USA Triathlon

 

 

Dear triathletes,

 

Welcome to the second annual Legacy Triathlon! Brad Hildebrandt here, race director of the Legacy Triathlon.

 

We are very pleased to be back in Long Beach for the 2020 rendition, held July 18. The USA Triathlon Paratriathlon National Championships also return to Long Beach in 2020; additionally, a sprint Pan American Triathlon Confederation (PATCO) event will be contested on Sunday, July 19.   
Whether you are a new Legacy athlete or an athlete returning to continue your own legacy, we want to ensure your time at the Legacy Triathlon and USA Triathlon Paratriathlon National Championships is a top tier experience. We are introducing this blog to keep all registered participants up to date on the latest event changes, improvements and racing information.  

 

Our goal is to help you effectively navigate the Legacy Triathlon from the day you register until you step across the finish line. The bimonthly blog posts will include updates on race enhancements, Must Know Information (such as parking), ancillary event schedule, event highlights and what to expect on race day.  

 

Before I get into the informational items of the first edition of the Legacy Letters, let me tell you a little about myself. I am a retired firefighter from Omaha, Nebraska, where I spent 25 years serving the community of Omaha. My last six years on the department I managed safety for major events that came to Omaha, most notably the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Swim Trials and the NCAA College World Series contested annually in the city’s TD Ameritrade Park.  

 

In 2016 and 2017, I worked as the liaison between USA Triathlon and the local safety entities during the Age Group National Championships hosted in Omaha.  As a former triathlete and local triathlon race director and coach, I was excited to get back involved in the sport. I competed in my first triathlon in the summer of 1982 and raced regionally until the mid-1990s, even doing a stint as a local race director and triathlete coach assisting with local races and coaching local athletes. 

 

My experience working large sporting events and working with a variety of local authorities led to more opportunities with USA Triathlon’s owned national championship events. This experience led to a full-time position with USA Triathlon and race directing the Legacy Triathlon, held at the site of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games triathlon competitions. It has been a wonderful winding journey leading me to the Legacy Triathlon and I look forward to building this event into one of the premier events in southern California and the U.S.  

 

A few more personal highlights I will leave you with. I have been married to my wife Jeanne for 30 plus years, I have two sons, Ryan and Bradley and have two granddaughters, Aubrea and Everly. I was a collegiate wrestler and garnered NCAA All American honors three times. I was the head wrestling coach at Skutt Catholic High School from 1993-2015, and under my tenure our teams won 17 team state championships and three state dual championships. I am honored to have been awarded 2009 National Wrestling Coach of the year by USA Wrestling Magazine. These days, you’ll find me riding Colorado’s mountain bike trails and leading group lunch rides with my USA Triathlon coworkers. 

Now that you’ve learned a little about me, learn what’s new at Legacy:

 

We have new and updated bike and run courses! 

 

The bike course has been reconfigured from the 2019 version, as we’ve added distance to bring the bike leg to just beyond 20.5km. The bike course will consist of three laps, and athletes will still cross the iconic Queens Highway bridge, but in 2020 will navigate to the turnaround point near Port of Long Beach. The bike course still utilizes the wide thoroughfares of Shoreline Drive, so get ready for a speedy ride!
The majority of the run course will be contested on Ocean Boulevard. Athletes will be ushered from the transition area to Shoreline Drive then onto Ocean Boulevard. This should make for a safe, flat and fast 5K. 

 

See course maps attached to this post.  

 

The USA Triathlon Paratriathlon National Championships will again be hosted in Long Beach in 2020. We are implementing several improvements

to create a national championship level experience for our para athletes. Some highlighted adjustments are as follows:

 

 

I hope the first installment of the Legacy Letters has given you a sneak peek into the growth of this special event. Stay tuned for the next post in February. We will cover the Open Water Swim competition, Club Alley, Beach Team Handball exhibition, the Youth/USAT Foundation Splash and Dash, and introduce the Pan American Triathlon Confederation (PATCO) elite event.  

Build your Legacy,

Brad