No offense, but between this thread and the Top Pro Cheating thread, I'm having a difficult time believing that you enjoyed the event. It seems to me that this post is better written up as an email and sent to the RD.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

I enjoyed it just fine - I raced my race and crashed and burned on the second loop of the run :)

This is a discussion forum - we discuss things here. I'm only one person so I'm sure others who raced the event today had their own experiences both bad and good. I liked a lot about what Rev3 did - my first of their events. I just noticed some things they can improve on to make it safer and more enjoyable for everyone.

I think you can have criticisms and still enjoy the event. The lady drafting doesn't impact him directly and the USAT official is not directly associated with the RD, thus not a REV3 issue (unless this isn't a USAT race).

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The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.

I raced today as well but had to drop out after 1st half of run due to an injury. I waited 3 hours for my bag to arrive from transition. It didn't come until 2:00. In fact everybody was waiting for their bags and it practically turned into a rumble when they finally arrived. That is completely unacceptable! Two transitions is a just a complete nightmare. One more thing to add, is it me or was the run course a discombobulated joke? I'm thinking Rev3 is beginning to lose their edge.

The run route was interesting - heading through a few parking lots and such but I didn't think it had serious issues. I wasn't a fan of the 2 mile section with no aid station but that was mapped out well ahead of time so not a surprise.

There were plenty of people that cut the swim course. I saw lots of pink caps in my wave turn at the OLY course. And many people were not even going around the red markers either.

What is up with the timing issues. I had to go to the timing trailer and talk to the people 3 times. And it looks like the splits for many people are still all jacked up.

I also did not like how the aid stations were all bunched together. We really needed one on the back of that steep hill.

Who gives out a long sleeved cotton finishers shirt in the summer time?

It was my first REV3 event and I really liked it. But I agree there are a couple of things that need to be tweaked for next year. I hope that this race stays put for a long time.

I'm okay with two transitions but they made it especially difficult. I'm sure everyone would agree that T1 is the more complicated transition because you have bike and swim stuff. Yet we couldn't take our transition bags to T1 but had to use these smallish plastic bags. Of course, given how long it took to get the bags back to T2/Expo I suppose I shouldn't suggest letting us to use our bags next year.

The official explanation for the start delay was that people inappropriately parked on the highway so they reversed the entrance/exit at T1 and they needed time to adjust. (But there were people still streaming in from the buses so you're take on it may be correct.) They then compressed the start times after the pro men went off and this definitely exacerbated the clusterfuck that happened at the first red buoy as waves started colliding.

Then there were all the colors! For the half: red on the swim, pink on the bike, orange on the run. The olympics had their set of three. This is trivial (and while the red buoy was small, the bike and run were well marked).

Three small but annoying things:
1) no hand sanitizer in the porta potties. Yeesh;
2) no sunscreen at T2;
3) no bag check at T2.

Overall I found it a good time but it will need some refinements. However, the traffic backups we created were epic. Really epic and boy howdy did we get a lot of hate-filled stares today. I think the local leaders will get a lot of pressure to not do this one again. We'll see.

Just wanted to check. I overheard someone say the swim was 1.5 m according to their Garmen. Not a big issue because its the same for everyone, but thought they would a least get the distance right.

All,
I'll post a more detailed response soon as my wife is about to deliver our fourth child, but I wanted to post on here to let you know that we are reading this.

Bottom line is that we had some issues today. Without going into details, some were rookie mistakes. Please know that we will own up to these, take responsibility for them, take our blows and come out of this better for it. You all deserve more from us and honestly, we are better than this.

Charlie
http://Www.rev3tri.com

At least your kids were able to run the finishing chute..............................

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Congratulations on your new addition. Best wishes to you and your family.

Nice...new found respect for R3Tri. Good luck on #4 and Congratulations!

We were at the line at 5:30, and had to wait 55 min for a bus. They let the spectators and Oly participants on too, combine that with folks cutting the line, we didn't move. I begged them at 6:25 to let half participants go and we finally got to go. Then panicked running around T1 and bolted to the start, only to have a 20 min delay.

There needed to be more communication between the three locations- T2, t1, and the swim start.

I had to help a man that got panicked at the first red buoy--it was bad. Then we had a major run in with the Olys bc we all collided at their turn.

I'd just have 3 lines for shuttles and have the Olys go first, especially since they do a shorter distance. Any chance we could actually see Jamestown or Williamsburg on the run? It would have been great to see some colonial folks.

The picture at the end--hilarious!! We dressed up and our pic is the best.

Congrats on the baby. I hope you're back and tweak these things for next year.

Please understand my intent wasn't to bash the event or Rev3 in general. I'd definitely do another Rev3 race.

Thanks for joining the conversation and congrats of the fourth - I can barely handle a wife and 2 cats.

Check out your track - betting you did some significant zig-zagging. I was in the first AG wave and we watched the Pros swim WAY off to the left of the first turn buoy because of the current. Didn't see a kayak lead for them but I'm not sure.

This was both my first Rev 3 and my first point to point.

after today's total clusterfuck I will NEVER do a point to point again.

I was in the last swim wave, did not even get ON a shuttle until T1 was supposed to be closed. They started the race before we got off the bus and unbeknownst to us were on an accelerated course - so after rushing to set up T1 had no real swim warm up.

Glad I did not wear a wetsuit - and yes the current was tough - plus being in the last swim wave, saw many people pulled from the water which also meant dealing with the wake from police boats.

And twice kayaks came right in front of me (no I was not far off course or anything at this point) and I had to swim around them the second time he was ON the second Oly turn buoy which meant I had to go around him as well - not a good feeling when you are putting out your slowest swim time ever due to currents.

And then they not only took 6 hours to get our bags back to the finish they brought the HIM bags before the OLY bags - gee that makes sense.

So I left VA more than 2 hours after planned which meant horrid traffic the whole way - literally JUST got home (NYC)

I never want to drive in VA again
I never want to do a P2P race again

will see how Rev3 is in Florida but not feeling so great about them right now....

actually it was POURING at 5AM when I set up T2 so I had pity on mine and let them sleep - could not see having them just hang out in the rain....

First off, let me preface this by stating that I'm on the Rev3 age group team, so naturally I have a bias. But I'm also lucky in that I get to know a lot of what goes on behind the scenes at these events. Let me stand up for Charlie, the race director, and all the Rev3 staff by saying that these guys worked their assess off nonstop to try to deliver you guys the best race possible. You wouldn't believe the stuff that goes on behind the scenes, the challenges they deal with, and how hard they work to try to deliver the best race possible for you and your family. Did a few things go wrong? Yep they did, but Charlie owns up to mistakes and will deliver you guys an explanation as soon as his wife delivers their baby.
As for the swim course, I haven't had a chance to talk to them about it, but I've been thinking of how they could have reversed the course. Where would transition have gone? The only good locale for that transition is where it was, and it would have been even more of a cluster routing transition across the beach and park and crossing paths of starters and finishers.
Like all things in life, the first time you do something you won't be perfect. This was an inaugural event and we should all expect a few snafus at first time races. Typically when I offer constructive criticism I also focus on the positives as well as the negatives. Perhaps we can offer up some constructive criticism of what DID go well yesterday?

Well said. It was a great event all around. I would like for those who cut the swim course (mistakenly or not) to own up to it b/c from what I can tell it was a massive bunch of people.

I was able to bypass most of the mess at the start--my parents live in Williamsburg, and my dad drove me to T2, stayed in the car while I dropped off my stuff, then drove me to the river. I agree that they should have allowed HIM people on the first buses, then Oly, then spectators. I was peeved that the wetsuits weren't there at the end, but was able to go to my parents house, shower, take a nap, then pick it up at 6.

I'm not sure what they can do about the current. Aren't all of the Williamsburg triathlons put on by Setup Events in the same area? They have to deal with the ferry traffic, and there really is only one place for T1. I think the current was higher than anticipated because Virginia has had a lot of rain this year and it's still coming downstream.

I thought the bike course was great--especially Jolly Pond Rd. I'll have to remember that next time I go for a ride in the area.

The run course seemed disjointed to me. I would have preferred a run up Duke of Gloucester Street through the heart of the Colonial area, but I doubt the Williamsburg Foundation would have allowed that. I didn't like the constant transition from road to sidewalk to parking lot, etc. The aid station volunteers were great--I didn't notice any shortages. I also would have preferred more even spacing.

accelerated course?

Great Race. Patriots Half in Septembers starts up the beach just beyond where we finished and ends where we started. I probably swam 1.5 miles or farther but since it affected everyone not a race killer. Since we have all read the Gorilla story there was a guy in the 25-29 age group whose buddy paced him the whole race except for the both times through the start finish line. I will definitely do this race again and other Rev3 races.

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Yes they made the waves every three minutes.

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I would second this. It was a logistical nightmare. The list:

- buses in the am. Starting at 5:30 am the line was around the block. You can't let spectators travel on the shuttles if racers aren't getting to T1 on time. I made it to my wave start with 30 seconds to spare. Rev3 has done enough races to be able to calculate logistics like this correctly
- swim: I actually didn't think the current/chop was that bad. I am usually a MOP swimmer and thought it was fine (though I did hear about dozens of people leaving the water). I was doing the oly and saw lots of half swimmers at my turn buoys. not sure what they could have done about that
- run: course change at last minute (vs map on website), but enough time to get it printed up in the expo brochure. Where was the elevation profile?
- no food or drink for sale at expo and none at race either. I was excited to bring my family to my first Rev3 race, touted as "family friendly." There's nothing family friendly about sitting in a parking lot for 4 hours with no food or drinks and waiting for your bag. The moonbounce for toddlers doesn't count.
- on the bags -- no excuse. I also heard about "traffic" but there is no traffic in which it takes 6 hours to go 5 miles -- which is how long it took them to get the bags to the finish
- times/splits: electronic problems do happen. but still no accurate splits on the website. We just paid too much for this race to have no times to look at
- shirts: what were they thinking?

Overall it was probably the worst managed race I've done. I guess it's a lesson about signing up for inaugural races. BUT, i will say this: the Rev3 staff were incredibly nice and were trying their best given the circumstances. Like a flight attendant getting yelled at for flight delays -- this was all beyond their control but they stayed cool and did their best to keep everyone informed and happy. So at least Rev3 has that!

SS

I usually reserve feedback for any post-race surveys that might come to me through email, but since I now know that Charlie will be reading this thread, I figured I would chime in. This was my first Rev3, but not my first half iron and not my first double transition event. I think Rev3 did many things very well, actually some things were outstanding compared to other races that I've done (WTC, Set Up events, and a myriad of events in the state of Florida such as St. Anthony's, Nautica, etc...).

I was blown away by the following:

1. Check in process. My husband and I were pretty much the first people to arrive on Friday for packet pickup. The Rev3 folks weren't quite set up yet, but regardless, pick-up was super smooth. I loved that we received our chip right then and there and taking a photo for the jumbotron was a fun surprise. I was also really excited about the rear wheel transition racks with our names on them. I have never experienced this type of transition set up before and I loved it!

2. Announcer. I don't know who he is, but he was awesome. Keep him, Rev3!

3. Signage and road markings. By far, the best I've ever seen. I understand the need for changing colors since some of the bike course (near the end) overlapped the run course. There were a lot of twists and turns out there on both the bike course and the run course and I was near delirious during the run (wracked with GI issues), but the markings helped keep things crystal clear for me.

4. The volunteers were AWESOME!!

Things that could be improved:

1. I agree 100% with looking at tidal charts and then selecting the route the swim should take. Had the swim direction been reversed, Rev3 could have just set up longer chutes to corral exiting swimmers through the little park and back over to the grassy run up to T1. I don't see this as being a problem at all, especially if it had been thought out prior to race morning... via the use of tidal charts. The current was very strong yesterday and I really felt for the weaker swimmers out there. I've been swimming to some degree all of my life, am very comfortable in open water and I still felt like I was in an endless pool after I rounded that first red buoy. Making it to the second red buoy was one of the more difficult challenges I've ever faced in triathlon. I'm not sure weaker swimmers would have even been able to put up a good fight against the current, so I'm not at all surprised by the course cutting. In addition, I agree that more kayaks, etc... were needed out there. With the two swims going on at the same time and athletes spread out all over there place, there's no way the few kayaks that were out there were sufficient.

2. Double transitions. I didn't have a problem yesterday morning, but I also arrived early. However, since I've done a race that has separate T1/T2 before (Beach to Battleship 2010, so things might be slightly different now) and that particular race was done so well, I know that Rev3 CAN improve here. At B2B there was no visiting T2 on race morning. All of our run gear had to be bagged and checked in the day before the race and when we got to T2, it was hanging there waiting for us. Now there is still the issue of actually getting all athletes to T1 and for most, driving there and parking at Jamestown Settlement is not an option b/c how do you get back to your vehicle after the fact? Possible solutions: Run more busses, begin bus service earlier and stop it sooner (this will force tardy athletes to arrive earlier), make busses for athletes only (no spectators), use Jamestown Settlement parking lot and have athletes find their own way there to begin with... then run bus service AFTER the event? I'm not sure what the ultimate solution is here.

3. Ok, this flatlander from Southwest Florida is begging to know... what sort of bike and run elevation did you all pick up for the event? My Garmin 910XT captured 2690' climbing on the bike and over 800' on the run. I know that bike/run courses can change and we should be prepared for anything, but this is a massive difference from what was advertised and if the profile I got holds true, I'm not sure I would have signed up for this event in the first place. Perhaps my Garmin is completely broken or I don't know how to read Rev3 elevation charts? However, it was indeed a beautiful course from stem to stern.

Note: I think someone asked about swim distance. I managed to hold buoy line for the half and got 1.26. My husband had 1.27 and he also held the buoy line. I captured the run to T1 entry at 1/4 mile.

I would like to see one Transition if possible . There has to be a way to work it out. That would also relieve some traffic on town for at least part of the day. Talked to some resident that were late for church and a little upset. Got to keep the residents on board. Also let people no there is a hill in the run course that damn winding hill KILLED me :0). Other then that I thought they did a pretty good job as a first time race. Swim is what it is, other then cutting and there is not much you can do about that. Everyone else in wave has same conditions. Yes sighting was tough as there was small swells. But that could account for some people swimming longer. Lol I know I did :0)
Overall good experience and one question are most of the hotels near the railroad???? DAMN I thought I was in the movie My Cousin Vinnie.

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HI Billabong, I think I met you in T1 yesterday morning. We were setting up bikes and a guy showed me a small can of pepsi that he called his "secret weapon." I started to say, "Hey there's this guy on an internet forum...."

I enjoyed the race too, though I melted down on the run. Maybe it was because of the gorilla thread but I noticed some pacing too. Some guy positioned himself on that last hill before the finish/2nd loop start and was pacing friends of his up the hill. Because of the course setup I came by him doing this at least three different times. At one point I yelled at him, "Hey, you have to wear a gorilla suit to do that."

Yeah but they started 15-20min late.

That was me, and it worked as planned.

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

swim waves though started late apparently were on time or early

Does anyone know the number of entrants vs the finishers? Thanks.

Has anyone noted that their split/total times where not correct? They have my bike to run T2 time as 25 minutes! I think 3-4 minutes tops, most of my splits are way off. Just curious if anyone has had these issues as well.

Yup. My swim to bike t1 was 1 hr LOL.

While I didn't have a great race on the day I thought this was an amazing course for a race. I didn't know what to expect and I thought it was a very challenging and scenic course to race on.

