The Future of Triathlon with Set Up Events: Why Racing Local Matters Ep 123

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Awesome. It's great to be here, Chris. And I finally get to tell a little bit of the side of the story from setup that Bill never wanted to tell over the last 35 years.

Oh my goodness. Okay. Yes. So I was digging around and found that setup events started in 1994.

Yes. 1990—

yep. So he was really like the OG. And when I got into the sport in 2003, and he— one, my first race was White Lake, so it was a setup events race and I absolutely adored it. I can definitely credit him to part of the reason why I'm in this sport and doing this as a career is because I loved it so much. So I remember then that he was probably maybe the second largest race directing company, and that was in 2003. So Where are you guys at now? Tell us about Bill. How is this getting shifted over to you? We got to learn all about you because you have a really cool background. So I'm going to let you take it away.

Awesome. Yeah, thank you. So I was not around at the beginning stages. I'm a West Coast baby that turned into a military kid. I call myself a kid. I'm 1 year away from retiring from the Marine Corps. But so I've been fortunate to travel around the country and even the world. And I landed over here on the East Coast, uh, 2018, found Set Up Events. They were doing some races in South Carolina and North Carolina, and then I was able to start working for Bill. You know, after the pandemic, Bill was, was really firing things back up, so I was able to come in as a staff. And then things just lined up to where I was able to become Bill and Linda's right-hand man, you know, their race director, their guy that hauls the trailer out, the guy that hauls the staff. And I know we're going to say Bill a lot, but, but we cannot forget Bill and Linda. Linda has been there the whole time. She is really the puppeteer behind the curtains because she handles all the timing for all of setup events as well too. So I got my White Lake shirt on because I'm excited for White Lake. This year's— it really is one of my favorite races as well too. I'm sure that's what keeps a lot of people coming back is going to the White Lake races, which is why we go twice a year.

Yes. It is such a great event and I love that it's so, it's so beginner friendly and then also so friendly to those who really wanna take it to the next level and really go super fast.

When, when you have a super shallow lake, it's, it's a lot less intimidating. When you have a very flat bike course, it's less intimidating. And, and the run, you know, in the summer the run can get a little warmer, especially for our half, but for our, our short distance, I mean, hot is actually the term perhaps, but like you're in North Carolina, right? Like, yeah, if you've been training, it's just another day in North Carolina.

It is. Yes. Yeah. And it's so nice that that water is, um, like you can see.

Yes.

You can see things.

Yeah. Uh, compared to a lot of other races around this area, um, it's, it's, it's really a beautiful destination and it's, it's really spectator friendly. It's, it's just a great race. And if, if you haven't been to one of those, uh, White Lake races. We do it in May and we do it in September. We do halves, we do internationals, and we do short course as well too. So it's, it's, it's really what keeps people coming back into the sport. And we, as the production side, really try to make it great for the spectators and the athletes coming out, to where they have a great race and they go home thinking about, man, that was, that was probably one of my best races. I probably PR'd something, you know.

Yeah. Oh, for sure. And the distance between the water and transition is like not far. Yeah. So you're not doing this like massive, you know, transition time. So that cuts back on overall time too. And I know you mentioned that you have a half, you have Olympic, and you have sprint, but you also have some like unique formats.

Yeah. Yeah. So in the fall, uh, we do the double sprint down there. So the double sprint started in 1997. Bill was the first person to do the double sprint.

Um, Oh, good on him. Was that at Carolina Beach?

That was originally at Carolina Beach, right? So it's the swim, run, bike, run, swim, finish on the beach format. He moved it down to Currie Beach where he actually— they live down there, so they loved doing it there because they just got to wake up and walk out to the transition area. And, and we've just struggled. I'm going to try and do this, uh, say this gently. We've struggled with the area because tourist season and just the area, they really cater towards the tourism in that area. And I don't think the city really sees our race production, or at least at our level, supporting their mission. So, so we had to move the race to White Lake. So now we do the double sprint in September. And we've had a lot of, a lot of people asking for it to come back. So we just started it in 2024, brought it back. Um, after a 2-year hiatus, and I think it's picking momentum back up. People are talking about it.

That's so cool. I, I think, and you can certainly, uh, chime in on this, I feel like that is part of the future of the sport is not just being swim, bike, run, but being something a little interesting, something a little different, something kind of fun and challenging, especially for anyone who makes their way into long course and then maybe is sort of boomeranging back because historically and statistically, people who go long course, and I'm talking like half and full Ironman, tend to have a higher burnout rate. And then in our minds, and actually our sports psychologist, uh, Coach Carly is literally doing this as her dissertation.

Yeah.

Of how there's this almost like level of blue. Blueness after long course racing. You sort of get used to this like hefty training load and you're just like, oh my gosh, it feels so heavy. And to me, a double sprint is just fricking fun.

