The “30th Annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon presented by Equinox” event took place at Zuma Beach and beyond last weekend, an athletic event with over 5,000 participants who came from around the country to compete in a grueling race that included ocean swimming, biking and running. While heat was a factor in the rest of LA, the athletes lucked out with foggy conditions and temperatures in the 60s for the Sunday morning race.
Saturday was the “Herbalife International Distance Race,” with a 1.5K ocean swim off Zuma Beach (one mile), 40K bike course on PCH (25 miles) and a 10K run (6.2 miles) on Zuma and Westward Beaches. Sunday, with many more participants, was the “Classic Distance” race of a half-mile swim, 18-mile bike course and four-mile run.
Participants include individuals, corporate teams, professional athletes, Hollywood celebrities, challenged athletes and all age groups, with entry fees averaging $200 — $300.
While a for-profit company produces the event — Michael Epstein Sports Productions, Inc. of Agoura Hills — over a million dollars is donated to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Pediatric Cancer Research Program. More than $1.23M from last weekend’s event was donated, while in 2015, the amount was $1.31M. Epstein was quoted saying, “Over $10 million has been raised in 10 years.”
Because many participants aren’t experienced ocean swimmers, and have some trepidation about that part of the race, ocean swim clinics are taught by Los Angeles County Lifeguards prior to the race.
Zuma Beach lifeguard Kyle Power was involved in that training, saying that at least 20 clinics were held over eight weekends for triathlon participants.
“The talks were focused on water safety and designed to get people acquainted with ocean conditions and swimming techniques,” Power described.
Prior to the race, Power said there were also practice swim sessions, which required a total of 149 rescues. During the event itself, there were 84 ocean rescues on Saturday and 467 on Sunday. Twenty-five rescues had to be taken to the medical tent.
Power acknowledged that the lifeguard contingent is fully staffed for the race. He observed that some participants are “not the most athletic,” because their primary motivation is fundraising. “Some of them are allowed to use paddleboards and flotation devices to finish the swimming portion,” he said.
A Sunday race participant interviewed by The Malibu Times, Carmen Torres, was a member of the Disney Triathlon Team — one of many corporate groups that participate annually. She said Disney has been coming to the triathlon for 15 years, has 300 employees in the race and raised $260K for the hospital this year.
“We help each other — the veteran [triathletes] give the newbies advice on how to get past the waves and what kind of bike to buy,” Torres said. “We have bike clinics with our bike sponsor, where we bring in our bikes to be fitted, learn how to change a tire and get lots of good tips.” She said the team completes the entire course eight times on eight Saturdays before the actual race.
When companies participate in the “Corporate Challenge,” individual employees must raise a minimum of $250 in pledges/donations for the hospital.
During the triathlon, one lane of PCH was closed in both directions from Westward Beach to Leo Carrillo State Beach. Residents living off of Trancas Canyon were basically “stuck” from about 7-10 a.m. both days, with not only Trancas at PCH blocked, but also the gas station and the entire Trancas Country Market center.
Malibu Fitness, located at Zuma Beach Plaza, emailed its members instructions on how to get around the traffic mess to get to the gym.
Malibu residents Eric and Joshua Preven criticized the organizers for allowing Herbalife to be one of the main sponsors, with their name plastered on everything and a booth in the “Expo” part of the event. That’s because many have alleged the company’s business model is a pyramid scheme, which hurts those on the bottom. Just last month, the LA Times reported that Herbalife settled a long list of Federal Trade Commission claims for $200 million.
The brothers also reported last week in “Our Studio City,” that “the LA County Board of Supervisors, approving Sheila Kuehl’s motion to ‘waive’ the fees normally paid to the county for such events, basically gave the for-profit Nautica Malibu Triathlon event organizers an additional $96,000.”
“The county should simply donate the money directly to Children’s Hospital, in which case, the hospital gets the benefit,” the Prevens wrote.
