StephenElliot.com

Well before the butt crack of dawn yesterday thousands of people gathered along the banks of the Potomac to participate in the inaugural DC Triathlon.  My girlfriend was one of them, and I tagged along as a supporting cast member. Like any big race in DC it was nearly impossible to drive or park anywhere due to all the road closures, but this one came with the added challenge of starting before the metro was running.  Shuttle service was provided for the athletes, but us spectators had to fend for ourselves.

Fortunately we gave ourselves plenty of time to park nowhere near the course and make it to the starting point with time to spare.  Initially it felt a bit awkward walking through the middle of a huge crowd of swimsuit-clad folks; it was kinda like being at a water park except everybody was in decent shape.  All things considered, I’ve seen worse.

The next thing I noticed was that at least half of them were waiting in line for the porta-potties.  I for one am glad that they decided to use the restrooms then, rather than take care of business during the swimming portion in the Potomac.

The first wave of folks made their way down the temporary pier and into the water.  The little horn blower dude did his thing and the inaugural DC Triathlon was underway.  There was an excitement in the air as if all the anticipation finally had an outlet.  I probably had goosebumps at the time because 1.) It’s always inspiring to see a huge mass of people achieving something and 2.) there was a certain sense of history that comes with this being the first of many DC Triathlons, and 3.) I get inspired easily.

I watched and cheered as my girlfriend eventually made it down the pier and jumped –and I mean, JUMPED– into the water.  Her excitement was contagious!  The horn made its lovely noise and she took off.  I wanted to go to the other side of the viewing area to get some better pictures, and it was at this point that I realized there was almost no thought given to the spectators.  The only way to get to the other viewing area was to walk all the way around the transition area where all the bikes were stored.  I finally got to the other side, snapped a few pictures and then walked all the way around to the swim exit.  Lacey came out of the water just a couple minutes after I got there.

According to the map it looked like there was a good place near the Kennedy Center to watch the bikers come by, but when I got there I was the only one cheering.  Everywhere I looked the sidelines were empty (except for the start and finish.)  I stood in the tunnel where my voice would carry and there I cheered and whooped and even did a slow clap or two.  People need that encouragement and it was disappointing to see so few people along the way.

Next I was able to get in my car and drive relatively close to the finish line.  Why the event organizers put the finish line so far away from the transition area is beyond me.  Nevertheless, I made it there in time to see Lacey and a couple of her friends cross the finish line.

The finish festival was buzzing with the usual excitement and sense of accomplishment that you would expect.  Aside from the massage booth all the vendors seemed adequately prepared to handle high volumes of people.  In fact, it seemed like the athletes were very well taken care of throughout the entire race.  All of the details concerning them seemed well thought out and professionally handled, however, there was seemingly no concern for the spectators.  Namely:

1. Transportation. Don’t schedule an event that closes down traffic before the metro is running.  This was just a stupid call.  I know it gets hot early during the summer, but why was the triathlon scheduled in June in the first place?
2. Public restrooms were non-existent.  There were a host of porta-potties for the athletes, but the spectators just had to hold it apparently.
3. Location. You can forget about the transportation issues if you don’t make everybody walk two miles to get from one viewing area to the next. Put the finish line next to the transition area and make life easier for everybody.
4. Make it convenient (and fun even) for the spectators and I guarantee you will have a lot more people cheering on the sidelines.  The DC Tri wold do well to take a note from the Crystal City BID for their sideline activities during the Marine Corps Marathon.

In the end the DC Triathlon is not a spectators sport.  There is a lot of room for improvement, and I hope they do a much better job with it next year. Congratulations to Lacey and all the participants!  Thanks for inspiring us!

The third Thursday of April is recognized as National High Five Day.  It was my sincere desire to make a short film to commemorate this blessed occasion, but alas I was not able to do it in time.  Instead I have embedded a series of videos by some truly expert high fivers.  Watch and be amazed!

When to High Five

When Not to High Five

Old English

Kitchen Door

Get Down

Magic

Double Magic

Top Gun

Saturday Night Special

Uptown Saturday Night

Downtown Saturday Night

The Golfer

Double Five (or High Ten)

To my usual readers: Unless you’re looking to procrastinate, you might consider skipping this one.  Boom!  Instant time-saver!

I’m looking for an old friend and mentor named Jonathan Bridges.  He went to school at Ouachita Baptist University, did an internship at Community Bible Church, and is/was a big fan of the Dallas Stars.

I have had zero success finding him on Google or any of the popular social networking sites, so I’m trying a rather backwards search here.  My hope is that you, Jon Boy, will someday google yourself and find this post listed among the search results.  It worked for me once before, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed.  I’d love to hear from you!

Backstory: Recently I connected with an old friend/mentor who stumbled across my blog. I hadn’t heard from her in years, and it was great to finally reconnect. Long story short she googled herself, and my Wall of Gratitude page was included in the search results.  “Yes, I love technology!…”

That made me think, “I wonder if I can find another friend this way…”  So, here goes nothing!

Early this afternoon I found myself on the receiving end of a painfully boring phone call. I drew this in my boredom. I have no idea why.

My girlfriend recently took me to see the film Slumdog Millionaire.  It’s a fantastic story, and I highly recommend it.  I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it yet, but I did want to comment on one technical aspect of the film that I really liked.

It’s kinda hard to quantify, but I would say that approximately half of the film is subtitled.  Normally subtitles make it difficult for me to really engage in the story.  I’m not a fast reader, so I often have to choose between watching the visuals or reading the dialog; rarely do I feel as if I can do both well.

Slumdog Millionaire got a lot more creative with its use of subtitles, and for that I applaud the film editor.  Rather than having all of the subtitles appear centered at the bottom of the screen, they are juxtaposed right next to the characters –interacting with the other elements on screen.  It makes it feel as if the words are coming from a certain direction, and it actually carries the story along visually rather than detracting from it.  It’s those little details…