Yeah. It's, it's a quick race and you're done in an hour and 7 minutes, an hour and 29 minutes, you know, something around there.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, totally. Okay. So I know you mentioned the, the town of Cherry Beach, which is fine. There are always gonna be little nuances to every city, I'm sure. So talk a little bit about how you're choosing some of these events. What are some of the potential challenges, whether it be, you know, whether the town accepts you or permitting or cops or I don't know, anything maybe that I'm missing? Like, what do you feel like people—

You just listed a handful of our nuances. Thankfully, Setup Events has been rooted for so long and our race series is very predictable, right? We haven't really added a whole lot of races over the years. We may have lost a couple, you know, Lake Lure right now. I don't want to say we lost Lake Lure, but we are waiting for Lake Lure to rebuild right now after, after that devastating hurricane last year. Lake Logan, right? Lake Logan was, was a race we lost. They had a, they had a half as well too. And I think that ties into a lot of the challenges that we face on a day-to-day basis, right? Getting a location, getting approval from whether it's the state, whether it's, you know, UNCW, the campus, these private areas that we go into like Pinehurst, getting the buy-in from these people to approve us. And I don't think they're just gonna recognize anybody that wants to come in and be like, oh, I wanna put a race on. They know that we've been doing this for 30+ years and we're gonna put on a good event and we're gonna respect their area. So that's probably one of the biggest challenges is just really maintaining that communication and that great relationship with the people that allow us to put on these sites, whether it's a state park, anywhere. Um, the second thing you mentioned was police, right? We struggle with police. We compete with, uh, other events, especially when we go up to the Raleigh-Durham area and we're trying to put on a race and we're requesting overtime. These cops are getting offered overtime from many concerts, college football games, things like that. So those are just some of the competing events. We, we have found an alternative solution to getting police on overtime. We use a third-party program that provides people that are certified to assist with traffic. They're not authorized like a law enforcement official to stop traffic, but they are authorized almost like a road crossing guard, right, you know, near an elementary school. So, so we have some of those people that come out from this third-party program. They've been super supportive. They, they don't know anything about triathlon, but they come out and they're rooting on people as they're doing their job. So we're thankful for them as well. And then I think some of the other pieces is just weather. You know, Mother Nature is, is one of those challenges that we face as a race production company. I can't control what the water temp's going to be. I can't control if there was a storm a few weeks ago and it blew debris into the water. Right? I can't control— I can go out there with my leaf blower the day before and blow every sharp corner on the bike course and praying to give a cyclist the most prestige corner. And one rain, one truck can mess that all up, and then there's gravel and rocks on that corner. So we try our best to put on the best race, and sometimes Mother Nature has other plans. And then Makes it a little challenging for people, right? Uh, you know, you wanna be able to, uh, have your best race, but sometimes you have to overcome those challenges. That's why triathletes are the best because you, they are always thrown different challenges and, and that's part of racing is overcoming those challenges.

Yes. I think that's a great point because so many of us train in what we would otherwise think of as maybe pristine conditions, right? You know, like you're training in the pool and you're on your trainer and you're, you know, running on a treadmill or just running around your day neighborhood or whatever, and then lo and behold, race day comes. Um, maybe the transition area is muddy and now you've got this extra— to me, that is not an inconvenience. It's an added opportunity to challenge yourself. Now, obviously, if you don't feel safe, then that's a different story. But it sounds like most people that you've had exposure to have a pretty good attitude. About it when they—

yeah, they're— I mean, I, I, I've been reading some of the posts and comments on social media about, uh, what you were talking about earlier, just kind of that burnout, that blue. And I will— I'll thank people in the comments who praise your more local races and your shorter distances, because I truly believe the culture at our races and, and even some of our, our competitive race production companies in North Carolina, who we're all friends with, Anyways, the culture that the races that we put on are just different than when you go to this more— I guess you can call it more elite level. I, I'll argue that with anybody. I think we have some of the best athletes in the hemisphere, you know, in the Mid-Atlantic region that are coming to our races that are some of the best racers in the country, you know, and we see that. So, yes, they always come with a good attitude. And then the ones that have a hard attitude, Look, listen, I'm a two-time drill instructor. I've got, I've got word voodoo. I can, I can, I can change someone's attitude real quick.

You have word voodoo? That is amazing.

So I'll go over there and, uh, there's a lot of different approaches I'll take. I'm usually— I usually have a smile. People, people don't know that I'm a two-time drill instructor in the Marine Corps unless something chaotic's happening. Then, then you hear me from about mile away. But I can really read people well, you know. I also have a law enforcement background, so I'm really good at reading people. And so if somebody's not having the best day, I can see that, I can read it, and I, I'm really good at kind of changing the tone. Bill, Bill's the master at this too. I've picked up a lot of this from Bill because he'll have somebody screaming in his face and Bill will just be like, look, well, this is what we'll do, you know, let me, let me help you. And I'm just like, Bill, How did you handle that? You know, he's—

that's—

yeah, I guess it comes with the experience. I'm learning. I'm trying to pick up as much as I can shadowing him for the last few years.

Yeah. So it almost sounds like you have to have a little bit of thick skin to be in this business, but maybe not as much as perhaps some other sports. I know we were like, you come from a motocross background and you were before we started recording talking a little bit about that. And that's not to throw a the sport under the bus.

