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Rev3 Maine -- a great race
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This is an unsolicited endorsement for today's Rev3 race in Old Orchard Beach, ME. Beautiful sunrise beach swim; nice rolling bike course on smooth country roads; and about half the run is on a scenic trail through woods and marshland. These guys do a great job running a professional operation. Anybody thinking ahead to next Summer should support this alternative to the monopolists and do this race.
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [Poon] [ In reply to ]
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I'll second that, I was in OOB today but had a fever and a cold so I did not race. I did however race it in 2012 and 2013. What a great location, and a very well run and organized event. The swim in the cold clear Atlantic is amazing as the sun is rising! Bike course and run course all top notch. Definitely my favorite.
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [Poon] [ In reply to ]
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Rev3 does great events. I don't understand why the tri community doesn't support their efforts more. I have done Knoxville and its always a great race.
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [Poon] [ In reply to ]
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Poon wrote:
This is an unsolicited endorsement for today's Rev3 race in Old Orchard Beach, ME. Beautiful sunrise beach swim; nice rolling bike course on smooth country roads; and about half the run is on a scenic trail through woods and marshland. These guys do a great job running a professional operation. Anybody thinking ahead to next Summer should support this alternative to the monopolists and do this race.

This is my favorite race ever. Glad you enjoyed it!


Pete Githens
Reading, PA
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [arby] [ In reply to ]
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Completely agree. This event, Quassy, Poconos, every bit as well run as another event provider, but the level of caring by the event staff is simply superior.

To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [Poon] [ In reply to ]
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110% agreed. This was my first time up there (2nd Rev3 race) and it was awesome. By far one of the best salt water swims I've ever done. The bike course was very clearly marked and on great roads, same with the run. The volunteers out on the course were also great. Definitely worth the drive from PA!
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [arby] [ In reply to ]
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arby wrote:
Rev3 does great events. I don't understand why the tri community doesn't support their efforts more. I have done Knoxville and its always a great race.

One challenge is the marketing machine that is WTC so everybody including new to tri always know Ironman. Also, Rev3 is only on the east coast. And obviously Rev3 is unlikely to expand in a down tri market since they're not the behemoth that WTC is. I'm planning on doing my first Rev3 next year in Williamsburg. I'll probably do Knoxville as well since in a couple years since its relatively close to me.
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [TriTamp] [ In reply to ]
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Would love to try a Rev3 race, but they need to come back a little closer geographically. Wish they'd do their event at the Wisconsin Dells again! I'd do that in a heartbeat! Heard great things about it when they had it there.
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [Poon] [ In reply to ]
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I raced the half yesterday and thought it was top notch as well.

Volunteers were great and everything logistically was run very well.

https://www.strava.com/athletes/4391866

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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [jsaunders] [ In reply to ]
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+1 this race is fantastic. I've done it three years running now and really appreciate the family focus. Having my son run the finish shoot with me is a reward for both of us for all the days I'm out riding my bike or running. They even had a finisher medal for the kids!

The course is amazing. Ocean swim, rolling bike course on really decent roads and a run course like Mt T without the severe hills. The canopied rail path lulls you into opening up your run pace and then you cross the baking salt marsh!

All in all a really nice venue and one that is totally a vacation friendly spot for family.

Rev3 is great value. I even had a hand written postcard in my registration bag wishing me luck and reminding me to share the experience with my family.

We drive from Toronto, Canada for the race and it's worth 11 hours in the car with a semi cooperative three year old.
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [arby] [ In reply to ]
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arby wrote:
Rev3 does great events. I don't understand why the tri community doesn't support their efforts more. I have done Knoxville and its always a great race.

it's simple. rev3 does not make anyone feel "special". i've done quassy, oob, and challenge AC. the reality is that they are great races. if i were to give IM a score of 95, i would give rev3 a score of 90. with more support from the athletes, it can be just as good, if not a much better event.

when you cross the finish line at wtc race you get the mdot logo gear. that makes people feel special. you score points towards AWA (yes, we all know it's stupid), which makes people feel special. you do 12 of them, you get to go to kona (yes, that is very special).

i was going to do vineman and b2b to check off my 50 states marathons before they were wtc, i have much more incentive to do them now because i will be 2 closer to kona for legacy slot (i'll be at 7 by the end of this year)....

