Empowering Women & Girls in Triathlon with She Tris Ep 108

Sarah Hayes, co-owner of She Tris, shares how their women-only triathlon series creates an inclusive, supportive environment for female athletes of all ages and abilities. From acquiring the Ramblin' Rose series to expanding across the Carolinas, Sarah reveals how She Tris has grown while maintaining its welcoming atmosphere where beginners feel comfortable and experienced athletes can thrive.

You'll hear:

• How co-owners Sarah and Angie met as Sarah was doing her first tri
• How they adopted 4 new events at a bar
• Sarah's favorite part of being a race director (and what she wishes more athletes knew about racing)
• How they support women and girls as young as 4 years old
• Where you can do their events in the Carolinas

As a bonus, use the code TEAMSARAH for $10 off your registration!

Thinking about joining a triathlon community? Be sure to check out our group triathlon training group if you're local to the Triangle NC area here.

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Chapters

• 1:25 Welcome to She Tries Triathlon
• 10:56 Sarah's Journey into Triathlon
• 13:18 Building the She Tries Partnership
• 18:44 The Magic of Race Day
• 22:01 Race Director Reality Check
• 26:00 Beginner-Friendly Race Distances
• 28:56 Upcoming Events and Final Encouragement

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:00

All right, welcome back to the Find your Edge podcast. I am excited to have a guest today, Sarah Hayes from she Tries. So if you are a female in triathlon or thinking about triathlon, this is totally the episode for you. But even if you're not a woman, and maybe the females kids included in your life are maybe thinking about something of a challenge, this is definitely gonna be the episode for you. If you're wanting more nutrition content, hang out until next week, but in the meantime, Sarah Hayes, I'm so excited that you're here.

Speaker 2: 1:32

I know.

Speaker 1: 1:32

Angie couldn't make it, but you guys are having your race coming up this weekend in Chapel Hill, which is near us, so I just wanted to feature you, because obviously it's not common to see other female race directors. And welcome to the show.

Speaker 2: 1:47

Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to be here and just exciting to stay in touch with you after meeting a couple of years ago and getting to work together in this industry.

Speaker 1: 1:59

Yeah totally which, speaking of full disclosure, we met at endurance exchange, which is the annual um.

Speaker 2: 2:08

Travel on industry conference? Yeah.

Speaker 1: 2:11

Travel on industry conference and we met through a mutual coach friend and we all went out for drinks together. That's, I think, how I met you guys. You guys were like wanting to get go to speakeasies, which was really fun.

Speaker 2: 2:31

Listen, I don't get met you guys.

Speaker 1: 2:32

You guys were like wanting to get go to speakeasies, which was really fun and like, listen, I don't get out too often, but when I do we're going to find some fun places to go Totally. And also, uh, we all have kids, so sometimes you got to go to the fun places that you can't take your kids either. Um, and then through that you guys only had races. You had, I think, three races in South Carolina, right, we did. And then you have expanded since then, which also happened at another endurance exchange.

Speaker 1: 2:54

So uh, before we get into these conferences totally, you have to tell that story because it's kind of amazing and then we'll get deeper into other things in terms of your expanded races. But how did that happen? I love the story.

Speaker 2: 3:13

Yeah. Well, when it happened the conference was in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Angie and I were attending a session specific to women in triathlon and how to make events like more encouraging and whatnot, which is our wheelhouse. So we were just kind of there to like give our two cents if anybody had questions. But in the same room was another race director who also does timing and production, Jeremy with Set Up Events, and he had for years owned the Ramblin' Rose series in North Carolina and that was a series that inspired she Tries. Angie had participated in it, had known about it for years. A lot of the Try it For Life, which is a nonprofit group that trains for triathlons, they trained for some of these events. So there's a long history there and Angie and I have wanted to expand beyond South Carolina, I mean almost since I came on as a partner. And so she just kind of in true Angie fashion, leaned over and was like what's it going to take, or are you married to the name Ramblin' Rose? Could you just rename and use our brand, you know, license it basically for your events? And he was like, huh, yeah, I mean I guess I could. And then by the end of the conference he was like I think you guys need to take the races Like they need to be yours. And so we hashed out a deal and um in a bar, right In a bar yes, Once again, drinks. Again we're involved.

Speaker 2: 4:44

Jeremy's a great guy. He has a lot of passion for the, you know, triathlon and just sports in general and race events. So he, you know, has a lot of great ideas and does a lot of different things in the industry and around the country. But he just felt like it was time to put this group of events into some women's hands. And we still work with him. He times the events, he's a great advice giver, but we now had brought on some more race babies. Yeah, Like, like overnight you had multiple races.

