​Oakland Triathlon Club Youth Splash and Dash happening Nov. 4

By Lou Fancher

​President Abraham Lincoln and U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton would be proud. By tendering a $5 or $10 bill, on which their respective portraits appear, children ages 6 and older can be in the Oakland Triathlon Club Youth Splash and Dash and receive a discounted USA Triathlon membership until age18.

That’s why Betsy Block, an Oakland Triathlon Club race director and member, is energetically spreading the word about the inaugural event the club will present Nov. 4 on Oakland’s bucolic campus of the former Mills College (now called Mills College at Northeastern University).

As one of 63 USA Triathlon-sanctioned Splash and Dash events around the country and the only one in Northern California, the event includes a swim segment in the college’s 10-lane Trefethen Aquatic Center pool and a run through the campus.

The activities are tailored for children ages 6 through 10 participating in a 100-yard swim and 1K run and youth ages 11 through 15 completing a 200-yard swim and 2K run. Regardless of finishing the swim or run, all participants will receive an Oakland Triathlon Club swim cap, goodie bag and USA Triathlon medal honoring achievement.

“There’ll be no official timing because this is an introduction to multisport events and the focus isn’t on competition and winning; it’s on community, accessibility, safety, ease, and having fun,” says Block.

Community will be represented not only in who shows up but in all the local sponsors, which include area businesses Transports, Rocky’s Market, Uptown Pediatric Dentistry, Zone3, Gentico, B3 Coach and Intense Presence Coaching. To improve access, a triathlon’s usual bike segment has been eliminated, relieving participants of the expense of owning a bicycle and helmet.

Safety is improved with the self-contained footprint of the campus, which will have runners on pathways and a route that avoids crossing or running along urban streets. Lastly, Block’s aforementioned ease comes from not having to change clothes to transition from swimming to running.

Kids are encouraged to wear “jammer”-style suits that dry quickly. That plus shoes and a race bib should be all each participant needs.

In Block’s day job as a professional multi-certified team coach she runs the company she founded, B3 Coach (one of the Nov. 4 event’s sponsors mentioned above), which serves small to midsize nonprofit leadership teams and helps them navigate strategic changes.

“That means they need outside expertise on how to get out of COVID craziness, adjust to a new founder coming in or deal with internal toxicity, for examples.”

All of this gears her for other coaching applications, such as planning and overseeing the new Splash and Dash and other Oakland Triathlon Club events.

“I and other OTC (Oakland Triathlon Club) coaches and volunteers will be cheering and offering assistance to ensure the event is safe, stress-free and enjoyable. I’m a USAT (USA Triathlon) certified coach, and there are a lot of considerations when you’re putting on an event. It’s sanctioned by them, meaning they’ve verified we’ve done everything to put on a safe, quality course race.”

Increasingly, USA Triathlon offers events that don’t require a bicycle and refers to many of its events as “mutisport” instead of “triathlons.” Block says holding Youth Splash and Dash at a place served by buses and in the heart of Oakland means a broader range of kids can be included.

“We also baked a handful of scholarships into this from the beginning. The USAT is offering the discount (the usual fee would be $25), and we have a handful of race-only entries set aside at no cost. If someone said price is a barrier, I’d find a way to work around that,” says Block.

There’s little doubt she would, given the determination displayed by the fact the self-admitted former nonathlete has been running triathlons for the last 17 years. Married to husband Lawrence Block, the mother to their 10-year-old son and an 11-year Glenview district resident in addition to owning a business, she says she is constantly astonished to have become a regular triathlete.

“I never considered myself an athlete as a kid. I was focused on academics and community service. Everyone in my family is involved in the community and always has been. It’s given that you do things for everyone around you.”

During her 20s, experiencing bouts of depression, she joined a friend who needed a running buddy. Later moving to California, Block bought a bike because “everyone rides in California” and she liked it. When she was 34, a low-key triathlon in Pleasanton that didn’t involve official timing lured her in.

“Crossing that finish line surprised me. It was so affirming,” she recalls.

That’s key to why the Splash and Dash is not billed as a race.

“It’s a swim-and-run event. What I really hope is that this will remind everyone of the joy that used to here in Oakland,” she said. “We had a multisport festival. We want to generate accessibility and bring that back to multisport formats.

“What most surprises people is the jillion body types that are out there at a triathlon. There’s also loaning of equipment, shared advice and an atmosphere that’s friendly to all. The hope is that we’ll expand on this event and bring more formats that happen with the same spirit of accessibility.”

Deepak Gupta, the Oakland Triathlon Club’s president, concurs.

“The Oakland Tri Club lost members in the early days of COVID-19 because we couldn’t access a pool, and the team didn’t feel comfortable training in groups until the later days,” says Gupta. “The club saw an uptick in membership as races restarted. While not all members rejoined, we did see an increase in new athletes joining the club as they found a renewed appreciation for the outdoors, community and healthy living.”

Block says when her son was younger and she returned from a race, he would ask, “Did you win?” Every time, she replied, “I set high goals for myself and I won my race.”
​
Camaraderie is prime at the Oakland Triathlon Club, in which Block says even members who are highly competitive and regularly mount podiums for race medals simply want to improve their health and do so within a community.