look at the rock n roll race series. they are no special, but if you do a bunch of races, you score points towards larger medals etc. that makes people feel "special". the majority of "racers" aka participants are just in it for the fun, they want the glory, the bragging rights. until rev3 realizes this, they will never outmatch the IM brand, imo.
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [ahhchon] [ In reply to ]
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ahhchon wrote:

it's simple. rev3 does not make anyone feel "special". i've done quassy, oob, and challenge AC. the reality is that they are great races. if i were to give IM a score of 95, i would give rev3 a score of 90. with more support from the athletes, it can be just as good, if not a much better event.

look at the rock n roll race series. they are no special, but if you do a bunch of races, you score points towards larger medals etc. that makes people feel "special". the majority of "racers" aka participants are just in it for the fun, they want the glory, the bragging rights. until rev3 realizes this, they will never outmatch the IM brand, imo.

I find this very odd that someone would be made to feel "special" because they were given a bunch of incredibly generic logo gear in exchange for finishing. Every time I do an M-dot race I feel the entire opposite of special. I feel like a cog in a machine. Walk through registration this way. Stop at this tent. Stop at that tent. And like a freakin' Disney World ride, you get spit out of the registration tent right into the merch tent. Ironman is Disney. You might think you are special but you are not. You are just a number. A dollar sign to them. Then when you finish your race you get a medal that pretty much looks the exact same as the rest, just with a different location stamped on it. *yawn*. Oh sure don't get me wrong, Ironman puts on a fantastic event, and the show is always great. But it's the same show everywhere, every time.

Contrast that with Rev3, of which this year alone I have raced 5 of their 6 races. Every race has a local vibe to it, the staff is friendly and accessible (unlike Ironman where if you needed to personally talk to the race director you would be hard pressed to even figure out how to do it). Every finish line you cross you are presented with a unique medal that epitomizes some aspect of the location of the race.

I am headed back to another M-dot event in a few weeks, but I am under no illusions that it will be any different than any other. I expect to be a cog in a machine again. I wouldn't even bother if I wasn't chasing after a spot at the big show (so sure, Ironman has pull at least from that aspect). I would have preferred to go back to the original Beach2Battleship, or Challenge AC where I got to race a full-distance race without all the stupid crap surrounding an M-dot race, and without the extra expense. But now I can't even do that.

More and more I realize I just like to race often. Rev3 provides a much better experience for someone who just likes to race a lot than Ironman provides.
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [noofus] [ In reply to ]
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noofus wrote:
ahhchon wrote:


it's simple. rev3 does not make anyone feel "special". i've done quassy, oob, and challenge AC. the reality is that they are great races. if i were to give IM a score of 95, i would give rev3 a score of 90. with more support from the athletes, it can be just as good, if not a much better event.

look at the rock n roll race series. they are no special, but if you do a bunch of races, you score points towards larger medals etc. that makes people feel "special". the majority of "racers" aka participants are just in it for the fun, they want the glory, the bragging rights. until rev3 realizes this, they will never outmatch the IM brand, imo.


I find this very odd that someone would be made to feel "special" because they were given a bunch of incredibly generic logo gear in exchange for finishing. Every time I do an M-dot race I feel the entire opposite of special. I feel like a cog in a machine. Walk through registration this way. Stop at this tent. Stop at that tent. And like a freakin' Disney World ride, you get spit out of the registration tent right into the merch tent. Ironman is Disney. You might think you are special but you are not. You are just a number. A dollar sign to them. Then when you finish your race you get a medal that pretty much looks the exact same as the rest, just with a different location stamped on it. *yawn*. Oh sure don't get me wrong, Ironman puts on a fantastic event, and the show is always great. But it's the same show everywhere, every time.

Contrast that with Rev3, of which this year alone I have raced 5 of their 6 races. Every race has a local vibe to it, the staff is friendly and accessible (unlike Ironman where if you needed to personally talk to the race director you would be hard pressed to even figure out how to do it). Every finish line you cross you are presented with a unique medal that epitomizes some aspect of the location of the race.