Yeah.

But maybe just a different, a different energy, maybe a different expectation. And really how triathlon is, should, and hopefully is fun for most people.

Yeah. I mean, that's, that's why we're here is, is because it's a hobby. No, there's very few of us that are doing this at the, at the elite level. And even the professionals aren't waking up, training, training, racing on Saturday. There, there's 5 people, 10 people in the world that are doing it at that level. And they, and they're not doing it for long either because the, the toll that it takes. So at the end of the day, this is a hobby for all of us. It's something that, that keeps us around. And, and I will say one of the things that really kept me around the triathlon sport was you, when you're at an award ceremony and, and you're creeping up in the age brackets, right? And then you get to the 60-year-olds and the 70-year-olds. And then you— there's two 80-year-olds out there and you're just like, oh my goodness, these people are in, in so alert. They're in such incredible shape. And that's what kept me in the sport is when I'm a grandfather one day, I want to be like that. I want to be able to show my grandkids how great it is to be alive and the things that you can do and be able to pick up grandkids, things like that. So Those are some of the aspects that keep me around. Thick skin, yeah, you gotta have thick skin, especially if you're working for me, if you're part of my crew, because while I'm race directing, I got my race directing hat, I'm walking around the transition area, people are like, "Hey, Justin." But if you're— my crew knows this and I love my crew. We're so synchronized. But the day before setup, I'm out there, "Let's do this, let's do this." It's quick and to the point. But they know that that's my, I guess, my leadership style is, is I'm not going to ask twice for that. So yes, my crew has very thick skin. But if it— us as a production side, we have to have thick skin because you never know what somebody's gonna complain about. Right.

But it sounds like that's generally few and far between.

Sure. Yeah. I mean, one instance, maybe a race, every other race. And we usually, we, we send people back in their car, send them home, and, you know, we, we make them happy. We— our goal is to just put on a great race and, and bring you into the sport and this community. That's why you're here, right? You, you love this community so much that you've decided to find a home in the community. And that's what we really want to show a lot of these people that maybe just have a bad day or a bad race, that Today wasn't a clear example of what we're all about.

Yeah, definitely. And I, I think so much of that rare experience is maybe an opportunity for somebody to grow.

Sure.

You know, they just so happen to complain a little bit. Yeah. Right. So again, that's why I love this sport is it's like, okay, I may have had a bad day. I may have had a really bad day. Um, did me yelling in the race director's face, was that warranted? Probably not. So I can go home, cool off a little bit, and maybe reflect on that and like, how can, how can I take this opportunity to be a better human, be a better racer, be a better community member to lift others up and the race directors? Cuz you know, we wanna keep you guys.

I can say I've never gotten into a screaming match with anybody. Um, I'll win. I know that. But that's, that's not what I'm here to prove.

I'm here to make everybody happy.

And you got to understand, we have children athletes. So there's so many children coming up in the athlete form right now. Children spectators, family spectators, we're not trying to ruin the day for everybody just because you had a bad day. Let's go over into the corner. Let's talk about this. If you want to beat me up verbally, you know, I'll take the words and, and You know, there, there's just too much good going on at a race to mess up everybody's day. Right.

Yeah. Yeah. Talk a little bit about the cost of the sport, cuz I feel like you guys have a, because you've been around so long, I feel like you guys do a really great job at keeping things affordable. Yeah. You know, how do you feel like that ties into maybe the future of the sport? Are there certain challenges that go along with various aspects of the cost of the sport?

Yeah, the, the putting on a race is not cheap, especially if, if you're putting on a, a smaller race, right? We're not Ironman. We're not getting 3,000, 3,500 athletes showing up. Um, you know, our races range from a slow or a rainy day is, is 200 racers to, you know, our more average, which is, you know, 300 to 500, and then some of our bigger races, you know, like Wrightsville Beach, uh, we're, we're cracking over 1,000. So things got more expensive from my understanding. I'm not the accounting guru, but Bill and I communicate a lot about the expenses, and I can tell you after COVID a lot of things went up and, and And kudos to Bill and Linda because that was one of their main points was just because the expenses are going up, we're not going to jack up the prices. You can go to everybody else's race site in the area and look at the cost of a triathlon and then go look at setup-events.com and look at the cost of our races. And you might think, oh, this is a low-pro a low-production race. No, I promise you, our production is going to be more elite than a lot of those other races, a lot of our competitors, even though we're a lot buddies. But internally, and that's one of the— as a Marine, very competitive nature. I want to see this company succeed. I want to— I want Bill's name to be a greater legacy than it already is right now, which is, which is hard to beat because you can go anywhere and everybody knows Bill Scott. If you've raced White Lake in 2003 or 2005 and you've even left the sport, you know Bill Scott. So I'm with a competitive nature. I really want to make the races just better than the last race. And how do we do that? And how do we do that with not gouging the customers, you know, with, with the overhead costs? So Bill's really been creative over the years in managing the budgets. And at the end of the day, a triathlon company or a race production company owner, we're not, we're not driving Bentleys and we're not, you know, we're, we're here because we love the sport. We're not here to, to make a bazillion dollars off of athletes.

