Yeah I was out there spectating (the lonely Fuel Belt crew along the riverway) and the consensus was that this race was pretty bad. It was sad to see how few people were out there supporting the racers, the roads should have at least been patched and the overall operation seemed sloppy. No one seemed to know what they were doing, cars were being let down roads they weren't supposed to go down. It was almost embarrassing to watch. I really do hope they fix some of the issues for (or if it's even held) the race next year. It was good to see the competitors out there killing it though, there were some fit people looking good out there!

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I got nothing.

I wonder if this will go the same way as mooseman seems to be going. For me last year the draw was the ocean swim and the ride up from the coast. I was going to do this again until I saw that the course had been changed. There just isn't anything like swimming and biking along the coast! At least for me.

Last year the pro field was also a bit deeper and that was cool as well. Plus the Lake Placid spots...hoping that this keeps going, would like another shot at it again!

maybe there were no spectators because they were waiting on the buses at the swim. I do remember you guys though; it was nice to have you out there cheering. Thanks for the support. That section was pretty desolate otherwise.

At the end of the day, a city is absolutely the worst place to hold big race like this (half or full ironman). Not just the road conditions and the gross water (which everyone has already stated) but the worst part about it is the logistics. Everything from trying to find a parking spot for packet pick up to spectator shuttles was a total disaster. When you have a race like this in a small town, everyone knows whats going on and they are ready for it. Nobody that lives in Providence knew what the hell was going on, and why should they? It's their city, I'm sure they have other stuff to do. And unless you wanted to pay extra money, there was no possibly way to park your car in the morning and get back to it after the race. I ended up riding my bike 10 miles back to Lincoln after the race because there was no shuttle. (my fault, I should have read over the athlete guide, but for $250 you think they would provide a shuttle to the parking area after the race) Some people were taking taxis back up there, can't imagine how much that cost, or if they could even fit a bike in there.

Given the conditions, I guess the RD didnt do a bad job, but like I said, its nearly impossible to put on a race like this in a city. And Providence isn't even that big. Imagine if WTC tried to do a full ironman in a BIG city...like NYC??? man that would be a nightmare for everyone

Next Aug is IM NYC. :)

Haha I know, I was being sarcastic....I cant imagine the nightmare that's going to be for athletes and spectators

All in all, the RD made do with the cards dealt him. The first mistake was to "buckle" to the multitudes of whiners about swimming in the ocean. I will not do this race again unless it is in the ocean, the swim this morning was absolutely disgusting in the cess pool.

x10, the water was nasty....not even sure if it was safe to be swimming in there. BRING BACK THE OCEAN SWIM!! There's an independent half iron called Firmman in Naragansett every year (I believe its mid September) and the swim is in the ocean on Naragansett beach, and its awesome. If you're afraid of some waves then dont do the race.

I agree about bringing back the ocean swim, but I thought the pond was fine. I've done swims in worse (Ohio River at IM Louisville, Potomac River, etc). What I would complain most about, however, is the road conditions. The last 10 miles of the bike were simply unforgivable for an Ironman event. Despite a solid performance, I will most definitely not be doing this one again!

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4 x Kona Qualifier

https://sites.google.com/...an-ri-start-7-00-a-m

Great race...

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I got nothing.

First up... You and the fuel belt crew were great and you really were in no mans land so it was nice to get a few cheers and see a friendly face on the desolate section of the run coure. Speaking of spectators... Anyone notice the lady with the tiger flag? She was everywhere!

The race for me was a rough one. I had a he'll of a time sighting on the way out on the swim with the sun in my eyes. I'm a slow swimmer but my time is so awful because I almost accidentally cut the first turn buoy at the end of the course. I just couldn't see it so i saw what i thought was it and headed for it. Turns out that was the 2nd turn buoy. A kayaker thankfully corrected me, and I went back to round it. Easily cost me several minutes.

I had a decent bike but the last ten miles or so of the bike course lowered my average speed a lot due to the conditions and having to ride on the horns so that was a bummer.

The run was rough for me... Still rehabbing an injury and that hill sucked the speed right out of me but i felt pretty good for the mot part. Aid stations were great, water sprinkler was awesome, volunteers were great.

I think all of the finish line volunteers came from my Tri club so it was great to see them all at the end.

I had a fun day out there, but the logistics weren't fabulous at all and a lot could be done to improve the race. I did think the cops on the bike course were great. I only had to slow down at one interaction in the middle of providence but that was it. I flew through all the others.