This was a first year race and as Charlie mentioned and owned up to I think there were some logistical things that could have been better. The main issue seemed to be with the multiple transitions; which isn't exactly a problem in itself. The areas around both transitions were very small as far as the roads were concerned so that in combination with the course being blocked for the race made traffic really bad. I noticed while riding the bike course that traffic was just stopped for miles while we were out racing. Which was nice because there weren't cars in our way. I know a lot of people were upset with how long it took to get their wet clothes bag from T1. These things happen. I was disappointed to see how many people were yelling at the volunteers about this. At this point they couldn't do anything about it because the truck was stuck in that traffic not moving. They were just there to help.

The swim course changed a lot on race day compared to the previous two days. I swam there on Friday and Saturday and it was much deeper and calmer. Somehow with the rain that came through in the morning the river beame shallower. We could dolphin dive a significant portion of the swim out and swim in. It was also a lot choppier than compared to previous days. Probably because the whole river wasn't as deep.

Overall I thought this was a really cool race. I've never been to Williamsburg and have enjoyed my time here. Was hoping for a better race but I'll definitely be back next year for it.

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yup my bike to run they have as 28 minutes Garmin 2:11

Same here

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

One note on the tides for yesterday. slack tide was around 7:12ish. Assuming the race had started as planned, most people should have been swimming into a negligible *tidal* flow. Slower swimmers in later waves would have been getting incoming tides. However, I heard that the rain in Richmond had been much heavier than what we had in Williamsburg. My guess is that the current had more to do with just the body of water moving downriver from the rain than what the tide was doing in the estuary. Furthermore, it seemed quite windy on the river which was kicking up the inconsistent chop. Unfortunate, but nothing the organizers could have planned for.

It's a tidal current - it flows both directions depending on whether the tide is coming in or going out. Tides are controlled by position of the moon. Tide tables will tell you exactly when the tide will be coming in, going out, or slack (high or low tide with virtually no current). They should have known what direction the current would be going at 7am on race morning many months out. They could have put the start up where the swim warm-up was and push everyone to that end of the beach to avoid a lot of crossing foot traffic with the swim to T1 route. This is a common location for triathlons so the logistics have been sorted out previously by others.

When a multiple transistion race is done right, you don't even notice. Examples: B2B and IM 70.3 Raleigh (and that was an inaugural race).

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Congrats on the #4. Much health, happiness and joy to you and your growing family!

Congratulations, Charlie! One thing I'll say about logistics is that an awful lot of people showed up too late at T2. I was on a shuttle at 5:15 and there was a massive inflow of cars just coming in at that point. You don't have to think much about logistics to realize that that is really too late to drive to an area with closed roads, find parking, setup T2, get on shuttle, ride shuttle to Jamestown, setup T1, and warmup. So sorry all you late sleepers, it's not completely Rev3's fault. On the other hand, yeah it probably was predictable that a lot of people would flood in late and that this would create gridlock and delay the shuttles. One possible (if perhaps impractical) help for the shuttles would be to create dedicated lanes for them. Another would be to cut off the shuttles earlier (as was suggested upthread). Another possibility is to require T2 setup the night before and secure some big ass parking lot somewhere between T1 and T2. People drive there and then get shuttled to T1. Shuttles then start running back to the parking lot once racers start finishing. This adds a bit of complexity but avoids the downtown crush and would free up more space for the expo (since you won't have cars parked in that lot).

Threads like this are all about criticism so it's easy to lose sight of the good stuff. What fantastic volunteers! And you know what, I like the shirt. I've got dozens and dozens of short-sleeve race shirts. This is only the second I've gotten that's long sleeve. I'll probably end up wearing it a lot in the fall and winter.

That's a very valid point and something that I didn't think about. I had heard the day before that low tide was supposed to be around 7am on race morning which meant that there shouldn't have been much current for early waves and even some push current for later waves. It just didn't make sense to me that when I swam Sat at 9:30am there was a significant tide pushing in the good direction along the back straight but race morning it was reversed. Tides aren't random like that. Judging by how hard it was raining locally @ 4am and if Richmond had been getting similar rain through the weekend this very well could have been heavy eriver flow. In which case the race organizers had no way to predict it in advance.

But...as a lesson for next year I hope that have a contingency plan knowing what could happen and are prepared to do a quick revers on race morning if necessary. If there has been heavy rain recently up river send a kayak out on race morning to see what the current is doing.

Some great points.

Rev3 volunteers really try and are friendly. Your mileage may vary, but a lot of the staff are at every race, so you see a lot of familiar faces.

Sean English is the announcer. A real hoot, and full of fun, energy and humor all day long.

I generally would like a little bigger road markings, but signs get stolen or moved often

For course elevation, was not doing the race, but if you are referring to stats off of MapMyRide, it is pretty consistent... what ever they post, DOUBLE. so if they say 400 on the run, it will be 800, if they say 2500 on the bike, it will be closer to 5000.

Garmin 910XTs have a A TON of elevation issues (I am going on my 3rd Garmin in 16 months for bad barometer/altimeter) but you will see 30K + elevation gain on bad units... (Did 76,000 feet of climbing according top Garmin on my 80 mile weekend ride)

I was really annoyed by that pacer. Did we see the same guy? The racer was very pale, but the guy pacing him was ripped and wearing a skin tight short-sleeved short. I walked through the aid stations and ducked into a portajohn, and I think I had to pass them 4 times. Grrr.

The other pacer I saw was wearing a "Positive Mental Attitude" T-shirt, but he didn't seem to be helping anyone in particular--just cheering and running with whoever was going by as far as I could tell.

My Garmin told me 1.23 miles. I was careful to swim from bouy to bouy because I knew there was a tough current. I suspect the person you overheard complaining about 1.5mi got dragged out by the current and swam long and off-course

I did the half. For the first turn buoy, I only saw the red one. Was there a different one for the olympic? I saw both at the second turn. I was about 12 minutes slower than I expected.

Overnight rain + super moon = ridiculously strong tide? http://www.foxnews.com/...nd-night-sky-sunday/

I don't know... yes, it was a tougher than anticipated swim but the current really wasn't the issue, it was just a bit of chop. Everyone at the start kept saying to start left to avoid getting pushed to the right by the current but I didn't feel any dramatic pull. Reminded me a bit of an ocean swim with the waves!

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Anyone else thinking the times are messed up? Hopefully they'll get it worked out, but right now its showing the winner of the of the oly doing it in 1:09.

Personally i think there needed to be an aid station at the top of hill turn around. There were 2 really close together, then a long run with nothing.

The swim was rough, and choppy. I literally got sick to my stomach from the up and down, had to side stroke for a moment thinking i was going to puke, fortunately i didn't.

The bike course was awesome, i loved it, but there was a lot of drafting. I know I'm just a amateur, and not even a fast one, but i didn't see a single race offical and had people drafting off me for 10 miles before i finally managed to drop them.

Get the logistics fixed, and this can be a top notch race in my opinion.

There was a yellow bouy, followed by an orange/yellow bouy and a red. The orange/yellow was the turn for the Oly, and the Red for the Half.

I too was about 12 minutes slower in the water than I expected to be. I recall arriving at the first red bouy, and being unable to make any progress against it for a while. I would look at it, see it about 15 yards away, swim 10 strokes, look again, still 15 yards, 10 strokes... still 15 yards away. Eventually I blew out wide from the pack, and found a section of river that seemed to have less current and I was able to get around. But then the current picked up again and the long stretch between red bouys took forever!

This was my first Rev3 race but not my first half and I’ve done the Setup Events Patriot’s Half in the past which is in the same general area as well as the Patriot’s Sprint and Jamestown International. Here are some of my thoughts and comments on how the race went and ideas on how it could be improved in the future:

(1) Packet Pickup: I expected to see a great expo with a ton of vendors but there wasn't much there, also the packet pickup wasn't very well setup IMO. The race numbers could have been sent out to athletes ahead of time and/or should have been prominently displayed near the packet pickup location vice a small sign with arrows saying to look on the backside of the tent. This should have been set out front and center for people to see (it was a very nice printed sign with the numbers on it). Also the chip pick up was a little disjointed as well – with the signage it looked like it was a weigh in station for Clydesdales and Athenas but the large sign said chip pickup so it was a bit confusing (I’ve heard multiple people at the site make this comment as well) . Then the goody bag (empty other than a generic Rev3 visor and a Powerbar) was in the next tent over. A head’s up that we wouldn't be getting our shirts until the finish line would have been nice as well – many of us were standing around confused as to if there was yet another area where we could get our shirts. Better signage and arrows directing the flow of Packet Pickup traffic would have made it run smoother.

(2) Bike Check-in: I had no issues with the bike check in but one of my friends discovered on race morning that there was a huge gouge on the top tube of her bike cutting all the way through the paint that was not there previously. No cool if people were jacking around with peoples bikes overnight. The bike racks however were pretty cool – I’d never used those before but it solved the normal spacing issues encountered in transition with space hogs and no fighting over the space closest to the exit.

(3) T2 Setup & Bus to T1: This was my first time with two transition locations and I am not a fan. I got to T2 fairly early around 4:50 so really no issues finding parking, setting up T2, or getting to the site but sounds like there were some issues later when the mass majority of people showed up. I prefer one transition location and it can be done in Williamsburg.

(4) Swim: The swim course was a triangle not a rectangle as advertised on the Rev3 site. If they’d stuck with the original swim course and made a race morning call on the direction of the swim based on current (like they do at Patriot’s) then many of the issues with the current would have been solved (rainfall can have a significant effect on river flow). Also there are some jagged rocks in the water near the start – previous races at this location start swimmers in the water just past the rocks to prevent the mad frenzy of people running over these rocks – one of my friends cut up his foot pretty bad which severely impacted his run and resulted in a trip to the medical tent immediately after the finish. With all of that said, my swim was 1:30 faster than when I did Patriot’s Half, the swim is my worst leg so I’ve put a lot of time into improving my swim. No, I did not cut the course although I saw plenty of pink caps cutting the last red buoy and making the Olympic turn instead. Also the red buoy was very dark and difficult to see (to me it looked much smaller than the others as well) – perhaps using something brighter like a lime green or pink buoy would make it more prominent.

(5) T1: The decision to change the swim entrance/bike exit out of transition at the last moment created a whole host of problems – also I never heard the announcement that it was being changed, luckily my husband did so he told me about it. The narrow driveway that we had to run over to get to transition needs to have carpet down as there were ton of small gravel fragments – one of which got imbedded in my foot and I had to dig out with some tweezers when I got home. From what my husband has told me the traffic was a nightmare with people trying to get to the ferry to head to work and bikes leaving transition. It’s hard to tell from the race map what the original plan was but taking the narrow road leading from T1 though the fields directly to Greensprings Road would eliminate issues with vehicle versus bike traffic for the ferry on Jamestown Road.

(6) Bike: I wasn’t a huge fan of the course with all of the turn arounds and one mile of really rough road with a ton of potholes, however we were well warned about the rough road so I knew to slow down. I did see a lot of blatant drafting from the age groupers – in fact I had one guy pass me and then hop directly on the wheel of the bike in front of me, I’m talking less than one bike length behind the bike and he even turned around to look at me twice to see if I was going to say anything. I didn’t catch his number but he was 36 years old in the half wearing a Rev3 kit.

(7) T2: T2 didn’t go well for me but had nothing to do with the race – I dropped and busted my liquid shot flask halfway through T2 so I had to run back and grab my spare one from the bike

(8) Run: The run course changed within a week or two of the race as well from a 3-loop circular course to an out and back course twice with hills on both ends. I saw a lot of traffic issues and some close calls by cars trying to jet between runners. For the most part the water stops went well but where too close together. I think it would have been better to have a water stop in both ends and one in the middle instead of all being about a mile apart in the middle. I would have been better to have two people on the sponges because twice I wanted a sponge but the one guy manning the tub was handing them out to the racers heading the other direction. Once I had to grab my own water because they didn’t have any ready to hand me – not sure what the deal was there but that only happened once. Also it’s helpful to have Gatorade and water in separate cups (green Gatorade cups and white cups) to make it clearer to athletes what they are grabbing instead of asking every time.

(9) Post-Race: I know that Rev3 is advertised as a family friendly race it sucks when a family with multiple small children crossing the finish line in front of you blocks the finish line so you have to slow down and they huddle directly in front of the photographer so I don’t even get a finisher’s photo. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have two finisher shutes directly next to each other – one for people finishing with their families and one for those sans family that are pushing for a PR – I told my husband he could finish with me if he could keep up because I’m not slowing down :-). The large Gatorade towels soaked in ice water were great at the end.

(10) Swag: I was very very very disappointed in the swag which seems to be one of the huge selling points for Rev3. We got a generic Rev3 visor vice a race specific one – however if you wanted a race specific visor it was available for purchase in the Rev3 store (it was brown – ugh so not very appealing but still at least it’s race specific). Finally the race t-shirt the one thing that you get to wear around town or when working out to discreetly brag about your triathlon experience and it’s a black, long sleeve, cotton t-shirt… I guess that goes in my drawer of running shirts from the 90’s and early 2000’s that I wear for working in the yard, around the house, or layers when going sledding in Ohio. The local running races in Hampton Road have better swag. The medals were cool and about the size of my face.

(11) Timing: There are still issues with the times posted online – it has my T2 listed as 25:43 and my run listed as a 10min half-marathon PR which I know is not correct based on my Garmin data.

(12) Staff & Volunteers: I thought that the announcer was a bit annoying and seemed to talk for the sake of talking. He also said some inappropriate stuff that would not have put Rev3 in a good light if something bad happened on the swim course. He said something to the effect that he thought losing one person on the swim course is an acceptable loss but that the safety people disagree – considering the issues and press lately with people dying on the swim portion of triathlons it was said in poor taste and would have been very bad in the media if someone were to get badly injured or die on the course. I would have preferred more music and less of his talking unless it’s for important race updates such as transition entrance/exit location changes and delays. The Rev3 Staff and volunteers were very positive and enthusiastic.

If Rev3 plans to continue putting on this race in the future, I’d recommend sending a few reps to participate in the Setup Events Patriot’s race in September to see how they eliminate many of the course issues that were encountered at Rev3 Williamsburg. I’m undecided if I’ll do it again next year but I’m sure that Rev3 will be making lots of changes based on the feedback received on race day as well as constructive criticism and feedback posted here on ST.

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"Triathlon doesn't create character - it reveals it."

Was there a resolution to the Top Pro thread? It seems to have disappeared.

Probably pulled, but the summary seems to be that there was an opinion that a pro was drafting. An official passed by at one point when this drafting was supposedly taking place but didn't award a penalty; therefore, she was doing nothing wrong (at least at that point in the race) or she got away with it. It happens. Move on...

This was also my first Rev 3 event and I will jump on with a few opinions as well. I arrived Saturday around 1 and flew through check in, Everything was easy to find and the people working were well informed. I was surprised how little swag there was, a power bar and visor. I know we do these races for the course, but I thought rev3 was all about cool swag. I also did not stay for the whole athlete meeting, as it was in almost direct sunlight and I figured I would save getting a sunburn for Sunday. Fast forward to race day. I stayed with family in White Stone, about 1.25 hours away. I left at 3:00am and was at T2 by the time it opened, in the pouring rain. I set it up and got on the second shuttle. This was my second 2 transition race and probably my last. It was run a million times better than Poconos inaugural, but the stress of setting up t2 then leaving with everything you need for T1 added stress to race morning. Bike mechanics were plentiful and pumps were floating around. I don't think I had any wasted time and made it to the swim start with time to warm up. the swim was a surprise as the wind was blowing the top of the water with the course direction, but then we watched as the pros drifted and my thought was, "oh sh!t, looks like we will be against current." The run to transition was a little long, seen longer though, so no biggie really.