Well, I have a great appreciation for what you guys do, not only because you were my first race and, you know, because we send athletes there all the time, but as a race production company ourselves. Now, granted, we put on one race and because we put on one race, we can't make it as cheap as you can, right? Right. Like, that's just— it's just not— it's just not possible, right? So going with a company like yours who does it all the time, who has the timing equipment, who has— you guys have all this stuff. We don't have all the stuff, right? So that makes it more costly for us. So that— I, I feel like that's— it's, it's not a low production opportunity. It's like, oh, these— this is affordable because they do it all the time. And they're really good at it.

It's a lot easier when we've got two trailers full of equipment. We've got two storage facilities full of equipment that has been— some of the stuff's been gathered over the 30 years. Bill and I, we're going to go to the recycling center here shortly. But, but we have all the equipment, right? So it's, it's easy for us to show up. And when we do so many races a year, we go on autopilot. You know, when we go to set up, whether it's a Viking Dash race, right, which is coming up, or it's our triathlons or even the swim races that we put on, we're all just so autopilot. We go and set it up and it's— I think that's what also keeps costs down, right? Time equals money, right? So if you're able to go out there and set up a race and your hours are shorter for everybody and you have all the equipment, you don't have to outsource anything. That's, that's, I think, what's kept us stable versus a lot of these other people that try to put on races. And if you're trying to— if you're coming into the sport trying to put on a race just to make money, you're not going to last because, because one, you know, if you're going to do it, you got to do it right. And it takes time. This isn't a, I'm going to put on one big race and I'm going to just step away from the sport. Like, it takes time to really invest yourself into this community. And there's some other great people that— there's some other great people that are doing it really well. And I look up to a lot of these people, you know. I'm not sure if you're familiar with Tom Clifford.

Oh, yeah.

So Tom, Tom, well, we partner the—

Out of Wilmington, right?

Yeah, yeah. So Tom Clifford's been a great help. He actually partners with us with the White Lake Half, the pro-am that we put on. So he's been another guy. I don't look at him as a competitor. I look at him as a friend in the sport that is willing to help us put on races to help the community because he's another guy like you and like me that just love the people.

Yeah, so fun. I will have to say, and hopefully this makes it to him, I am so impressed that he can put on a race and do the race. That's next level. Like, I— that doesn't even compute in my brain. I could not put on a race and then also have like my race face on. Like, that just— so kudos to you.

Yeah, there's, there's a couple— I'm not at that level yet. I, I think I get, I get a little upset when I see people doing that. I'm like, wow, you have time to put on race and go race? Like, who's, who's watching the aid stations? But he's got people covered for that. Me, I I like to sit from the bird's nest or the sniper post and just make sure everything's good. I, I, I'm not at that level.

I, I call mine the mom nest. I like how you have like the military version. Mine is the mom. I'm like, oh my gosh, is everybody okay? Are my staff okay? Are the athletes okay? Like, are my volunteers okay? Is everybody good? So it's, yeah, that's, it's next level. It's, it's a lot of work, but yeah, having the right staff in place is massive.

Yes.

You know, and volunteers, talk about that. Like, is it hard for you guys to volunteer, find volunteers? Like, what's, what's that look like over here?

You know, I've seen a roller coaster of certain areas, certain races, certain times of the year. Um, yes, volunteers are hard to come across and, you know, we try to incentivize our volunteers with with, you know, something, whether it's a discounted race in the future, whether it's some swag or something like that, because we are very appreciative of anybody that volunteers to come out and, and support a race. Now, if you've never volunteered before, like, that should be on your 2026 challenge list right there, is just go volunteer for a race because you see so much of the inside of the production of the race by just volunteering, whether you're working an aid station, whether you're supporting in the transition area, you're at the finish line, you know, anything. There's so many volunteer spots at any race that you will learn. And as an athlete myself, I took that as an advantage point that I was learning some inside of the sport that I could take to my next race. You know, I know that the people handing me water are probably volunteers and they probably don't know how to hand me a water bottle. You know, and that's just something super basic. But when you're in need of water at an aid station and we see the pros do this all the time, they think they're getting a water bottle handed by this elite water bottle hander person. And you see the pros drop water bottle, water bottle, water bottle, water bottle. Well, guess what? You didn't get any water. So, but when you know these are volunteers and you've done it yourself and, and you've sat there and handed people water cups, you learn so much. So yes, volunteers are hard to come across. That's my, my selling point. Please volunteer for a race. The ones that come out, they're usually affiliated with the race in some capacity, whether, you know, we get a lot of National Honor Society high school kids that need some hours. And so those kids are great because, I mean, where they are in their academic career, they're already ahead of their peers. Just being a part of an organization like that. And so when they come out, they're super helpful, super friendly. Then we get family members, right? A wife, a husband, some kids. And those are motivating, especially when you get a bunch of kids out there that are just waiting for dad but they're yelling at everybody, or they're waiting for mom to come by and they're just screaming at anybody that looks like her. So, um, that, that's another side of the volunteers. And then the third piece that we utilize, and, and hopefully I'm not selling Bill's big secret out, but We get a lot of the local JROTC programs.

