Quick race recap as I did indeed participate in the Half Iron distance in Havana two weeks ago. For anyone who has specific questions, ask here or email me at kwaldron99@hotmail.com.
My wife and I were in Havana for five days. We had an awesome time. As a bit of background, we are extremely well experienced world travelers so I believe we arrived with appropriate expectations of what to expect. We stayed in a hotel in the heart of Havana and extensively explored Cuba with a private guide. We had incredible meals and felt perfectly safe all the time.
The race was reasonably organized. I have done a number of triathlons and marathons throughout North America and Roth in Europe. I would not suggest it was as organized as most races in North America, but if you consider the organizational skills of maybe your local race, but place that race in a big, foreign city, then you probably have a decent perspective of what to expect.
Check in was organized and fairly typical except I did get interviewed by a doctor which took 5 minutes and he asked about all the normal stuff; allergies, age, health issues etc. It was a bit odd but no weird questions as he completed a form that I could have done without him.
As a precaution, I locked my bike to the rack for the overnight but they did have security.
The race started late, about 20 minutes. I was ready for that. If you are doing this race, bring toilet paper to the start as the porta potties do NOT have them. Critical item that quite frankly, most people recommend you have with you whenever you leave your Havana hotel as a lot of public and/or museum type bathrooms don't have paper. We did experience that.
The swim did not allow wetsuits and I did not see one. Water temp was almost 80. Swim was easy; it was U shaped in channels the entire time swimming between docked boats. No current, no waves, no issues.
Bike ride was tough due to wind and humidity. There is about a one mile or two stretch of the bike ride that you are with automobiles that you sorta have to dodge. Until you get out to the main highway (three lanes, completely closed to ) you have to constantly pay attention for pedestrians. Roads were no different vs United States roads except one big exception; there are some potholes here or there (I probably saw about 5) that are large. If you were to hit them, you and your bike would be toast. I had an American the night before the race mention that to me so I never took my eyes off the road. Bottomline, in any race Iam being careful but in this race, I would say due to pedestrians and potential big potholes, I was heightened. Additionally, I was constantly concerned about a volunteer or policeman allowing a car to cross (we did go across several busy intersections before we hit the highway) and quite honestly, they did a great job managing that. But I was extra careful and ready on the brakes coming to these intersections. Absolutely no close calls. Several times on the bike, volunteers were handing out water, cold water in water bottles. They were good. I was very nervous about this as I assumed they had not done much of it in their past, but as I said to my wife, it is as if they had trained for the hand off of water.
The run was loopy along the famous Melacon (sp?) Road along the water. Two loops on either side of the transition. Perfectly safe and traffic was controlled. Lots of people walking along the sidewalk side of street along the beach side. My wife was able to see me a lot during the run as she basically stood at the transition and I passed it four times. The run was hot, windy and humid. Water was handed out and they were handing out some kind of Cuban goo shot and little bananas. I did not attempt their goo shot.
The finish was awesome and I came in 2nd. It was awesome to be called to the podium from the "Estado Unidos".
Bring everything you want and need; they will have NOTHING. Pump, tubes, air etc. They will have nothing. I brought my own goo shots etc.
I wont get into the whole American in Cuba recommendations other than to say; do your homework and understand the do's and don'ts in Cuba. You have no access to cash as an American and no ability to use your credit cards. We prepaid a lot of our trip before we left the US and brought a wad of cash. I did meet an American tourist on the way home who got down to $10 cash. So bring more than you think you will need.
Cuban triathletes lack EVERYTHING. I solicited donations from my triathlon club and arrived in cuba with two sport bags completely full of vacuum sealed stuff; shoes, goggles, kits, tubes. During my race, my wife and our guide happened to sit next to a young adult on a bench who happened to be on the Cuban National Junior Triathlon Team. His girlfriend is on the team too. It was serendipity as we donated all of our stuff to him and her. They were beside themselves. She was racing the next day in the sprint and had only one kit with holes in it. She immediately found a kit in our bag that fit her and she was going to wear it during the race. They gave us the only thing they had; a national Cuban triathlon tech top. It was actually a very cool and slightly emotional exchange of stuff.
Don't go down to Cuba with the idea of a PR; weather and overall logistics and conditions will prevent that. But absolutely go down there with the opportunity to really see a culture and meet a ton of friendly people in a safe environment. I would not recommend this trip as someone's first adventure outside of the US, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who travels with eyes wide open.