The bike was ok. Nothing spectacular in terms of scenery and like others said, would've like to have passed some history on the course. There were a good amount of turns, but volunteers and markings made it so you always knew where you were going. Road surfaces were decent, no potholes aside from a short section that was well marked to allow you to avoid them. The rest of the course was typical road surface, not freshly paved and super smooth, but good enough. Aid stations were where you would want them and staffed very well, never had an issue getting what I wanted.

The run, aka the beginning of the end. I, like many others, did not have the dream run I rehearsed in my head during training, so my poor showing may have skewed how I felt about the course. It did go through a variety of parking lots and the aid stations were spaced out oddly to say the least. I had no issues with them running out of ice, sponges, Gatorade, cola, or water. Again can't say enough about how well organized the stations themselves were staffed and how supportive the people working them were.

Overall, I probably would not do this race again, but am definitely not ruling out rev3 in the future. 2 transition races are not going to be a part of my future. I question the elevations posted for the bike course, but even more so the run course so I look forward to someone's postings of their garmin data. Waiting for our morning bags after the race ended was frustrating, but I heard a group of 30 volunteers got stuck in traffic, so they did the best they could. The biggest disappointment to me is how my splits are completely jacked up, no swim time a 30 minute t2, and live tracking that made it nearly impossible to follow from home. I know it is not looked upon highly by some, but seeing my 2 daughters face as they crossed the line, made the sufferfesst of a run almost worth it.

Also, great job by the race announcer keeping racers posted and entertained in the AM and race conclusion.

Sorry for errors, I hate typing on an ipad

Thread got censored. Let's please keep this discussion on topic. I don't want to drag that over here.

I didn't do this race but have done Rev3 events in the past. It must have been the 1st year woes as all the Rev3 events I have done have been well organized and enjoyble races. I bet next year will be much improved! But I do agree that the long sleeve cotton T's should be replaced with a wicking material of some sort.

Some good points here. A note of the T1 change of in/out - As I understand it, this was done because cars had parked up what was planned to be the route leaving T1. They could have avoided that by better roping off that area to parking on race morning. Personally, I was happy about the change because that little "road" we were supposed to take is in pretty bad shape and I much prefer getting immediately on the main road - that's how SetUp does patriots in Sept. I'm assuming the original plan was specifically to avoid causing issues with the ferry traffic.

No, Rev3 is all about your kids being able to cross the finish line with you..........

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Thats the guy, kept thinking and wishing a Gorilla would pop up

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

One of my athletes crossed the finish with her golden retriever yesterday.

I'm all warm and fuzzy inside now............

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

This was my first Rev3 race, and while there were some things that were done really well, there were several aspects that were disappointing and left me with the overall impression that Rev3 triathlons focus more on the appearance of glitz rather than the substance of the race.

The Good: the TA2/finish line/packet pick-up area is all together, which gives it a big event feel. The stage and big screen tv with constant video loop also add and create an energetic, great vibe when you go to packet pick-up. There was a green screen for fun photos, which was a nice touch. The finish line was really nice and again having it next to the TA kept all of the spectators clustered in one area, which also provided a lot of cheering and energy when you were on the run course and finishing the bike. The volunteers and few staff I talked to were very friendly and helpful. I liked the run course. As others said having the aid stations a little more spread out would have been nice, but not a big deal.

The Not so Good: The "goody bag" wasn't really full of goodies. There was a generic Rev3 visor and a few postcard ads. I much prefer getting my race t-shirt at packet pick-up not at the finish. There were not enough shuttles. The RDs know how many athletes (and can guess how many spectators) they have to transport to T1 in the short time span in the morning. It's not hard to figure out the math and plan accordingly. Swim course should have been better planned taking into account the tidal currents. The bike course caused an enormous amount of traffic backlog. I will be surprised if there isn't some push back from the community over the amount of traffic. The wait for the olympic distance athlete T1 bags was entirely too long. Many people who don't place in the top 3 don't stay for the awards. They shouldn't have to wait 3 extra hours just to get their stuff. The splits and results posted on the web still aren't correct.

Price vs Value-Rev3 prices are nearly 50% higher than other triathlons in Virginia. For that amount of money I was expecting more. Overall, I felt my extra money went to paying for the big RVs, stage, screen, pro prize money, and finish line rather than improving my experience (swag, more shuttles, better food, better logistics and planning). I likely won't do a Rev3 race again, particularly in Virginia where there are many other quality races with better value for my racing dollar. In particular, the Patriots and Jamestown races are in Williamsburg and have been going on for several years without the swim and traffic issues that occurred at the Rev3 race.

FWIW - I've heard lots of good things from other people who've done Rev3 races in the past. It seems like most of the issues associated with the quality of the experience - no food/beverage options for spectators, post-race food food, "expo", swag - are uncharacteristic of their typical offering. Unfortunately, I had high expectations as a result of hearing about these events so it was a little more disappointing when they fell short.

I was there this weekend. I am a coach for Team Z and I had a significant number of athletes race both events.

I noticed the lines for the busses, and I obviously noticed the issue with the swim. I am aware that there were some traffic issues in town (which did not affect the race, but certainly likely affected the community).

All in all, I felt that this was a very fun event and I received tons of great feedback from our team about the race, the Rev 3 staff, and the weekend as a whole. Even though lots of things went right - and many if not most of you had a terrific experience this weekend...obviously some people feel otherwise and that's ok too.

This thread has been bothering me since it sprung up. I'm not "bothered" because of the heated emotion shared by some of the dissatisfied participants postings. I know that things did not go exactly as planned on Sunday for some of you, or for the race production staff. I know that this has some of you not as happy as you could be, or deserve to be. And you have the right to share your frustration. I can understand and support those feelings. But...

I think that the reason the negative thread bothers me is b/c I have had a unique and privileged opportunity to get to know this race production company (and others) on a personal level. Call me biased, or a friend of Rev 3....go ahead that's fine. Because I am!

I have watched Rev 3 grow from zero to where they are today in just a few short years. I know that their success is due to their goal of being customer focused, and delivering the best possible product for you and your family. I know they mean this b/c I've seen it personally. I've had very direct conversations with almost all of their staff about their customers, and what they mean to them. I've seen them constantly re-affirm the mission and vision in staff meetings before, during, and after race event weekends. They sincerely want to do an excellent job. They want you to smile, and be successful. They do not want to make mistakes. And when they do make a mistake - they take it personally.

We could not participate in this sport without the hard work of so few individuals to put on the races we enjoy. Yes, I am speaking on their behalf. And, for that matter, on behalf of most race production companies. If nothing else - maybe it will just make me feel better by standing up for people that I consider to be our friends. But I hope that it helps each of you to continue to hold our race production companies in a positive light. You are their customers. We are their clients. We are all partners in this "business" and we all want to be successful. Our experience is exactly what matters to them.

Most athletes do not get the chance to interact with race production staff/companies on a personal level. Most athletes don't get the chance to see how a race production staff feeds off of an athlete's energy, both positive and negative. You don't get to see how they celebrate when they've "won". You don't see how much it affects them when they fail to deliver what they intend, when they feel they've not lived up to their own standards. It can be easy for us to be frustrated by their mistakes, or bad luck, especially with a “bandwagon” like this to jump on. But for whatever reason it seems harder for people to notice race directors’ successes, their hard work, and their good intentions. Even on the best days folks like Rev 3 get many more “constructive” criticisms than thank you’s. When people have trained so hard for their big day and something doesn’t go right it’s easy for them to lose their objectivity. What's not so easy is for the Rev 3 staff to stand in front of each of you and let you issue your complaints....and then apologize to each of you, personally, for making a mistake. Which they would do, if they just had the chance. Charlie's post is evidence of that.

Race Production companies are so personally invested in your experiences that it does not matter if "most things go well". Everything has to go perfectly or their sense of accomplishment is taken away from them. Right, wrong, or otherwise. It's hard to see so many people work so hard, for so long - and "almost get it right". And instead of "great race, can't wait until you dial it in next year"... they get blasted.. You don't need to tell them that they needed more busses, or that the transition bags took to long to get back from T1 to T2. They know.

I mean. I wish you could all see it in their eyes. Even the pride they have in the smallest detail, like the medal. One thing you know, they'll come back stronger next year. They want to get it right, and they will. Keep the faith.

Personally - I felt this was a fantastic weekend. And I encourage all of you to volunteer for a weekend with a race production company. The entire weekend. It may change your perspective on things a little bit. I mean - I can remember the days when our sport didn’t have post race food. I remember when I was handed a brown paper bag with an apple and smashed up PB&J sandwich and thought "SCORE!".

Rock on Rev 3 - and all race production companies. Thank you for busting your ass so we can have fun.

I also did the half yesterday ... and LOVED it. I dont know if I had different expectations that some .. but i though the race was very well run. The key i keep seeing here is that you had an easier time moving through the wickets if you timed it well.

Left the Philly area with friends friday afternoon (supposed to leave at 2pm but I was a little delayed. Luckily they didnt drive off without me!) We had a relatively easy time through Philly, Baltimore and into the DC area. From there all traffic hell broke loose. Wound up being in the car for a little over 8 hours. Good thing we had music and easy conversation to keep us company. We stayed at the Governers Inn. Were originally worried that we would be too far away. It turned out to be a GREAT location!. The rooms were large enough for three people and all our gear. We were walking distance to the historical part of town, great restuarants and (marginally) expo/transition.

The day before: We got in on Saturday morning and decided to scope out the place first. Got checked in (quickly!) and loved the printed banner of bib names. I could see that it would be tough if there were tons of people. It mgiht have been good to mount somewhere close to the entrance though so people didnt have to get all the way up to the tent to see the sign to go around back and find their numbers. Packet pick-up was aweome ... friendly folks checked me in. Headed into the photo area to complete checkin and key up timing strap. Again ... awesome folks helped move us through. I agree the bag was "lite" but i get lots of crap i usually wind up throwing out. I'm not one for free peanut butter, new types of shave products, or chamois lube. I actually appreciated the sparseness of my bag. We spent a little (a lot) of money in the expo tent and went to go check out our T2 locations. With the lay of the land at hand, we went back and grabbed our stuff to head over to T1. We left as the briefing was winding down, wanting to beat the rush. Turned out to be a great decision. T1 setup went pretty flawlessly. we checked out the swim entry/exit and logistics. Love the bike boxes btw ... best racking ever. Really controlled clutter and happy to have a defined "me" space. Name tags were an awesome touch (my T2 is hanging up in my cube). Headed back around 3 and just enjoyed the night in town. Really awesome place to walk around. Kudos on having picked a location that adults can go and be relaxed heading into a huge race. Totally enjoyed the Williamsburg hospitality.

The day of: Alarm set, bags pre-packed double checked and ready for T2 drop-off. T1 bags packed and ready for the morning. Open door - DELUGE. Wait 10 minutes and head out. We were down on site probably around 4:45. Since we had a mix of oly/half folks we wanted to be in the lot that we could leave before 3. It was darkish - but enough light for setup (this is where having prepacked bags and a scopped out spot REALLY helps). Dropped things off and were ready for the bus in around 5-10 minutes. I think we were on the first or second bus out. The bus driver filled the seats ... we each had our own one and off we went. There were a few wicked (and unsuspected bumps!) and we were there. Set up and prayed for the rain to hold off ... but the clouds to stay! Bike techs were great ... the line up at the tent moved. I had a quick once over and tires pumped.There were plenty of porta-poties.

Wet suit legal temp announced so i hit the sunscreen, body glide and got ready. Went down and listened to the announcement that the transition was changing. It was well announced ... preceeded by a "if you are having a conversation - STOP". The delay with the start was a bit tough ... but also well communicated. During this time i decided that the temp was just too hot. The water stop people let me stash my wetsuit up at the water table (THANKS!!). I made it down in time to still see the pros start. My swim was horrible - but I dont have alot of open water experience where the tide/waves/etc play a large role. I'm thinking of it as a learning experience. I would have liked to see some more folks in on kayaks etc, but when i passed one ... they were very encouraging. One person gave me a heads up on the difficulty along the outside edge and atleast i knew what to expect. Got out (eventually) and soldiered right into T1.

Onto the bike. After drinking more of the James River than expecting ... THANK YOU for having porta-poties at the aid stations. I also would have liked a bit more history on the ride - but i thought it was a nice course. Again echo the above comments about the road conditions - but we were well warned that there was a rough portion of road. I had trouble on the hill at 40/1 but was able to continue after the support of several passers by who stopped to ask if i was ok and the bike support guys. I guess i was so far back, i didnt see much drafting at all. There were some places i needed to wait for a car to pass before i could pass the rider in front of me .. so that was a little frustrating - but overall no issues with cars on the course.

Run (or my attempt at running under prolonged sun exposure). That sun thing came out and I just cooked on the run. Just cooked. I cant say enough about the water stop folks on this course. Yeah the locations were weird. But the staffers were AWESOME. So encouraging. The ice and sponges were a huge help. Props on the flatted cokes filled to the right amount in the cups. I would have liked more visible port-a-poties on this part of the course. I found one set on my 4th time through the loop. Good thing i didnt need them on the run! Got caught in a bit of traffic around the shakespeare festival. The hills were hard - but reaching the top was fun. Running past the finish was SO hard, but i was cheered all the way in when it was my turn. I bolted through the finish line -- so much fun! Hit the med tent for ice and extra cooling support and a quick wash and bandage of my road rash.

The after - took a while for me to cool down. Got everythign packed up and headed back for some post race food. I cheered people coming in ... it was nice that the race didnt empty out super quick. I hate when i come in late and everyone is gone! Medals are awesome -- it would be nice if the oly and half had different ribbons though (I'm super proud to have completed after such a tough start) I really like the long sleeve t. I have enough race shirts and dont like to only ever wear wicking. I'll be wearing my finishers shirt proudly come the fall! Also, I like the run visor ... i wish it was race specific ... but i'm pretty stoked for people to ask which race I did.

The Police/Fire/EMT support was amazing. I thanked each one as i went by on the run. If you think we were hot .. they were out there in uniform dealing with racers, traffic and I'm sure a few angry locals. On the big curved hill, i chatted with a fireman who asked if i was ok, if i was on my last loop and encouraged me on. A few of the Policemen i said thank you to ... thanked me for being out there. The support of the neighborhoods was a little lower than expected - but there was still plenty of support out there.

Please do it again :) Please!

Compliments to your team. They all seemed to really be enjoying their experience and were really supportive of each other. Great job creating that culture, keep it up.

I went straight from setting up my T1 area down to warm up for the swim and never heard the announcement about the transition changing - I'm sure I was warming up in the water and that's why I didn't hear it - my husband who was standing right by the start did hear it and let me know. However they should have made another announcement just before the race when everyone was at the start line so that the half of the athletes that were warming up during the announcement and missed it could hear it. Also we just assumed the race was delayed when it didn't start on time but they did do a good job of communicating the new timeline after they started the pros - the compressed time frame afterwards did cause some issues with swim pileups.