Speaker 2: 5:19

But at that time we had gone down to two events. In South Carolina we bought the four in North Carolina, so we went kind of overnight to six events. And South Carolina we bought the four in North Carolina, so we went kind of overnight to six events and we did all six last year. This year we cut one of them because the attendance was just not high enough to continue going. As you know, it's really expensive to put on triathlon events and so you really need to meet a threshold to make it viable. And you know, we just didn't have there, wasn't enough there to continue that one. So we now have five events. We hope to keep growing, but our focus right now is to really build these up and make them, you know, even better. Every year we're always challenging ourselves to make it a better event.

Speaker 1: 6:02

Yeah, Awesome. I remember after that time that we met in Austin, you guys sent me this great like postcard and like you guys were all like it's just like so inspiring it just like. Look at the postcard, I'm like wow, everybody looks so happy and joyous. And then you had this like wonderful, like your like metal was like a necklace, it was gorgeous. And then, like I got a sticker, I was like I haven't even raced with these ladies, you need to come out.

Speaker 1: 6:31

I know I did Well. I I love volunteering, you know that right. So that's my jam with you guys. So, yeah, let's back up a little bit. How did you get into triathlon? And I guess Angie too, right Cause then you guys eventually met and so yeah.

Speaker 2: 6:46

Yeah, angie was actually part of my beginning of triathlon. At the time I was doing like a bootcamp group with some friends and we had trained for a half marathon and I was running a small business at the time and a friend said, hey, why don't we just try a triathlon? And so I was like, well, yeah, I guess I, I can swim and I have a bike. Um, although I had to get, I had to borrow a road bike cause I learned that it couldn't be like a cruiser, you know, and and I, you know, I run, I can do the running part for sure. So I, you know, started training with her but then quickly realized that I had no idea what I needed and like what was going on. So I walked into a store in our town that it's not here anymore, but Angie was the manager of that store and she was so great, I was so intimidated and I walked in and I was like, um, I know, from my first travel on and I don't know what I'm doing, and she was like, oh, okay, yeah, so try these things on and you're going to need this and this and a race belt, and then this, and you know, like, these are the bare minimum and this is like the next step up and I think I bought every single thing she told me to buy and she just gave me all this advice. I felt so confident leaving the store and we stayed in touch. I had told her about the business I was running at the time and we just stayed in touch, kind of through email and then through social media as that became bigger and that's how I got into it.

Speaker 2: 8:14

This was in like 2009. This was pre-kids just me sort of in my late 20s like finding my athletic life. We saw each other at events with triathlon and that kind of thing. So, yeah, that's how I got into the sport. I loved the challenge of trying cycling and swimming. They were not my best at the time. Swimming is still not my best, but I like having different disciplines to improve on.

Speaker 1: 8:41

Cool. And then, obviously, the story of how you and Angie met, which that story was great because I feel like I wish you were here today because she is a saleswoman. Yeah, she's great she can sell you on stuff.

Speaker 2: 8:52

I mean Angie people just can't tell her no, and including me, so it's very rare Like there've been a few ideas that she's had that I've had to be like nope, debbie Downer here is going to tell you we're going to halt that right now. But she is very convincing and she, you know, when she started our series there were people who told her it wouldn't work and that there weren't enough women to want to do these events, and you know all this kind of stuff and she, you know the best way to get something done is just to tell her no and then she's going to find a way. So yeah, she's a great salesperson and just a lot of fun to be around.

Speaker 1: 9:31

Yeah, totally so. Did she get the race series off the ground and then you joined later? Like, how did that relationship so?

Speaker 2: 9:39

fast forward a little bit more. Angie and I both started having kids and, as you know, anyone who's going down that path knows it's like, obviously, life changing. You don't feel the same in your body, you don't look the same, your schedule for training is either out the window or totally different, and there's kind of an identity crisis that we all hit at some point of like where am I in this and how you know? When does that's my self-care start and what does my training look like anymore, if that was ever something that was important to you. And then what's what's like selfish?

Speaker 1: 10:13

Right, exactly, there's a lot of guilt and doing these things.