Oh, that's a great idea.

Oh man, I probably just blew it then. So, but we have a good—

Well, I mean, they get— but they, like you mentioned, they get hours.

Yes. And when you're part of a JROTC program, you're part of either a Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or an Army JROTC, which has some discipline and some structure. And so when these kids come out, they, they're a lot more disciplined and obedient to orders than most of your 14, 15, 16-year-old kids. And they also have a boss there, right? It's some sort of military official, typically a retired one, that heads that whole program. So those, those groups have been great. I will give a huge shout out up in Troutman, Mooresville area, the South Iredell High School Marine Corps JROTC. Not to put them at the top, but man, those kids— go out to the Lake Norman Sprint and/or the Charlotte Viking Dash, and you'll see these kids out there. And man, that retired Lieutenant Colonel and the retired Mass Sergeant, they've got those kids like I want to put my kid— kids in their program because they've got those kids just on it.

That's so cool. Um, yeah, Justin, you may have just created a challenge because my kid is in Navy.

Oh no, I love it.

And so I might, I might have to challenge their group to come volunteer for our race or any of y'all's races and see, uh, and see who shows up a little bit better than Navy or the Marines.

Oh, all right, all right, I see what you did there. Yeah, they're—

they're also— this is coming from an Air Force brat. So, and, uh, anytime I tell anybody that, they're like, especially in the Army, they're like, oh, you were just in the Air Force. Now, I wasn't personally in the Air Force. I just followed—

traveled around.

But just short—

let me give you a 10-second— I was actually trying to join the Air Force, but I went on the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday, uh, to the recruiting station, and the Air Force recruiting station was closed. I should have took that as a sign that life probably would have been a little easier in the airport because the only one open was the Marine Corps.

Uh, Justin, I respect what you do. Thank you for your service. I, I don't even— I don't even— I— yeah, following my dad around was enough. Uh, that's— yeah, I could not imagine.

Bless the kids that, that, that do it, you know, and try to be in sports. I got a 15-year-old daughter that's had to pack up and move a handful of times and we're thankful for the children of service members because they, they go through a lot.

Yeah, but I mean, at least from my experience, I felt like— and I know it might sound a bit of a shock, but I am definitely an introvert. And that was a way for me to be like, okay, starting all over. Got to meet new friends, got to get in the community, got to, you know, show up and do your thing. And yeah, I mean, I've met some really great people where otherwise I think if I lived in the same place, I don't— I think life would be better.

You get exposed to so many different things and, and sports, right? Like, so in certain areas you do certain sports. One of my friends just came from 6 years or 5 years in Japan. He played— his son played a lot of baseball, you know, just where you're at just geographically changes. So the kids get in, they, I think they get an opportunity as much of a challenge they face growing up and on all the hard stuff. I think military kids get a lot of different opportunities that, you know, somebody that just grew up in small town USA all the way to high school or even college doesn't get.

Yeah, a little different. So where do you think, based on your experience thus far in the sport, where do you think the sport is headed?

You know, I think I'm a stats nerd. So I'm constantly looking at the demographics of what age groups are looking at our races. Just, just on the internet, I'm looking at who's showing up and racing, I'm seeing which classes are stacked. And Then you turn the whole personal side to it. You know, somebody my age who's got children, I don't have time to train this and that as much as I probably did back in the day, or that I might have in about 10 or 15, 10 years when all the kids are gone. I'm gonna have a lot of time to train, you know.

And I know, because Justin, you have, you gotta, I know you mentioned your 15-year-old, but you also have a 1-year-old.

Yeah, yeah.

You're busy.

I love— we love kids, and I love girls. I got 3 girls, so, um, oh, that's awesome. I think that's what really melts my heart. But, you know, we have such a wide range of, of demographics, of, of ages. You know, we've got kids that are 9 years old that want to race, and we've got people in their mid-80s racing. And I think that the generation right now that is, you know, I don't want to, I don't want to say any offensive words, but the 50+ generation, 60+ generation, I feel like they have done such a great job at, at making the sport fun and being able to show people, you know, and I can recall some instances at races where I'm an athlete And some guy just starts talking to me, you know, and, um, it just— it— I was nervous. I didn't know anybody at the race, right? So, um, you're not going to see that from a 20 or a 30-year-old person. It's, it's the more experienced, more knowledgeable, more wisdom, uh, people that— and I don't even know if they're doing it, but they're, they're, they're breaking the ice for me and in something that maybe I was uncomfortable with. So I think those people, they have a huge responsibility still, um, even though they're just showing up for a race, to really continue to show this newer generation of the teenagers, the 20-year-olds, and even some of the 30-year-olds that are just getting introduced to the sport how important it is that our culture, triathlon culture, is, is the most important thing Um, I think they, they, they owe that, and I don't want to demand on that from them, but I think, I think that's where we're going to head is, is as long as those people can continue to show the people, show the younger generations how great this is, we're going to produce great people in society. The more triathletes we have because of our culture. Um, I think a lot of people are going to start coming back to shorter course races. Right. I think that a lot of people put it on their, their corkboard or put it on their calendar that they want to go do a long-distance race, whether it's a half or a full. And they start putting the money out for it, which it's expensive, right? They get a trainer, they entry fees, hotels, flights, bike carriers, everything involved with the expenses of this race. And then once they financially get committed to it, then they have to mentally get committed to it, right? I have to train. My alarm's going off at 5:30 in the morning. I'm putting my running shoes on and I'm going running. And I think that's why we see so much burnout is because that lifestyle is not sustainable for, for long. And especially if you got a 1-year-old like me. Like, you think I'm telling my wife, all right babe, I'm going for a 75-mile bike ride after work today. I'll see you. Make sure dinner's ready. No, I'm getting my head chopped off. So, um, yeah.