To some of the previous posts, I don't think that anyone is knocking Rev3 as a company but for many of us that have heard such great things about Rev3, it fell short of our expectations, many of those can be attributed to it being the first year here in Williamsburg but others such as the swag, water stop locations, food, etc. shouldn't be anything new. A lot of people see constructive criticism as negative but just to make it clear constructive criticism is "criticism or advice that is useful and intended to help or improve something, often with an offer of possible solutions." We all know that the Rev3 staff worked very hard and there have been a lot of positive things said about their enthusiasm and support during the race, however things can always be improved. If you had a great race and saw no room for improvement then good for you but I and many others see potential to make it an even greater race.

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"Triathlon doesn't create character - it reveals it."

Just recieved a E-Mail from Ashley at REV 3 regarding split times this is her reply:

Hey Ken,
I apologize about the delay in getting back to you (I e-mailed REV 3 this am at 7:04). We had a slight glitch in our timing software that made some T1 times longer than they were. It is a very simple fix and we will be updating all times this week.

This was my third REV 3. Yes there were issues, but I am encouraged that Charlie and Ashley are prompt with there understanding and I would venture to guess that next year ( I will be there again), the event will iron out some of those issues.

First off, thanks to TH3_FRB for starting off the post in the right way – recognizing that while all of us love going to races, almost none of us wants to or does run them, and thus have very little idea or perspective on the various challenges attendant to keeping hundreds of type-A personalities satisfied for a large block of time. I also think that it’s very easy to gripe, but it’s more important to give credit where credit is due and also to offer ideas for fixing problems. I was in this race with my wife yesterday. There are some real problems with the race that need substantial attention, but I think there is a lot of potential here.

My wife has only been doing triathlons for a year, and this was her second. She chose it because it was close to where we live, and she heard that Rev3 events were well run and not as intense a WTC events. Since she supports me in all of my crazy endeavors, it really was the least I could to do agree to ride behind here (4 lengths, of course) and then run with her and help her finish her first 70.3 race. My perspective on how the race went was largely colored by doing the Raleigh Half earlier this month, which was also a PTP and an inaugural event. With that in mind, here’s my take:

1) This is a small point, but I emailed Rev3 before the event about the athlete guide. Yes, it is very colorful and chock full of information (and ads), but it is impossible to print out in a useful way – i.e., so the embedded maps for parking and the course show up as part of the print-out. Rev3 needs to offer a link to a .pdf version that we can print out so that we can look over the course maps and parking maps from the athlete guide in hard copy before the race and while we are there looking for parking, etc. (I do appreciate that there were lots of free printed maps at the expo and that there were course changes, but I would rather have received multiple emails with updated maps, rather than not being able to print anything out).
2) There’s been a lot of commentary on the expo. I will say this. It was by far the easiest and quickest to navigate of any I’ve been to. I loved that I could find parking five minutes away and pick everything up without huge lines and confusion. I also have no use for goodie bags. Sure, the WTC gives out nice drawstring bags that I use, but usually they are just full of sample products I’m very unlikely to use (how many kinds of lip balm can our economy really support?) and circulars for local businesses that I rarely would have anytime to patronize. I appreciated the low-key Rev3 approach (visor, sport nutrition sample, plastic bag, done).
3) Race morning was something of a disaster, in my view. We arrived at the parking lot at around 5:25, which given the information in the packet, should have been plenty of time. It was only six miles to T1. Dump stuff in the T2 bins and get on the bus, easy enough? Except that there were major miscalculations here. I imagine that there were some number of buses that were accumulated and left prior to my arrival, but when we went to line up for the shuttle, there were easily 200 people in front of us and by the time we left there were easily 300 people behind us. Having just had the experience in Raleigh where everything went very smoothly and T1 was 40 mines away, I think the following were the culprits here:
a. Buses need to be leaving from a separate area that does not require that they cross incoming traffic. While I appreciated how easy it was to park right next to transition, that convenience was apparently at the price of holding up the oncoming buses that were to take athletes to transition. There needs to be a better thought-out flow to traffic.
b. More buses. There just weren’t enough for all the people, which leads me to….
c. Early buses should be reserved for athletes. I’m thrilled that people have families and friends that will get up early and watch people swim. I think it is great for the sport. But if they are going to allow spectators on the buses, there needs to be a whole lot more buses. As it was, I think they should have told spectators to wait for athletes to go, as we still had a number of things to do in transition.
d. The announcements in T2 were not the same as what was being broadcast at the start. As a result, it was hard to know what was happening. Because of the bus situation, it would have been nice to be better informed, as I wasn’t dropped off until 18 minutes before my heat was supposed to start. (As it was, they moved everything back a bit).
e. They need more organizing on the start. There was too much confusion given how confusing it already was because of the late start.
4) The swim course. I’ve swum competitively since I was five. I played four years of collegiate water polo. I’ve done 5 mile open water swims. Nonetheless, I found this course rather hard to sight (the red turn buoys sat quite far down in the water), and the water was fairly choppy. Nothing I couldn’t handle, but I don’t think I’m a good reference point. For instance, my wife is a very competent pool swimmer, but is still learning to be a stronger open water swimmer. This course was just about all she could handle. It was also apparent to her, that because of the swim buoy marking and the need to pull many swimmers out of the water, it was basically a free-for-all out there. She saw large numbers of people doing the half cutting the red buoy in favor of the orange buoy, either because they couldn’t see the red buoy or there simply was enough watercraft support to police the race and help distressed swimmers out. This race needs to be done so at least one leg is WITH the current. As it was, two legs were against a strong cross current and the long leg was completely against the current.
5) The bike. I thought the bike course had some very nice scenery. I was hoping that more of the roads would be closed, as there were times when there was traffic on narrower roads with smaller shoulders. It also seemed that there hadn’t been a lot of publicity about the race, or that most of the citizens of Williamsburg simply don’t want a triathlon. This is the first race I’ve been to where people in automobiles coming from the other direction flipped me off, yelled obscenities and cat-called women that I was riding near. In Raleigh, whole neighborhoods turned out to watch the race and were cheering, even though the roads were closed and obviously created some headaches. I don’t think I saw a single spectator on this course. It’s not so much that I want or need crowd support on the bike, but I do think it reflects a certain apathy from Williamsburg about hosting the race. (Or in case of the nice gentleman in the white sedan smoking who drove by, that either “he’s number one,” or that he thinks I can take my tri-bike and shove it right up my ….).
6) The run. I thought the run volunteers were great – positive, and helpful, and the stations were all very well stocked. I didn’t mind the course at all, but my wife pointed out that we ran through a fair number of parking lots, which isn’t all too interesting, and given the heat there were two longer stretches with no water or ice. I think this is because it runs along the bridge and up into a neighborhood and so it wasn’t possible to put a water area anywhere. It was also one of the more shaded parts of the run.
7) The shirt. I know it’s not popular among some, but we loved the long-sleeve non-technical t-shirts. We ended up putting them on in the car on the way home as it was dry clothing and we started getting those chills one gets after being out in the sun for prolonged periods. I also think that the race t-shirt pendulum has swung too far. It used to be that everyone gave out cotton t-shirts. Then people realized that people had too many cotton t-shirts and everyone needs/wants technical t-shirts for training. But now nobody gives out cotton shirts and many races put so much ink on the shirts when they print the shirts that they lose a good bit of the wicking and aeration function that make tech t-shirts important. So I, for one, am glad to have a nice cotton, long sleeve shirt. I recognize I might be in a decided minority on this one though.
8) Race results. They are still not correct. I’m pretty sure I was the third or fourth person in my swim wave out of the water and yet my swim time is listed as over 1:30. In fact, most of the swim times are completely screwed up. Some people are recorded as finishing several minutes before the pros even started. There are very few things in a race that you have to get perfect. Routes can be a little off, post-race food can be sub-par (I never eat afterwards anyway), but timing has to be right. Period.

Last but not least, it’s very encouraging and positive to see that the race director is reading these blogs and considering peoples’ input. I think this race has a lot of potential, and I’m sure the kinks will get worked out. My wife is a little less pleased. She’s sworn off Rev3 races entirely. Her experiences have always been at WTC races or well-established local races (i.e, Savageman, etc.), including several inaugural events (IM-Mont Tremblant, Raleigh 70.3), which all seemed to run much smoother. I think part of this is her perspective as someone newer to the sport. The “rookie mistakes” with buses and last minute transition changes are annoyances to people who have done multiple triathlons and who can roll with the punches, but they are huge stressors to those doing their first big race that adds to already large cases of nerves. It also wasn’t just “issues” with the swim, it was that there was a real sense that people were not safe. My wife stopped twice to try and call kayaks for distressed swimmers who were unable to yell loudly enough to get someone’s attention. In time, I hope to convince her otherwise, as I think the more options to choose from the better, and that even a bad day of racing beats just about any way to spend a Sunday. I’ve also heard lots of great things about Rev3, but this race fell short in significant and serious ways, and there better be some real evidence that the problems have been resolved or this race will not last long.

No kidding. Much respect for taking ownership. This seals the deal. Will definitely do a Rev3 race this year and look for more opportunities to race the series!

I was personally very happy about the T1 change. I am a slow swimmer but a fast biker, there was a huge group of 1/2 and oly bikers when i was coming out of T1 that would have been a complete nightmare trying to work through on that narrow trail. It seemed like i passed 100 people on the 1st little straight before the left turn and a couple hundred more in the first few miles, i was very glad for the change.

On a drafting note, a friend of mine was racing as a pro, he saw the group of 7 riders together, said they were all in a pack, but riding the legal staggered distance. I didn't see the original thread so im not sure if that's what it was about

O yea? B2B had NO logistical challenges for athletes and spectators the first couple of years?? Hmm...

FYI: my split times have been corrected.

I have absolutely no problem with riding within the rules even if there is an advantage. I do it myself. I know for a fact there is an aero advantage at the legal distance so I ride there when it makes sense. The other thread was about straight up cheating.

On a related note, since I was up near the pointy end of the race I'm not sure how congested the course was and how officials were handling it. I think there is always going to be some incidental rules violations when you have a lot of people out there together. I don't hang the officiating on the race directors so it's really a seperate issue if there are issues with not enough course marshals. Do race directors specify how many marshals they need/want or does USAT dictate that based on something like registration numbers?

Mine showed an 18min T2 and a 1:18 run. Unfortunately, I had a melt down on the run and was closer to 1:35.

As most of my criticism was already covered I'll attempt to comment on a couple of good and bad points that Rev3 had for the race.
Good:
Volunteers and Staff were great! My number one concern is safety on the bike as for this course there were some pretty good hills and lots of turns it makes a huge difference if you can go through a turn or bomb a hill without having to worry about getting hit by one of the notoriously poor Southeastern Virginia drivers. The Police, Volunteers and Staff did an excellent job of keeping us safe, marking the course and ensuring that no one got lost or run over.
Transitions, although long they were well layed out, nicely spaced with plenty of room to maneuver around other competitors and get out on course. I liked the racks with cubbys and the slot for bike wheels, it makes it much cleaner in transition and kept others from encroaching or taking up too much space. Also the water/nutrition stop between the swim and T-1 was great!
Food and Water was great at the water stops both on the bike and run the volunteers did a great job of getting whatever we needed and the selection was excellent. As long as you called out what you wanted they had it ready for you.
I thought the bike course was awesome! I loved the rolling hills and fast descents. I had the luxury of riding the course ahead of time with CVE for the course preview but I thought they did an excellent job pointing out the one bad spot (mile 46) in both the athlete meeting and with announcements on course and markings on the potholes.
The medal was pretty awesome, very detailed and huge! Ice cold towel at the end was awesome and the finish line medics were great (had a gash on my foot from stepping on a rock in the swim).
Negative:
Schwag sucked, for an organization that is listed as the best schwag out there, this was very disappointing. I have received better goodies from a $35 5K, one power bar, a non race specific visor and cotton long sleeve t-shirt doesn't cut it for this caliber of a race. On top of that there wasn't even much gear to buy at the expo other than general Rev-3 stuff. The brown jersey would have only been better if they had offered white shorts to go with it... Overall the expo was not worth coming to, it would have been better to just pick up the packet the day of the race and not have to drop off the bikes a day ahead and spend a night in a hotel. They delivered a good local race with the hype and cost of a nationally branded race.
Communications were a little lacking as well, when we got to T2 in the morning the Info booth didn't know if it was wetsuit legal, then at T-1 there were no announcements so I had to walk around until I found an official to find out if it was wetsuit legal. This could be easily fixed by posting this info at each of the transitions and maybe the Info booth as soon as the determination is made. The website was also very tough to load and had lots of ads, but was missing useful information like hill profiles and race numbers, wave times. A better format for the Athletes Guide is either a pdf or doc, that way it requires less bandwidth to load.
The run course was boring, usually when you do an A to B bike it is to put the run course somewhere more interesting, otherwise it is not worth dealing with the hassle of two transition areas. I had hoped that the course would at least run through a scenic area or something more than a bunch of parking lots and tight circles. The run could be improved by going out through Colonial Williamsburg, or going with a single transition and running out through the Jamestown Settlement. There is a lot of history in the area and it would be nice to see some of it. The hills were a lot worse than advertised on the run, from the website and athletes brief I was expecting relatively flat with a few gradual hills rather than a bunch of hills with some flat... Shame on me for not pre-riding or running the course.
Overall:
I thought it was a good race with potential to be great. The course turned out tougher than I was expecting and is not a PR course, but it is a good test of ability and was great prep for IMLP, which is ultimately what I was hoping for. It was well supported and the race crew was working hard to make it the best race possible. There will be growing pains and there is room for improvement but this is a race that can be awesome with a little work, and maybe some better managed expectations. Thank you to all who volunteered and don't lose sight of the great race due to a couple of small mistakes.

In the spirit of transparancy, I am a Rev3 Team Member -- I did the IM Raleigh and their point to point transisitons were not flawless.... they lost my gear in T1 and then told me to drive back out to Lake Jordan to get it .... which I did and upon arrival it was abudantly clear that no one from WTC had been there for HOURS. I would just offer that everyone's experience is different.

In all fairness, your lost bag may have nothing to do with Raleigh being a point to point race. Bags can be lost even at races with just 1 transition.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

James,
I respect your talent and knowledge in this sport. As a Set Up Events customer, you and I have raced the same races many times including Holden Beach (you won) and White Lake Half (you were 2nd). I know you have a pro card, as well (I see you in the 1st picture of the Williamsburg photo gallery on the main page).

I responded to a post from an individual who said he/she would never do a point to point race again because of Rev3 Williamsburg. Do you think that is fair? B2B may have had some challenges back in 2009 or 2010, but I think you have to admit it runs pretty smoothly these days.

Wouldn't you tell someone that they should give races like B2B or Raleigh (or even Williamsburg) a chance and don't let the 2 transitions scare them away?

Sincerely
J. Alan Parker

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

I feel as though the tone of your post implied that Rev3 had MORE problems than other nearby first-time races due to its being a p2p race. I do not think that is true. B2B now has a completely different bike and run course due to logistical problems it faced in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. I can't speak personally to Raleigh.

Rev3 Williamsburg did, in fact, have some issues. I am not sure they could have been prevented without extensive first hand knowledge of the area. Two transitions is always a logistical headache from an athlete's perspective. I think it was handled pretty darn well.

Luckily, myself and Matt Wistoff had another person to drive us to T2 in the morning and T1. That removes a ton of headache.

