Anyone have any reviews yet on this race? I’m thinking of signing up for next year, but just wanted to hear your thoughts on the race, location…etc.
Thanks
The race itself was great. A fast point to point swim that was wetsuit legal. I don’t own a wetsuit so that was a downer for me but for most it is a positive. The bike is a nice course with some rolling hills. There was minimal automobile traffic and the wave start to the swim help reduce on some of the drafting. Although I was passed by 2 groups of ~15 guys in a pelaton, but I guess that will happen in any big race. I did not see a single draft Marshall. The run was okay from an athlete’s point of view. It was a two loop course that was extremely flat. Most of the road was in the shade but parts of the course were narrow so they could keep the roads open to traffic. The run was great for spectators. Very easy for family/friends to see the you multiple times. If they are willing to walk 4 blocks. They could see you 8 times on the run. The fact that swim start, transition and the finish were 3 different locations kind of made the logistics of getting ready for the race and gathering your gear after the race a pain. The biggest drawback to the event was athlete check-in. The mandatory meeting caused registration to take several hours. If you did get to the meeting right at time for one to start then you had to wait around for the meeting. Once the meeting was over you lined up to show you are an USAT member in a room that was way to small. People waited in this line for 1 to 1:30 hours. It was very unorganized and poorly run. Once you showed you had your membership or one day pass, you went to another room that had the expo and you waited in line again to pick up your race numbers, after that you went to another room for the expo to wait in line to pick up your race packet and t-shirt. All of the rooms were way too small and the whole process was a mess from an organization point of view. I enjoyed the race but will probably stick to non-mdot races after this one.
My wife did the event, I doubt she returns for the following reasons:
- Overall she said it was a very poorly supported and organized event. Organization was slightly above your local sprint- not what you would expect for the amount of money paid.
- River was nasty- said they had to swim through all kinds of weeds and other junk.
- Lack of water on the run course. Aide stations at mile 5 and 7 had no cups.
- Lack of food on both the bike and run course.
Overall se was very unimpressed by the organization that put on the race.
I thought for the logistics it was very well run. There was plenty of food on the run and bike??! There were piles of bars and gels and people holding trays of fruit. Yes, the start, transition and finish were all in different places, but the shuttle buses were running the whole time. I thought it was a fantastic event in a unique place and I would highly recommend it. I was surprised by the amount of specators on the run. The city was happy to have the event.
Now this was my first 70.3 so read my review with that point in mind, but I thought it was a well run event. I will say that initially I was unimpressed with the area when we pulled in on Saturday. Everything seemed really run down and seemed to be a ‘sketchy’ area - not to mention that it was just kind of dreary day. We stayed at the host hotel, which was ok - we did have to change rooms once because of the musty air in our first room was causing my wife’s asthma to act up. The transition area was about a mile and half away but was easy to get to. The organizers were doing some last minute road work to cover up some big exposed railroad tracks when we walked up, but they got the asphalt in place and it was a nonissue. As for the race, the swim was FAST - they said that it was only a 1/2 knot current but my time was about 5minutes faster than any training swim i’ve done at the measured distance. The swim came in to a boat ramp so water exit was easy. Now the bike course was the most pleasant surprise. I was expecting some bad roads - basically because the area in town just had some rough roads with potholes and such, but once out on the course it was some of the best riding i’ve done in a while. Totally awesome bike course. There were some rolling hills but nothing too steep or long. I don’t think that I came out of the big ring. The first half of the course seemed really fast - mainly because of some tailwinds. The toughest part was the ride back to T2 was straight into the wind which really picked up towards the end of the ride. There were 3 bottle exchanges out on the course - seemed to be in good spots. There were tons of spectators out on the course - you’d see families in their front yards or farmers parked on their tractors cheering on the race. That was pretty cool. Not sure if they do this at every event, but there were (i think) National Guardsman on post at most cross roads to help stop minor traffic - but there were cops at all major intersections. Traffic was never a problem. I really enjoyed the bike section there. Now the run was back through the downtown area and was a two-loop course. Completely flat with tree cover on a lot of the course. TONS of spectators everywhere - and for them it was great because the roads were really close together so they could just walk one block over and see you run by again. I think I saw my wife 5 times out on the course. The aid stations were great. The only issue was on one of the main roads they were letting traffic through and they had cones to separate the traffic lane from the run lane and on the second lap it started getting crowded - it was only about eight feet wide and i got a little bogged down but that section only lasted for a little over half mile and then it opened back up. The finish was on the Augusta Commons and got kind of crowded - my wife barely got to the fence to watch me finish, but it all worked out. All in all - a really good race. Just don’t go thinking that you’ll be ‘wowed’ by the immediate area. I did hear later on that on the other side of the river is a really nice part of town, might have to check that out next time. Anyways, take my review for what it is.
