J279_Feature_Wildflower_ce_rr_km.qxd
5/16/07
9:42 AM
Page 107
Davis: I think I am most proud that Wildflower is Wildflower. There is nothing else in the world like it. The Ironman races are great, but they seem to be more about market share than the race. Wildflower is the most difficult long-course race in the world. Professional triathletes, just like the rest of the triathletes that come to Wildflower, love the course and love the atmosphere. In the early years professional triathletes did all the distances: Scott Tinley, Mark Allen, Dave Scott and Scott Molina would win the longer races and Mike Pigg, Greg Welch and Ken Souza would win the shorter races. Greg Welch was the first little fast guy to win Ironman, the big tough guy’s race. This gave short-course racers the idea that they could move up. Wildflower was perfect battleground for this new rivalry, and it has been perfect ever since. Many careers have been started at Wildflower and many careers have been made at Wildflower. The great part is that it seems that when you get to Wildflower all the egos are left at home and everyone is just there to enjoy the day. Triathlete: This event has earned you a reputation as one of the best race directors in the nation, if not globally. How do you organize almost 40,000 people? Davis: It is done by the grace and mercy of God and a lot of hard work by an incredible group of people referred to as the TriCalifornia Team. Although we are not all family members we operate like a big family. There are about 80-100 dedicated, hard-working and committed people who are the key team members to putting on Wildflower and the other Tri-California events. They love to work with each other and the events are an excuse to be togeth-
er. My daughter Colleen Bousman is the vice president of the company and the kingpin to the organization. She has the organizational skills of a brain surgeon and directs all the committees and teams. Many of the team members have been with us from the early years and know everything about their area of the event. I was told once when I was a kid that if you take care of the little things, they will take care of you. Triathlete: What are your top memories from the last 25 years at Lake San Antonio? Davis: I think the first is watching Paula Newby Fraser win her first Wildflower triathlon and then following her incredible career. She is truly the queen of the sport. Those early years were special. They were the beginning of friendships that would last for decades. The pioneers of the sport would later become the legends. 2004, the year of the incredible rains where we had to change the courses on the morning of the race. It rained so hard on the trails in the backcountry that triathletes would have literally gotten stuck in the mud if we didn’t change the course. It was incredible because we were able to make the course changes and not affect the experience of the triathletes. The triathletes who survived that year are the real triathletes. They will have stories to tell the rest of their lives. Finally, the 20th-anniversary year in 2002 was a special event for me. To really see the fruits of your work and take a few minutes to put them into perspective is always great. This was also the year when we moved the transition area to the lower parking lot and made the new finish area that allowed us to expand the race to 8,000 racers.
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