FAQs

Kinetic Multisports is committed to providing safe, fun multisport events with athlete and community safety as our #1 priority. We have opened registration for our 2021 events and have mitigation strategies and processes in place to keep our athletes and communities safe while delivering safe, fun racing. As an outdoor sport, triathlon is lower risk, but it is not zero risk. So, we have to make sure people keep their distance, wear masks and wash their hands. As vaccines are rolled out and we are able to reduce/eliminate measures, we will. It’s a new process, but it’s still swimming, biking and running in beautiful, boutique venues.

Learn more about how we are racing safely below:

• Kinetic Multisports Covid Mitigation Plan
• USA Triathlon – Safe Return to Multisport
• CDC – Coronavirus Overview
• CDC – Travelers Health
• Prevention and treatment

#GoKinetic

Simply click on the register button on each race page and select the distance and day that you want to race, Run Sign Up refers to them as Groups. Click here for a Help Guide

You must create a team name and register your team. You will then need to contact your team members and have them log into their profiles (or create one) and select your team by name to join. Everyone will need to either put in their USAT member # or purchase a one day membership to complete the registration process.

Simply click on the register button on each race page and select the distance and day that you want to race. Starting in 2019 Aquabike is now an event in the registration process.

Would you like to race both days of one of our Festival weekends?  If so when you register you will need to select an event on Saturday and an event on Sunday.  Once you select two events you will receive a discount of 20% at checkout! By using this discount you will only receive 1 t-shirt & 1 pair of race socks. All finishers of the Double will receive a special Double Finishers Medal at the awards ceremony of the Sunday Event!  #DoTheDouble

Age Group: This is most people racing. Remember your age is based on how old you are on the 31st of Dec the year of the year of the race.
Collegiate: This category is reserved for those competing in the USAT Mid Atlantic Collegiate Triathlon Conference (MACTC)races 2020-Patriots Sprint; Giant Acorn Olympic and the Kinetic Cup.
Athena: Female athletes weighing 165lbs and over.
Clydesdale: Male athletes 220lbs and over.
Military: Active Duty Only, will be verified by Military I.D. Card.
Novice: For new triathlete (first timers)(No awards or series points)
Relay: Can be 2 or 3 people completing the 3 segments of the race. Run, Bike , Swim (3 person relay: each person will do 1 leg; 2 person relay 1 person will do 2 segments and the other will do 1)

Yes! You can purchase race registration insurance during the registration process.  This is a third party insurance company and covers your entry fee if you cannot make it to the race for one of the covered reasons. Prior to filing a claim, be sure to read the fine print of what is a covered reason and what is not.

Covered – Car trouble, work conflict, sickness, injury, etc.
Not Covered – Schedule conflicts, weddings, other races.

Remember, this does not apply if the race is cancelled due to weather, hurricanes, COVID, etc.

Registration Protector with Required to Work – The insurance premium is 7.5% of the registration cost (including processing fee), with a minimum insurance premium of $8.99 per registrant.  Remember, registration insurance must be purchased at the time of registration and cannot be added later.

If you need to file a claim (get a refund), go to www.eventregistrationprotection.com to get started.
Remember, registration insurance must be purchased at the time of registration and can not be added later. Prior to filing a claim, be sure to read the fine print of what is a covered reason and what is not.

Covered – Car trouble, work conflict, sickness, injury, etc.
Not Covered – Schedule conflicts, weddings, other races.

Remember, this does not apply if the race is cancelled due to weather, hurricanes, COVID, etc

Yes! You may switch your registration to another race on THAT same weekend at the same race site provided there is still space in the other event. There is no fee to do this unless the event you are switching to is higher and must be done before online registration closes.  If the event you are switching to is less there are NO refunds.  You can do this by editing your race registration or referencing your confirmation email.Click here for the Help Guide

NO! We DO NOT allow the transfer or selling of race entries between athletes for any reason.

Yes, please update your profile information in your RunSignUp account so we have the most current information for you, especially if we are mailing you something!

NO! Sorry, but event entry fees are non-refundable for any reason. This policy is agreed to during the registration process and does not change, even if you email us requesting a refund. Our policy has to be enforced fairly across the spectrum of requests, believe me, we have seen them all. If you are worried about not being able to make it you have several options:

1 – Wait to register. Entry fee’s increase the closer we get to race day and races do sell out, so keep that in mind.
2 – Purchase race insurance (see FAQ on this one).

USA Triathlon is the US National Governing Body for the sport of triathlon. USAT is responsible for sending a team to the Olympics each year (solid work in 2021, go Taylor!), developing the sport and making sure RD’s put on safe, fun, fair races. Kinetic Multisports has sanctioned with USA Triathlon since 2005 and we are proud to support their mission by providing 50+ opportunities for athletes to race, host multiple state and regional championships, and provide multiple, draft legal races exclusively for Collegiate athletes.

