Let me first say that I did not race the Oakland Tri over the weekend, however I was present both days for the "Festival" on Saturday and providing neutral support in transition and on-course during the race Sunday.
My first impressions: What an awesome race! Oakland is kind of a unique town (I think they pride themselves on that whole "town" thing) and I think this race did really well to capture that feel. The bike course seemed kind of odd in the way it was shaped, but after driving around, it really didn't seem bad at all once out there. Sure the road conditions are less than ideal, but it's Northern California, it's a city, and if you live here you kind of expect that. The only other "urban" race I've done is the NYC triathlon, and when it came to the bike course, it wasn't really urban the way Oakland was. Not often you get to ride up Broadway with no cars, let alone other parts of West Oakland and the POO (Port of Oakland).
The finish line atmosphere was great. They did a really nice job situating everything in the middle of Jack London Square, and it provided a nice area for finishers and teams to congregate after the race. Saw lots of folks from Silicon Valley Tri Club, The Oakland Tri Club, Team Asha, PacWest Athletics, EMJ, and Team Sheeper (local Nor Cal clubs) and from the looks of it, they all seemed to be having a good time after the race.
The organizers (USA Productions) did a great job, and while I'm sure there were some hiccups, there weren't any you don't expect at any well-established race. If anyone reading this post raced the Oakland Tri, feel free to add your thoughts!
My first impressions: What an awesome race! Oakland is kind of a unique town (I think they pride themselves on that whole "town" thing) and I think this race did really well to capture that feel. The bike course seemed kind of odd in the way it was shaped, but after driving around, it really didn't seem bad at all once out there. Sure the road conditions are less than ideal, but it's Northern California, it's a city, and if you live here you kind of expect that. The only other "urban" race I've done is the NYC triathlon, and when it came to the bike course, it wasn't really urban the way Oakland was. Not often you get to ride up Broadway with no cars, let alone other parts of West Oakland and the POO (Port of Oakland).
The finish line atmosphere was great. They did a really nice job situating everything in the middle of Jack London Square, and it provided a nice area for finishers and teams to congregate after the race. Saw lots of folks from Silicon Valley Tri Club, The Oakland Tri Club, Team Asha, PacWest Athletics, EMJ, and Team Sheeper (local Nor Cal clubs) and from the looks of it, they all seemed to be having a good time after the race.
The organizers (USA Productions) did a great job, and while I'm sure there were some hiccups, there weren't any you don't expect at any well-established race. If anyone reading this post raced the Oakland Tri, feel free to add your thoughts!