New Triathlon Series-HITS

It's an interesting concept.

Back maybe 5 years ago another totally separate company came up with a series that was a distance between HIM and IM in a few different locations.  After a couple of the races that didn't go very smoothly they pulled the plug and canceled the remaining races including the championship.

Another race company that puts on quality races would be great.

Seems like an awful big task to put on 12 first time events in 12 months each with HIM and IM distance races. I hope it works out.

I don't think it will drain attendance...they wisely chose July...it can work as an HIM to prep for IMOO, and it also fills the July gap in the Chicago area...maybe I'm wrong, but July seems a bit light on shorter distance races.  Galena Triathlon is such an early season tri, and a lot of folks don't do it for their first one because of the hills and point to point structure...

I just wonder if it will go the way of Lake Geneva...great venue, but trying to do too many distances and get a bad reputation...

And I agree about the hills...got a bit shaky just thinking about it, haha.

@Johnnykay...they seem to have been very careful in picking their venues...part of the business model perhaps?

NO, I didn't notice the cutoffs!  But now that I look, not only are the Iron cutoffs tighter, there are cutoffs for every single distance except the open!  Hmm, interesting.  Definitely might appeal to some.

I emailed them to see if they will offer Aquabike in HIM or IM and they responded no not the first year but may consider offering them in the future.

Here are the cut off times from their website.

What are the time limits or cutoffs?

Swim
Sprint - 7:30 am (Maximum time 30 minutes)
International - 8:00 am (Maximum time 1 hour)
Half - 8:30 am (Maximum time 1 hour, 30 minutes)
Full - 9:00 am (Maximum time 2 hours)

Bike
Sprint - 9:00 am (Maximum time 2 hours)
International - 10:30 am (Maximum time 3 hours, 30 minutes)
Half - 1:00 pm (Maximum time 6 hours)
Full - 5:00 pm (Maximum time 10 hours)

Run
Sprint - 10:00 am (Maximum time 3 hours)
International - 12:00 pm (Maximum time 5 hours)
Half - 4:00 pm (Maximum time 9 hours)
Full - 11:00 pm (Maximum time 16 hours)

I like the concept - if the locations are good they may get a good crowd.  My family could make it a cool family tri weekend with all the different options.  My only worry would be too many events and not enough participants in all.  Will have to see what the fees look like to see if we consider the Texas events next year, might make for a cool vacation trip to Corpus Cristi next year.

Also I would think all those that regularly bag on WTC could use this opportunity to support another series and hopefully it does not suffer the same fate as the One-O-One did a few years back (although I think that was really a combination of mis-management and interest that killed it).

Hadn't thought of that... good point.

Found this web site while looking for a Oly race in March in FL. 

Looks like the fees are now on the site.

At least in the So Cal race, people better read the fine print before they sign up for what they think is a full 140.6 IM distance race.  Cuz it isn't

As mentioned earlier, the distances are not standard.  They are not even standard for all the HITS races.  The half and full are not always 70.3 and 140.6.

The company has a great reputation in the equestrian world.

I predict a failure in this endeavor.  The President/CEO of HITS is a triathlete himself.  I can see the scenario where he says "I can run successful horse shows, so I should be able to run successful triathlons".  Being a business owner myself, I can say that things don't always work out with this line of thinking.



But at least they're trying. Seems like a good concept.

When my wife was actively showing we used to go to the horse shows in Ocala.

They were very well run and while not cheap you got what you paid for, quality product at a premium price.

With WTC these days they seem to be living off the name more than providing better service for their athletes for a premium price.

That's how Rev3 is making a name for themselves, in some ways they promote being the anti-WTC and I think they get quite a few that race them just for that reason.

Anyone remember "Heck of a job Brownie?" That guy ran horse shows too.

I think its difficult to start a series with multiple distances at the same venue all in the same year.  The logistics of running multiple races on the same course at the same time are pretty staggering.  If you think back to how Rev 3 launched it was three races in the first year (Knoxville, Quassy and Cedar Point) and then gradual growth from there.  I'm assuming they have a large cash backer to roll out in this kind of fashion, I just also hope that they have the right people to make it happen.

On the people front, I'm a member of RD and trade organizations in which places list jobs all the time.  I've seen job openings for lots of major race production companies but I've never seen a single job posting for HITS.  I'm wondering from where they got (or are going to get) their staff.