I am confident that 2014 will bring a much smoother race if it happens (and I hope it does). The community was very good with cycling in general when I attended school there from 03-07 so hopefully it can embrace this new event, traffic problems and all.

My buddy did Rev3 Quassy a few weeks ago. His time is still screwed up. I did Rev 3 Florida last year. It took a week for them to post the correct times. Timing is THE fundamental aspect of racing. It needs to be right every time. That’s why we do this!

To be fair, its not why EVERYONE does it. Might be for you. Personally I time it myself using my Garmin devices so if something gets whacked with my timing (lost chip, missed mat, whatever) I am not all that broken up over it. Unless of course I am aiming for a podium spot, but if I am not then I am not too concerned.

Sounded like an awful race.

I am confident than a run through Colonial Williamsburg will never, ever happen. It is just not possible. THAT is where the town of Williamsburg makes its REAL money. I am sure that will not be jeopardized for a triathlon which will be a one day pump into the local coffers.

The cycling club at school half-heartedly tried to get a race set up near there during my latter years in school but the logistical problems and opposing players made it all but impossible. I'm honestly surprised that a triathlon was able to be held anywhere near Colonial Williamsburg.

I loved running through campus. I am biased, however, because we ran by Wawa where many a late night post-drinking night "ended," old campus class buildings where I napped, and two dorms I stayed in during my 4 years at school. That's pretty cool.

Is that the conclusion? I gave up reading about half way down and just went on to the next post. You saved me a whole bunch of reading

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_________________________________________________
When all is said and done. More is usually said than done
Ba Ba Booey

good to know. After yesterday it won't be soon that I try one.
And I realized during the swim in the brown-I-cannot-see-anything water that I want to pick races with nice swims. Puerto Rico was great that way.

Hold on, we ran by the Wawa? Good thing I didn't know that or I would have had an even worse run split!


On a serious note, I was extremely concerned for everybody in the Oly and the back half of both races from the time I saw the course map. Just shy of mile 20 on the Oly bike course (50something on half), you had to make a left across the oncoming traffic that was somewhere about 2.5 mi into both courses. I asked about this at packet pickup and was reassured that the timing was worked out that it wouldnt be an issue. Well, it was. There were still people pouring out onto the course at that point and the volunteers didn't know what to do as the eventual winner and I just had to nearly stop and wait for a lull. It could have been a hell of a lot worse.
Otherwise we had quite a few instances of just "not being ready," as I spent from about mile 10 of the bike to .5ish on the run in the lead of the Oly. I guess I expected a little more from a big race organization to make sure intersections are controlled before the lead biker gets there, but there was one spot where the whole road was coned off to cars, but we were supposed to ride through the cones. The cops were still in their car and I almost turned. Similar sorts of things happened entering T2. We nearly got hit by a school bus that was driving right near the transition area. Nobody was there ready for us and I even heard the announcer say "oh wow is that our first Olympic runner?"
I swam a 22 and rode a 59, so it's not like I got to T2 in some ridiculously unpredictable time for the leader of an Olympic distance race. At this point, many of the aid stations weren't ready on the way out on the run, even when I had an escort bike with me the whole time riding about 10yds up the road with a big sign on the handlebars.

So I guess some of the "be ready" things do somewhat beleaguer any race, but my biggest problem is the safety issues. Honestly, despite that this is a big race I can sleep in my own bed for, I don't think I will be back if the bike course isn't changed. I'm not going to run that risk

And to add on yes the food, timing, bag pickup, and slower half athletes cutting the course were all a pain in the ass but didn't have me concerned for my safety

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IG: idking90

I know exactly what turn you mean...the cops seemed to have everything decently under control when I arrived but that was much later than your arrival. Traffic was pretty backed up on the road onto which we turned...

Breaded chicken sandwich from Wawa at 2am is potentially one of the best things in the world.

Really? That's not why you do it. Yet you use a Garmin to track your time. I bet you wouldn't leave your timing chip and Garmin in transition for your next race.

there was a lefthand turn on the bike that the traffic was way backed up, and a cop let 2 cars go - I had to slam on my breaks to not get hit - that was the one intersection that I did not thank the volunteers and cop.

I did the Rev3 half in Williamsburg, and I just wanted to say that I had a fantastic experience. Packet pickup was quick and painless, I love the visor they give out to participants (I never use any of the "swag" that usually is distributed), and the staff/volunteers are nothing but friendly and helpful. I love the digital athlete guide... it covers just about everything except zombie apocalypse. That being said, I understand some participants didn't have such a positive experience, and wanted to make a few obvious statements.

1) The buses: Common sense tells me that anytime you have to get bussed between locations, arrive at least 30 minutes earlier than you have to and expect waits... and when it is point to point, always, always add an additional 20 minutes, especially when road closures and high volume for the race are expected. Could they have used more busses or a different logistic system for the athletes/spectators? Probably, but I suspect that the same people arriving an hour before race start would still be blaming someone else. I arrived at 4:45-4:50 and had no problems.

2) Delayed start/T1 change: As the announcer many times indicated, the race was delayed because the course had to be slightly modified. The course had to be slightly modified because people were parking on the street.... which the announcer MANY times cautioned people not to do. I applaud Rev3 for thinking on their feet, working with what they had, and managing the course to get athletes out and racing.

3) The swim: As someone with a background in fluid dynamics, I feel very comfortable stating that Rev3 could not have anticipated the pull of the current. Many things influence currents and the strength of the currents along with the moon. The fact that it was windy and rained the previous two nights did not help, period. If the swim had been set up in the opposite direction, you would still be managing the current out and back, and the end result of slow swim times/lousy conditions would have been the same. It's part of racing, and one of the reasons it's challenging and keeps us all coming back for more. I don't believe the swim buoys were moving... but I am certain that additional mileage was added by some to compensate for the zig-zagging due to the current.

4) The bags: Yeah... the bags were delayed for a few reasons. I am sure they will work on this and sure they know it needs to improve. If you lost stuff.... tie knots in your bag strings next time.

5) Timing: It's triathlon... timing can't always be perfect, but, as several people have written, this is being corrected by Rev3. I am sure it will all be sorted out in short order.

Again, I had a great experience. The bibs with the names are a nice touch (I love people cheering my name!), the volunteers were PHENOMENAL, I loved the run course and placement of the aid stations, and love the variety at the stations. I can't wait to do my next Rev3 race.

CONGRATS on #4!

I know how much you work to improve each race, regardless of if the race has any issues or not. Having done several of your other events I know how good of a race you can put on. Your listening to people's comments (and not being defense) shows how committed you are to making events for athletes and families. As someone in the sport 2 decades, I love to see a race company that cares about us the athletes like Rev3 does. Keep up the hard work.

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http://www.johnhirsch.org
http://www.stronglikebulltraining.com

This was my first Rev3 race and my first Olympic distance.

Everything went well for me on Saturday.

All hell broke loose on Sunday. Here's what I didn't like:

1. No hand sanitizer at the porta pottys.

2. While doing the swim portion, a kid on a paddle board crashed into me. That really shook me up. How that happened, I'll never know, but he should have been paying better attention.

3. Again, while doing the swim, I knew before I reached the second buoy that I was almost at the hour cut-off. I had been having a horrible swim. I was told by someone in a kayak that they extended the cut off time from 1:00 to 1:30. Great, I told myself, I still can make it to the shore.

4. When I got to the swim finish, I was told my chip was being pulled. I looked at my watch and it said 1:17. I was confused and wondered what happened to the 1:30. The person who took my chip had no idea as to what I was talking about.

5. I asked if I could continue the race even with no time. The answer was no. I was told that I could not be on the course without a chip.

6. I have since heard that some people who pulled out of the swim were able to continue on with their race. This burns me up because I trained to be there, I paid for registration, meals, gas, hotel, etc to do the race. Family came and also paid for meals, gas, hotel, etc. How could there be such inconsistencies?!?

7. Bag pick up. I don't understand how this got to be the problem that it was. If T1 closed at 6:40a, at a minimum all of the dry clothes bags had to be ready to be brought back to T2. Since I was a DNF, I had to wait from 9:30a until 2p to get my things. I felt like I was being held hostage at an event I no longer wanted to be at. With each hour I cringed at the thought of how much traffic I was going to hit going home.

8. While waiting for the bags, I asked if I could still get food and drinks even though I was a DNF. I was told yes. I walked over, only to find they no longer had any water and had run out (this was around 12:15-12:30p). That was unbelievable, since I know there were still plenty of athletes out on the course.

Right now I am so mad at hearing others could continue their race and I could not. I'm mad that I was told I had 1:30 when I actually did not. I really wanted to do the race-I accepted that I wouldn't have an official time posted-and if its really true that people who pulled out of the swim got to finish the race, I'll be crushed. I really wanted to have a great first Olympic experience, but sadly it turned out to be the worst race experience I ever had.

 

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

Glad we could clear it out for you guys at least. I've heard nothing but the best about Rev3, and aside from that one major issue, I can accept it as a decent race (again, timing and logistical issues are within my acceptable limits for most races) that's nice because it's close, but I don't see it as being worth 1.5x what I might pay for a Set Up race. Maybe that's not a fair comparison though
Also I'm originally from South Jersey, where Wawas are more common than children who are begrudgingly following their history nerd parents around Williamsburg begging to be taken to Busch Gardens. The only thing goods about the fall are cyclocross and Wawa turkey bowls.

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IG: idking90

I'm confident that Rev3 is going to fix this; however, reading this post makes me recall two recent "Inaugural" races in the DC area...2011 Hot Chocolate 15K and the 2013 Nike Women's Half Marathon. Both were tarnished by woeful logistical issues. My conclusion is quite simple, race directors really need to consider starting small and slowly grow their events. Any logistical issues quickly snowballs when you have thousands of athletes.

"No hand sanitizer at the porta pottys."

when in the port-o-john, don't get poop on your hands. you'll be good.

"While doing the swim portion, a kid on a paddle board crashed into me. That really shook me up. How that happened, I'll never know, but he should have been paying better attention."

here's one way this can happen. not saying it did, just, in my experience, one way: you crashed into him.

"When I got to the swim finish, I was told my chip was being pulled. I looked at my watch and it said 1:17"

this lends credence to the notion you ran into the paddleboarder. and, i hate to sound elitist, because we get that rap here at slowtwitch, but, you're doing an olympic swim distance and you're upset because they yanked you after a 1:17 swim? if i was the RD i'd have had a 1hr cut-off for a half-IM swim.

now, yes, this seems to have been a slow swim. up-river. still, i looked at the splits. i didn't see that it was that out of the question to do this swim in under 1hr. that seems a pretty achievable time by just about anyone able-bodied.

as to the rest of your gripes, they sound legitimate. but the other gripes, if the port-a-john ran out of TP, i'd say that's a legitimate gripe. but hand sanitizer? as to the swim yank, bottom line, you were not ready. you did not prepare adequately for the swim.

thank you for registering here. thank you for posting. your posts are absolutely welcome. and i want this to be a place of help for you, if you've come here to improve as an athlete, as well as to register your dissatisfaction. that established, you were not ready for the swim, in my estimate. triathlons are not bike races, in that you don't have to be a freak of nature just to hang. but they aren't 5k run-walks either.

you need to spend at least 6000 yards a week in the pool, bare bare minimum, over the next month, and really closer to 10,000 yards a week. i'll personally help you with workouts, if you want, if you don't mind this being a learning exercise for everybody. you and i and all the other really back of the pack swimmers, let's agree to move you all way, way up in the field. if you're game, i'm game, and we'll do this as a group. maybe this swim leg yank is a negative we can turn into a positive.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

But, but...it's so hard not to!!

#8 got to disagree with you on that, I finished after that and they still had PLENTY of water and Gatorade

take this from someone who has dabbled in triathlon for 20+years, take Slowman up on his offer

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

My wife and I both did the race yesterday, and at the end we both came to the conclusion it was a very fun race even with the logistical issues. I actually enjoyed the bike and run a ton. So yes, we would both be back.

The bag issue wasn't great, but my wife and I had plans as it was so we just stopped by at 4pm to pick it up later. If we attempted to leave immediately after I am sure we would have had a different perspective. The bus line should have been split between spectators and athletes earlier.

As far as those complaining about the hill, it was a hill. Expect hills in triathlons. There maybe even a hill in the bike course. Sometimes. Deal with it.

The one thing I really appreciated about it was Rev3 had absolutely no qualms about switching me from the Half to the olympic the day before. They were extremely helpful and took care of it within 3 minutes. No questions asked.

I did the yardage in the pool. Three times a week, as a matter of fact. I'm not disputing that if I didn't make the established cut off, my chip should have been pulled. My point is that a guy in a kayak said the cutoff was extended and come to find out, that was not true. My other main point is that I was told I could not finish the race without a chip, yet I have talked to some people who knew that others were allowed to continue with the bike and the run, even when their chip was pulled from the swim. If the Rev3 folks allowed some to continue the race without a chip but not others, this hardly seems fair.

I am not being unsympathetic to what you went through becasue it definitely sucks. However, had the guy on the kayak said the cutoff was still an hour, would you have swam 17 minutes faster?

Keep up your training and enjoy all your future races.

I did my first Rev3 event yesterday. I was really excited about it because after all the hype I have read about them I decided 2013 was the year of the revolution.
Saturday Packed pick up was smooth and easy ... was a little disappointed that there was not enough swag but didn't care much. Really like the way the Transition was set up with the Big screen and everything. No complains about the 2 transitions I checked everything on their website before signing up and I took a risk.

Sunday
If you Pay like me a lot of $$$ for this race you'll better check every single detail of the logistic so it can work for you If you care about your money. I knew that I was in the 6:40 AM wave and in every major race is advice that you get to transition an hour before the start time . in my case that have to be 5:40 to set up every thing get in the wet suit that takes 5 to 7 minutes at least and warm up properly...So before hand you know that T1 is 6miles away from t2 on a shuttle (school) Bus on narrow roads is at least 20 minutes I added 10 min ....So the logistic were explain clearly. As some one that care about the $$$ that I spend I simply planed ahead because I didn't wanted my race screw.
Some time mother nature decide to screw forecast and RD can't do anything about it. This was the case here.

I arrive at T2 right at 5 AM the rain was stopping so went ahead left my running shoes and a gel and went to the shuttle (school) Bus line waited 5 minutes and the next 1 arrived. I took us good 20 minutes to get there so I was in t1 by 5:30. Got my bike tiers pump by 1 of the bike mechanics. I was amazed how smooth everything was running. Got in to my wetsuit and went for a warm up swim. My GF told me that the start was being delayed so that was good for me so I can be more time on the water and noticed the current . The gun went off for the pros and saw how the current was pushing them so knew it was going to be a long day.

T1 The last minute change was OK to me so no complains here. It was said Put your wetsuit on the bag as athlete it was your responsibility to do it

Bike: In another thread here the bike course was describe in detail and plus Rev 3 put a video of the bike course on their site and youtube( as of Saturday it had only 3 views) an athlete is your responsibility to at least check the Rev 3 site for that.

The bike was great a little bit windy In my opinion but true and honest .. It was not as fast as advertise
DRAFTING I only saw 2 course marshals ...Most of it was clean except for a pack of 6 o7 that included a Dc tri club kit and snapple race kit and clearly they all were working together as they were chatting while they were riding and please don't come with the crap 3 bike length is close enough to chat between riders.They clearly were working together the 6 of them

T2 went smoothly no complains

Run Apparently it was change but again as an athlete is your responsibility to check the maps that were given at Packet pick up.
It was humid hot but at least during my run the sun didn't come out. It was a hard hilly run course.

