Overall great event. People say it's a good triathlon to start with.. Probably because it's slightly shorter than most: 5k run, 15k bike, 150m swim. Decent price as well, about $94 including 1 day USAT membership. Super convenient location & parking. I had no trouble finding parking arriving 1 hour prior to the event. Packet pick up was slightly annoying though because they only offered it during traffic time, and the expo wasn't quite worth it. Didn't even give us the usual goodie bag, just a plastic B of A bag.. not like I need anymore reusable bags, but don't like wasting plastic either. They didn't have the usual snacks most races do (before or after), but they did have some energy gels if you needed to stock up. So if you're an early bird, pick up race day. The shirts are soft and I like the white swim cap they give us. Super cute medal this year as well!
Cons: rude people! Taking up a ton of space in transition area, biking very slowly in middle of lane (the lane was tiny and we do 3 laps around it so there were too many people in my opinion for such a small race size), or people yelling. I got kicked by two different people during the swim portion (1 was behind me, guess they weren't paying attention and another trying to pass me up.. to beat me by a second I suppose). The pool was a tad too warm (mid 80s I believe). The run & bike portion were slightly longer than stated because of the long distance from & to the transition area. You also had to walk a long distance bare foot from the end of the race back to the entrance of the pool to get your shoes. Then the post race snacks were even further. The Slaters 50/50 sliders were set up late so sucks for fast racers and super dry. They only had cuties for fruit. But they also gave energy gels.. but my favorite was a pack of Clif shot blocks!!! Love em & they're pricey. I noticed they only gave water bottles at water stations.. such a waste because people take a sip then throw the entire bottle away! I even saw one guy throw it all the way into the ravine.. where volunteers can't clean it up.
I know the con section is long.. but it's all little stuff and the race was still fun & worth it. Well organized! Looking forward to next year. read more