated, and for our community as a whole with the money raised going to a charitable organization.
Yes - traffic was a mess. I was stuck in it as well, I grumbled, and I wished things had been better organized. But you can't expect for the planners to get everything right the first time they do something this huge.
Lessons will be learned, and I have no doubt it will be better next year. And I look forward to having all of the athletes back, and hopefully they will bring more people with them.
The race did not cause a
The race did not cause a problem in the rural area of Pender County (I was a bit worried that it was through hunting land during hunting season). The bridges were another story. Any time that the wind blows, the traffic backs up around the bridges. That area should be avoided for any event. I do have one question. Who/when will the trash be cleaned up? The water bottles that were left by the road along the route are still there.
I think I figured out why WWAY is so heavy on the traffic jam
side of this story. Ann McAdams just said that she was stuck in traffic for 45 minutes because of this race. There you go folks, as Mark Twain said...never pick a fight with people who buy ink by the barrel.
Race in Wilmington
All of this negativity about the Beach to Battleship race is ABSURD!!! Do you folks complaining about the traffic jams on Saturday ever read the local newspaper or better yet watch the local news that comes on at 5, 5:30, 6:00, 10:00, and 11:00, or for you technically gifted folks, the internet which is available 24/7. Because if you had, then you would have known the race was going on and that the traffic patterns were going to be changed and delayed. I would suspect that you did in fact know that the traffic was going to be heavy and congested but felt that somehow it would not apply to you. Well.....you were WRONG!!!! The folks at Setup Events did an outstanding job of giving advance notice about the traffic issue. It was on the news multiple times, in the paper and plastered on the internet. They even gave you the information for the Beach 2 Battleship website for even more information. What else do you want? As for the taxes people claim were wasted, the police were paid by Setup Events as contract workers. You paid nothing. People coming here from out of county and state did not just ride their bikes, they drove and paid NC taxes for the gas they consumed. They had the same right as you to be on the road on their bikes. The people who did the full distance race paid well ove $200 to enetr and there were about 500 of them. The people who did the half distance race paid about $150 and there were 500 of them. This doesn't count the tens of thousands of dollars that people spent on local goods and services which benefits all of us, complainers and naysayers included. Be happy that our area was able to host such a wonderful money making event, especially in this economic slump our country is in. I look forward to this becomming an annual race and you should too. Great job Setup. Media, great job in doing what it is you day everyday....creating negativity and always finding the bad in everything that happens.
When traffic gets tied up
When traffic gets tied up like this, much support is lost for the event in future years. Why can't these morons find a place where they won't interfere with the normal flow of traffic? Why not go to the airport and run, ride bikes and do whatever you want without causing so many problems for everyone? It is not fair to tie up traffic for hours for those who pay hight taxes on gas (think of all that was wasted with engines idling and going nowhere).
It was in the papers and on
It was in the papers and on the news days before the event took place...it's wasn't a spur of the moment thing. Pay attention to whats going on around you and you would not have got caught up in the traffic. There were ways to get around the traffic jam. If you got caught in it, it was your own fault
Please
Please, show me a 140mile course at the airport and I'm sure all the elite athletes would live to run, bike and swim around the huge, loud airplanes.
What a dumb response.
"Please, show me a 140mile
"Please, show me a 140mile course at the airport and I'm sure all the elite athletes would live to run, bike and swim around the huge, loud airplanes. What a dumb response."
Let them run around in circles and be the ones inconvenienced, not the general public trying to get from one place to another. At least they wouldn't be ruining everyone's day keeping them tied up in traffic for hours. If you can't figure this one out, you're for sure the dumb one.
Tracks
Show me a NASCAR track that's 500 miles long.
NASCAR is boring. Triathlons
NASCAR is boring. Triathlons are not.
Triathlon Results
Since there were many from the Asheville area in this race, where does one find the results? Perhaps there are so many participants that a listing is not published.
Triathlon Results
Go to this link and click on the Results:
http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=event_detail&eventID=848
There was also a half-iron distance race:
http://www.setupevents.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=event_detail&eventID=849
You know...
You know, if all of the people here who are complaining about being stuck in traffic ever got of their lazy butts and did some exercise themselves, you'd understand how much work and effort people put into events like this.
The people running/biking on the roads pay the exact same taxes you do, so what makes you holier than thou in this occasion? Nothing.
Wilmington should be embracing world-renowned events such as ironman triathlons, they are few and far between. Instead, we get lazy, whiny people complaining because they couldn't get to McDonalds before they stopped serving breakfast.