Total time was 5:26 (Slow for the slowtwitch Standard)

Post Race (I stayed to the very end because I had a friend that was having a tough day and was 1 of the last finishers.
The brown shirt is really nice and 70% but also is Dri Balance technology which is pretty cool and the shirt feels really good.
The food was really good nothing top but got the job done ( the Team Z burgers were better )
Medals were the best
Unacceptable stuff
The issue with the results .Is not the first time that has happened on a rev3 race base on my reading of this thread If is a glitch like they are saying it needs to be fixed ASAP. For future races
The wait for the bags from T-1 that also needs to be address some how because is unfair to athletes
The food towards the end. My friend was one of the last finishers and there was no food for him Thanks for Team Z for allowing him to eat Team Z food.

Food and water for spectators was not available for sale. As some body that had work in the event- entrainment industry some time is hard to get permits for this because monetary issues involving 3rd parties .

The party for the last finisher was really good .
Great event put Rev 3 and I will recommend this event over eagleman any time.
Congrats to all the finishers it was tough day on the 1 /2

Wow, I'd love for the chance for Slowman to improve my swim!

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Is it outside assistance to go shopping during a race? Whatever they're selling is equally available to anyone (as long as they have money in their pocket).

Was not there, so can't make some more specific comments, but I do see some trends.

On the swim, sounds like it was a factor more of a combination of the weather night before with heavy rains and delayed start. Should they have known better? Perhaps. I am sure they will be more cognizant going forward. Rivers can be tricky.

For the transitions / traffic / buses - some is anticipated, others not so much. Sounds like more buses should have been available and some of the flow come race morning was different than they expected due to parking and congestion it created. It will be interesting to see how they adapt, as well as if their were any unplanned shortages (i.e. not all buses ordered showed up)

I don't mind the long sleeve shirts. I find them nice, even in the summer post race to provide some protection from the sun, as well as for me at least, post race I sometimes get chills as my body recovered from a hard day at the office. Food and beverage I think is something that can be better and maybe Rev3 should consider a food service tent, or renting out, but looking at say IM Mont Tremblant and the expo they had there last year, I think there was a Subway cart/stand and trying to think of any other beverage service, but most events, including WTC tend to be light in that area.

Sounds like the race had some challenges, and will be interesting to hear Charlies input (Congrats on the new son!!!) I am fairly confident that they will learn and dial it in, because they do care, do listen, and you can look to examples of their 1st year in Portland where a down pulled out last minute, they had to completely redo the race in a few weeks, and then look how the second year version turned out which was aces.

While it would be nice to have a scenic and historic race and run and bike through all of these great areas, the locality has a lot to do with that. Look at SopranoMan, and with all the historic and potential great areas to bike and run, most was relegated to New Jersey.

No outside assistance, since it's neutral support (as you said, as long as you can pay.) Now, if it's on part of an out-and-back, it's not OK to go in on the outbound, and then leave on the inbound. But that's why they put timing mats at the turnaround.

This thread has been entertaining. Even the people that said they had a great time acknowledge there were some horrible parts - I think that says a lot.


Conclusions.

1) Never race an event during its inaugural year. This is not the first inaugural Rev 3 event that has gone down in the history books as a complete mess. (Portland anyone? Florida anyone? etc.). I would never race events that are somewhat new or put on by new RDs etc. That isn't to say that Rev3 is completely at fault here for putting on half/half inaugural events. I understand these races are a pain to put on with a ton of details. All I am saying is Rev3 isn't known for putting on perfect inaugural events, so you should skip the first year to let the wrinkles play themselves out.
2) Rev3 has an issue with post-race food and water. I remember back a few years ago, I complained about it (the quality of the food was mediocre). I got poo pooed on this site with people saying I should be grateful to have anything. Um no. If you are paying a lot of money, I expect food that is comparable to the food layout that is available at local charity races that is half the price. I was shocked Rev3 had no fruit at the event and the rest of the layout is blah. There are also plenty of people saying there is never enough water/liquid to drink post-race. I agree. Again, I come on here, and I get poo pooed saying as long as they have water fountains..its good. No. I went to one race (non-Rev3) and they had some kind of fancy BBQ - it was awful. Just have hamburgers, hotdogs, a pasta dish for the non-meat eaters, and fruit. Simple but good.
3) Rev3 has a problem with BOPers. Last weekend's event continues the streak of BOP finding the food is gone at Rev3 races and race aid stations empty, etc. There really is no excuse. The problem I think is that there simply isn't enough food at these races for fear of waste. It's not like early racers are going up and hoarding all of the food since they are limited to go up to one time, no? For goodness sake, families aren't even allowed to eat the food for free (plenty of other races allow families to eat - and to be frank...families deserve it for having to put up with sitting through the race - my entry fees are so high anyways my entire family should be entitled to food and drink).
4) Rev3 has a problem with timing. I do local charity races - results/splits/etc up are online the same day - almost all the time. Rev3 races? Nope.
5) There are not enough course marshals at Rev3 events. Don't think I need to say more. Sure USAT rules may say this or that, but can we all admit that there simply aren't enough marshals?
6) Race mornings at Rev3 can be a cluster for many people. I think the problem with this one is the locations these events are stationed at are reaching their limits with crowd numbers. Show up late to many of these events and it is a complete mess. Oh by the way..."late" is like 5:35AM. Yeah.


Rev3 does a fine job with many of the races, but it is concerning that there are certain issues that are not getting fixed despite constant assurances (after problems arise) that they will be fixed.

The honeymoon period is over. These races need to continue keeping people's interests or else attendance will start to fall and the situation only gets worse as cash flow slows. For me the price is too high to really jump in with both feet. I don't see the value vs. other races, but I think 75% of triathlons are charging way too much.

This is an extremely generous offer. I'm skeptical that it would actually be of benefit to most of of us true swim slugs - those that have at various times put in the effort with little to show for it, but I'd love to see the process.

Madashell, you really should take Slowman up on this.

You'll be happy with Florida, really nice bike course. I can't speak to the swim b/c it was cancelled (not even close to feasible thanks to sandy). But volunteers were great last year - all the retirees handing out waterbottles on the bike course - they cheered everytime they had a clean exchange. Good Fun.

You left out the six flipping hours to get T1 gear to finish. That is my deal breaker. Absolutely unacceptable

Should have just had lunch like I did :0) I went there after lunch and no wait at all

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It wasn't possible to leave if your keys were in your dry clothes bag because you had no other place to leave them...

Yup. It caused me to get home to my wife, two kids and a crying baby four hours later than expected. After a long weekend away, she needed the down time. So it had a rippling affect on others as well. I am so happy they weren't sitting there with me in that heat. Those poor people had it worse than we did.

Maybe Charlie will offer a big discount as a gesture of good will to a future Rev3 event for all those racers who had a bad experience? I was contemplating Rev3 Florida, but have some reservations now.

Why would you bring your keys with you to T1 rather than leave them in your T2 spot with your run gear?

Remember that triathlon is also about logistics of execution. Before, during an after a race. Things might get lost going from T1 to T2. Something small might fall out of your bag. Leave keys, wallet, phone in T2 if given the opportunity. You wouldnt check your keys when flying right? You keep them where you can get to you JUST IN CASE your bag gets lost...

Bmanners I'm just replying ingeneral to this thread.

One big complaint I'm seeing is the swim. I'm not sure what the cutoff was or if it was changed and actually I don't care much about that. C'mon people, at what point do we ask ourselves if a 3 discipline sport is our thing? it seems like many events are plagued with canceled swims for fears of backlash or injury. Not everyone is entitled to race tri. It's selfish when someone enters the water relying on a wetsuit to finish the swim. By selfish I am referring to the danger or anguish imposed on the rescue support, other swimmers, and their own loved ones. Try a relay or a duathlon or something that won't have such a high risk of your death. Just my opinion. Respond privately if you have an issue so this won't be a hijack.

As for rev3. I'm pretty confident tbey will fix it. They are well aware that they have to make it worth your money and satisfaction. At least they are listening. Wtc wouldn't give a crap.

This is a beautiful thing. I hope she takes you up on this offer. I'd like to tag along if she does!!! A few years ago I was DQ'd at Eagleman for exceeding the swim cutoff by 4 minutes(nonwetsuit swim). I've done a few races since then but I'm afraid you'd say I wasn't prepared for that race. I don't want to be in that situation in the future.

Wow, mind blown. This never even dawned in me.

i spectated this time around. my husband raced. it was the first rev3 experience for both of us. a few items that i noticed that will definitely need to be fixed if this race is going to be successful. (disclosure: i haven't read the entire thread, so i'm sure plenty of these have already been discussed).

- this really should be an in water swim start after the water is deep enough to swim. that swim start was the strangest thing i have ever seen. when the pros are just walking for minutes, there's a problem.

-i thought i was imagining things when i saw racers coming out of t1 being asked to stop and wait for a minute so that traffic could go. i cannot believe this happened. i have never seen anything like it in any race. i'm not sure if this would have been a risk if T1 had been laid out like it was supposed to, but this is unacceptable.

-i stood for much of the day on the stretch of road just outside of t2. it was a complete and total cluster. within one tiny space, you have the bike dismount, the ~ 5mile, 12 mile and finish line of the half, and the ~5mile and finish of the oly. it was a zoo. no one had any clue where they were going. I watched racer after racer run up to the spot and have to scream to find out where they should go. the winner of the oly had to run through a crowd of people on the street to try to find the finish line, some ran into the bike in entrance thinking it was the finish line. I had to call in my own teammate and point her in the direction of the finish line of the half. she was standing in the street asking where she should go. i would highly recommend retooling the course so that you don't have this much happening in one small spot. Also, there need to be clear, large signs, as well as coned pathways showing people where to go (ex: olympic runners and Half Revs completing 2 loops, directed to the finish and a separate shoot for halfrevs needing to go on their second loop)

-from a spectators perspective, for a race that bills itself as family friendly, this really felt exactly the opposite for me. it was a hike to get back to the shuttle pick up area after the swim. I had myself, my baby, all the junk that comes along with having a kid out there for a few hours and the stuff my husband needed me to take back (stuff that wouldn't fit in his small dry clothes and swim to bike bag). my biggest gripe, though, was the food and shelter situation. once back in the t2/finish area there is really no place to go to get food for your family. again, if you're going to bill yourself as a family friendly race there needs to be access to food...either provided by you or not. i would have settled for a food truck. something. you're stuck on campus with no real options.

-the announcer. i'm not trying to attack the guy. i'm sure he's nice, but there is a difference between being charismatic and being rude. i think he went over the line a few times. the one that really annoyed me was when he was announcing that the post race food was only for racers. i believe the quote was something along the lines of "if you wanted food, you should have packed a snack." Seriously? it's an early race. many spectators were out in the pouring rain early on. we've shuttled from t1 to t2. we're hungry and THAT is what he says? i get that the food was only for racers, but he could have stated that without sounding like a jerk. this was just ONE example of the several times i heard him be pushy and condescending. there were a few times that i heard him call out people inappropriately as well. just ease up a little, guy. more announcing...a little less 'tude. (for the record: i had packed food and was fine.)

despite all this, when i asked my husband what his perception was, he thought it was mostly fine. fortunately, he wasn't really impacted by some of the chaos that i saw. many teammates said the same thing. everyone noticed the swim issues, but the other stuff wasn't a huge deal for the racers that I was there to support.

if you REALLY want to earn two gold stars on the family friendly front, have a few port o johns reserved for spectators only. obviously, not a requirement, but it would be AWESOME to not have to take your kid (or yourself) into a hot, racer ravaged port o john..

the pros:
the discount on busch gardens tickets was great and our family enjoyed monday at the park. williamsburg, in general, was a lovely place to visit for this race.

the area is beautiful. i rode a little of the bike course the day before and enjoyed it. the beach is also awesome. i hope this area can work as a swim site because it's a great little beach.

it was great as a spectator to be able to see your racers so many times in the t2/finish area. i hope that this can be re-engineered a bit, though, to ease some of the course confusion.

parking. we had no issue with parking at t2 in the morning.

the family finish is really, really nice. again, this was our first rev experience. to see racers be able to run in with their loved ones is a great experience.


GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR IMPENDING DELIVERY!!!!!

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http://www.hooslisa.com

Surely u jest as a nationally renowned pharmacist like yourself would know this :0)
I still say I was impressed with the race and thought it was handled in a efficient manner. When problems arose so did the Rev 3 staff to the occasion. On the other guys WTC post not caring. They do but do not answer every thread because of the double edged sword it produces. WTC does lurk and does listen and act upon when necessary :0)

My friend got his flip flops lost/stolen at T1. He checked the truck and T2 bags and couldnt find it. If anyone find a pair of size 12 brown Reefs please let me know.

Thanks

I have to say I didnt experience ANY of the problems that others are posting about here.

Packet pickup was a breeze. The expo wasnt anything terribly special, but after having done more races than I can count, I really dont care about all the things to buy. Sure I spend some money on things at the expo but I really dont need anything there.

I got to T2 at 4:45am, dropped off my T2 stuff, went to the bus. Got right on and got whisked away to T1. Having done a two transition race once before I knew it was important to get to the bus pickup place as early as possible. I guess if you got there late, you might have gotten stuck. But really thats on you, knowing you had to take a bus and there would be lines. Get there early.

T1 was well organized, the bike mechanics were awesome for pumping our tires for us. Got everything set up, ready to go despite the rain. Dropped my dry bag into my designated bin and went to the beach.

Swim was long for me. I am a 38-40 minute half-iron swimmer (I am not fast by any means) and it took me 53 minutes. I was stunned when I looked at my 910. The current was really tough. Perhaps they could have swapped the timing mats and let us swim down-river instead. That might have helped, but that isnt really a complaint on my part.

One thing I did notice was a number of people cutting the swim course. There were many people that I saw that turned at the oly bouy instead of going all the way out to the red bouy. The red *was* hard to see, a brighter color might have helped there. So yea I saw people cut the course and I dont know if it was purposeful or simply an accident.

The change to the entrance to T1 - I have NO idea why people are so worked up over this. There were people directing us to the right place anyway, so even if you missed the announcements someone still was there to tell you where to go.

No complaints at all on the bike course. There were a good number of aid stations (though I did not need to make use of them). The cops were all awesome at directing traffic and everything was well marked. Hazards were well marked and had volunteers standing there to warn us of them.

On the run course I was pleased at the spacing of the aid stations for the most part. I would like to have seen an aid station at the top of the hill at the turn-around but it wasnt enough to get upset over. And since I knew I would have to go about 2 miles without an aid station on the second loop I was perfectly prepared mentally to gut that out. I was kinda hoping the run course would be a little more scenic than a double-double-out-n-back but really by the end of the race I didnt care much for scenery. I was hurting enough that I just wanted to be done.

Post-race food was just fine. I rarely want to eat after a big effort like that, at least not within the first few hours of finishing. I grabbed some of the pasta and meatballs just to get some calories. No complaints really. Perhaps next time have some fresh fruit available (there is nothing like having cold watermelon after a race).

I half-noticed the T1 bags arrived after I finished so I can see that is a legitimate complaint since there would have been many people done and ready to leave by this point had they done the Oly. I wasnt planning on leaving for a while anyway as I was waiting for others to finish so I didnt really take notice of it.