Speaker 2: 10:16

So around that time Angie, who had been like really competitive in various sports, including soccer and triathlon, competitive in various sports, including soccer and triathlon she was having these moments and she had gotten to know in her life as the manager of the triathlon store she was also managing one in Charlotte and in that arena met a woman who had started Try it For Life, which was a nonprofit training and mentoring group for triathlon, so not coaches or personal trainers, but just women coming together, motivating women to get a training done and they would train for the Rambling Rose. So she knew about both of these organizations and she decided to bring a chapter of Try it For Life to Charleston with like two months heads up. I mean just not even not like a year planning whatever. She just called the woman who started it and said I want to do it. And the woman was like okay, well, when do you think? And she was like in two months. So she grabbed a bunch of us that she knew that had been in triathlon and was like let's start this chapter. And of course all of us said no, but Angie being Angie, by the end of the day we were all saying yes, and so we started that chapter, we started the group. It was really challenging but fun to get these women to agree to sign up as new athletes, to do triathlon for the first time, to find mentors to work with them. So that was the first step was bringing that organization here.

Speaker 2: 11:43

And then that first year they traveled to Charlotte to do the Ramblin' Rose and Angie said this is silly, we need a local women's only event. And she talked to some race directors. Nobody was interested in putting it on so they basically told her it wouldn't work. So, like I said, then she decided she would make it work. So the next year she brought she Tries.

Speaker 2: 12:05

I was a participant in that first year and then after that I volunteered. I even emceed one year, which I've never gotten that role again, so I don't think it's my forte. So anyway, after a couple of years Angie and I both were involved with the nonprofit. Then we both kind of started stepping away to focus on she Tries and I just had this moment where my home life was in a position where I could take on more, yeah, and the only thing I could think about doing was something with she Tries. I could wake up and talk about it with passion before I even had a cup of coffee, and when you know something so in-depth and to your core and can have the opportunity to do something more with it, I just felt like it was a good chance, yeah. So I invited her to coffee and very bravely asked her if she was looking for a partner or would be interested, and thankfully she said yes and so I came on as a partner at the end of 2018.

Speaker 1: 13:18

That's really cool and you guys have been around and now it's 2025, if you're listening to this later but that's pretty awesome.

Speaker 2: 13:24

Yeah, it's been a fun ride. Partnership is great, entrepreneurship is challenging but fun. We both have that mindset and we're very yin and yang in our partnership, so that that's working out pretty well.

Speaker 1: 13:38

That's awesome to have that great fit. So great segue, because what are some of your favorite things about being a race director?

Speaker 2: 13:48

I love working with Angie for one. I mean I just love that. I know I'm going to talk to her almost every day. We have similar parenting lives with kids so we can like throw out venting or ideas and whatnot with the kids, but like the problem solving is fun. I mean I enjoy that side of just entrepreneurship. But race directing specifically the finish line like the moments of people crossing the finish line are the best, like people who maybe didn't know they could do it, or whose spectators didn't think they could do it, or maybe they all did, but like it all needed to come together. I just that moment is so special.

Speaker 2: 14:30

We get a lot of messages following the finish line and even like the day or two before, of what brought somebody to the event. There's usually either a friend has twisted someone's arm or someone's gone through something that's just made them decide that a triathlon is the next thing they need to do, and it's not always something traumatic, but there's often like some sort of story of challenge and overcoming. And we get those messages and we get credited somehow with like helping them, you know, and we get credited somehow with like helping them, you know. And so I live for those moments. Angie and I joke that we get paid in those moments and not in actual dollars, because that's really like it's just the icing on the cake for everything that we do. There's also a magic to the morning. You know, when you first get there and it's dark and you're setting up and you just kind of I don't know. There's an energy and a magic that you feel as you're getting ready and then you stand in front of everybody with a microphone to talk about the event. That's good.

Speaker 1: 15:35

Yeah, and having been to at least one of your events, it does have a very like it's just kind of a loving energy. Yeah Right, sometimes you walk into certain events and it's, it's, it's can be intimidating, it can feel scary, it can feel overwhelming, and it's like you show up there, you're like music and there's like coffee and everybody's like happy and welcoming and like I still have this shirt, I wear like the volunteer shirt.

Speaker 1: 16:08

I put it on. I'm like this is so brilliant, something cool that you guys put on the back. That's like how can I?

Speaker 2: 16:14

I'll try to help you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 16:18

So great. So yeah, kudos, kudos on that.

Speaker 2: 16:21

Thank you, thanks for saying that. I mean that's the whole purpose of what Angie wanted to create was an environment where it's not I mean, triathlon's intimidating enough just the name and the images that people conjure up when they think about it. But we want it to be like a fun environment and welcoming, almost a boutique feel where, like, you get pampered and you feel special and everyone's cheering everybody on and we do give age group awards and that sort of thing, but you can do it without caring about that, like you're not going to get yelled at. I actually had somebody message me after a different local event here that's co-ed and I went to kind of promote she Tries, while at this other event I wasn't participating and I saw someone I knew who's done our events many times and she texted me later and said, man, I miss the she Tries atmosphere. I got yelled at like three times by some dudes who you know needed to pass me and whatever, and like it's just a different feel, like there's a time and a place for that.