I enjoyed the race but will probably stick to non-mdot races after this one.
There is one thing you have to remember: quite a few of the 70.3 races carry the MDOT logo, but are not produced by WTC. They are a franchise of the 70.3 label, but are put on by independent race directors. Just like it would be a mistake to judge how good a race is based only on whether it is USAT sanctioned or not, don’t judge a race just because it does or doesn’t carry a 70.3 or Ironman logo.
It is very interesting to me how people can have such different experiences at the same event. I thought the organization was excellent, particularly for a first time event with over 3000 registered participants. I went to the last “mandatory” meeting. There were maybe 25 people there and we walked through registration in about 10 minutes. I could see how the rooms would get crowed for the larger meetings. I would think that the solution to that is simply rent more space next year in the convention center and streamline the process a bit.
With a point-to-point swim, of course you are going to have different staging areas. The tradeoff were blazingly fast swim times…probably at least 10 mins saved with the current. I misjudged my start time and was pulling my wetsuit on as my wave was heading down onto the dock. This was my fault, not the race organization. They were running multiple busses back and forth to transition constantly. There definitely was some “seaweed” in the water, but life ain’t perfect. This seaweed affected by swim time by approximately 0%, with a margin of error +/- 1%.
To me, it seemed that the bike was about 50-60% flat, with the rest rollers. The rollers all seemed to be mostly bunched together all at once, though. Like the first 15-20 miles flat, then 15-20 miles of rollers, and then 15-20 miles of flat again. I carry my own nutrition on the bike, so can’t really speak to the aid stations, but there were 2 Army volunteers at what seemed like every single intersection of the course and I never had a problem getting fluids from the drop zones.
I don’t know how the run setup could have been better for spectators. Like someone else said, if a spectator was even moderately industrious they could see you 8 times on the run, which in most races is unheard of. Pancake flat and about 50% shaded. The course did get crowded on the second loop, but I had little problem manuvering into clear running lanes. I also never had any problem with fluids at the aid stations.
The locals seemed very supportive of the race and proud to have us there. The run course had cheering spectators lined up for about 80% of the time.
Fast, fast course. Pretty much everyone I know pr’ed.
Here’s my 2 cents …
- Pre race was a hassle, very frustrated by the end of the day, lots of standing and long walk to transition. I had my 7 yr old son with me the whole time which wasn’t the best idea, but he hung in there. Wouldn’t recommend trying to do pre-race hoopla with kids.
- The river had a lot of debris due to heavy rains
- But the river was FAST!!! so well worth the yuk. Someone else said 5 minutes fast and I think this was the case. I expect 27 and change and hit the boat ramp in 22.
- Typical bike terrain for SC. I’m from SC so it felt very familiar. Headwinds on the way back in were a bummer since it was all downhill and could have been faster. I caught the M30-34s by the mid point of the swim so I rode around them the whole time. There were a few who didn’t understand the blocking rule or the 4 bike length rule but for the most part it was clean. The rolling terrain help break things up. We had a pair of marshals that visited us maybe 4 or 5 times throughout the ride.
- Run was flat and fast and spectator friendly.
- Support was great both from fans on Broad Street and volunteers / aid stations.
- Fun race!!
Clearwater here I come! Nick
I thought the race was excellent and will make this an annual event. The swim was fast, but not more than 4-5 minutes for the top swimmers. The river had natural debris in it but was very clean. It’s in a non-industrial/residential area, so there was no manmade litter/oil. The bike was a good mix of rolling terrain - fast but with limited drafting. And the run had tons of spectators. I thought the event was VERY well supported with good logistics. The competition was incredible. I went 5:08 and was 377th place OA and 77th in AG. There was PLENTY of food and drinks at the well-manned aid stations - and PLENTY of enthusiastic volunteers. The RD gave $5,000 to the Marines designated charity and $5,000 to the medical colleges designated charity (both groups helped with the event). My only minor improvement wd cola on the run and canned Diet Coke after the race. It was cool seeing the Bennetts smoke the 70.3 distance. The pre-race registration, bike drop off, took a while - but hell as Axl Rose would say, have “some more patience.” I waited 1:30 around the start before racing, but enjoyed the vibe and watching the pros take off. I’ll be back next year.
