Coordinator confident numbers can improve
Total participants fell in 2016; event didn’t happen in 2015 due to repairs at Genoveva Chavez Center
Roybal helped get the City of Santa Fe Triathlon off the ground in 2006.
Now, she’s trying to help the sprint triathlon get back on its feet.
Roybal returned to coordinating the event this year after a five-year hiatus. Her goal is to improve the participation numbers for the triathlon, which fell precipitously in 2016. That the race didn’t happen in 2015 because of repairs at the Chavez Center also hurt turnout.
Not that it was for a lack of effort. Roybal said the city tried to move the triathlon to the Salvador Perez Complex, but the venue just didn’t work for the running/cycling/swimming event.
“It just didn’t compute well,” Roybal said. “It was too risky for the bikes, and we only have a 25-yard pool [at Salvador Perez], so we didn’t have it. People were wondering if we were going to bring it back, and we did. We had low numbers but we’re confidence that we can get the numbers back up.”
The ideal number of participants is about 250 people, Roybal said, which was what the triathlon recorded prior to the last couple of years.
To keep congestion on the course at a minimum, organizers capped the number of competitors at 300 individuals and 30 teams.
She remembers the first triathlon had 325 participants, which was the high mark for the triathlon.
When the triathlon started, it took place in July before the city moved it to September in 2013.
This year, the Santa Fe Triathlon moved to August because it was the best fit among the other sprint triathlons that take place around the state. Roybal said a race’s success depends on timing.
“It’s a key factor,” Roybal said. “You try to look at [the website Trifind. com] and find a specific date that won’t overlap with a race in Santa Rosa, or Los Alamos or Roswell. You’re trying not to compete with other events because then it limits your numbers.”
Roybal said another key factor is marketing, which she suspects was a problem over the past few years. She set up a page on Trifind.com with a link to the Chavez Center so that competitors can register more easily. Flyers also showed up a many of the bicycle shops around the city and other places that are popular for triathletes, as well as at other triathlons around the state.
“You have to make it an easy thing to do,” Roybal said. “Go get the information out there and make it more customer friendly. People don’t really want to fill out a hard copy. They want to go and get it done. They throw their information on there and
they’re in.”
The appeal to the sprint triathlon, Roybal said, is that each of the individual legs are shorter than a traditional triathlon. It’s a 3.1-mile run, followed by a 12-mile bicycle ride and a 400-yard swim that ends in the Chavez Center. Roybal said the order of events is inverted because organizers wanted to keep competitors off the streets later during the morning.
The event still attracts the most dedicated triathlete, but it also encourages others to give it a shot without shuddering at the thought of a completing a full marathon, a 112-mile bike ride and a 2.4-mile swim of an “ironman” event.
There is also the team competition portion in the stages are split up among teammates.
“This is a doable triathlon for the average athlete,” Roybal said. “Even I’ve gone out there and done it.”
She hopes that many others feel the same way.