I had a great time at that race and have no complaints! I have to travel down from L.A., but since I'm originally from that area I love the venue. Not that I'm a fan of the high entry fees since they limit the number of races I can do, I was very pleased with the experience and plan to race again in '05.

I have done it twice and I entered this year also. The bike course is a lot of fun and the run mostly flat. The bike has a couple of steep hills and a lot of rolling scenic terrain through Camp Pendleton. The Marines liven up the atmosphere a bit on the bike course with their chants and water bottle toss. Overall a pretty fun event. The weather at that time of year will play a factor in just how much fun you may have as it can be very winday and/or rain.

To me it was worth shelling out a few hundred to motivate me to get back into shape and train through winter.

Yeah, it's steep. But when you divide the cost by how long you'll be out there, it's cheaper than sprints and Oly's. A lot of pain for your buck!

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

It's a slippery slope. Eagleman is $175, and well worth it. Timberman is about the best 1/2 you can imagine, and that's $145. The new 1/2 (Mooseman) next year, also put on by Endorfun, will be $130. When you realize what can be had for, say, $145, it makes you swallow hard about paying much more. But for two years now I've paid happily for Eagleman, and for another $25....well, what the heck. Having said that, though, I did not sign up for Mighty Man 1/2, which was $200, but on the other hand I would sign up for Ralph's in a heartbeat if I lived in the rough general vicinity.