Good luck tomorrow to all you assholes on bikes. :-)

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Grabbing coffee this morning saw some super expensive Trek concepts on top of a car in the lot. Probably about $20k between two bikes and wheelsets.

I really hope the competitors owning them were ladies because I was the only guy there with smooth legs! For shame. Lol.

Good luck y’all. Hope it is a safe and fun day for all of you! Best wishes from the local bike racing folks to all the crazy triathlon folks.

I will be at run aid station 1. We were told you guys will be coming past us 4 times. I will do my best to keep up with demand. Good luck to all the racers.

Spectating tomorrow. Looking forward to supporting rather than being supported. Good luck to all and don't forget the sunscreen!!!

Good luck to all the self absorbed idiots on bikes tomorrow! :-)

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Wow! So, how do you know the politics, religion, etc. of the person who changed the text on the sign? Talk about self righteousness and stereo typing!! I guess I should also assume to know the politics of the driver of the Prius who ran me off the road ... but I won't.

And then it was gone...........I must say that was the funniest run course I've ever seen. I was at the Hunt Road turnaround (top of the road by the prison) and I heard a lot of "how many times should I be going around this turnaround here" comments.

It was hot, but not stupid hot, but still the carnage was there.

Congrats to all the racers, and too bad we are losing this event. Whether the city is forcing this event timing, or what, it's sad that this event is done.

4 lanes of runners on 1 2 lane road for your amusement:
(I cant upload pic I aplogize).

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

I quit....i have no clue how to rotate this stupid pic, it's not rotated on my phone....but you get the gist...4 lanes of runners....lots of fun today...

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

The swim was great. Maybe 100 meters long.

Bike was good, I didn’t really see too many draft packs.

That run was brutal. My open HM PR, set a few weeks ago, is 1:24. I ran a 1:47...brutal run course.

Some friends and I rode our bikes downtown and watched the finish. The number of spectators was a total disappointment, imho. Basically a handful. If I were the organizer of this event, I'd pull out too. But they did a good job setting up the downtown area.

What time did you go down to the finish? 1st round of pros?


I was there for a while and I thought it was no different than past few years from a spectator standpoint and the winners always get no fans, that's been like that since the start.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

Yes, we got there about 10:40 and watched the front runners finish. I don't typically watch Tri events but since we often ride the greenway to downtown on Sundays as a recovery ride, we decided to stick around and watch some of the finishers. I was just expecting a lot more fans based on the rather large number of participants. There were some, just that I had expected more. I thought the way the organizers set up Fayetteville St for the finish was very nice.

The downtown area has really been transformed, as you are aware. We visited the new train station a few days ago and it's really nice. Check it out next time you're down there. Its best to do it soon, before the official opening, to avoid the congestion. Condos and/or apartments are going up everywhere down there. It will soon be it's own small city.

You basically saw why pro triathletes have no bargaining with race organizers. No one comes to see them. People come to see their family/friends. If you would have been there 1 hour later, for the next 4 hours the finishing area is very cranked up and filled with spectators. It's the really shitty reality (and I coach several pros so I wish it were different), that is professional triathlon. But this is an niche age group dominate sport so yeah.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

This is good info. I will be sure to watch the rank and file next time. We only saw the first 10 or 15 finishers then we went to eat a bagel and ride some more.

You were just up the road from our aid station. Yeah, it was tough handing out stuff to folks from both directions and on both sides and I felt horrible for you guys coming by the aid station on the far side when it was too difficult to reach out to you. For good reason, we were told not to even try but some of you we were able to sneak a treat to!

Congrats to all of you out there! The heat and humidity came out as always to make it a tough race. So sad to see this race go! My wife and I , Captain Carl and his family, and the Tricredibles have enjoyed working it for the last 5 years.

Heading home to get all the Gatorade and yuckiness off of us and something to EAT!

Peace out and cheers,

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thechromedome
http://www.favoritefinishlines.blogspot.com
http://www.cupcakecartel.org
My 20% off code for 2018 FS Series races: tricred18
"there are no drafters in heaven" - C Bonner

Thx for all your help and support, these races dont go without you the volunteers.....A race like raleigh, you guys are the MVP's!

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

I agree! Too bad it’s the last edition. Very honest course - swim seemed a tad longer - tough and no draft packs. I enjoyed the run a lot more than last year but also found it to be harder.
All in all it’s sad to see this event go away. Really a great race!

By the way, we had an 80 year old Ironman handing out drinks to the competitors today. That’s the stuff of legends right there. I’m not worthy to be alongside him. Dr Robert Morrison.

Cheers,

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thechromedome
http://www.favoritefinishlines.blogspot.com
http://www.cupcakecartel.org
My 20% off code for 2018 FS Series races: tricred18
"there are no drafters in heaven" - C Bonner

I did swim support on a kayak yesterday for this race. There was one dad came by in the last wave, pulling his special needs son in an inflatable boat. Trying to find out that participate name to look him up to see where they finished. Anyone know who this might have been.

I loved having to run up onto the grass at the aid station on the return to downtown.
The way the course was set up, everyone was on Salisbury watching people complete the first lap instead of near the finish like prior years. Finishing area was kinda depressing due to lack of people.

Was it Team Kyle?

Cheers,

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thechromedome
http://www.favoritefinishlines.blogspot.com
http://www.cupcakecartel.org
My 20% off code for 2018 FS Series races: tricred18
"there are no drafters in heaven" - C Bonner

Brent and Kyle Pease

Cheers,

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thechromedome
http://www.favoritefinishlines.blogspot.com
http://www.cupcakecartel.org
My 20% off code for 2018 FS Series races: tricred18
"there are no drafters in heaven" - C Bonner

Thanks for the info

I was in the same boat. 1:25 open half runner, did a 1:44 split yesterday... just brutal, the heat really creeps up on you. The swim and bike were awesome though. I just wish they did the swim waves differently

I loved the swim...It was my first non-wetsuit open water swim of that distance...I took it WAY too easy...Heck, I spent an hour just relaxing and warming up in the water before my wave went. It gave a really good view of the male and female pro race starts.

My garmin had the swim long...and the times seemed slow for everyone. I remember talking to a few of the guys in the water and asking what pack was trying to swim 30 mins...they laughed and said they were going to swim 25....none of them broke 29 and most didn't break 31.

The bike course was fantastic...didn't feel like 2700 feet of climb.