Perhaps one of the best in NE is Great Fairlee in Southern VT. Well run Oly on a great course. Timberman 1/2 IM in NH is another great race. Check out Timeoutproductions.com and Firm Racing (not sure of the URL) for a complete list. Both of these sites run a summer series in NH, VT, and MA. I think there may be 1 or 2 in ME.

Good Luck

A couple of the RD's in NE that have series are Firm Racing (firm-racing.com) and Time-Out Productions (timeoutproductions.com). They have quite a few races in MA / RI / VT.

There are a couple in NH that have gotten good reviews - go to timbermantri.com.

I know of two in ME - Lobsterman Intl in Freeport (lobstermantriathlon.com), and another in Kennebunk, put on by the Fire Dept.

There are some others in ME and NH, but don't know any further details. A couple of sources to look at:

USAT NE region - usat-ne.org, lists USAT sanctioned races. (There is also a full national list at usatriathlon.org) Another site that lists many tris is trifind.com.

One additional thought - check out the forum at trinewbies.com. There are a number of NE athletes that haunt that forum, who can give you individual opinions on various races.

Actually - more than one or two. Here are the ones I know about:

Shipbuilders Trathlon in Bath - Olympic

UMaine Swim Team Triathlon in Unity - Sprint

Maine State Tri in Bethel - Sprint

West Kennebunk Fire Co. Tri in W. Kennebunkport - Sprint

Knickerbocker Challenge in Boothbay Harbor - Olympic

Maine Sport Tri in Camden - Olympic

Lobsterman Tri in Freeport - Olympic

Mount Desert Island Tri - run, bike, kayak

I did all of them last year except the Knickerbocker and they were all a blast. Search the net for more info or e-mail me and I'll get you more info. Lots more in NH, VT, MA - check tri-find.com

I've never been to Rainbow cycles but check out Bath Cycle in Bath. For tri and road specialist Fitwerx in Vermont is excellent.

Good luck,

Both Time Out and Firm Races are usually well run and well attended. Lobsterman got great reviews last year. The Monster Challenge in Boston is fun, because of the pros in attendance and because it is actually in Boston. Plus, there is a sprint race, a slightly longer "elite" race, and the pros doing an oly. Aside from these well known races, there's a ton of YMCA and Boys and Girls club races throughout the summer at both sprint and oly distances.

Someone mentioned Timberman, which is a half-iron race. This is very well run for a race going into its third year. Keith has really put together a nice race there. This past year it was about a million degrees and humid as hell. Throw in some New Hampshire hills and it was a real challenge.

Woody

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Mike Hollywood
http://www.bostontriathlonteam.com
http://www.michaelhollywood.com

I am new to Maine myself. I live near Farmington and work out of Lewiston. I moved to a house with a sand driveway so you can imagine what happened to my DA BB. At any rate, I stopped in to Rainbow and asked for a price on an Ultegra BB. The reply of $65.00 resulted in no more visits to Rainbow for me. They do have some nice stuff though, but certainly missed the initial hook with me.

So, where do you live in ME ? I'm looking to hit some of the tri's mentioned above. Plus I'm pretty intrigued with Mt. Washington now that I live so close.

I'm from Freeport/ Limestone(during the school year) I did the West Kenneunk race last year- it was a great fun race. I go to the Maine School of Science and Math, and, unfortunately, I wasn't able to to the Lobsterman as I'd have had to come down and back the 300 miles over the weekend. I'll definitely have to add a few of those on.

Thanks.

On a side note, I do have a friend who manages a LBS up here and he will sell you something at a good price. The only problem is that they are some what small and don't carry a large overhead, creating the test ride problem. Email if you want to get into contact with him.

Take a look at this site - they are based in Rhode Island, but are planning events all over NE.

http://http://www.americansportsevents.com/

Timberman sprint is a blast and very well run. If you're a good hill rider you can blow that race apart on the big climb.

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"To give less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Pre

MattMizenko.com