I did the Olympic distance race yesterday with my Daughter (her first) and my two son-in-laws. I agree with several of the posts about some of the issues, but we had a good time and enjoyed the event. I think several of the areas for improvement have already been mentioned, so let me just say a few things about what I liked about the event:

• Venue location was really cool. Right up next to the mountains. Temps were colder than normal yesterday, but I think otherwise the temps would have been perfect for a race this time of year.
• Lake water was definitely cold but clarity was good, could easily see feet and bodies around you. Compared to Tempe Town Lake, much better place to swim. I personally liked the 2 loop out and back course and I liked the beach start. I have never done a race where I got out for a second loop. It was nice to check my time and then see where I was in the pack. As mentioned, they definitely needed more safety support.
  
• Bike was pretty windy on the way back so it was not as fast as it could have been. On a calm day the bike will be very fast. Pretty nice roads most of the way except for the last couple of miles before the turn-around.
• I really liked the run course. Once you left the lake area, I liked the long stretches of flat with basically only one turn before the turnaround. I could see who was in front of me try and pace off them. The last mile or so of the run was challenging because you had to climb back to the lake, but overall it seemed like a very fast run course.
  
• I liked the transition area, I liked using the boxes for the bike instead of the typical racks. Seemed like there was more room than the typical set-up with the racks. Having the stool was nice, I used it for both transitions.
  

I would definitely do it again and I hope they make the necessary improvements to make it better the next time.

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mikew