All Kinetic Multisports triathlons are sanctioned by USAT. This means that all racers must be either an Annual Member of USAT ($50) or they must purchase a special “one-day” USAT membership ($15). This membership provides the necessary liability and excess medical coverage necessary to host an event.

Annual Member: USAT annual memberships are available directly through USAT for $50 per year for Adults and $10 per year for youth under 18. If you are racing more than one race, go with the Annual Membership. You'll support the sport we love, be included in the National Rankings and you'll get a slick magazine 4x/year. For more information, please contact USA Triathlon by visiting their website or calling 719.597.9090.

One-Day Member: If you are not an annual member, you must purchase the special "one-day" USAT membership ($15) when registering.

Our registration system (RunSignUp) ties in with the USA Triathlon database and will verify your membership, or lack thereof, for the day of the race. So, if your membership is expired on race day you will need to either renew your membership or purchase the $15 One-Day Insurance License (for the one day license there is no actual license it is recorded online when you register).

Make sure your name is listed in your profile/race registration exactly as it is listed on your USAT Membership card. The USAT system is very precise, but has trouble with Michael vs. Mike, Dr., III, etc. Contact membership@usatriathlon.org for assistance.

We will have officials at most, but not all races.

In most cases we will race in the rain (you get wet in the swim anyway).  However, should the conditions become dangerous and not just challenging, we will take steps to keep athletes and the supporting communities safe. Should there be a reason to modify, postpone or cancel an event that information will be relayed to you via email, the event web page, Social Media and over the PA system if at the event site. Oftentimes, we can delay the start a bit to wait for a storm to roll through or fog to clear up. These changes will be communicated at race site.

Lightning – If there is lightning present at the start of the event, we will delay the start of the race (in most cases up to an hour). We will NOT start an event if there is lightning in the immediate area. Thankfully, lightning usually happens in the afternoons. If lightning occurs during an event we need all athletes to seek shelter in a hardened structure or their vehicles.
Hurricanes – If a massive weather system such as a hurricane is bearing down on a race site we will notify athletes as soon as possible about the potential for cancellation. Storm tracks change and it is not possible to predict with 100% accuracy where a system will go and what it’s impacts will be. Look for communication from us several days prior to the race.
Water Quality – We test the water quality at all our venues. If the water is not safe to swim in due to elevated bacteria levels or other concerns, we will change to a bike-run format.
Cancellation – Should this event be cancelled due to weather, an Act of God, or circumstances beyond the control of the event we will give athletes a credit good for 100% of your registration fee for any race produced by our team in the following year. So, if you paid $120 to race, you will receive a coupon good for $120 off any race that we do the following year. We will also mail out racer swag, please be patient as this process takes time. Pre-Covide it was extremely rare to have to cancel an event. Over 15 years and 500 events we have only had to cancel 3 events. Two due to hurricanes and one due to extreme heat. (Please note that this weather policy is agreed to during the registration process)

Cancelling or modifying a race is not an easy decision.  Athletes have invested time and sweat in training and money in gear and entry fees.  We all want to race, but sometimes Mother Nature makes the decision for us.  Your safety is in our hands and we take that responsibility seriously.

NO, we have a clean, sanitized timing chip for you to use.

Please bring the timing chip to the finish line and turn it in to a team member. DO NOT turn it in to a volunteer. It must be returned to the finish line.

Because we use these timing chips throughout the year, we have to replace any that are lost (and ChampionChip timing chips are not cheap!). It is your responsibility to make sure that the timing chip is returned to us after the event. There will be a team of volunteers at the finish line who will make sure that your timing chip is removed, but if you lose your timing chip during the event, we will automatically contact you via e-mail and give you instructions for sending us a check for $50.00 to pay for the lost chip. Please note that we provide you with ankle straps to hold your timing chip and historically these ankle straps have done an excellent job of securing the timing chips during the event. For example, during the last season, we experienced under 5 lost chips with over 15,000 chip uses during the year.

Yes! All races will have lifeguards, safety kayakers and EMS units supporting the swim course. However, these folks are here to handle emergencies, not to babysit athletes that didn’t put in the effort to learn how to swim. Practice the swim and get confident in open water, don’t just show up race day and wing it.

First of all for the obvious reason of staying warm in colder water. Secondly, because wetsuits are faster for most triathletes. Very accomplished swimmers do not see as much of an advantage (if any) in wearing a wetsuit as far as speed is concerned. But an overwhelming majority of triathletes wear them whenever they can because a wetsuit makes most people faster in the water.