Speaker 2: 17:26

And I've participated in those other kinds of events too. I'm not like we all need to support all of us, so I'm not knocking those events, but like, if you just want that atmosphere where you can just go and do something, challenge yourself, overcome something, and it's not about the time. We are that event. Yeah, if you want to care about the time, you can do it too. We have lots of women come back. You have a goal of like beating their times or getting on the podium, and that's. That's good too.

Speaker 1: 17:56

Yeah, definitely Love that. Okay. So here's the fun question what are some of your least favorite parts of race directing? Or maybe maybe the question is more what do you wish people knew about race directing that perhaps they don't fully?

Speaker 2: 18:13

appreciate. I are the two full-time people. Everyone else is either part-time or volunteer. Also, part-time volunteers, like everything is us. So you know, the week of an event we'll get emails from participants like literally two days, one day before the event that like they broke a toenail and they can't participate. Can they get a refund?

Speaker 2: 18:41

And like I wish that more people knew how much money we have to spend guessing how many people are going to register, just so we have enough shirts and finisher awards and podium awards and all these things and we just have to hope that our numbers are right. So when you sign up and then two days before, you don't think you can make it like we've already spent that money to buy these things. So it's, you know, kind of heartbreaking for us because we want you to be there and we have a no refund situation. We do try to work with people as much as possible, but I wish that more people knew that like months in advance, we're having to outlay what we think is going to be the case and it's not like just magic that this stuff appears overnight. We also do a lot of very physical labor of loading and unloading our trailers with the merch, with all the participant stuff, all the setup stuff, the tents, the tables, like that's us. So I feel like half the job of the triathlon weekend is loading and unloading the U-Haul trailer.

Speaker 1: 19:49

Totally, I was you know, of course, who doesn't have in this sport like we're both got our garments on right, yep. So when we had our race back in August, like we did no exercise, and then, you know, I looked at our, I looked at my step count and it was something like 16,000 steps.

Speaker 2: 20:10

You know, I'm like, oh, we did the race across the span of a couple of hours Just by literally just walk back, forth, back, forth, back forth you know, set up this, do that, go over here go, you know, Especially some of the venues can be pretty spread out, so you definitely get a lot of steps in those mornings.

Speaker 1: 20:28

Yes, I know people are tired when they're done, but you're also like you know, we're doing some things here too. Yeah. Yeah exactly, yeah, no-transcript. You know they're supporting a women-owned company and a local business, and you know so.

Speaker 2: 20:49

Yeah, and I I think you know we kind of touched on this earlier we get asked a lot to come to other cities, and Angie and I would love nothing more than to be in you know so many cities, but it takes, you know, a few hundred people to make it viable to have the level of experience that we're trying to put out there. So not just a you know run of the mill paint it pink women's triathlon like we want it to be a nice event, but even just things like venue fees, police fees, you know timing is incredibly expensive. All of those things play into it. So like we can't put a. All of those things play into it. So like we can't put a triathlon on for just 100 women Like we could, we would just go under in a couple of years.

Speaker 2: 21:38

So that's another thing. Like support your local events, come out to them. You know we exist because we want people to just come as they are to do the thing. You know you don't need to be in peak condition to come do our events, just come do it. And and the more you support this, the longer we can stick around and keep pouring back into the community.

Speaker 1: 21:54

That's awesome. What so, speaking of distances that people are thinking about? Okay, like you know, I could get my child to do this, I could get my mom to do this, I could get my sister to do this.

Speaker 2: 22:13

What are some of the distances that we're talking, because you guys have a very unique format. Yeah, exactly so. Triathlon tends to have about four main distances. You have sprint, olympic, half Ironman, ironman, and then there's some crazy others out there. We're on the sprint side. It actually leans more to super sprint kind of, depending on who's defining it. So it's usually around a 200-yard pool swim where you snake through the pool in a time trial fashion and then there's like it's going off one at a time, so you're not starting in these big groups.

Speaker 2: 22:40

Exactly About five to 10 seconds apart, so it's not a mass start, but you line up around the pool and everyone just starts individually. Your time starts when you start and then the bike is usually eight or nine miles and the run is usually two miles. We have one event where it's three and yeah, so very doable distances. You can walk the run portion. You don't have to run it, you can hold onto the wall if you need a break. You know you can use almost any bike. We do have cruisers every now and then. I don't recommend it, especially in the North Carolina events. There's these things called hills that we don't have here in Charleston but that exists in North Carolina and those are tough on a cruiser. And no e-bikes, obviously. But yeah, it's just a very beginner-friendly format that can be fun for those who are not beginners as well.

