Slackathlon was an event I created and held in 2013 and 2014 for my friends. I’m not sure where the idea came from. I remember being inspired by the many triathletes in Austin and deciding that the rest of us should be able to enjoy “athlons” as well.
SATURDAY APRIL 6th – No training? No problem!
Slackathlon! (Pronounced “slack ATH lon”) is an ‘athlon for the rest of us.
FRIENDS! SIGNUP SOON else you might miss out!! After a week or so I will open up any remaining spots to whoever has an internet connection.
Cost is free except you pay for your own: tacos, kayak rental, snowcone and margaritas. None of which you really have to participate in!
Pretty much everything is optional and nothing lasts too long.
MOST IMPORTANT NOTES:
(1) Most events are short. If you’re not into part of it, you can skip out on that part. That certainly would be in the spirit of the event.
(2) You usually get your butt wet in a kayak.
THINGS TO BRING: disc golf discs (if you have them, else we’ll have a few to borrow), swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, cash, ID (for kayak rental), my phone # 512 300 4398
RSVP ON EVENTBRITE
THE COURSE
9:15 GREENBELT – 1500 SPYGLASS (at ENTRANCE at top of hill)
9:30 WARM UP CHANTS
10:00 BREAKFAST TACO COOL DOWN (Taco Deli)
11:00 SOME WALKING
11:15 ELEVATION HIKE 50 FT
11:30 BASKETLESS DISC GOLF
12:00 TURTLE COUNTING / KAYAKING
1:00 SNOWCONING
1:30 ONE METER SWIM
3:00 MARGARITAS
There is a super convenient bus that will take you back to you car from Barton Springs Rd.
So what did do at these curious events?
WARM UP CHANTS: We sat in a circle on the ground in the greenbelt and took turns choosing random words to chant. We ended with each of us chanting our breakfast taco order.
BREAKFAST TACO COOL DOWN: Feeling pretty wiped out from all that sitting and chanting we stopped and ate some tacos.
MOONTOWER CLIMB: We walked the mile or so from Taco Deli to the moontower in Zilker Park. It was about then that I realized this day was going to be much more of a workout than the leisurely day I had imagined.
BASKETLESS DISC GOLF: From the moontower we threw discs down the hill about 100 yards to the kayak entrance and tried not to hit strangers.
TURTLE COUNTING: Now at the creek we rented kayaks and paddled out to count turtles for points.
SNOW CONING: Snow cones at the snack bar by the pool entrance.
ONE METER SWIM: Self-explanatory.
BIKE RIDE: From the pool to Green Mesquite
MARGARITAS: At the Green Mesquite
At the Green Mesquite each finisher was awarded a certificate and a sticker. I can find no softcopies or photos of them, sadly. I fear they are lost to the ages. The sticker was one of those eurostyle oval stickers and it said “0.01” on it. My ego requires me to say this: I know that you’ve probably seen the 0.01 sticker gag before. But as far as I know I was the first person to do it.
A few interesting “lessons learned” from this event:
1) No one knows or learned how to say “Slackathlon”. It is NOT “Slack-ATH-a-lon”. It is “Slack-ath-lon”, like “De-cath-lon”.
2) This event wiped people out. On the surface it sees very leisurely with a lot of hanging out. But it was six hours long and a lot of it did involve moving. I felt like I tricked people into exercising. Here’s the map of where we went.
Inspired, I held this event the next year as well. You can read about Slackathlon 2014 here.
Champions 
Winner of Snow Coning 
Elevation Climb – 50 Feet 
Winner of Elevation Climb – 50 Feet 
Chanting Breakfast Tacos