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Doggy Duathlon, Underwear Run & 5,000 Weirdos

by Peter Shankman
Tue, 6 Nov 2007 at 4:47 PM
updated Tue, 6 Nov 2007 at 5:04 PM

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One of the biggest problems on the Internet today is faced by overly impulsive people.

It's one thing to see an advertisement in a magazine for a triathlon, and say, "Yeah, that looks cool, I might want to do that one day," then forget about it, and move on.

It's quite another to be on a site, and two clicks and seven seconds later you've paid close to $200 for the privilege of joining 5,000 weirdos in swimming through the Hudson River, biking up the West Side Highway, and running through the park.

See, the 2008 Nautica NYC Triathlon has opened for registration.

And obviously this weirdo was one of the first people to sign up.

And without fail, it sold out in eight hours.

Eight hours. Think about that. Five thousand people think it important enough to swim, bike, and run around Manhattan that within eight hours, they'd capped out at 5,000 entrants.

Jonathan Korff, the president of Korff Enterprises, and the race director of the New York City Triathlon, wasn't surprised.

"Three years ago it sold out in 14 weeks, last year was 11 days, and this year was eight hours. It's quite humbling to organize an event in a city as big as New York and see this kind of response."

What did surprise him, though, was the number of people emailing him and begging to be let in.

"I've been getting 400 to 500 e-mails a day for the past three days saying, 'You gotta let me in! I have to get in! Help!' It's overwhelming! Last year we had 14 people asking to get in after deadline," he said.

	That's me, emerging from the Hudson in last year's triathlon. The water was surprisingly clean.

Much like the marathon, you can expect to see people putting their entries up for sale on eBay and craigslist, but Mr. Korff says that while flattering, having to show photo ID when you pick up your packet will kind of kill that idea.

"If there are that many people who couldn't register when it opened up at midnight, next year we'll just have to work with a phone company to provide a midnight wake-up service," he said.

I don't think he was joking.

Having finished this event last year, I can tell you that they don't skimp on the fun stuff. For instance, if you take your finisher's medal the next day to any Chipotle restaurant, they gave you a free burrito. I know this worked. I know this worked in three different stores. I was very full that evening.

This year, according to Mr. Korff, New York City proves that it is again the center of the universe.

"We had 12% of people from outside the tri-state area last year, and this year it'll be over 40%. That's huge! So we have to make sure to give them a full New York experience!"

I asked if that meant hiring taxis to curse out the bikers en route. He said no, but he mentioned how the triathlon is going to make a bigger finishing area, with more bands, more food, and more fun.

I don't know about you, but when I finished, I wanted a shower and a slice of pizza.

But that's just me.

I'll give the event this, though – they keep it interesting. Have a dog? Make sure you and your pooch also enter the Doggy Duathlon World Championship. No, I can't make this stuff up. According to the Web site, every dog gets a one-of-a-kind orange life jacket. Yeah. 20 dogs floating down the Hudson River in neon orange. Is it any wonder the rest of the world thinks this city is full of oddballs? From the Web site: "You may not mind throwing Fido into the Hudson with no life jacket but we do. A special life vest will be provided and must be worn by your dog during the entire swim. No vest, no race."

Hey, at least Fido won't drown while looking like a traffic cone.

One of the other fun things the NYC Triathlon does every year is a separate race two nights before — the Chipotle Underwear Run. Yes, you read that right. A bunch of triathletes (not all of whom should be given the privilege of running outside in their underwear) doing just that, through Central Park.

Of course, I can make fun of the ones who don't deserve the privilege of running in their underwear in public, because, well, I'll be one of them.

Oh, it's going to be a fun weekend. Mark your calendars. And start training

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