Speaker 1: 23:32

That's really awesome.

Speaker 2: 23:33

And we cater to ages 10 and up. So 10 and up can do our regular events, and then at two of our events not this one in Chapel Hill but the one we have, one in Somerville coming up this month and one in Huntersville, north of Charlotte, at the end of this month they both have youth events. So young girls it's still girls only, but we allow ages four to 14 to participate in that and then it's even shorter. So we're talking about like one lap for the youngest age group, not even a lap one length for the youngest age group, and then lap one length for the youngest age group and then half mile bike and run distances. So just something to get them excited and introduced into the sport.

Speaker 2: 24:16

Yeah, oh my gosh, I bet that is the most adorable thing, it's the cutest thing, with unicorn helmets and streamers and glitter and all the fun.

Speaker 1: 24:26

That is so awesome. So if you were to give some words of wisdom to somebody who's thinking about either you know they're a mom and they want to get active, or you know somebody who has a kid who's asking them about getting in the store, what would be your, your words of wisdom of how to get them to to go over the ledge and do it?

Speaker 2: 24:51

or try it. I think the best thing to do, like an ideal scenario, is to find a community that is interested in also training for these sorts of events. So in several cities there's a group called Try it For Life. There's also youth training programs for kids interested in triathlon. Some of them can be super competitive. So you know, there's that caveat. But the community aspect and finding those training groups is really helpful and like getting you to stick with it and hold yourself accountable to what you want to sign up for.

Speaker 2: 25:29

But if you are just like I don't even know that I can see myself there like come out and volunteer. Come see one of our. We have three more this month. Come see it and I think you will be like pleasantly surprised at how much it would make sense for you to be there as a participant. You will see women of all ages, all fitness backgrounds just doing their thing. No one is judging you, no one is comparing you to someone else. And if you can see that firsthand as a volunteer, I've had several women sign up to participate after volunteering. So that's another great idea. But if you're looking for a community and you don't know where to start, you can always email me and we have a lot of connections in the different cities where we can connect people to people like Chris and others who are active in the community and helping women in the sport.

Speaker 1: 26:25

That's so awesome. Okay, so if we head to your website she triescom we're going to find all your races, right. Yes, so can you do you remember them off the top of your head, like which events you've got? Yeah, how could you forget?

Speaker 2: 26:41

So in May we have one here in Mount Pleasant. That one's obviously already happened. Next year will be our 10-year anniversary, so we're going to have a big celebration for that. And June we are in South Charlotte at the Harris YMCA Coming up. This month we have three back-to-back. So we're in Chapel Hill this weekend, on the 14th. That still has registration spots available. So if you are just feeling it, and I have talked you into it, you can still sign up. You can use team Sarah with an H for $10 off. The next weekend we're in Somerville, south Carolina. That's the one that also has a she Tries Girl event that follows the women's event. Those both still have availability, although the girls. I think we have less than 15 spots available, so if you have a daughter wanting to get on that one, you should sign up now. And then Huntersville is September 28th. That is our last hurrah of the year. That one also has a girls event following the women's. There's still availability in both of those events the women's and the girls. And yeah, so come on out.

Speaker 1: 27:47

Yeah, I also love how you've got it really clear of like where to go, what are the dates? Volunteer register.

Speaker 2: 27:55

Thank you, we try I appreciate that you've taken a look at the website.

Speaker 1: 27:59

Yes, yes, yeah, so, cause I was sending it out to all of our athletes, Don't forget register.

Speaker 2: 28:04

Oh, thank you, that's so kind, yeah, all that stuff, yay, so cool.

Speaker 1: 28:10

All right, sarah Hayes, anything else you want to leave us with before we head?

Speaker 2: 28:15

out. Just believe in yourself and go, do something fun and new, or come back to triathlon. If it's been a while, we can all take breaks and like self-included and then get back on the horse or on the bike and do it againincluded, and then get back on the on the horse or on the bike and do it again. So, angie and I are counting on you all to to find your triathlon moment and come join us, and you can do hard things.

Speaker 1: 28:37

We totally can do, hard things, I agree, which reminds me of your. In your email you have the is it the champion of confidence? And then Angie is.

Speaker 2: 28:45

Angie's champion of confidence and I'm champion of enthusiasm. Okay, well, I think it fits.

Speaker 1: 28:51

Thanks Awesome. Well, Sarah Hayes from she Tries. Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker 2: 28:57

This was awesome. Have a great week, yeah you too. Bye.