general information



This is a gorgeous and challenging Olympic distance Triathlon; a 1.5 K swim, 22 Mile bike and 10 K run along San Pablo Bay, County of Marin, City of San Rafael and China Camp State Park. Please pay attention to the fact there will be other traffic on the roads, and please be aware that city, county and state vehicles will be throughout the course doing their civic duty, and not just rooting you on. Professional and Elite athletes will begin and compete together in the first wave Age groups: 19 and under 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70 and over Overall Teams: Male Relay Female Relay Coed Relay Packet Pickup: Mandatory on Saturday, October 31, 2009 at McNear's Beach Park All participant's will receive a unique 2009 keepsake. Awards and Prizes: Special awards will be given to the top three winners of each age division and relay division. The Marin County Triathlon will offer a $10,000.00 prize purse in the professional division. This will be donated to their charity of choice, in the name of and by the first place winner of the male and female division, to be split equally, $5,000.00 each. The top three fundraisers for each of our charities will also receive very special awards in addition to the incentive awards already being offered. All participants will receive a unique commemorative Marin County Triathlon 2009 inaugural keepsake. The Marin County Triathlon hosts the California Triathlon Club Cup, which awaits the winner of the top Triathlon Club. The club with the most points earned by averaged attendance and results by age group, gets to keep the coveted trophy till next year! Local Resources: Marin County Parks and Open Space California State Parks City of San Rafael Lodging and Restaurants: Larkspur Hotels and Restaurants are offering a special MCT rate during race weekend in Marin County. Parking: Parking is very limited at McNears Beach Park. We have arranged for various ways to park at the event, however, all at a cost. Those are listed on the registration page. Other options are parking lots a few miles away, from which you can bike in. People interested in ride sharing or carpooling to attend The Marin County Triathlon are invited to sign up for a PickupPal account and become members of a growing and dynamic community. It is free to join and to use. On the site members can post routes as passengers and/or drivers, they can complete a profile, upload a photo. Within their account, PickupPals can track the number of rides they have given or taken, the number of miles they have traveled via ride sharing and The Marin County Triathlon can keep track of the amount of emissions we have all reduced as a result. See it yourself, click here to go to the website. Photography: 50% of all profits from the sale of photography will be donated to our beneficiaries. Refund Policy: Due to the fact that this event is for our charities, there will be no refunds or transfers allowed. Please be certain at the time of signing up, that you can complete the event. Schedule: We are in the process of planning a great weekend for you in Marin County. Please check back later for all of the information of events. USAT: This is a USAT sanctioned event. If you are not a member of USAT, you will need to pay a one day registration fee of $10 when you pick up your race packet. Sustainability: We are trying for Zero Waste, Carbon Neutral. In our efforts to make the world a better place to live now, and for the future, we have implemented steps to reduce the environmental impact in the presentation of our event. The following steps are being strictly adhered to by the Marin County Triathlon: All power will be generated by solar energy. On site recycling will be utilized to the maximum effort. All paper products will be post-consumer recycled. All utensils and cookware will be corn-based compostable. Toilet tissue, soaps, paper towels, etc will be biodegradable. We will not use plastic bottles of drinking waters. Post event meal (and those sold at the event) will be only organic. Coffees, teas and other beverages served will only be organic and fair trade. Our race packets will not be the typical plastic bags. Our goals are to minimize the waste and carbon footprint generated by our event. Please check back on this page as we update further actions to occur.					Bike Check: On Saturday, October 31, 2009 we will have a courtesy bike check at our Green Village Expo on the great lawn at McNears Beach Park. Bike checks will not be available on race day. The bike check is provided free of charge by our sponsors. It is not mandatory and it is NOT a substitute for necessary maintenance that may be required to prepare your bike for safety. Clinics: The Marin County Triathlon will be hosting a few pre- event clinics to be sure your experience at the event will be fun and rewarding. Clubs: All organized, and not so organized clubs are welcome at our event. Triathlon clubs are a great way to get team support and meet new friends. The Golden Gate Triathlon Club, San Francisco Triathlon Club and The Olympic Club are a few of our locally based clubs. The Marin County Triathlon is the host event for the California Triathlon Club Cup. Based on averaged attendance and results by age group, this coveted trophy stays with the winning club till the following year’s event. Talk about bragging rights! Directions: McNears Beach County Park is located on the southwest shore of San Pablo Bay, about three miles from downtown San Rafael, Marin County. The park is easily reached from Highway 101, a forty-minute drive north from San Francisco by way of the Golden Gate Bridge. From Highway 101, take the Central San Rafael exit and go east on Second Street (which becomes San Pedro Road) to Cantera Way. Very Important: On race day, parking will be very limited. Advanced reserved parking is available with your registration and is advised. Please visit our registration page to learn what is and what is not available. FAQs: How many participants will be doing this event? We expect an early sell out of over 1,000 athletes participating in this event. Marin County is well known for its beauty and is an outdoors destination. The Marin County Triathlon will be an amazing event to be a part of. You must register online before October 27, 2009 and pick up your race packet at McNears Beach Park, Saturday, October 31, 2009 What if I can only do one or two segments of a triathlon? You can sign up with our training partners to learn and be trained to do the entire event or grab a friend or two and register as a relay team! May I sign up and/or pick up my race bag on race day? No. There will be no sign up or race day registration. Race bag pickup must be done during the week prior to the event. You will be notified of the exact location and hours for race bag pickup. Register soon as this event will sell out. May I register my friend? No. Each participant must register himself or herself. There is a waiver that must be read and agreed to by each individual participant. What kind of goodies do I get? Each participant will receive a very special commemorative keepsake at the finish. On the Saturday prior to the event you will pick up your race bag, which includes some pretty cool stuff. At the Green Village Expo on Sunday, you can enjoy a post race organic meal, receive a massage and just kick back on acres of green grass. There are a few fun surprises along the way, but the best goodie you get is to know that this is a sustainable event, and all of the net proceeds will only go to our selected charities. Do I need a wetsuit? Though not mandatory, we strongly suggest one. Average water temperature will be only about 57 degrees, and that, my friend, is chilly. What time does the event start? We have scheduled the Marin County Triathlon to begin at 8:00 am. Please plan on being at the park by 6:30 am at the latest, because the roads around and into the park will be closing and for the lack of nearby parking. You will also want to allow plenty of time to set up your transition spot and get race ready. Oh yes, there will be some early morning surprises and you won't want to miss announcer Sean English’s introduction. Will we be using timing chips? Yes. Participants in the Marin County Triathlon will be timed using state of the art Timing Chips that allows for precise times. The chip will be issued to you as part of the pre-race packet. You are responsible for returning it after the event. Can my family and friends come out to watch? Of course! This will be a very friendly spectator event. Sorry, though, no pets allowed. If you have any further questions, please contact us via email at the Contact Us Page.