Cyclists
COURSE CYCLIST DETAILS
Thank you for volunteering to be a course cyclist for the HiTOPS Princeton Half Marathon. There are 3 roles – lead cyclist, middle of the pack cyclists and back of the pack cyclists. Each has a unique job.
TRAINING
There will be a zoom training on Wednesday, November 6th @ 6:30 PM and then Saturday, November 9th @ 8:30 AM. If you've attended training before, you do not need to attend again. All cyclists should email courtney@princetonhalfmarathon.com to confirm they have completed training or specify which date they will attend.
11/6 at 6:30 pm https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84033131784
11/9 at 8:30 am https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81037939667
ROLE
Traffic cyclist will meet and park at the Princeton YMCA (59 Paul Robeson Place) which is close to the start / finish at 6:30 AM. New riders will be briefed by repeat cyclists. We are suggesting that the middle of the pack riders head out to Maxwell prior to the start of the race and fill in around the 8-9 min pace runners and 10-11 minute pace runners. If the road is crowded, cyclists should stay back and wait for the pack to thin so there is no risk of hitting a runner. Ride to the left keeping runners to the right.
In general, the role of a course cyclist is to be our eyes and ears on the course between locations where we have course marshals. Cyclists should attend our course marshal training as all emergency protocols for course volunteers are the same. They should wear a helmet, bright clothing and the race issued volunteer shirt and lanyard on event day.
The lead cyclists will start the race with the lead police car and serve as the lead bike in the event that the police need to respond to something on the course. The lead cyclists should anticipate riding at 12 MPH as our fastest runner runs about 5 minute pace. The lead cyclists should be very familiar with the course. Should there be a break in the front back, they will divide and conquer. At 6:50, this cyclist should be near the start line in position ready to go.
The middle of the pack cyclists can come to the YMCA in the morning but need to be in place at the intersection of Mercer and Maxwell Lane by 7 AM. This is just past mile 2 on the course but the distance is actually shorter from the start line, probably 1.5 miles as you do not do the out and back around Battlefield Park to get to this location. Middle of the pack cyclists should hop in between 8 and 11 minute pace runners. You would likely start to ride between 7:20 and 7:30. There are 2-3 of you so break up accordingly and do not plan to ride together. The West Drive connection between Springdale Road and Alexander is not a maintained road and has uneven surface and some thick gravel areas. There is no car traffic so the runners spread to the full width. Ride slowly in this section and stay to the far left if possible. This area is important for cycle support as there is no other race support or cheering fans in that section.
The back of the pack cyclist will not actually sweep the race, we have a bus with a paramedic and police car who will serve as official sweepers. Your role is to ride the last mile of finishers. At 6:50, this cyclist should be near the start line in position to follow the last runners as they go over the finish line. This will be a significantly slower ride so dress warm. Runners are required to run 14 minute pace or ~ 4 MPH. There is a hard stop at mile 6 and mile 9. Runners who have fallen behind the 14 minute pace will be asked to board the bus at these locations. Should they opt to continue to run, they are told that the road is open to traffic and there is no marshals to direct them. It is not your job to manage participants who opt to continue. At all times you should be ahead of the sweep police car.
Please stay out of the way of the runners at all times. If the pack is thick, you can stop and wait for it to thin out. You should be to the left of the runners at all times often trying to keep them to the right as they will start to cross over the yellow line which becomes particularly dangerous at the later parts of the race when we do open the roads for church traffic and there are some blind curves.
Familiarize yourself with aid stations / bathrooms in our FAQ and course maps.