Sorry for the rant, but between people complaining about triathlons, bicyclists, etc, its really getting old.
Oh and newsflash for everyone, there's another race this week, so go ahead and mark it on your calendar. Sunday at 8am is the Battleship Half Marathon/5k. Please don't hit me with your car, as I'll be participating.
"You know, if all of the
"You know, if all of the people here who are complaining about being stuck in traffic ever got of their lazy butts and did some exercise themselves, you'd understand how much work and effort people put into events like this."
Laying all jokes aside...we went through this cluster with a few words said under my breath trying to get to the west side of the river. As for the lazy butt remark...think about emergency vehicles trying to plow through.
Do this better next time or they could have a real potential mess on their hands.
Taxes
If they pay the same taxes, where are the tags at on their bikes? How much did they have to pay to DMV to register their bike? Also, are their bikes inspected by the State at a charge of over $39.00 per year? There are not any fees paid to ride a bike on the highway.
Taxes?
How did they get their bikes to the race site? Probably on/in the back of a car, on which they paid the same DMV and inspection fees and highway use tax as you did on yours. They pay those fees whether they drive their car or not. They didn't pay gas tax to cover the 112 miles that they rode their bike, but bikes don't tear up the road like cars and trucks do.
OK, so there were a bunch of people that came in from out of state. You might know that if WWAY bothered to cover the event. A station that did bother to cover it wrote this:
The Beach 2 Battleship brought people in from more than 30 states and nine countries and all those people brought the green stuff the Port City. Organizers estimate the triathlon will bring in $2.5 million to the area.
"We heard earlier this week that participants started arriving in Wilmington on Tuesday and will be here through Sunday so you can see what they are going to do for the economy in terms of the hotels local restaurants and other tourist attractions," said CEO Dick Jones of Wilmington Family YMCA.
Wilmington Family YMCA organized the triathlon events, and 100 percent of the net proceeds from Beach 2 Battleship will benefit the YMCA's "We Build People" campaign.
There can't possibly be any tax revenue in that, eh?
Whoever decided to close the
Whoever decided to close the bridge is a MORON. We sat in traffic for two hours with a child with asthma. I thought we were going to have to go to the hospital. We live in another county and come to Wilmington to shop such. We'll be going elsewhere from now on. Not that it matters, but it was unexcuseable to sit in traffic for TWO hours for a stupid marathon. And we wasted gas as well.
This was the poorest planning I've ever seen.
You're kidding right??
If your child was having problems with his/her asthma then you should have had his/her inhaler handy. Better yet, if your child was having that much trouble with his/her asthma that you were concerned you were going to have to go the hospital what in the world were you going shopping for that couldn't wait? You could also have turned around and headed home to where you should have access to a nebulizer machine that could help to improve your child's symptoms. There were many options you have when it comes to asthma. Sounds to me like you are the 'victim' of poor planning and selfishness.
And, yes, I have a child with asthma. And yes sometimes we are unprepared because asthma is such an unpredictable condition but at the same time I am not going to blame the city, sponsors, or participants of the triathlon for my poor planning or the unpredictability.
A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on theirs!
and by the way, asthma
and by the way, asthma sometimes sneaks up on them. He's been symptom free for months. Until we were stuck in traffic breathing pollution from hours of cars backed up. AT least the runners on the bridge had fresh air.
Your child must have different symptoms. The ihaler is for emergencies but the meds in his nebulizer work a little differently. I'll keep him out of Wilmington from now on though. No worries!! :o)
And I'm a wonderful parent. I don't need you to try to tell me I'm not.
I guess you didn't read my
I guess you didn't read my REPLY at the bottom before you spouted off.
And if it's ANY of your business, we were shopping for his school uniforms. Now my asthmatic child can't go shopping either? Wow. Keep it up Wilmington. Keep it up.
other replies.......
Your other replies hadn't been posted before I posted mine; however, when you noticed he was beginning to have a problem then you should have turned around. Why is it that whenever someone is inconvenienced, it is someone else's fault?? This race has been publicized very well in the media and the paper.
And I know the difference between an inhaler and a nebulizer and their uses. I'm sorry your child had such a problem that day but you acted as if the world should stop on a dime because you weren't prepared or didn't want to spend YOUR gas to turn around and go home. I understand gas prices are high but what is more important? The gas or the child??
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING
WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??????????
We were on our way HOME, out of Wilmington, but could NOT get across the bridge. We were stuck there, in traffic, for two hours. How could I turn around and go home when I was trying to GET home? You are attacking me for something that you and you have no idea what you are talking about. We had already run our errands. We were just trying to go home. He didn't have problems until about an hour INTO the wait. Then, we were STUCK.