I had a great day and a great race. I thought it was well organized. This was my first Rev3 experience and I will most definitely do more Rev3 events. All the major complaints others are talking about really barely registered as minor irritations for me, if at all.

Here are my observations as a racer.

1. The swim - a lot of confusion because of the shallow start, but not a big deal. It's one level of decision making you have to do to ensure a good swim. The current was bad. I'm normally a 30 minute half IM swimmer. I was 46 minutes at Williamsburg. The race needed to have a contingency for the current. I really felt for the BOP swimmers in that mess.

2. The bike: I felt the course was well marked and marshalled. I had no issues at intersections, etc. Were there bumps on the course? Yes there were but they weren't horrible.

3. The run. No issues with the course. My big deal was the placement of water stations. They really needed one on the top of the big hill - it was about a mile run to the next station AFTER the hill.

Overall logistics - I had no issues with the buses since I showed up early. My girlfriend volunteered at the finish and noticed a lot more:
- no food or drink for the volunteers at the finish line. She spent the morning unloading drinks, medals, etc. It's tough enough to get volunteers for events. Not feeding them or giving them drinks on a hot day is bush league.
- Need food and beverage services for the spectators. A good way to integrate the race into the community is to invite some of the local schools and organizations to use the race as a fundraiser by selling drinks and other packaged snacks.
- pre-position the water, Gatorade, and medals at the finish line the day before. Asking volunteers to hump a couple tons of water and medals is a bit much to ask when using a forklift the night before would have cut down on the work considerably.
- need to have chairs for athletes at the finish line. Eagleman, and Savageman have them. The athletes sit down, someone hands them water and a towel while they are given a once over by the nurse, etc. After staggering in on the run, I was caught in the throng of people watching the awards ceremony.

Let us remember that the issue with the change at T-1 was due to people parking where they should not and were told not to park.

Chairs at the finish line and some distance between the finish chute and awards ceremony would have been nice but not a show stopper

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Very nice Reader's Digest version!

While I hope to see this event back next year, I've decided that I like taking a chance on inaugural races - I've got some great collector's items from IMNYC last year :)

I took my t2 stuff back to my car on education lot walked back then left showered got my kids ate lunch and still had to wait.

It meant hitting not only the constant VA traffic (95 is a parking lot) but the delay meant hitting NJ traffic too

Teenage boys farting and complaining for 9 hours

Your post resonated with me a bit so I thought I finally get around to posting a response. It's got to sting for the Rev3 personnel and their friends to see this thread. But I hope they come to see that it's actually a quite awesome and useful resource if they take a lot that's written here seriously. What you have here are dozens of detailed critiques of the race. This is so much better than a post-race survey. Post-race surveys force us to answer particular questions that don't always seem to offer exactly the correct choices or even the right questions. Those little text boxes they provide are really too annoying to post anything detailed. So I think surveys provide a distorted picture or perhaps just part of the picture. This thread gives Rev3 all sorts of detail about different aspects of the race and from different perspectives. There's a post immediately upthread from a spectator that provides a perspective that isn't going to show up much surveys but is vitally important because the experience of our families will dictate in part whether we do this race again. Sure, the thread is almost all critical, but that's the nature of such things. I can't recall anything in this thread that directed towards Rev3 in any way that's meant to be personal. It's clear that the folks at Rev3 put their hearts and souls into this race; I think (hope) everyone knows that.

BTW, I was really impressed with Team Z on Sunday. You guys had tons of competitors there and they all seemed supportive of each other and really having a good time, even those who were suffering on the back end of the race (with me!).

I looked at the Rev3 Finisher results and it looks like ~103 DNF's for the 70.3 out of 570 (18%) starters. Compare this with Quassy where there were 62 DNF's out of 997 starters (6%). For the Olympic, it looks like 8 DNF's out of 443 starters. I don't know if all of these were from the swim course, but I saw a lot of people on boats headed back to the shore. The swim conditions on the 70.3 course became more difficult further off-shore. The sad part is this should have been prevented. Hopefully the conditions and planning will be better next year.

You might do better with route 13 over the chesapeake bay bridge tunnel and the eastern shore next time. If there is a next time. Cut out as much of 95 as is possible. :-)

Point taken -- I think the bigger issue was driving 50 miles out of my way after racing-- I live in Raleigh so it certainly could have been worse.

Unacceptable.

I have heard of similar situations at prior Rev3 races with race staff having that type of rude, condescending BS attitude, like including "boss" at the end of a sentence when addressing a racer. Totally inappropriate. I almost think its due to geography or something. Maybe up north it is accepted more? Don't know.

Ironic that the race organization that prides itself on being family friendly is probably the least family friendly when it comes to post race food and drink.

Quote:

i'll personally help you with workouts, if you want, if you don't mind this being a learning exercise for everybody.

Slowman,
If she passes, I'll volunteer to be your swim project. I seriously need the help and I'll do the yards.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

That's why I like to plan a few extra days at any race that requires 4 or more hours of driving. It kind of dulls the pain. But it is a constant dull pain for 5-7 days :o)

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I'm not sure if Rev3 knows who is a DNF vs. a DNS. There was no timing mat before we went into the water that I saw. So they actually didn't have any idea who was in the water as far as I could tell. There was a narrow gate to enter the swim start, but there wasn't a mat unless they had some other type of sensor to detect the chips.

There was a mat under the arch I believe. They were making sure all athletes past through it prior to the start.

I believe that there was a timing mat under the sand .... at least thats what i heard.

Not sure how you are calculating the DNFs. My final run split isnt showing up yet ... so i dont have all three times. But i sure as hell finished :)

Was wondering how to figure out from the list how many people they pulled out of the water.

There was a sensor buried under the sand. I went into the start corral on the far right side and saw the wires and the timing guys watching the screen as people walked in.

First Rev-3 event, first time to Williamsburg and while I enjoyed the weekend get-away, I did not have the race I had hoped. I agree with many of the observations about the course that others have noted but I am also appreciative of the RD's efforts and I hope that this race will evolve into a great one on the circuit.

However, the biggest disappointment of all was the disappearance of my fiance's helmet cam while his gear was in T2. I am trying to be optimistic that it will be turned in (lost & found) but given that it was securely fastened to his helmet when he came back from the bike, and it was gone when he went to collect his stuff afterwards, neither of us is hopeful.

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I stand corrected.

That sucks big time! I did fin a front wheel and turned it in at the hotel desk in case the person came back for it I was going sight seeing with family so only option. I was going to check back at desk when I got back and get wheel then post here and BT but forgot :0(

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Charlie,

Congratulations on your 4th. I hope all are healthy and happy. Thank you for letting us know you are out there listening. This was my first Rev3 race, and I was mildly underwhelmed after all of the great things I had heard. Your response speaks volumes about Rev3's commitment, and I will look forward to the next opportunity I have to run one of your events.

On the positive side Williamsburg was a great venue, and the potential for a premier race is unlimited. The volunteers were outstanding, and the police support was absolutely superb. Some of those officers had to deal with some pretty surly traffic/drivers. I really hope this race sticks around, and I hope to be there again next year.

Heck, I'd love for a chance for anyone to improve my swim. Hey Slowman, when can we start?

For the record, I ran into a Paddle board too, but I imagine that it was because she was looking for troubled swimmers in an area in which I was not swimming, and I wasn't exactly moving in a predictable straight line, which is normally not a problem for me. It was no big deal, really not much different than running into another swimmer by accident. I would like to take this opportunity apologize to what seemed like the entire pink and lavender swim waves for having to swim over the top of me. I try to stay on the outside and out of the way, because I know I am slow and the only way I'm going to end up on the podium is if I am in a 3-man AG. I just couldn't manage to stay out of the way on Sunday.

Hang in there madashell. I hope you don't let this experience drag you down too far. I imagine that most of the DNF's that finished biking and running were Half-Rev participants that managed to sneak their bikes past the volunteers while there was still plenty of T-1 "exiting" going on.

I think this was the best part of the whole weekend. This is one of the funniest race pictures ever...

haha. ...I should go back and delete all my criticism. this photo wins :)

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http://www.hooslisa.com

seriously, I should too. As much as that and the medal make me laugh, I gotta say its a win.

you should keep that medal in your purse for when you're out at night by yourself. you can club anyone who attacks to death with it.

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http://www.hooslisa.com

hahahahahaha - so true

I totally missed the photo thing damn

Well, it does come with guns. Two of them!

Don't let your kids bring it to school, though. They'll be suspended for bringing a toy gun on school property.

I did everything except race - unfortunately I got ill the morning of race day. However, I have a few observations too:

1. Agree with the other observers over the 2-transition setup - I have done plenty of split transition races in the past but they did not manage this one well. Having to drop run kit the morning of the race is just needlessly complex and means everyones morning is made that much longer and more stressful.

2. I didn't know why I heard a lot of grumbling about the swim course but the explanation above makes sense. Silly to orient the long leg of the swim upstream. Additionally, athletes were left with the uncertainty about final water temperature until the morning of the race which again just seems needlessly vague. Perhaps this is necessary (maybe I am ignorant about water temperature variations locally) but it seemed very unlikely that the water temperature would change by more than 2 degrees overnight.

3. The transition bags were low quality - very easy to split and tear. Given how much some people spend on race entry and their race kit it doesn't seem like much to ask to make sure the bags are a little sturdier so that people don't lose e.g. prescription sun-glasses from race bags.

4. Williamsburg is a very pretty little town, but you would never know it from the run course. It seemed a real shame that the course didn't take in more of the town as it would have encouraged a lot more spectator participation.

5. Concur with the comment about sports drinks at the expo - its shocking that due to the gatorade agreement no other calorific sports drinks were available.

6. There were several times that communication I felt could have been clearer - e.g. transport back to T2 from T1 for spectators, setting up of T2 for athletes, order of refreshments at aid stations, drafting rules.

7. Although I didn't race, I rode the bike course two days before. I thought that the Half distance course chose a particularly sketchy patch of road along Jolly Pond Rd that was needlessly dangerous and chosen only because it was quiet and wouldn't offend locals. Riding it I felt the visibility was low (due to lots of trees), the width narrow and surface terrible. WTC, for all their faults, usually do a great job in my experience of ensuring road surfaces are improved before new races are brought to town - in particular, this patch should have had work done in advance.

8. The bike course was weak from a spectator perspective too. Of course this is true of many courses but for a more family-friendly event in a location like this I would have thought it possible to make the course a little more spectator friendly.

This was my first Rev3 event and I wasn't disappointed per se, but I was left a bit ambivalent about whether I would rush to do another Rev3 event. I have done many inaugural events in the past and know that often first year events have a few kinks to be ironed out but nonetheless I left with a general feeling that Rev3 had under-cooked this one.

One suggestion on this. I recently did a big road race in Taipei while visiting Taiwan for work. The organizers (http://www.sportsnet.org.tw/en/) apparently put on a bunch of road races in the Taipei area, and they have a standard procedure for bag checks. Anybody using the bag check has to purchase one of their branded holdalls, which they can reuse for any of their races. You pay NT$100 (3-4 USD) for the bag, which is a fairly large canvas bag, with a zipper, though it packs down small. And the holdall has a see-through pocket on the side where athletes slide in a tear-off portion of their race number for identification. I was initially miffed that I had to pay for bag check, but when I saw how it worked in practice, it was great -- smoothest process I've ever encountered in a race bag check.

+1

LOL! Heaven help us! There's a hill! :)

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Pete Githens
Reading, PA

A lot of good points have been made already about the course, the race, etc. Being that organizers may see all of these posts, hopefully in an attempt to improve next year's race, I would like to add my input.

First; I was expecting more from the swag bag and expo based purely on this being Rev3. Didn't expect to have the entire sign-in/expo/chute/etc. area fit into about 50 parking spots, but I am sure part of that is Rev3 keeping costs low.

Second; I was ready to go and get on a bus for T1 at 0520, and I waited. Got 2/3 of the way up the line before they began pulling out HIM competitors so they could get head-of-line, and finally made it to T1 at round 0645ish. They should have had 2 lines, one for HIM and one for Oly. Once they began pulling HIM out of line in an attempt to make it on time, they should not have allowed family members. These are big things that would have helped, but even the simple small things would have made a small difference. Have a volunteer at the front of the line directing people to the bus and having them sit back to front, instead of everyone trying to get into the first 2 seats and then taking up the aisle.

Third; T1 was nice and I had no problem about the change in path, although I would have read out the license plate numbers that parked on the route. Heck, county police were ticketing anyone parking in the lot across from T1 on Saturday during drop-off, I am sure they would have proudly ticketed or towed these cars too. I just wish a rug or mat was put over the small asphalt path we ran over just before entering T1 because it was hell on my feet.

Fourth; swim sucked because I suck at swimming, but I now know I wasn't the only one having issues. I did wonder where all the new colored caps came from on the Olympic course....now I know it was from those who decided to mix-and-match their distances by the discipline. I was disappointed to hear how many people were pulled-out from the last few Oly groups because they strayed too close to the ferry lanes. Should have had more kayaks/paddle-boarders there to maintain the integrity of the gap between the race area and the intake on a ferry boat engine.

Fifth; bike was great.....except for the dude on the fold-up portable bike killing everyone! Definitely took a second to laugh with a few others about how he was passing $10k bikes with riders adorned with team kits. Liked the course, knew there would be some dodgy areas because I drove the course on Saturday, and accept that you will have some riders freaking out on rough patches and suddenly slowing to 5mph to ensure they don't wreck.

Sixth; run was not to bad. After the bike course, it was pretty boring. Would have loved to see Williamsburg, but for those not local, this would have required a huge sum of money before they would have ever thought to allow the race to go through the colonial area.

Only real issues were as follows:
The food at the end took way to long to be ready and then ran out. For the price, this should have included a wider selection (as many have mentioned, fruit would be nice), been prepared on time, and been able to feed everyone. IF you didn't want families eating, then let everyone know before the event so they have no excuses, and offer food for purchase in the finishing area also.

Get more buses for he morning.

The entrance into T2/finishing chute/2nd loop for HIM area was too compact and led to many people being confused. Watched several run past the entire area, then realized they missed the finishing chute.

The dry and wet bag issue is the obvious one. First, give the volunteers updates so they have a set answer for all of the questions they were being asked. Nothing worse as a volunteer then to have angry racers asking about the location of the bags and their possible ETA and not having been told anything. Second, if whoever you have driving doesn't know the area, then ask a local representative (I hear the William and Mary officials were actually helpful, as opposed to the county people who are notoriously bad) for a good route because anyone local knows the roads in the area around T1 are bad every Sunday due to multiple churches, and that the Colonial Parkway would be wide open and allow those bags to get back in under a day. Finally, don't react with snide or childish comments like one representative did. I know many of the racers were less than hospitable and some were, well, you could tell they were from DC or NYC. Don't lower yourself to their level, it isn't necessary.

The announcer was very enthusiastic....seriously....excessively so. Don't need to know all about California or your personal stories, just play the music and pass the info. At the finish chute, keep the banter to the participants and try to eliminate any comments or tangents that include quips like "that's what she said" at a family centered event. He started off funny, but after about 10 minutes, it was annoying.

Overall, a really good event that can definitely get better next year. For those not from the area, I am pretty sure Rev3 had their hands full dealing with county officials and I bet the Park Service was no fun either. Wish we could have used the Colonial Parkway because it would have been a great option and might have allowed a single transition, but I bet the Park Service won't let that happen. Would have loved to run through the colonial part of town, but I bet they wouldn't allow that to happen either (especially on Sunday morning by Bruton's Parish). I hope to be back in the country in time for next year to see how much better it can get.

