Michigan Titanium - MI/TI - Race report

I don't follow them on FB so the first I heard of the construction was in the pre-race meeting.

I attempted to point out in my post that I wasn't overly upset with the race director however this is the 2nd year in a row they've had a fairly major road construction problem so while I can empathize with them, I would also say that it appears that bird-dogging and constant communication with the county may be the only way to prevent this from happening again...

I didn't race this event last year but the same buddy I mentioned in my post did the full relay and he said there was a long section of loose gravel that was just a mess....

Race Director's fault?  No but they will get the brunt of the criticism because they cash the checks...

And just to clarify, this was a fantastic event....Just a blip and honestly this single track experience will make the race stories even better over the years...

With that said, the issue should have never gotten to Dave. I had a few conversations with decision makers and from what I could tell, when they were alerted to the road issue, they got together and decided they didn't have adequate time/permits/etc... in place to make a course change, so they threw it to Dave. A proactive RD would have been on the phone with the mayor of the city/township and navigated around whatever standard permit / time ordinances are in place in order to re-route the course. If the mayors didn't budge, then the governor would have been the next step. You had 500 cyclists races put in danger because a construction crew who had made assurances (I assume through traceable means, i.e. e-mails) go back on their word. It's a county project I assume. The county leaders should have been called upon to solve the issue. Instead, the MiTi decision makers decided on their own that the best solution was to get some brooms out, sweep the two inches of gravel to the other side of the road and put a SAG vehicle at the top of the hill.

But whatever, I mean the fact that you had to scrub a bunch of speed and then climb for 600 ft sucked, but so what. It was just another challenge of the day. I found the tar paper section to be rough, but hardly any more than some of the other road conditions we encountered. I just grabbed a high gear, spun up the road with no slippage, and continued on my way.......twice! In the end, could the issue have been avoided, yes. Could it have been dealt with better once the road was torn up, yes. Did it have any significant impact on my race......not in the least. Maybe someone who flatted on the hill would think differently. I wonder if anyone actually encounted any mechanical issues due to the construction.

Last thing about the bike......I liked last year's course better.

The rest of the race only improved on last year. The bike aid stations were well manned with COLD beverages, thank god! Transition was set up better. The run course aid stations were again awesome, with plenty of ice and eager to help volunteers. The staff was great. Bike special needs was kind of a cluster fuk being manned by a bunch of texting and jabbering teenagers, and the fact that they gave us about two minutes to do a swim warm up was mildly challenging, but those are all kinks that will continue to get worked out. I still love the small town family friendly full iron distance feel of this race. My wife was encouraged to go stand right next to the finish line race photographer so she could take great pictures. Try to do that at an Ironman.

Congrats to all the racers and their families, and congrats to Doug, Ann and Andy for another successful year.

Joe - no worries.  I agree they do a lot of good things to grow their race.  I did their scheduled training ride (4th time riding the course as I live in the area) and they did a nice job with course support and just a solid positive atmosphere.

As DV 1 said, the course thing shouldn't have happened and hopefully since it's their 2nd year with a course issue, next year they will babysit / birddog the county to ensure it doesn't happen again...The guy in charge of the bike course did a stellar job turning a terrible situation into something very doable.  He was at the training ride and was in our group and was just a great dude encouraging everyone, taking turns at the front, then slowly dropping back to check on everyone.  Sorry for the tangent but what I'm trying to say is it didn't surprise me that guy took it so personally to make the bike course right....Thanks to you sir!!

As I mentioned, I rode the course quite a bit and actually where the construction occured is where they're ripping out the "hump" of a railroad crossing that's long since stopped being used.  So NEXT year that hill will be awesome as we should carry a ton of speed into the climb...

Sam - thank you for volunteering.  I tried to thank every volunteer I encountered and officer working the intersections as it was a brutal hot day for you guys too.

For as many emails that went out leading up to the race scrambling for more volunteers, including telling us at the pre-race meeting on Saturday that any of the HIM participants who felt up to volunteering for the remainder of the full to please see him after the race, there were zero examples in my race that a station was under-staffed.

I think the volunteers at triathlons are often the un-sung heroes and are a key component to a successful race...