Yes! Our partner wetsuitrental.com offers 2 week rentals starting $70 which includes shipping both ways! With the nations largest and newest rental fleet, their wetsuit fit concierge will get you in great fitting wetsuit.  RENT NOW

The USAT rule governing the usage of wetsuits in races is as follows:

1. Water temperature is 78 degrees or lower: Wetsuits may be worn
2. Water temperature is between 79 degrees and 83 degrees: Wetsuits may be worn, HOWEVER, the participant is not eligible for any race awards and do not receive any USAT ranking points or series ranking points.  Athletes choosing to wear a wetsuit will be placed in a special wetsuit category to get results. No awards will be given for this special category.  They will not be ranked in their respective age group or overall results.
3. Water temperature is 84 degrees or higher: Wetsuits are not allowed.

 Yes – USA Triathlon rules state that you must pick up your own event packet, you must present a photo ID at packet pick-up. You will have verified your USAT membership or purchased the $15 one day fee when you registered. This rule also applies to all relay team members – each relay team member must pick up his/her own event packet. Please be sure to adhere to distancing guidelines when getting your packet.

This spreadsheet has links to all current race maps as well as elevation profiles. So, if you are shopping for a PR course, this is a great place to start. Click here to view the elevation of each race.

Yes – most of our races have cut-off times for completing races. These cut-off times are in place for the benefit of volunteers and police. In all cases, these cut-off times are very lenient – allowing virtually everyone to finish our events. Cut-off times are posted on the event information pages.

Pool swim triathlons have become an important part of the triathlon scene in recent years. Pool swim races allow us to begin the triathlon season earlier than normal, and also allow us to utilize venues that have no open water options. At the race, participants begin the swim one at a time in a self seeded order, approximately 1 person every 10 seconds. Participants will “snake” their way across the pool – down and back in each lane – covering the required distance when they exit the pool.  The swim start is self seed, but the pool goes smoother if we go in general speed order. Faster swimmer toward the front.

If it’s a sprint or olympic distance event, there will NOT be any water bottle hand-off locations. If it’s a long course (half), there will be multiple water bottle/sports drink hand-off locations.

Yes, at least every mile on the run course, regardless of the length of the event.

Here is a very basic explanation of drafting, but to learn more we suggest you consult the USAT website and download the rules information posted. (Please see Section 5.10 for “Position Fouls” on the bike.)

“Drafting” is basically riding right behind another competitor on the bike course. By drafting behind someone you gain an unfair advantage because it allows you to ride at the same speed as the person you’re following without exerting as much energy. In the sport of triathlon for age group events here in the U.S. drafting is not allowed.

You can find results for 2014-current here, 2013 and prior are no longer available.

Yes, we send the official results to the USAT National office (for national & regional ranking points) within 14 days of the race.

If you would like to track an athlete during the race, go to the link below, find your race and find your athlete.  https://runsignup.com/Race/FindARunner/?raceId=

To find more information to assist you in reaching your goals check out this new initiative from USA Triathlon. Click here to get started.

The Mid-Atlantic is blessed to have multiple triathlon clubs in pretty much every major city and they are stacked with longtime athletes and programs to support your swim, bike, run habit. From learn to swim clinics, group training and socials, you can connect with others passionate for the multisport lifestyle. Find a club near you, click HERE.

To assist you in your triathlon journey.

• Guide To Your First Triathlon – Michael Harlow of Endorphin Fitness
• Intro to Triathlon – Kyle Pawlazyk of Endorphin Fitness
• How Fast Can You Go – Michael Harlow of Endorphin Fitness
• Shoelaces – Camille Ronesi of Endorphin Fitness
• Goal Setting – Michael Harlow of Endorphin Fitness
• Short Sleeve Tri Suits – Kyle Pawlaczyk of Endorphin Fitness
• What Kids Need From Sports – Michael Harlow of Endorphin Fitness
• Strength Training and the Endurance Athlete – Camille Ronesi of Endorphin Fitness
• Power Meter – Kyle Pawlaczyk of Endorphin Fitness
• Hamstring Stretches – Camille Ronesi of Endorphin Fitness
• Fishing for Breakthroughs – Michael Harlow of Endorphin Fitness
• Failure Is Not An Option – Camille Ronesi of Endorphin Fitness
• Winter Training – Team Z
• Swim Training – Doug Marocco of PowerBar Team Elite
• Off Season Top 10 List – Alysia Kern Lovgren of Catalyst 3 Coaching

Here is a draft of our 2021 schedule for planning purposes  2021 Kinetic Multisports Race Schedule