I have to say though that I don't think I'll do this one again. The race Nick mentioned called The Firm by the way is a great local half. I definitely recommend it and it has a great ocean swim, decent bike course, and great run course.

I didn't have a great day but I had fun despite some of the conditions. I thought the cops and volunteers did a terrific job and most of the athletes I spoke with were also having fun. Bring back the ocean swim and do something about the last 10 miles of the bike and this could be a great race. I loved the finish at the state house and my family found it convenient that the mall complex was right there to get out of the sun for short periods and find entertainment for the kids. I don't think I have ever seen as many mechanical issues on a bike course as I saw yesterday.

Did anyone else get a wicked headache, sore throat, and swollen glands last night? It's likely just a coincidence, but was wondering if maybe it was from from the lake. I have a solid immune system and haven't been sick in over a year and a half. Right now I feel like I've been beaten with a stick.

I had a great day. Complaints 1) no sunscreen? My 4th time doing this race and they always had volunteers with sunscreen, so I expected leaving T2 I would get sprayed. Unfortunately I'm burnt today. 2) They give out caps at the finish and they DONT SAY FINISHER ON THEM??? FOR THIS KIND OF $$$? That's a disgrace. It would cost MAYBE a buck to embroid finisher 2011 on the brim. They've done that in years past as well.

The volunteers and the fans were amazing. They made my day.

i will say the car in the bike chute right outside of the entrance to transition letting his wife out to get on the train as cyclists were coming by was by far the best site of the day...

The timing mats were def off on the run.

My boyfriend did the original bike course and said that it was beautiful and fair. ( just enough hills and flats to be fair and no significant potholes ) The original swim was the best part.....he called it the most beautiful swim he's ever done....waves?...yeah!...it's the ocean....suck it up...we're getting sick and tired of the " woosification " of the original extreme sport...

Gee??? You think??? Hope you recover, but like I said... looking at the water tests, that was an iffy venue at best.

I hauled it down to take photos of some of the pros on the bike. Timed it just perfectly and was there for about 15 minutes around the resevoir, but seriously??? I think only 11 of the 22 Pros who signed up showed up... Seems like another race that is on the cusp

We got sore throats and bad headaches that night too! Pond water?

A quick search yielded this:

http://www.in.gov/idem/4234.htm


but who knows. Like I said, it may be just a coincidence...

no illnesses for me... even though I spent 45' in that water (my "normal" 1.2 swim is about 35... does a wetsuit really help me 10' or did I do something really wrong?)

No huge complaints overall. The run was ok... except for the random local idiots walking across the street being total pricks because they didn't feel like waiting for runners to go by. Felt like body checking a couple of them. Generally guys in their 20's. Fat and full of attitude.

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MyGearGarage - Track all your gear!

I woke up with a headache and a stomach ache this morning too.

I think it has more to do with the beer, bacon cheeseburger and chocolate I ate yesterday post race though.

As to mrtrick's comments... I had some near misses with pedestrians on the run course as well. Actually it was kind of funny how oblivious the city is to the race taking place. I wonder if it was even on the evening news the night before giving everyone a heads up. Best comment came from a non racing friend of mine on facebook yesterday...

"Was there a zombie apocalypse downtown providence?! Every street is blocked off by cops...and there are all these strange skeleton looking people wearing spandex running and riding bicycles everywhere!"

this race sounded like a complete mess.

Anyone come away from it with good impressions?

Looked at the results last night, didn't really see any Pro names that I recognized, saw some Age Groupers that really should be Pros names, so seemed like it was a pretty local affair vs. previous years.

My swim time was horrible too.. 55 minutes! I'm no great swimmer, but my normal swim time for a 70.3 is 40 to 42 minutes. I was 15 minutes slower than normal. Impossible to make up. Is that because we swam with no wet suits? I guess the extra flotation the wet suit gives you matters a lot. The sightings make your legs sink, which the wetsuit corrects when you have one!

Well Magali Tisseyre was probably the biggest pro name there. Noteable absences were Jackson and Stevens who were signed up and decide to race elsewhere or not race.

Rhode Island COULD be a great course, but my guess is it would have to be on a Saturday to deal with the church issues as well as really should be an Ocean swim and not in the stagnant bacteria pool.

Will be interesting to see how this race does... Seems to be Mooseman and Providence are not getting much love from the Pros but given the tiny amount of pro money, also makes sense.

FirmMan looks like a better run race, though is the same weekend as Pumpkinman.