Ugh, heck no. The Parkway is an awful bike and run surface.

For a bike surface, the weather would have a huge impact, but for the run, it is better than multiple curbs and a road that was so extremely angled for rain run-off. If it was wet, however, I completely agree.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the old guy at the corner on the path by the library on the run route. He was absolutely outstanding! Calling out the name or number of every runner....and when I walked past them at 1230 on the way to get some food while waiting for my bags to arrive, he was still there. He definitely motivated me an extra little bit with his enthusiasm!

My first Rev 3 event. I actually was blown away by the positive and friendly experience. Well done. No problems with the announcer - he has a tough job filling about 5 hours of air time - actually called my name as I entered the finish so I was a fan. Yes, the current was a bit of a pain but in my case manageable - I was in a later wave. I missed the whole shuttle issue as I was dropped off at T1 but did see the line at T2 to board and knew that was going to be a problem for a bunch. My only real substantive criticism that can be readily addressed for next year is to pipe in the audio from the start to T1. It was such a long way away and I dawdled in T1 and missed the pro starts which I wanted to see. Bike course was fine - no problems with Jolly Pond Rd - we were warned about it so no worries there. The cold wet towel at the finish line made the whole day worthwhile - very nice. Waiting for the bags was a pain which can be improved w/ logistics. Shirts were fine - although no large ones available when I came through. My family really liked the medals. I will do it again.

I didnt know the name of the rodes i rode on however, there was one stretch where the floors were pretty bad and dim, so i assume its the same rode your referring to. On race day, the pot holes where circled with white chalk so that helped me navigate through it. Still felt bad for my wheels though.

Just checked timing results, appears I'm still in T2...luckily I have a kick-ass finisher's medal to keep me company. :o)

Official water temp has to be taken morning of the race. We knew what it was the day before and I assumed it would hold steady but no guarantee until race morning.

Look at the bright side. You shouldn't be too hard to improve on your T2 time next year (assuming there is a next year).

In case anyone was wondering what the locals thought of it all. Read this article from the Virginia Gazatte. "It was like living in New Jersey" He must be a "Damn yankee" in order to know. LOL

http://www.vagazette.com/...0625,0,7754733.story

Rev3 Williamsburg was my 12th Rev3 event since 2010 (and my 11th 70.3) and each and every event has had a slightly / moderately different feel and personality to it. This differs on the course difficulty, conditions, # of athletes, race day logistics, etc. My wife, family, and I continually race the series as family "race-cations" and have loved the experiences - including Rev3 Williamsburg! I've even done a couple of boys weekends to Knoxville and Portland.

I've also done the IM 70.3 series and I have to say that the mistakes made this past weekend were not entirely different and notable than the IM races that have been held for years. For example, I did IM Vineman 70.3 in 2012 and the race organizer moved everyone's shoes in T2 from the night before and it took me almost 3 minutes during the race to hunt them down in transition. Yeah, my time was slower but I don't discredit the entire race or race series for a logistical issue like that. My wife and I both had a blast at that race, in spite of the shoe issue.

It was obvious that there were some issues last weekend. Should have the T1 bags gotten there faster? Yes, of course. Should the food vendor had more food and water available? Of course. Should the timing have been better? Of course. All of this is true, but please don't discredit the race or race series for some minor issues. The folks who run Rev3 are passionate about their product and care deeply about their athletes. This is what makes them unique and encourage people like our family to travel and race their series nationwide. I am confident that Rev3 will make Williamsburg a first-class event in 2014.

You should try out Cedar Point or Quassy or Knoxville or another one of the events that have been run multiple times. They are an amazing experience. I've had more friends who have raced Rev3 as their first 70.3 and/or 140.6 and everyone raves about the total race experience.

You can stay upset or angry and leave the race series completely, but in the end it's only your loss.

Nope, I'm not giving up on them yet. I'm hoping they only get better by hearing this feedback. But there are certain things for me that are completely unacceptable.
1) safety in the water and not enough personnel, 2) logistical issues like having enough buses and adequate communications, 3) waiting six hours for MY stuff. 4) TIMING. The other stuff is just irritating,

General thread reply - we just posted this video of the event:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/...2013_Video_3726.html


Personally, I had a great time.

Awesome!! thanks for the vid :)

Many thoughtful suggestions have been made. I'd like to thank the event organizers, staff, and volunteers, who were all cheerful and tried to be helpful. I had a great time, as did my family and friends. No one, as far as I know, got seriously hurt. So I would count this as a success. Each year, I am responsible for running other (non-athletic) types of events, and I know that each one is a learning opportunity. This was my first Rev3 event, and I look forward to more!

Do you really measure success by "no one got seriously hurt"? At IM France last weekend, a gentleman died. Same thing with IM Louisville 2011. And the one and only IM NYC. There are others, obviously. I would suggest that a death is much worse than an injury. Were all those races failures?

Rev3 can boast about being "family friendly". They can boast about great swag. They can boast about awesome medals. Those are the things you can do when you get the basics right. From what I am reading, they didn't do a good job with the basics. The other stuff is just "fluff".

IMHO, they need to focus on the basics, then focus on the extras.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

They are full Of SHIT!!!!!
More like living in Newport News or Norfolk. Effing Jersey??? They are nuts.

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Official Polar Ambassador
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Being from New Jersey originally (second time in this thread I've made this comment, first was about late night Wawa) and now living in Va Beach/Norfolk, I'll pick NJ drivers/roads any day of the week.

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IG: idking90

When people sign up to volunteer and don't show up - it makes it challenging. But the bags made it.

Can I have a AMEN my Brother ;0)
But I do say I love the the county grill :o) but also why do so many people do 35 in the passing lane here ? I give ya all a a+ on creative vanity plates that s for sure.

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Official Polar Ambassador
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Because there's no "keep right, pass left" law here. I've tried explaining the idea of a keep right, pass left law as well as proper last-second zipper merging and how both of those concepts improve traffic flow for everybody. The local Virginians I've tried explaining this to usually end up with their heads exploding. What's weird though, is it's like they magically transform into ridiculously aggressive drivers at rush hour, ones that make the New Jerseyan in me turn bashful...though that could be because aggressive drivers without blinkers are absolutely terrifying.
County Grill=I'm disappointed, given that you're in the land of diners.
And the vanity plates...yea, I don't get that. Admittedly, I paid an extra $10 to get a semi-vanity plate in that it's the Coast Guard design in the hopes that it would help me avoid getting pulled over. While I can't prove a negative (so far, so good), I'm thinking in an area of 99.4% military, it doesn't really matter whether the cop thinks you are or aren't military when he decides to pull you over.

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IG: idking90

you know this for a fact or you are guessing?

regardless does not explain SIX HOURS for those of racing OLY

I was one of the racers who volunteered to help organize and distribute the bags once they came - believe me, it was hot and we all were tired, but we got it done :)

yeah the bold is my issue. had they been there at the 3 hour mark would not have been an issue.


and to top it off, the email they just sent with the link to see photos brings you to an error page of no galleries found. lmao

Don't worry. The pictures will be ready as soon as the timing results are ready.

I was able to see the pictures just fine.

Perhaps it is working now.

I ran the race too. Some comments:

1. We had complete access to both transitions on race morning. You had to have your BIKE in T1 the day before, but you could have put all your other gear in both transitions on race morning.
2. There were plenty of drinks post-race: they had several coolers full of drinks, all of which were cold. They were all in front of the food troughs.

The swim was awful. I also saw about 20-30 men in my wave cheating by turning at the Olympic buoy instead of the Half one.

For what it's worth: I've done 5 local triathlons at Jamestown beach and they ALWAYS have the swim start on the right and end on the left, because that's always how the current is going. I was shocked to see Rev3 do it backwards, and wasn't surprised when we rounded the red buoy and felt the current. That was a long 30 minutes on that leg of the swim :-/

I noticed a racer helping out with the bags after the race and I was both impressed and grateful to you, or to whomever that was, for doing that!
Many thanks.

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______________________________________________
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take -- Gretzky

Ahh Whisty!! Those long flowing heavenly locks. Sooooo dreamy

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_________________________________________________
When all is said and done. More is usually said than done
Ba Ba Booey

Dude, a bunch of people came up to us the day before asking if he was the guy from Endurance Magazine cover haha. So hilarious and awesome. His hair is quite recognizable. Having to sleep next to those locks for 2 nights was simply intimidating!

Lucky bastard!

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_________________________________________________
When all is said and done. More is usually said than done
Ba Ba Booey

This race was fantaric for a first time event other than the swim logistics which will get fixed. I've done over half the 70.3s in the US and would like to echo Dan's tone and say many of you are a bunch of cry babies and liken your comments to complaining a out a gnat on a rhyno's ass.

I think the OP is upset he had a meltdown on the run and is looking to flame Rev3. NOT COOL!!!

This was my first Rev3 race experience and I loved it! I raced the Olympic, but then had a quick transition and finished my day working in the medical tent for the Olympic/half athletes. I am local and think they did a great job picking the course so will try to comment on a few posts I read.

Swim - no problems with the swim or direction of the course. I did the pre-swim Saturday and we had the current with us. Maybe the storm switched directions, but it wasn't that bad, and everyone had to deal with it. I don't feel it is the duty of race directors to set up a course so every race can be a PR. Accept a challenge and deal with the conditions - stop swimming only in the pool and try some open water swims is what I was told recently when lamenting about the swim - great advice. I know Set Up Events does a good job giving local athletes the benefit of the current - but they set up the morning of the race and don't have pre-swims. Rev3 already had the course set up and had to accept the change in conditions.

Bike - about as challenging as you can get for our area. They made it fun. Everyone should know the course and know the rough spot on Jolly Pond. Whoever was complaining of tree overhang causing low visibility - please give me a break. When it is hot and humid all summer that tree overhang creates a nice buffer from the blaring sun overhead. Change your sunglasses and enjoy the course.

Run - you will never be able to run down DOG (Duke of Gloucester) street or in the colonial area for a race this size. Only hope is do the Run for the Dream road race in early June. They shut down the road early and it is open again very early prior to stores opening. Keeping the run course open forever like Rev3 does will never allow this "downtown WB race experience". It was another great and challenging course with hills running through one of the oldest colleges in the US.

Other issues:
- since I worked the medical tent after the race til the bitter end, I will confirm that there was plenty of post race food and water left over at the end of the day. We even had a few smart people walk over to our medical tent after and ask for more water or Gatorade and our answer was sure, keep re-hydrating
- finish area was well marked and guess what - it was set up on Friday before packet pick-up! It was very easy at packet pick up to walk through the 2nd transition and know where the bike would end and the run start. They had the race finish chute set up so if you could count to 1 for Olympic and 2 for the half you knew how many laps to do before you ran into the finish chute. Once again - know the course and don't show ignorance by complaining afterwards. Accept some personal responsibility for your race.
- bag transport - I am not sure Rev3 will admit to this as they seem like a great company that will accept all issues as their own but - I heard that the local vendor they hired to transport the bags made a mistake and showed up with the wrong size truck. They had to return to get a larger truck, and by then were forced to wait in traffic = massive delay in bag arrival. Mistakes happen and this caused a lot of grief but I would not blame Rev3 100% on this one

All in all it was a great race and experience. I know Rev3 will learn and I hope this race will grow into a yearly classic. Thanks to everyone at Rev3 for being so friendly and coming to our hometown and putting out a challenging but fun and rewarding race experience. I cant wait to do more of your races. Congrats Charlie on #4!!

Does seem to be some whiners here but I don't believe the original OP meant it that way ;0)

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Official Polar Ambassador
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I just want them to come back, the races here are few or far way.

http://vimeo.com/69369357 cool video good looking slow dude at :27 seconds

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Looks like they listened and HOPEFULLY did their homework for next year.

Email from REV3:

This past June, you all raced with us at Rev3 Williamsburg. We are saddened to say that it wasn't our teams best showing. Between some logistical issues on race day with bags getting back on time, river conditions going hay wire on us and some traffic delays beyond what we could have imagined. We feel it is only appropriate to offer you all a special discount towards the 2014 race. Essentially, we are asking for a second chance.

We are better than what you witnessed this past June and we want an opportunity to make it up to you. To start, we are making some changes to the race this coming year. The finish line and expo area are being moved from the W&M campus, to Warhill Sports Complex, a few miles outside of town. Second, the run course will now be in a new location, with less twists and turns. Also, we will be adding a number of extra shuttle buses to the race morning routine. No more waiting in long lines or being worried that you won't make the swim start in time.


REV3 Williamsburg, presented by James City County, will be June 15th, which is one weekend earlier then this past year. The expo and finish line is moving to Warhill Park in Williamsburg. This past year, the finish and expo were at the William & Mary Campus. Warhill Park offers more space, less congestion and it should ease much of the traffic issues that were encountered this year. The athletes and the community will certainly welcome this change!

"We are excited to announce that we are moving our finish line and expo just down the road to the Warhill Sports Complex. It will provide a new and improved run course as well as an exciting finish in their 3,000 seat stadium. We are confident that this will make the event much more athlete, family, and spectator friendly. The swim and bike courses will primarily be the same but we will make some minor adjustments to improve our athlete's experience." - Eric Opdyke, Race Director.

With Challenge set to announce their new race to be held the third weekend in June I am wondering how that is going to effect Rev3 and possibly Eagleman

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Where is the Challenge race? Rev3 moved Williamsburg one week earlier for next year - June 15. Eagleman is June 8.

Here is a video released with Macca saying Mid-Atlantic third week of June
http://video.silverlineathletics.com/...;bctid=2662663343001

http://www.challenge-family.com/...-arrives-in-the-usa/

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Ah - so still unknown. I'd like to give the improved Rev3 a shor since it's local for me and they are offering 25% discount....but I'm starting to become an inaugural race whore so maybe a double with Challenge the next week.

well given that it is not local for me and getting to/from there was the other hassle, I am not going back. Not sure I will do another inaugural race either.
I also am not so sure I want to do a point to point again after the bag fiasco.

But I am giving Rev 3 another shot (2 actually) Florida HIM in November and Quassy next June

I suspect people will have a mixed reaction to the changes. The change of the T2/Finish line and added shuttles likely will lessen a lot of the terrible problems with traffic and getting to T1. Plus it completely changes the run. The original run was a lame 2-lap tour of William and Mary's parking lots and sidewalks, so I'm happy to see the run change. But now the race is rather far out of town, quite away from all the hotels, so more people will have to drive to the race that morning. It also means all of the race is outside Williamsburg, so perhaps the race should now be called The 'burbs of Colonial Williamsburg. (I recognize that there's no way in hell the race could go through actual Colonial Williamsburg or Jamestown.) Whether the race is better for spectators,I don't know. It looks like T2 will be in the midst of a little league/soccer rec park pretty much in the middle of nowhere.

It doesn't look like they'll change the swim but I don't think they really should. The swim problems were the result of a rather freak confluence of factors (heavy rains upstream, SuperMoon tide). I was far more annoyed by the course cutters than the current.

Got to say, I'm liking that Rev3 long sleeved t-shirt right now at Savageman. It's cold up here.

The swim was an unfortunate result of lots of rain upstream. I did Patriots this past weekend at the same location and sll was good.

I'd like to give Rev3 another shot too. Charlie, any chance of a discount for those participants who want try Williamsburg again?