I also echo most of what has been said here. Excellent course with lots of spectators on run. Very well organized for the first time. People were great.
Some additions:
- We did the second to last packet pickup on Saturday. We were through the mandatory meeting and the pickup in 50 minutes. It was a bit congested due to the layout of the hotel meeting space but it was overall a breeze.
- They had an incredible amount of volunteers working the race - on the bike, they had local army folks manning every single intersection, both small and large. They must had more volunteers than participants. The volunteers were great.
- As for food and drink stations - every flavor power gel and bar under the sun was available. Piles of them. Ice sponges for the heat. Lots of water and gatorade. I passed by one station at 3pm on the way to the car and it was still stocked - even with the heat.
The only issues IMO, was the a) heat and b) location of transition. A) They need to push back the race two weeks to make sure of cooler temps. B) The transition was tough to get to because it was off in a corner behind the levee. While the buses were plentiful and easy, it made it tough to get your stuff in and out of transition before and after the race.
PROS: Beautiful weather, very fast river swim, fair bike course with flats and rollers, shaded, flat run that was spectator friendly, nice finish area with park and place to watch people finish, great organization considering first time race with 3,000 people, very quick results, good food after
CONS: Crowded mandatory meeting, crowded USAT check in, didn’t like expo/finish area/swim start/transition in 4 different locations, no coke on course or at finish, high price of entry compared to other half iron races (non Mdot)
I think for those of us who live in the South, we can now choose Augusta as an “A” race or tune up for IMF, or we can do SC Half, which is put on by SetUp and is a great race too. I’d do either of those races again, as pros for one almost offset the other. I like SC half because it is in a beautiful state park, everything you have to do is right there, it is priced lower than mdot branded race, but also has a much more challenging run course and less crowd support/less spectator friendly. Overall I think Augusta is much faster course than SC, but the two races provide very different experiences.
One final comment. I was not particularly impressed with Augusta as a town, outside of the three block area around the Marriott and the finish line area. I thought the rest of the town was a bit shady. I’ve been to the Masters before, and the homes around that area of town are beautiful and very hilly. But the areas you drive around and through getting to various areas of this race didn’t impress me. Wouldn’t stop me from doing it again, just saying.
I thought this was great race. If you prepared properly and got to the mandatory meeting, check-in, etc. early you were fine. I was at the 2nd meeting on Friday and it was a breeze, no waiting at all. The course was great plenty of water, gatorade and food. I think a race of this size you need to properly prepare as a participant as well. I planned to be there early and I was rewarded with minimal wait and frustration.
I liked it. I’ve never raced a ‘fast’ course before and I enjoyed it. I thought that overall the course was fun. All 3 parts gave you an opportunity to let 'er rip and see how it plays out at the end of the day. If your support crew is more into distractions/attractions, rather than following the race, then they may be a bit disappointed. And, the swim finish/transition is pretty far away from the meat of the race. My crew likes to hang around t1/t2 to enjoy all of the endo’s and road rash, then shoot over to the run to cowbell. Ended up putting in alot of miles on their sneakers by the end of the day.
As far as the logistics go with registration, check’in, etc, I’ll give them some leeway, call it growing pains, and see if they change anything in the next couple of years to ease the congestion.
For my first HIM, I really enjoyed it. I went in there not knowing what to expect and really had a good time.
The swim was really fast and easy…wetsuit+current is ridic. Only problem was getting tangled in algea a couple times.
I liked the bike course, some of the pavement was a bit patchy at times but all in all the road surfaces were good. I didn’t see any draft marshalls and did witness some drafting/blocking…but nothing terrible. Had a couple hills but nothing killer. Coming back it started to get windy which made it a little interesting.
It started to get a bit hot when I got out at about 11:30 on the run. It was a fast course, but most times didn’t reflect that. I liked the multi-loop structure and spectator friendly nature of the course…could’ve had maybe one more aid station but whatev. Volunteers were nice. Lots of pizza at the finish line. Fun time…I’ll probly do it again next year.