And I also love how this, uh, population tends to underinflate what they're gonna do. They'll be like, see you in 2 hours, and like, right, 4 hours.

Yeah, that's me. Yeah, that's my signature move. That is my signature move. So Where I see us with the shorter distance racing, I see a lot of people coming back. You know, we really saw the long distance racing get very popular, and I think I still hold it to a high pedestal. On Sunday race— on Sunday mornings, I'm watching live timing, or I'm watching the video footage of races because I enjoy it. I'm just— I'm into that. Um, yeah, but I, I think Some people leave, you know, and they don't want to come back after they, they got that medal or they achieved that race. And I think that's where our style racing, the shorter style racing, is gonna keep people with the longevity. Why? Because how much training do you, do you really need to do to do a sprint triathlon, you know? I, I'll go—

and it's health— it's healthier in my pers— in my, uh, perspective.

Yeah.

You know, you're socially, mentally, physically, um, healthier to be training not as many quantity. Um, and you— and I know some people just love training.

Yes.

And that's fine. But, um, from my perspective, from a longevity perspective, I think short course is an easier way to sustain the sport for longer.

Yeah. So, yeah, I enjoy it. I like it. I like doing— I'm the sprint king, right? We have Olympics, but I'm the sprint king. Why? Because I could ride my bike twice in the month, go on a couple runs, and maybe get in the pool a month, you know, sometime in the month before a race and I can show up and I can race. You know, that's, that's what I love about it. Yeah. And then I'm—

Agreed. I always sort of joke that I like to be home by breakfast. Yeah. So, you know, just like get out, get her done, come back and have me an egg sandwich.

Exactly. Yeah. We have a, we have an athlete. The great thing about our racing too is I know so many people that have become my friends, right? Just our regulars. But we have a guy, his name's Adam, and he is fast. All right, I'm not going to throw his last name out because I don't want him to take offense to this, but I— it's a sign of appreciation. He's— he wins his age group, sometimes he wins races overall, but he is known for getting in the car and going home right after he comes across the finish line. He might shake a couple hands, whatever, but He's here for business, finish the race, and then probably mowing the lawn before we're even taking the finish line inflatable down.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, I guess you can, you know, speaking of like introverts, like that just might be his jam, right? Get done, maybe get back to the family, or maybe chase people down.

If he sticks around for a—

And that's okay too.

If he sticks around for an award ceremony, I like to make a big deal out of it. You know, I'm like, look at everybody. Adam stayed for awards, you know. So I love, I love him though. And he's, he's such a tremendous athlete too. If you, if you watch him, um, his, his form is just phenomenal in every aspect. And you can tell that he takes the time to really train. But at the same time, he's managing life, right? I'm here to race, but I gotta get back home because I got something else to do too.

Yeah, I mean, who's not, right? Like, we all have We all have things. That reminded me again what you were talking about with some of the, I don't wanna say the word O-L-D, the more mature generation. Yeah.

Experienced.

Of triathlete. Yes. So I know you were like, I'm not gonna put that expectation on them. I kind of am. I think that they have an obligation to keep the sport around. And in my mind, that's just like, generally chatting with, you know, just like making conversation. I remember, um, it was probably at White Lake, you know, because you're standing in the water getting ready to race, and men and women are a little different in the water. Um, but you know, you like, the men are just like all over each other and they're just like so aggressive and, you know, doing their thing. And all of us women are standing around like, I'm so sorry, If I hit you, my bad. I'm not intending to, you know, just like, oh, ha, you know, just, it's just like a lighter energy, a lighter mood. But maybe it's just talking to your other, you know, to some of the younger generation. And what do you think if you were to set an expectation for some of the more mature triathletes, what would that be to you to getting to making some of the newer generation feel welcome? Yeah.