Thanks for being a JERK.
I am not an idiot. I did not try to get INTO Wilmington with my baby having problems. You need to get the facts before spewing a bunch of garbage. The event was poorly planned. I don't care WHAT you say.
I don't expect the world to stop for my family, but I also don't expect a bridge to be like this one was for HOURS for a stupid race. There are other options. And to use BOTH bridges makes no sense to me. There were people in far worse condition than we were though.
Thanks for your arrogance.
Whoever decided to close
What is unexcuseable is you using your child to try and get sympathy. If you were not prepared to take care of your child in a traffic, you have the poorest parenting skills and planning I have ever seen. Delays can happen anytime. By the way, the bridge was not closed, there was one lane open in each direction. Quit whinning
Poor planning?
The planning of the race was fine. To the best of my knowledge, no competitors, volunteers, officials, OR civilians were injured as a result of interactions with traffic... in spite of the best efforts of some of Wilmington's "skillful" motorists.
On the other hand, Guest545 chose to travel to Wilmington on the day of an event that was expected to cause traffic delays. Guest545 chose to travel with his/her asthmatic child, but chose NOT to have the kid's inhaler handy. And who knows, maybe Guest545 could have prevented his/her child from having an attack by keeping a cool head in traffic, rather than agitating the poor child. THAT is the worst planning I have ever seen. I'll let you decide who is the moron.
I had the inhaler. He needed
I had the inhaler. He needed his nebulizer MACHINE which was at home. Totally different medicine. Speak of what you know. So I can't plan an outing with my child now because IDIOTS tie up the bridge and we can't make a schedule?
Tell the other hundreds of people stuck in traffic that I'm the moron. Yes. I wasted all sorts of time, gas and such for a stupid race. I'm the moron. It was all MY FAULT. I'm a bad parent. Yes. Because we were two hours behind schedule for a race, I'm a bad parent. I had the inhaler, but he needed another form of medicine that is used ONLY in the nebulizer. LOL. And I DID have a cool head. I thought it MUST be an accident to be sitting there for over two hours. I was PRAYING that some poor soul had not been hurt. No sweat off my back though. It's just as close for us to shop in Myrtle Beach. We'll just go there from now on and not have the bridge worries. Have fun with the future traffic tie up.
And by the way. I AM a runner. And I bike as well. But I'd never participate in something so poorly planned. There was a lady a few cars down that had to get home to her insulin as well. I guess SHE is a moron too. Her fault for having diabetes. You people need to understand that others have lives too.
These delays have been known for days
I'm not going to comment on your child...but the race was published in the papers on was on the local media networks for days prior to the race. It was mentioned that several lanes would be closing and there would be delays in getting around.
I think people look like idiots when they come on here complaining about the delays when they should have known about it them. They should have changed their plans or made other arraingments. It's nobody's fault but their own if they got stuck in traffic. If you want to come to Wilmington to go shopping, pick a different weekend. It's that simple
Traffic
Wilmington is growing into a city and these events should be planned accordingly. The traffic should not have been traveling with runners or bicyclist. Maybe it should be rerouted and secondary streets should be closed. Drivers already deal with weekly incidents, they shouldn't have to deal with the traffic on the week ends. My grandson got sick while we were stuck in that traffic.
I knew this would happen!
I knew before this event even kicked off that a bunch of complaints and negative reporting would result. This just happened to be an event that drew atheletes from all over the country to participate. It was on a Saturday for goodness sake, not interrupting your work commute or your Sunday ride to church. It has been publicized for weeks now and alternate routes or plans could have easily avoided anyone any confusion or delay. If any of you complainers would read articles of local interest other than these sometimes ignorant posts you would be on top of the areas local activities and could easily adjust! I would have to bet a lot of the whiners moved here to avoid the annual NYC marathon that involve millions of people to include the atheletes, crews and spectators. Sorry...we do that here too, so get over it and pack a spare water or coffee to get you through your poor planning. No matter how nice of an event, how well executed and how successful the results are, the whiners are going to pipe up. Sorry WWAY, you dropped the ball on this too, not only in failing to report an important upcoming event, but also in failing to support the positive aspects and to focus on the negative! Congratulations!!!
Gift... Horse... Mouth...
A lot of you are only seeing half the money equation, if even that much. Participants in this race came from throughout the USA and even Europe, spending as much as a week in our city. They put money into our economy (hotels, restaurants, car rental, bike and sports stores, any number of local shops) and into the tax coffers (sales tax, room tax).
