Gosh darn it - We can't get together for Hagg!

Attention Athletes:

This is not the announcement we wanted to make today. Hagg Lake Triathlon and Trail Festival was originally supposed to be in July but we worked with our permitting agencies who all felt confident that we would be able to host at the end of August with a modified, live event. We created an extensive safety protocol modeled after other events that have been operating successfully across the country and we honestly felt that our plan would have been safer than any of us going to the grocery store. But unfortunately, phases have been put on hold and Hagg Lake is just not able to permit the event. We even looked at hosting Hagg Lake event at Horseshoe lake (wouldn't that have been a hoot!) but even Woodland is stalled in Phase 2 with no timeline for transitioning to Phase 3, and even then, Phase 3 is now a maximum of 10 people for group gatherings so Woodland is not able to permit either. So the reality is that a live event is not possible for Hagg Lake - gosh darn it! The good news - we are resilient, we train long hours and we go the distance and no world pandemic will stop that! Stay the course, race the course and together, we will get through this!

We are guessing many of you are not surprised by this, but we have to announce that our Hagg Lake Triathlon & Trail Festival is transitioning to a virtual event. Our number one priority is our athletes and the health of our community so we would never want to do anything that would cause anyone to get sick. With that said, we hope we can convince you to still race with us virtually. You could even still do it at Hagg Lake - the lake is open, the course details are on our website and you could do your event in a safe, physical distancing manner. Always... safety is the #1 priority! Follow traffic laws and adhere to all the virtual racing rules we will send you. You will not have a closed course and we won't be there to keep you safe so you have to swim, bike and run defensively.

This event is near and dear to our hearts since it is one of the oldest multi-sport events and one of the most gorgeous courses in the nation.

So instead of crying, we will continue to focus on what we CAN do versus what we can't do. That's what athletes do! We train to overcome obstacles and challenges! We can't race together physically, but we can still race together in spirit. Since we can't offer the live race option, Hagg Lake Triathlon & Trail Festival will now race apart but together from all over the country. We aren't cancelling on you! This will be our 10th Virtual event in 2020 and we have some experience how to still make this special for you. We have learned that our athletes have really appreciated that they have something positive to look forward to and something to train for. Just because COVID-19 canceled our plans, it doesn't mean your goals need to be cancelled. Not to mention, we need an outlet and an incentive to put the training in to develop our physical strength, mental health, reduce our stress, and build our immune system.

Gather your family or a small groups of friends and have your own race weekend! There is something for everyone at Hagg Lake Triathlon & Trail Festival. We have you covered whether you are a road junkie or if you want to get dirty in the dirt!

So you will still do the distance that you signed up for but you will now do it between August 29th - September 6th at your chosen location with your closest family/friends. You still have the option to do a Sprint or Olympic Triathlon (Swim/Bike/Run), Duathlon (Run/Bike/Run), AquaBike (Swim/Bike), Paddle Triathlon (Kayak/Paddleboard/Row instead of swim Paddle/Bike/Run), Trail Triathlon (Swim/Bike/Run), Trail Duathlon (Bike/Run).Trail Aquabike (Swim/Bike) and Trail Paddle Triathlon (Paddle/Bike/Run) and a 5K Trail and Half Marathon Trail... and don't forget, KIDS run our 5Ks for Free! There are SO MANY OPTIONS and we literally have something for everyone! You still get all the SWAG including BIG BLING and upgraded merchandise to remind you of the year you raced in such a unique way. THIS IS THE BEST SWAG PACKAGE WE'VE DONE THIS YEAR! You will send us your race photos, videos and results so we can still create an official photo album, race video, finisher's certificate, results listing and we will host virtual awards ceremonies. We need that sense of community and that feeling that we're going through this together. We need to feel that sense of accomplishment. The emails we have been receiving from our athletes who have participated in our virtual events have been so overwhelmingly positive and have confirmed for us that offering the Virtual option is what the majority of our athletes want and need right now. We will email you the specific guidelines for each virtual race and distance including the rules and also how to do each leg of the Triathlon, Duathlon, AquaBike, & Paddle Tri events. Here's a video that we posted earlier for 'How the Heck do you do a Virtual Triathlon' and we have had thousands of athletes successfully complete a virtual multi-sport event for PDX Triathlon and Pacific Crest Endurance Sports Festival. Our Virtual Lucky Triathlon Festival is on until this Sunday and you still have time to sign up and race. Our Virtual Columbia River & Girlfriends Tri starts in about 10 days. Sign up for all and get the series medals and beach towels!

In order to entice you to do the Virtual option, we have upgraded all the SWAG and will hustle like crazy to make this virtual experience memorable, meaningful, fun and something you will never forget.

Sign up for the Virtual Hagg Lake Triathlon & Trail Festival asap to guarantee all your correct sizing for this cool merchandise.

Here's what you are going to get if you don't defer! Please sign up if you haven't yet and let's #RaceApartTogether!