I, Everybody's personality is different, right? Introvert, extrovert, things like that. But I, I think if, if, you know, for, for our crowd that is experienced with the wisdom, that have been around the racing, I think just being friendly and, and being able to recognize that you were in those, their shoes once too. You know, you were, you showed up to your first half or your, you know, maybe people sign up for an Ironman. Hey, this is my first Ironman and I'm nervous as as can be. And if you see those people, really just, just being friendly. You don't have to go above and beyond. Just, hey, how's it going? You know, I mean, in North Carolina, we have no problem talking with everybody out here. But, but we get a lot of athletes from other states as well, too, you know, and or transplants that just moved to North Carolina. So, and I say that as a guy that grew up in California, Los Angeles, but I, I call myself a chameleon. I like blending in wherever I go, pick up a little, a little accent, you know, And the North Carolinians, they're great. And I can say that about South Carolina. That's where I'm currently residing too. We're just friendly people. But remember to bring that with you to the races too, because that's how it should be. I mean, if that's what's really happening on the women's starting line, I might start putting myself in a couple brackets back because that's what I want to race with, you know?

I know you should. I mean, you should mic us all up. It's next level. It's so funny. And I think some of that just makes you feel more comfortable in the moment. Like, you know, we're all out here, we're all nervous, we all want to do the best we possibly can, which is why, you know, I'm going to crack a joke or, you know, talk about the wedgie I had this morning putting on my wetsuit. Like, you know, like it's—

it's funny you say that.

You know, here we are dressed in rubber in these little tight suits and, you know, you can't help but be a little vulnerable about out there.

Just being a normal person and You brought up a great point. I try to do that on race mornings because usually I have the microphone in my hand before the race, right? I'm doing a little bit of everything, but one of the things I really enjoy is having a mic in my hand and really— sometimes I'm cracking a joke, right? Sometimes I'm getting hard on people because they're not following directions, and then I crack a joke, and maybe the people that I was correcting didn't like the joke, but everybody else thought it was funny, and it kind of lightens the mood. And I love I'm talking about specifically when the females are on the start line, when we're doing like a beach start and, and the men are creeping their toes in the water, you know, and I'm like, all right, gents, back up. We'll, we'll wait another minute, you know, until we can all follow directions. And then they go, and then the women get on the line and I'm just like, well, I know I don't have to say this twice because the women listen and they know how to follow directions. And that's just me lightening the mood and, and trying to get everybody to relax before the race day and I feel like I, I don't, I have that power, so why not share that with everybody to just kind of help start the race a little bit better?

That's awesome. Well, Justin, I think Bill made a really great decision, uh, handing the reins gradually into your hands, cuz it sounds like you are making setup events a very welcoming place. And I think that that's what our sport needs to be because if you ever think of triathlon, like, oh my gosh, I could never do a triathlon. Absolutely. You can, you can learn how to swim. You can learn how to ride bike. You can learn how to love running and, and then get into all the fun stuff, like the transitions and eating gels with one hand and, you know, like all the weird tricks that you would never think to ever say that you've done, but then you're like, wow, I did that.

That's really stealing my daughter's hair tie to put it on my pedal. To hold my pedals. Yeah. Hey, you got a hair tie? I need that hair tie.

Uh-huh. Yeah. And she's like, yes, Dad, let's go. That's so cool. So how, Justin, how can we support Setup?

Yeah. What does that look like? We're putting on— I don't want to call this like Bill's final tour, but yeah, Bill's getting ready to retire. He wants to enjoy time with his grandkids. And so he's put a lot more responsibility on me. And I love it because He's treated me so well. And so he's going to be at a lot of our races this year, but, but less frequently from here on out, probably after 2026 series. So our 2026 series starts with the Viking Dashes, right? They're, they're 5Ks and 10Ks, um, trail runs, and you can dress Viking themed, uh, and, and they're really cool. And, and we do them all over. I think there's 5 different races and they're all over the state, so if you haven't been to one. And, and what people go out there for is the finisher medal. Every—

okay, is this—

yeah, you're gonna have to take a, take a look at it, or if you're listening, take a look at it. But this year it's this, it's this huge Viking boat, right? Um, they did, they did a Thor hammer, they did, um, they did an axe. They, they've had a few different cool medals over the years. And that's what a lot of people come out for is the new medal. So you have to check out the new medal. It's posted on our, on our social and on the race websites. And then in March we kick off the triathlon series, North Carolina Triathlon Series, uh, South Carolina Triathlon Series. Um, Jeremy Davis manages all the, the South Carolina races and I go up and, and put on all the North Carolina races. Um, but yeah, we're, we're starting off in, in March. And we go, we take a break in the summer usually because it gets pretty warm. And then we pick it back up. So if you are interested, setupevents.com, or you can go on our socials, you know, Setup Events or @NCTriSeries, @SCTriSeries, and you can find anything there. We've got a race for everybody.

Yeah, you guys really do. We're going to have to like create some sort of code word, Justin, that if people have listened to this and they go up to you and they say something, because I did another, uh, podcast with the race director of Ironman North Carolina.

I listened to that too.

They start— they were recognizing, they were recognizing her and they were like, oh my gosh, I don't want to say something to her because I'm afraid that I'll get a DNF because she means business. And Sammy does mean business.