As to the comment about taxpayer resources, race organizers end up paying government entities for law enforcement and DOT support for a race of this magnitude. Those light towers were secured by the race organizers as well. So the participants picked up the tab.
Why so long, and why not stay on Wrightsville Beach all day? Because it's an Ironman-distance! How are you going to fit a 112-mile bike course AND a 26.2 mile run course on that island? But I can't blame you for not knowing...WWAY would rather encourage you to whine about traffic than tell you what was happening!
Congratulations, Wilmington, on putting your best (too rude to even stay in New York) foot forward... and bigger congratulations to all the race volunteers and law enforcement officials who kept the participants from having to deal with it.
Bridges to Nowhere
Living in this area affords us many ways to enjoy the outdoors.
We have to share our local resources, fishing, hunting, biking, jogging etc.
However, tying up both bridges was a huge mistake.
Downtown traffic was bad, sometimes horrible as 3rd street became a parking lot, and side streets blocked only to circle you back to the lot.
Local drivers impatient to get home blocked intersections to compound the situation.
30 mins was a conservative time. Many drivers were in traffic much longer.
To the organizers, in the future, please don't use your event to clog traffic.
You ask that we share the road when your jogging, or bicycling around town.
We ask that you don't tie up 2 bridges to
Brunswick county when you actually only need one.
why don't they not use
why don't they not use EITHER bridge? why do they have to tie up the bridges at all? run around a track somewhere. your sponsors will still pay and you won't RUIN so many people's day.
Please refrain from ignorant comments.
First, learn English. Your initial sentence reads "why do not they not use either bridge".
You clearly do not understand the magnitude of this event. It is not just 'running around a track'. There are people pushing themselves to physical extremes, swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then running 26.2 miles. Instead of applauding them for their accomplishments, you are upset. To each their own, exercise isn't for everyone I suppose. Sponsors aren't paying each athlete to be out there. Almost the entire field is doing so for their own reasons and betterment.
Second, why be so selfish? You state the athletes should run around a track somewhere... I would venture to say, as an iron distance triathlete myself, that "running around a track" would RUIN my day as a racer. My guess is you are thinking 'Well they CHOSE to do the race'. Iffy, and pardon me if I'm wrong in assuming you were in traffic, but you also CHOSE to be out on those routes. The race directors planned accordingly, letting the affected areas know in advance.
Beach To Battleship Triathlon
In addition to the reported traffic delays caused by the triathlon Saturday, I think it would be fair to report on the projected 1.8 million dollars brought to the local economy from the race...and the accomplishment of competitors running/biking/swimming all day. Apologies if I missed this somewhere. Thanks.
Runners
Don't know who planned the running on Saturday but it was done very well. Waiting on 421 was a hour and then went you went back they were still there. Maybe it should have stayed in Wrightsville Beach all day.
Congratulations WWAY...
...on being half a day behind your TV rival in posting a negative story with no depth, just because some people were inconvenienced. Fantastic reporting!
Why not get off your lazy behinds like your newspaper counterparts and actually cover the event?! Is it because this is Wilmington, and people would rather hear about traffic jams, than the efforts of a thousand athletes and hundreds of volunteers who poured their blood, sweat, and tears into this event? You missed a lot of great stories of accomplishment and perseverance, sometimes against huge odds. You missed a lot of the good in people, because you'd rather cover a traffic jam.
And I'm sure you'll have a lot of people coming to the site in droves to jump on the bandwagon of whining about traffic. I'm sure it wasn't perfect, but race and law enforcement officials did the best they could in handling an event unlike any other that has happened here, and kept the competitors and public safe in spite of the efforts of some motorists.
What do the complainers want? This race brought athletes in from all over the country, and even the world. Two words for you: room tax! Do you want Wilmington to be a destination city, or just another crappy harbor town?
Disgusting
It was disgusting to see how many public resources (roads, police officers, etc) were tied up in putting on this event. We were stuck in traffic for 20 minutes on Eastwood road for this event. As we drove through town we saw police officers stationed every 1/2 mile or less. Driving down 421 in the evening there were light towers.
Who paid for this - the participants or the taxpayers?
waiting drivers
Is this really the only coverage of the race that you can muster? There were people doing the race for charity, disabled who powered through 140.6 and 70.3 and all you have to say is that it caused delays.
Maybe you should have actually covered the race and the stories and you'd have something more to report on besides the economy and the presidential race - because that's new.
Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who made the race possible.
Bikers
All those in my vehicle were over 65 years of age and one handicapped.The event was newsworthy,but with it being the weekend of the fair also, it took us about one hour and 10 min to travel from A to B- just before crossing the bridge -I wanted to stop and take one of those bottles of water.---Poor planning!
delays
I can not understand why bike riders were alloud to cause delays and to use law enfrocement at tax payers expence when I pay .48 cents a gallon of gas and they pay nothing to use a major highway
I find it telling that major
I find it telling that major cities (New York, Chicago, Boston, etc.) can shut down entirely for a race and the people there (many more in comparison to Wilmington, NC) are able and willing to reorganize their transportation or shared use of roads in exchange for the financial influx these events bring. Maybe the city of Wilmington is doing so well financially and is doing such a fantastic job drawing in tourism dollars that they dont need events like this. Or maybe, just maybe, the local press should do their job of covering both sides of the story and educating their readers/listeners rather than exacerbating the uneducated, close mindedness of the populous.
Poor Job
When we only have two bridges that allow us to travel into Wilmington why would anyone in there right mind tie up both bridges?? IT was poor planning and that is what is constantly wrong with this area. Take one bridge but not both!! I hope they do a better job next year.
It was horrible planning.
It was horrible planning. When someone dies from it, we'll see how much the city has to shell out in a lawsuit.
I still can't believe what idiots are in charge of these things.
Did you not know that both
Did you not know that both bridges were going to be involved??? If not, pay more attention to what goes on around you. I was stuck in traffic for a short while, and I did so knowing I would be stuck in traffic, just so I could pick up some stuff I needed. I could have waited till Sunday but I chose to go on Saturday. Just like you guys chose to drive on Saturday.
And while I was in "line" there was an ambulance that went down thru the bike path with it's emergency lights on so I doubt the traffic jam did anyything as far as delaying any type of emergency care
reply to "delays"
*Law enforcement for events like this are paid by the race officials as contract workers, not by the taxpayer.
*Racers paid a substantial entry fee to compete, which went to a charitable organization.
*Most bike riders also own cars, so we all pay for gas, tags, taxes, etc.
*And as I mentioned in another post, this event brought a lot of money to our local economy
My wife and I stood in line for 3 hours to vote and then waited in traffic as runners went by us in downtown on Saturday - we felt good about both!
Wilmington, you should be proud
Dear residents of Wilmington, as an Ironman athlete I can tell you that my team and I have been waiting anxiously to see how the first Beach to Battleship iron-distance race unfolded. It was our intention to travel up from New Mexico to race in 2009 if the event went well and of course the community supported the continuation of the event. We knew Set Up Sports has done many events but an iron distance race is a different story altogether and requires not only a good race production crew but a desirable and supportive community. The buzz is already starting to hit the press in the triathlon world and it is 100% positive from what I have seen so far. Not only did this year's athletes love the quality of the event but they are raving about the run course, which is basically a tour of Wilmington. Many athletes have also mentioned what excellent support they received from the local residents, another major factor in a triathlete's decision to attend an event. As others have mentioned hosting an iron distance triathlon can be a huge injection of money into the local economy, believe me, most Ironman athletes have the empty bank accounts to provide proof of that fact. As far as the New Mexico Outlaws Triathlon Racing Team is concerned we are dying to come and race in Wilmington in 2009. I sincerely hope the community will have us.
Here is a link to some of the positive buzz.
http://www.trifuel.com/forum/16420/beach-2-battleship
well stay the heck off our
well stay the heck off our bridges next time. Thanks. Glad y'all had a mighty fine time. The people stuck in traffic did not. I'll make sure not to leave the house when y'all come back.
I for one will welcome them back!
With all due respect to the "incovenienced" people, in a time when we have a world full of legitimate concerns, (i.e. family members shipped overseas, job losses, terminal illness, homelessness or world hunger) you would hope that people would see the positive and inspirational aspects of an event such as this! The atheletes, planners and community supporters intentions were not to aggravate! Their sole purpose was to bring together an incredible group of people, who were able to use their amazing talent and commitment to make an impact in their own way, to causes that are bigger than us as individuals! Some of us gave up 30 minutes to 2 hours of our time, while these people have given months and years for something they hold dear! I would hope that all of us would have the strength of character to work as hard for a cause that was personal to us, or have someone in our lives that would work as hard for us if we were in need!
I for one do NOT blame the
I for one do NOT blame the athletes, but the idiots that planned the route of the event.