This was my first HIM overall was impressed with how the race went. I think witht the time posted it will fillup quicker than this year. regarding the check in if they held the briefings 45 min they would have kept the people out of the halways. Not sure why the USAT check in was at theat location and not in one of the rooms next to the bags/shirts. The packet pickup should have been out of the expo room just made it hard ot walk around and see the items. The vehicle traffic around the Transition was a mess. If they made it one way it would have been easier than having 2 way traffic along with people trying to turnaround in the road. it was quicker to walk the bikes from the hotel and walk back than drive.
Start and swim time were right on time; nice quick swim. good bike course but didn’t see a single marshall or “penalty tent” not sure if that caused peopel to be more eager to bunch up. saw a lot of water bottles and tubes along the route.
Run course was “observer” friendly. past 4th street it got very narrow on both sides.
The sponges were a great item
With a couple of tweeks most of the frustration could be minimized.
Will do it again next year.
The Soldiers were from Fort Gordon and they provided 10 buses. Certainly would have been a lot more difficult without their support.
I thought it was very well run too considering the number of ppl out there. I didn’t trip out about the drafting I saw, bc most of it looked like your average AG’s who were honestly trying to avoid it. I have heard worse stories though about 15-20 man peletons, I just didn’t see em. I agree though that this could have been a really fast course, but the AG times didn’t reflect it. The pros all crushed it, but looks like most of the AG’s pretty much blew up on the run, including myself. Only legitimate problem was the insane congestion in Transition, but again everybody had to deal with the same thing. Somehow I breezed through Athlete check in and race briefing, but I heard it was kind of a nightmare for most.
I went as a spectator and had a great time. We stayed at the host hotel which made race day spectating very easy. The swim was 4-5 minutes fast as others have noted. From the host hotel to transition it’s roughly 1.5 miles so unless prepared with a car of your own it may cause athletes to walk much more than you should the day before a race. The bike was not spectator friendly in my opinion, but most aren’t so no surprise there. The run spectating was fantastic. We were able to see our friends who were racing as much as we wanted with just a little walking with the 2 loop downtown run course and there was plenty of shade to be had even without a tent. I am planning to race it next year. I will plan to go to the race briefing on Friday or go to the first one or last one held on Saturday.
Pro’s:
Great support from the community
Run was great for spectators
Sponges were a lifesaver…seriously
Fast Swim
Great Bike Course
Finisher’s Medal / Great vibe at finish
Con’s:
Too many places to be! I tried to get there early on Saturday, but they pushed our briefing back and then I had to wait in line for an hour to get my paper, which allowed me to get in another line for a packet, which allowed me to get in another line for a T-shirt.
Expo was kind of crowded and lame
Getting bikes out of transition after the race was tough…took me 2 hours to get there and out.
Too many places to be part 2 - need to show up 2 hours early for this one if you wanted to have plenty of time. Had to catch a bus to Transition, get set up, and then wait in line for another bus to swim start. For people like me in the early waves, this was a bit stressful.
Overall, although the town was questionable and the hotel (La Quinta) was run down, I’d do this again. However, I think I’m going to go to Cedar Point next year instead, as I think the REV3 does a better job.
The race was great. I stayed in the host hotel so packet pickup was a snap. The hotel was close and easy to get to transition. The shuttle busses worked very well. I didn’t see a single draft marshal the entire bike. I’m not even sure if they had the penalty tents set up. I was the second age group wave (2nd male 30-34) and I think some of the cheaters noticed no marshals, because by the second half of the bike, I was passed by some groups of ten or so riders BLATANTLY drafting. Whatever.
The run was so awesome. I saw my fiance seven times. Age stations were great and every mile or so. The ice cold sponges were so refreshing. Overall, excellent race, put on very professionally. One of the highlights was being passed by the first four pro women while on the run course.
I was very disappointed in Augusta as a city. I thought with the masters and Augusta Golf Club, it would be a really nice city with some great restaurants. The city was a dump and run down, although the residents were all super friendly. The host hotel was so so. I asked hotel staff where I could get a nice, casual italian dinner, and she said the nice restaurants are Olive Garden and Carabas. Overall, I would come back for the race.
I agree with most of what has been said above. I will add:
Weak swag. The t-shirt is white and ugly. My other non-M Dot 70.3, we got a really nice colored technical tee, a branded water bottle and branded Headsweats hat.