BT Forum

I did this race last year.  It was my second race ever and out of the 3 I did last year it was the one I liked least.  Here is what I didn't like.

1. It wasn't chip time.  So there were no transition times and for many people there was just an overall time.
2. The bike course had a lot of turns.  At one turn I got completely confused because there was a person on a regular bike ride who went one way and the people giving direction did a terrible job pointing that I should go the other way.   I had to come to a complete stop to determine what to do and about 6 other blow past me.
3. There was also a fairly long transition run from the water to the bike.

What I did like was that a got a nice pint glass for my third place age group finish.

I'm planning on doing the race again this year, but mostly because it is conveniently close.

If your in the Stevens Point area I would suggest doing the SWC YMCA triathlon at the end of June.  The only problem with this race is the water can be cold, last year it was 58 degrees.  But the bike course is flat fast and easy to follow.  The run is a little longer at 3.7 miles, however the race is well organized.

That's to bad.  I hope that it does not ruin my experience for my first triathlon.  58 degrees sounds great though lol, I grew up in Lake Michigan having been in the water sometimes when it was ~40 degrees.  Needless to say I am very used to cold water.

I looked into the SWC YMCA, unfortunately I will be out of town that weekend, running a 5k in my hometown / visiting the folks.  

Thanks for the info though.

Did this race two years ago and have not gone back.  Mainly because of so much drafting on the bike course.  Absolutely nuts and extremely dangerous- but be that as it may- go out with the attitude to have fun and learn and you will enjoy it.

I have signed up for this one- my first one to sign up for based on feedback from some tri-friends. They said it is not competitive, very fun, so you won't get discouraged about your abilities in comparison to elite athletes.

They liked that the swim was sent out in age groups so the mother-daughter would end at the same time (mother is a stronger swimmer so got an advantage there and the daughter is a stronger runner so they ended together).

They also liked that it was pretty anonymous in your times so you don't have to put in fake names to protect yourself on the net from people talking about your times. (I live in a nosey area and don't do any runs or tri's or bike rides in my area, I am sensitive to that issue).

I am excited to do this Tri, if you want to see a first tri face out there with you- I am willing to say "HEY good for you!" at the event.

Susan