I am headed back to another M-dot event in a few weeks, but I am under no illusions that it will be any different than any other. I expect to be a cog in a machine again. I wouldn't even bother if I wasn't chasing after a spot at the big show (so sure, Ironman has pull at least from that aspect). I would have preferred to go back to the original Beach2Battleship, or Challenge AC where I got to race a full-distance race without all the stupid crap surrounding an M-dot race, and without the extra expense. But now I can't even do that.

More and more I realize I just like to race often. Rev3 provides a much better experience for someone who just likes to race a lot than Ironman provides.

i agree with you. unfortunately, the masses do not. remember, tons of people are 1 and done. most triathletes are type A narcissists, does it surprise you that the M dot makes them feel special?

btw, challenge AC was like, what? 75 bucks cheaper than a WTC setup?
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [Poon] [ In reply to ]
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thought the race was great and well organized; however, they need to get their timing straightened out. on course updates should be available and accurate and times should be available on the site immediately after someone finishes--it was hours before times were up and correct and then they had to take them down and re-post because i guess there were issues. issue at both quassy and maine--not sure about the other events--to me hand written letters are nice, but i would prefer the timing be nailed down and updates to be prompt and accurate for friends and family tracking and worrying about athletes on course and after the race when no splits come up for hrs.

they do add alot of nice personal touches--also the course was as well marked as i have ever been on--
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [Poon] [ In reply to ]
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Im doing rev3 cedar point next year!! I think it's the fastest im course near Michigan that isn't m dot.I'm off the ironman bandwagon just seems kind of cheesey and lame now, "ironman" geeze that sounds corny. I would rather buy a flight to South America for 300 than pay the difference to seem cool to other people that I don't care about idk just seems stupid to me!! Just like di2 shifters just get the 105 cause they move the gears fine and do something cool with the money you saved
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [Poon] [ In reply to ]
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Overall really enjoyed this race and recommend it.

Pluses:
  • Among the best courses I've ever done. Loved the ocean swim and cool water, 64 degrees which to me is great for a wetsuit swim. Just a little bit of a break to make it fun but really no big deal. Bike course has good pavement and is very scenic, fast, fun course with a few hills, trending gradually up for the first half and gradually down for the second half. A lot of the run was on a rail trail that was well shaded or had ocean breezes so made for a pleasant run.
  • Professionally run and well organized, good race support and infrastructure.
  • Nice personal touches such as a hand written note in the swag bag.

Minuses:
  • I opted to go shower and change before hitting the food and by the time I got back there was almost nothing left, with still a significant number of people out on the course.
  • The timing was glitchy and slow, I'm used to much better timing from local New England events. Seems they have this in common with IM, proprietary systems that aren't very good.

If they could get the last two items straightened out this would be an A+ event. As is I'll give it an A-.


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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [arby] [ In reply to ]
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arby wrote:
Rev3 does great events. I don't understand why the tri community doesn't support their efforts more. I have done Knoxville and its always a great race.

Same reason why anyone chooses a particular brand. You think the Apple phones are the superior product?
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [Poon] [ In reply to ]
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Recently I was inspired by a friend and in 2017 am going to run a half. I am looking at this race (Rev3 ME) and had a quick question. Does this race typically sell out immediately when registration opens or will I have some time after opening to register?

Basically, do I have to check the site each morning to register or risk getting closed out?

Thank you in advance for any information
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [healeymr] [ In reply to ]
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You will have time to register, it has not sold out early in the past couple of years. It is a good race.

There is a FB group that is fairly active:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1628024920803993/
Last edited by: Fhirleighinn: Oct 27, 16 6:38
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [Fhirleighinn] [ In reply to ]
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Thank you for the reply. I will check out the FB page. Replacing Timberman with this page in the bookmarks.
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Re: Rev3 Maine -- a great race [sharkd] [ In reply to ]
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sharkd wrote:
Would love to try a Rev3 race, but they need to come back a little closer geographically. Wish they'd do their event at the Wisconsin Dells again! I'd do that in a heartbeat! Heard great things about it when they had it there.


Same here. Somehow I am on their mailing lists, but I can't figure out what race of theirs that I have done. I would like to do their half in Williamsburg, VA, if it were a different time of year, but I don't think I can handle the heat of VA in July.
Last edited by: happyscientist: Oct 27, 16 7:11
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