I've never personally met Sammy. I listened to that podcast as well too, and, and I've only heard great things about Sammy. Sammy and I, we're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna come together at some point. But, um, yeah, I think that was—

oh, you absolutely will. She's a little spitfire. I— yeah, and I'm, I'm so glad that she's got that North Carolina race because it's, again, just, you know, sort of keeping the community together. She does great things in that respect. So, so yeah, what should, what should people come up to you and say? Like, there's gotta, you know, there's gotta be something good that they can—

I don't know, what is this design on the, on this wall?

Is this like a—

I was just thinking when you were saying that you lived in South Carolina, I was like, is that like the It's a wallpaper my wife decided on, but I don't know if you, if you know what type of shape or design this is, you could just say that shape or design or weird wallpaper.

Yeah, I know. Like maybe it's like a lychee on there. I relate everything to food as a dietitian, so maybe that's what it— I don't know. Yeah. If you guys can see this on YouTube and see what that is, then you can say, hey, Justin, yeah, or Adam.

Yeah. Green wallpaper.

So Yeah. So hopefully, uh, hopefully, uh, people are out there listening and getting excited about your events and will go race and/or volunteer, I would assume.

Yeah.

Yeah. You got to compete with the Navy and the Marines here. Cool. Yeah.

That's— those kids, those kids move. So if you're going to volunteer, um, no, it's, it's, it's great. Yeah. Come race, come volunteer, even just come out, take pictures. If you just, if you're getting into photography, you know, we have a couple photographers that come to the races, but if you wanted to mess around with a camera. Athletes love pictures of themselves. So, um, we try to get photographers out as much as possible, but I've seen just some random people come out and just taking pictures, taking video, and sharing them with the athletes after. And, you know, we're— us athletes, we love a good picture of ourselves, you know.

We— yes, you gotta— yeah, you put on the race face and then you see the camera and you're like instantly like, oh, I gotta— you know, you're like, are you really having that much fun? Hopefully you are. But also, you know, game face to silly face or—

Yeah. Or if you're a vendor and you want to come out, we've had vendors coming out to the races. I mean, we're small, but we've had several vendors come out. If you— I had another one that was good. Vendors, volunteers, staff.

Vendors, volunteers.

If you're a seasoned triathlete and you think you've got what it takes to be part of my staff, keep up with the people that work with me. I'm always interested in bringing some extra people out. To work. You know, you're part— you're part of our team. We're a family. We go to dinner before the races. Um, we— but we, we run. It's, you know, we are all athletes, and as it is, and then when we are working, we're, we're pushing each other as well too. So, but if you, if you think you want to, um, come out and staff a race too, I'll, I'll put you through the little wringer and see if you See if you pass the first test.

So I feel like that was enough.

Everybody loves a good challenge right now.

Yes, totally. So good. Awesome. All right, Justin, thank you so much for coming on from Setup Events. I wish you guys the best and tell Bill Scott all the love for 2026. It's going to be an amazing year. And however we can support you, which, um, now I'm feeling this volunteer challenge.

Yeah, that's, that's the, I might make a post about it on our social, the 2026 challenge. Is to volunteer for a race.

Yes. And for anybody who is an experienced triathlete, you guys, you are honestly, I would say some of the most valuable folks because especially in like key areas like bike dismount, mount lines, when you kind of gotta like, you gotta know a little bit of what's happening so that you can bark the right orders. I mean that in the kindest and gentlest way.

No, and that's what you're doing. You, you, you gotta be short, crisp.

Mm-hmm.

Get, get to the point because that person's only got a few seconds that they're listening. To, to hear instructions. So yeah.

Yeah. Race brain is a real thing, y'all. Like you might have, I mean, and these are smart people. Triathletes are smart, but you put 'em in a race, you know, we're gonna have a little bit of, you know, our brain's gonna fall out a little bit. So you have to, you know, keep 'em going in the right direction.

Yeah. You've never, so you haven't seen a volunteer lose their mind about people not dismounting at the red line. That's something to be a part of right there. You know, an athlete not understanding why every person's not dismounting at this line, you know?

Yeah, it's— yeah, it's hard when you're coming in hot and somebody's screaming at you. Yeah, you got to be— you got to be on point. You got to be on point.

So challenge to all those athletes, come out and volunteer for at least one race.

That's right. Let's go, y'all. Let's— let's— let's pack setups, races in 2026. By either the Viking Dashes or their South Carolina races, North Carolina races. So, so great. Justin, thank you so much from Setup Events, and we appreciate you and look forward to seeing you out, out on the race course.

Yeah, thanks, Chris. Appreciate it.

Thanks for listening to the Find Your Edge podcast. If you like what you heard, don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. And if you're interested in learning more about our endurance coaching, sports and wellness nutrition, metabolic and sweat testing, triathlon training team, or our triathlon training library, be sure to check us out at theenduranceedge.com. And don't forget to follow us on social media at The Endurance Edge. Thanks again. And we'll catch you next time.