Alpha Delta Pi

2.47

I talked to 3 others. One had 2.46 and the other 2 had 2.47.

I feel for the sorority girls as they seemed to be really helpful.  Is it the timing company that gets the blame for the "organization" of the swim and the shortened run?  I never saw any mile markers.

I was on a PR for the run as well and really wanted to get a decent reading.  Just like a previous poster, my legs were finally starting to get stretched out and I was starting to get a good stride (for me anyway) on the run when a cheer leader called out that I had less than a mile to go...what?  I was fixing to bust loose on my last mile.

This was the second year I participated, and I'm mixed with my thoughts on this race.  It is not a sanctioned race and is mostly a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House I believe.  Last year, there were real safety concerns at some intersections and the transition in/out were a mess.  I feel like they addressed those issues this year.  Seemed to be better managed by Endurance Sports Mgmt.  I was disappointed that the run was about 2.9 miles last year.  

As far as the run goes, this year was even more frustrating as my garmin showed 2.46.  Not that I will ever podium but I certainly would have pushed harder had I known it was that short.  Also, I don't run many 5ks and was on pace to PR so that would have been nice too.

For the second year in a row, the swim start seemed a disaster.  Part of that is on the organizers and part is on participants.  It isn't hard to line up by number.  Instructions were given before the race started on site as well as in the emails pre-race.  

The bike showed 10.9 miles on my garmin.

You're right, it is a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House. 

It was my first tri so just doing it, whatever distance, was fun for me.  That being said, I wish it had been a full 5k too.  Regarding the swim, I registered late so I was relagated to the back of the line.  I have no issue with that but those at the back had to wait an hour outside before the line even got into the building...when I finished the swim it was weird to see the frontrunners already finishing.

Note to self...train more and work on transitions.

Kevin, 

My hope was that with you all working with the sorority this year, that there would be a certain professionalism and management to the event.  While last years inexcusable mistakes were not repeated, I still felt like the event has some glaring issues.  Enough that I wasn't interested in racing it.  In fact, none of my team members racing this year were repeat racers. 

My issues with the event were the following:

1.  Lack of volunteer knowledge.  At the end of the day it is still a sorority putting on an event and it feels like that.  But by putting the ESM name with it, I think athletes expect a legit race.  Thus the draw of a few hundred people.  More education needs to go into helping them put on the event. 

2.  Athlete safety.  Things I saw going on--cyclists leaving T1 without helmet buckled, I may have seen an athlete enter t2 with no helmet, no volunteers directing traffic in front of transition exit...people were constantly crossing and getting in the way of athletes, the lead runners didn't know where to go because no one was directing them...They actually stopped running to figure it out and people were telling them conflicting things. 

3.  Non racers in transition.  I saw two different accounts of family members helping dress their athlete.  And we aren't talking about a young kid.  I saw one young lady running through transition taking pictures of her boyfriend as he was racing.  She had NO regard for anyone else racing.  There is no excuse for that. 

I know these aren't all your issues and a lot of it stems from having non athletes putting on a race.  But they are things that do need to be addressed before another race. 

LOL, I saw someone make up for that by LEAVING T2 with their helmet on.  Mostly spot on on your observations. It did feel like the sorority girls running the show. 

I really thought that they should have addressed the short course in pre-race, but honestly I was freezing and may have missed what he was talking about. Not having the run-course marked was frustrating, but so is my running at this point of the year. I did like the bike route, and thought it was nicely marked. Overall, I'd give a "C" for the points everyone has said here. Will I do it again, i dunno, it's in my backyard and a good gauge to of fitness.

The fact is, this part of town is screaming for a big time event. With the lake being so close, and/or maybe some other options at SportsCom, I gotta believe the opportunity is here. Maybe my club can work something out in the next year.

I agree.  And based on the debacle that occurred last year, I did send a long email to the RD with a number of suggestions.  The top suggestion was that the sorority put together a small group of triathletes from the local community and use them in the planning process.  I encouraged them to run the course changes, logistics, etc by them via 1-2 meetings.  Most triathletes would love the opportunity to give that type of input.  This would also give them the opportunity to educate the sorority. I offered my services as well as a willingness to identify potential people to would say yes to an opportunity. 

The second recommendation I made was that they look into hiring a race management company to handle some of these things.  Since the event blew up from 75 to 300 racers in a short time, there is plenty of room in the revenue stream to work with someone like Kevin or others so ensure that the event remains quality and attracts 300 athletes each year. 

And maybe Kevin with chime back in.  I don't know what his responsibilities (other than timing and setup) were in this case.  I know when I have volunteered in the past, there was always a volunteer meeting prior to the race that went over the details and explained roles to people.  In this case, I don't know whose job that was but it appeared to not happen (again)

I liked the bike and run courses and distances (i.e. 11 mile and 3.1 miles).  We were warned that the course could change so that is understandable.

Like I posted earlier, I didn't see any mile markers nor knew the length of the run course as it was finally established which are my only "real" complaints.  (There may have been mile markers but I've been known to miss stuff right in front of my face; just ask my wife...)

I wish the swim was longer but realize that it is limited due to the size of the pool.

I'll be back if it fits my schedule next year.  I think the rainy day was better than what the weather brought us the day after; windy and very cold.