My wife and I were in Havana for five days. We had an awesome time. As a bit of background, we are extremely well experienced world travelers so I believe we arrived with appropriate expectations of what to expect. We stayed in a hotel in the heart of Havana and extensively explored Cuba with a private guide. We had incredible meals and felt perfectly safe all the time.
The race was reasonably organized. I have done a number of triathlons and marathons throughout North America and Roth in Europe. I would not suggest it was as organized as most races in North America, but if you consider the organizational skills of maybe your local race, but place that race in a big, foreign city, then you probably have a decent perspective of what to expect.
Check in was organized and fairly typical except I did get interviewed by a doctor which took 5 minutes and he asked about all the normal stuff; allergies, age, health issues etc. It was a bit odd but no weird questions as he completed a form that I could have done without him.
As a precaution, I locked my bike to the rack for the overnight but they did have security.
The race started late, about 20 minutes. I was ready for that. If you are doing this race, bring toilet paper to the start as the porta potties do NOT have them. Critical item that quite frankly, most people recommend you have with you whenever you leave your Havana hotel as a lot of public and/or museum type bathrooms don't have paper. We did experience that.
The swim did not allow wetsuits and I did not see one. Water temp was almost 80. Swim was easy; it was U shaped in channels the entire time swimming between docked boats. No current, no waves, no issues.
Bike ride was tough due to wind and humidity. There is about a one mile or two stretch of the bike ride that you are with automobiles that you sorta have to dodge. Until you get out to the main highway (three lanes, completely closed to ) you have to constantly pay attention for pedestrians. Roads were no different vs United States roads except one big exception; there are some potholes here or there (I probably saw about 5) that are large. If you were to hit them, you and your bike would be toast. I had an American the night before the race mention that to me so I never took my eyes off the road. Bottomline, in any race Iam being careful but in this race, I would say due to pedestrians and potential big potholes, I was heightened. Additionally, I was constantly concerned about a volunteer or policeman allowing a car to cross (we did go across several busy intersections before we hit the highway) and quite honestly, they did a great job managing that. But I was extra careful and ready on the brakes coming to these intersections. Absolutely no close calls. Several times on the bike, volunteers were handing out water, cold water in water bottles. They were good. I was very nervous about this as I assumed they had not done much of it in their past, but as I said to my wife, it is as if they had trained for the hand off of water.
The run was loopy along the famous Melacon (sp?) Road along the water. Two loops on either side of the transition. Perfectly safe and traffic was controlled. Lots of people walking along the sidewalk side of street along the beach side. My wife was able to see me a lot during the run as she basically stood at the transition and I passed it four times. The run was hot, windy and humid. Water was handed out and they were handing out some kind of Cuban goo shot and little bananas. I did not attempt their goo shot.
The finish was awesome and I came in 2nd. It was awesome to be called to the podium from the "Estado Unidos".
Bring everything you want and need; they will have NOTHING. Pump, tubes, air etc. They will have nothing. I brought my own goo shots etc.
I wont get into the whole American in Cuba recommendations other than to say; do your homework and understand the do's and don'ts in Cuba. You have no access to cash as an American and no ability to use your credit cards. We prepaid a lot of our trip before we left the US and brought a wad of cash. I did meet an American tourist on the way home who got down to $10 cash. So bring more than you think you will need.
Cuban triathletes lack EVERYTHING. I solicited donations from my triathlon club and arrived in cuba with two sport bags completely full of vacuum sealed stuff; shoes, goggles, kits, tubes. During my race, my wife and our guide happened to sit next to a young adult on a bench who happened to be on the Cuban National Junior Triathlon Team. His girlfriend is on the team too. It was serendipity as we donated all of our stuff to him and her. They were beside themselves. She was racing the next day in the sprint and had only one kit with holes in it. She immediately found a kit in our bag that fit her and she was going to wear it during the race. They gave us the only thing they had; a national Cuban triathlon tech top. It was actually a very cool and slightly emotional exchange of stuff.
Don't go down to Cuba with the idea of a PR; weather and overall logistics and conditions will prevent that. But absolutely go down there with the opportunity to really see a culture and meet a ton of friendly people in a safe environment. I would not recommend this trip as someone's first adventure outside of the US, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who travels with eyes wide open.
Last edited by:
kwaldron99: Mar 9, 18 18:07