sammie wrote:
I don't mean to necessarily direct this as a reply to you g_lev, but a question to anyone in general, what is the point of a first come, first served rolling start? My understanding is that races are switching from AG wave starts, or mass starts, to rolling starts based on predicted swim time. And that this is for safety reasons. If the rolling start isn't going to be based on swim time, why not just use an AG wave start? Then we can go back to racing our AG and knowing where we are in relation to each other. I'm ok with the time-based rolling start (even though based on my relative swim and bike times it makes for a crowded bike course for me), but if it is going to be a free-for-all I'd rather it be an AG wave free-for-all. Just wondering if there is some benefit to this format that I'm not realizing.
Before I jump into the start format discussion, I do want to say that I loved this race. The beautiful (and fast!!) bike course, the mostly shaded running trail, the locals sitting on their lawns cheering, the relaxed and helpful police and volunteers on the course, and the overall organization made this one of my favorite races to date. I highly recommend it.
That said, I agree with some of the critiques of the start format. I am fine with AG waves and with time-based rolling starts, but the free-for-all format wasn't my favorite. It was also a bit disappointing to line up in advance, in the spirit of the first-come-first-served description, only to have hundreds of people just jump the line. I am not an excellent swimmer but, because I got pushed back past the middle of the pack, I spent far more time in this race just working my way past a ton of slower swimmers. And, at least for me, it did not ease crowding on the bike course, if that was the intention. This was the most crowded bike course I've raced on. I had to focus really hard to avoid drafting and observed a lot more drafting than I've ever seen, some of which I'm sure was unintentional among riders who simply couldn't find the space. But perhaps the experience was different for folks on other parts of the course.
In any case, those minor gripes aside, I thought this was a great race and I hope that it continues!