All Hagg Lake Triathlon & Trail Festival athletes get a Technical Finisher's Racing Tank and Made in the USA Medal and SWAG bag full of goodies from our sponsors! If you look closely all the swag is covered with inspirational quotes, words and messages. This is going to look so amazing on all of you. Wear it proudly to remind yourself how hardcore you are!

Plus all Hagg Lake Multi-sport athletes get the above AND also get a VERY COOL CYCLING JERSEY, collector's item Beach Towel, and a Buff! You get it all! We hope this is an incentive for many of our athletes to give multi-sport a TRI on their own terms in a non-intimidating way. Just DU it! Our hopes are that these virtual options lead to many more Triathletes, Duathletes, Paddlers and AquaBike athletes in our sport!

Remember, if you do all 5 of our Multi-sport events in 2020, you will get all of the collector's item medals and this wooden holder to remind you what you did during the 2020 Pandemic! If you haven't earned the first 2 medals yet, email us at info@whyracingevents.com and we'll let you know how you can earn a full collection. Sign up for LUCKY asap - it's not too late. We only have 60 spots left!

Do you want ALL THE SWAG?! DO THE BEAST CHALLENGE?! Since the event is virtual over an extended period of time, it makes it more manageable to be a BEAST! If you perform 2 or 3 of the events, you can earn a Beast medal or the coveted Triple-headed Beast Medal. Since it's virtual you can do multiple events over the time period. For example, you could do a Sprint Triathlon one day, the Olympic AquaBike on another day and the 5K on another day. Any combination counts and you can earn ALL THE SWAG BY DOING MULTIPLE EVENTS!

Email registration@whyracingevents.com for details and to add on.

FUNDRAISING: It's also important to note that $5 from each paid adult registration will go to our beneficiary Share, which is an organization who serves the hungry and the homeless. When you register, you can also set up a fundraising page to help raise donations and put an even more compelling WHY to your virtual race! Help us continue to support this important cause during these tough times.

KIDS: We want to continue to support our 'Kids race for FREE' initiative so kids can participate in the virtual 5K for free and get a shirt, medal and bib. We are teaching them important life lessons and how to focus on the positive during these challenging times. Make it fun for your kids and maybe have them set up a fundraising page and see how much they can raise for our beneficiary as they train to cross the virtual finish line.

IMPORTANT: If you have already registered, your options are as follows:

1. Participate in the virtual option which we REALLY hope you do! If you have already signed up, your registration will automatically be switched to the virtual option so you don't need to do anything. Not only will you get all the upgraded swag, but also our already registered multi-sport and Trail Half Marathon athletes will receive a $20 race credit to be used at a future Why Racing event or to be used for the Beast Challenge.

2. Defer to 2021 or another Why Racing event this year. Just email us at registration@whyracingevents.com by this Friday August 7th and let us know if you want to defer. We have waived the deferral fee. If you don't defer, all of your correct sizing for all official finishers' merchandise will be ordered for you that's why we need to know ASAP if you want to defer.

Register! If you have not signed up yet, we hope we've convinced you to join in on all the fun! Here's the pricing details to sign up for the virtual race experience and receive all the SWAG and be part of something amazing! Please share with all your friends, family and racing buddies!

*$55 for Trail 5K/Half Marathon and get the Tank, Medal & SWAG bag

*$80 for all Multi-sport events and get the Tank, Medal, Beach Towel, Cycle Jersey, Buff and a SWAG bag full of goodies.

*Relay options too - since it's virtual, your relay partners can be from anywhere around the world!

*50% off for Junior athletes

*$20 for run-only add-on or $45 for multi-sport add-on for Beast challenge

We can't control what's going on in the world and the uncertainty of it all can be scary. The only thing we can control is what we focus on and our response. A virtual event won't be exactly as we had planned for, but nothing is really going as planned right now. The only thing we can do is to promise that we will do everything in our power to assure you won't regret sticking with it and going virtual with us.

FYI, if you email registration@whyracingevents.com, Jennifer Lyman, will be receiving your email, who is our sweet registration director. Please be patient with her as her inbox has been slammed and she will do her best to get back to you as soon as possible.

IMPORTANT: If you have a Comcast email address, many athletes have had difficulties receiving our emails. If you don't hear back from us, please message us on Facebook.

If you missed the Live Announcement from Sherri McMillan, you can watch it here.

Thank you so much for your support during these challenging times. So many of you have asked how you can help us make it through this when we can't host any live events and the best thing to do is to continue participating in our virtual races and inspire your friends to sign up too. That's the only thing that's keeping us together right now. So many of our colleagues across the country have either laid off all their employees or shut their doors for good and we are fighting that as hard as we can! We want to be doing this for the long-term! We can't wait to see you face-to-face at a finish line soon but in the mean time, a virtual finish line is better than no finish line!

Please share this email with anyone you love who you think would be inspired to go for it and would benefit physically and mentally from these events.

Sherri McMillan & your WHY Racing Crew