Not sure what the officials were looking for, but I do know that our head official was very happy with how most athletes followed the rules during the race. The weather was perfect for the event and we will be back in April (Sunday, April 13) in 2015. We also expect to have a nice 12-15 ft paved fitness trail along 10th street for the run next year! Glad you enjoyed the event. Z

I'm glad to know they actually had officals. I was in the 30-34 AG and didn't see a single official for the entire ride. I was passed by 2 draft packs and rode passed 100's of people drafting. I was expecting the drafting but I was a little surprised not to see a single official.

i thought it was a great event! I started in the back, 35-39, and didn't notice nearly as much drafting as the orlando venue or some other races. there was definitely some on the first half, but once the hills and wind kicked in, it wasn't bad. i also probably saw the ref's 1/2 dozen times and noticed them giving out penalties to some blatant offenders.

I did the race Ist wave swim, later on the bike saw 2 draft packs one all men one all women looked like most in their 30's. My wife said they were watching the dismount line for dismounting past the line and you got to go to the pently tent which was right there. I got out the swim there was a guy sitting in the childs pool taking off his wet suit, none of us could wash the sand off our feet.........very good race anyway

I was in wave 6 and there were a few 20-30yo male draft packs that went by me. Blatant cheating.

I will block that weekend on my planning calendar, but that will be Sunday, April 12th next year!

I was also in 30-34 and hardly noticed an official. I guess when you go off last, the officials are too far ahead???

I know this was brought up before and some people are fans, others definitely not, but how is it safe to have one of the fastest age groups going last? I think the swim and bike especially end up being very unsafe.

During the swim, I ended up swimming over top some people that clearly were VERY weak swimmers and it was probably not safe having a great big pack of 30 year olds swimming over them.

On the bike, I spent my entire ride yelling out, "on your left" and nearly got swerved into dozens of times.

I love the event and I generally think it is very well done but I can't get behind the logic of having the 30-34s weaving through humanity all day long...

The people up front tend to be fairly fit. Maybe they were just checking out your ass(es).

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Feel your pain... I was the very last wave behind you guys, and swim-bike is my strength, so the traffic was horrendous. Definitely agree that it is a safety issue. I know they want to get the old folks out early so the course isn't open all day, but it would probably be a more enjoyable experience for us as well as the stragglers if we went off first.

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Tim Russell, Pro Triathlete

Instagram- @timbikerun

I was in 30-34 as well and didn't see any officials either. I really expected more attention since we were right there with the 35-39 and 40-44 guys and if anyone's drafting it'd probably be us.

I was wondering the same thing. It occurred to me that if the slowest waves started in the back, then some people would be alone for most of the course. By giving them a head start, they'll have an extra layer of safety on the bike if something happens to them since another athlete can either stop for help or let the people at the next aid station know that there's a problem. Also, it gives the slowest athletes a little more wiggle room to finish within the cutoff time. If that's not it, I don't know why else they'd start us in the back.

For the most part I don't think they held us up too much. It was easy to pass and only a few people tried to swerve into me. The only time I got frustrated was when a car got stuck behind the slower riders. It would take them awhile to pass, and I wasn't sure if I'd get DQ'd by passing a car on the right so I waited until the driver finally made a move. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't mind having a steady line of slower riders to legally draft off of.

You are correct! Sunday, April 12, 2015 is the date for IM 70.3 Florida next year! Z

I am one of the old guys (55+) that went out in the early wave. I got passed by several groups of riders that were spectacular cheaters. There was a group of three that went by me at about mile 40 when the wind was picking up. A breakaway on the Tour de France couldn't have been better organized for drafting. I was so surprised by how they were riding I tried to keep them in sight for a while just to see if they would get busted as I could hear the motorcycle coming from behind. He rode behind them...then alongside for quite a while...but I never saw any of them in the penalty tent. It was a blatant as I've ever seen. Maybe I'm just jealous because I didn't have the moxie to grab onto their group and get pulled along for the ride.

24 DQ

I wonder what they were DQed for? I saw a few guys running without shirts and wondered if they would get DQed.

Some were DQ'ed for no shirts and others for bringing family members across the finish line. Z

Why do people continuously do those things?

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Just out of curiosity, did the guy singing along to his iPod on the run ever get penalized? I had to laugh when I saw him and wondered later if anyone else noticed him too.

I didn't see him but I did see a girl using her phone to play music through the speaker. Thought it was coming from one of the near by houses until I passed her and realized what it was.

Nice.

I always smile when I see DJ Gal (for some reason they've always been women in my experience). My favorite was a woman with a straight up boom box bungeed to her bike in a sprint tri once. I suppose they think they've found a loop hole that nobody else has thought of.

Just a suggestion......don't yell "on your left". Just yell "Passing".

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

I had the same experience and got shouldered into while passing and crashed. Ended up with limited gearing and dropped my chain 3 times, made for a frustrating day. Guess I need to learn the spanish equivalent to "passing"... or race directors can stop putting the faster waves in the back and putting everyone in the race in danger.

I understand if you say, "on your left" it can make casual bike riders look over their left shoulder and then they swerve into you. But in a tri, I'm not sure it matters so much what you say as the fact that you continually have to yell something. I had people swerving into me that just flat out seemed to be getting tired out there while we were on a section late in the bike, fighting the wind.

While there are plenty of slower swimmers/bikers in the 30-34, I think it also houses some of your fastest racers on average. The fact that we go off behind some of the slower (on average, plenty of fast people in all genders and age groups to be sure) age groups and weave our way through athletes that are stumbling like drunks while swimming and biking, I see as dangerous. Just my two cents.

I was in the 50-54 group and was wondering the same thing in the beginning...there was officials everywhere and I was lucky to see a person in front of me or behind me at times. I was like "good".

Around mile 40 a group of 4 guys and a girl in their 30s passed me looking like they were in a pace line. An motorcycle appeared and she dropped back....I thought for sure the guys would get a penalty as they didn't even "try" to look legal.

Am I a douche for not saying anything when passing? I figured they were probably used to it by the time I caught up to them, so I'd just give them plenty of space as I eased around. I could swear some people have an involuntary reflex to swerve into you when they hear "left", so I discovered that sneaking up on them mostly solves that little problem. The only time I yelled "on your left" was when somebody was blocking since I could get penalized for passing on the right and DQ'd for crossing the double yellow. Maybe I am a douche. Damn.

Not much you can do if they're swerving out of fatigue, though; I saw a few that did that whether or not somebody was passing them.