Just got back from the Camp Pendleton International Triathlon. Since this is my first race since becoming a Slowtwitch junkie, I wanted to go to the forums and get everyone’s opinion on the good and bad things of the race. Rather than a race report, this is the kind of thing youd give a race director or future participant. Please be brutal, even get stuff thats just “part of the course”. Hell, be brutal to me if Im totally off-base and the cons are standard fare. Ill start:
Pros:
-Price. A major plus. You dont find an Olympic distance race in the $65 dollar range much. But, you get what you pay for.
-Well-marked swim. I enjoyed the buoys every 50 (?) yards - it helped me keep a straight swim immensely.
-The Armed Forces. This is a pro on two fronts. First off, there were TONS of them - so many that they were serving as human cones on the beach exit. Second, lots of them were super-energetic - the guy on the final run stretch being my favorite as he played junior drill sergeant (he kept shouting “Pain is temporary, glory is forever!” and “You are the elite!” and such). It just got me so pumped up. Bonus points to the guy who got a running start to hand me a drink on the bike, and the guy with the “Go !” sign.
Cons
-The swim/bike transition beach run. Yeah, I know you’ve gotta make use with what youve got, and when theres 300 yards between the beach and the nearest parking lot you dont have a lot of options.
The post-race (free) food. I wouldnt expect much for $65, but Ive been to $15 sprint triathlons with better post race food. Oranges, bananas, and water. Yeah, you could buy a burger, but at least throw some bagels for guys who have just run a race. As a corollary, would it kill them to have bigger cups (not Dixies) on the bike water stations and race finish?
The “fast” bike course. Don’t get me wrong - it was a nice course. Empty, well staffed (more human cones), with lots of variation. But dont advertise rolling hills as a “fast” course.
The pre-race meeting. My typical pre-race plan is get off the bike 30 minutes before the race starts, put on my wetsuit and do final transition prep, then do a swim warm-up. But I arrived off the bike at 8:05 to find that the transition area was closing at 8:10, with a pre-race meeting at 8:20 which lasted until 8:27 race began at 8:30). As a result, I got no swim warm-up in. This wasnt noted in the pre-race info, and totally threw me off.
That’s about as flat and fast as San Diego gets unless you go out to Fiesta Island and do circles. I ride east county a lot so it seems flat and fast to me, but you are correct, Camp P. is kind of rolling and breezy
If there’s food after a race, that’s cool. Especially after an IM. If not, I go get a HUGE burrito or three. O’side has killer burrito joints!
I recommend getting to the race earlier than 20min before race start
I love the men and women who work at Camp Pendleton.
During the race we got to share the road with Marines who were deploying at that moment to Iraq.
Many of the others wore red shirts and found the energy to yell for us. STUDS I tell ya!
I saw the sign you refer to and heard that doode on the straight away run portion yelling as you say. Too funny.
"- The “fast” bike course. Don’t get me wrong - it was a nice course. Empty, well staffed (more human cones), with lots of variation. But dont advertise rolling hills as a “fast” course. "
So you thought it was slow? I thought it was fast for a 40k, my bike split was lower than I expected, when I raced it.
The “fast” bike course. Don’t get me wrong - it was a nice course. Empty, well staffed (more human cones), with lots of variation. But dont advertise rolling hills as a “fast” course.
Hate to just repeat KP here, but…that is a flat course by So. Cal standards. The biggest “hill” is a road overpass. Anytime I can do a whole course in the big ring, I consider it fast/flat.
I didn’t do it this year, but I give it an A from past experience.
Gary – I agree. The roads are honest. You have equal tailwinds/headwinds and when you go up, you come down the same. My PT read 25.3 miles (including T1/T2). Still it would be nice to do a flat 40k some day.
Oh crap. I thought the race was tomorrow… I wrote it down on Sunday on my calendar…crap. Well, there is a retarded DNS for me. Anyway, I’m glad I checked this post to save me from waking up early tomorrow. I remember thinking “how could people miss races?” when this topic came up a couple weeks ago.
Alright - maybe Im spoiled. I came from Norcal for the race, and we have the crazy hills and the pancake flat courses. I just didnt think that was fast compared to, say, San Jose Triathlon. Apples and Oranges.
I was at the transition area at 6:30AM - it was only after my stretch, bike, and run warm-up that I was in at 8:00.
I have only done 5 tris, but I’d give this one an A+ rating. I got paperwork in the mail two weeks ago saying the transition closed at 8:15am and the race started at 8:30 (or “oh-eight-thirty” as the Marines put it). My comments about the race are mainly about how great the Marines were. Super-supportive, yelling boot camp-style motivational phrases like, “the average man or woman would have given up by now!”, and “feel the pain and push through it”. Hey, it worked for me enough to post my PB’s in every leg (which suck compared to most of you guys probably).
I have to make a comment about a guy I call the “Grunt Guy”. I saw him in the Carlsbad tri last weekend. He’s 50 years old, maybe on this message board for all I know, and he wears speedos throughout the race, and grunts with every other stride. I passed him coming the other way down the steep hill in the run and he was grunting, “DRIVE THE HILL”! That dude is a CLASSIC! One intense racer!
I didn’t do the race today, but was out there on my bike spectating the whole morning. I’ve done the race in the past though, it just didn’t fit into my schedule this year.
Overall, I would agree with all of your Pro’s. The USMC does and excellent job of staffing the race with volunteers.
The con’s: too much broken glass on the bike course no officials, no rules, too much drafting, too many people riding in the middle of the road lack of post race amenities. I’d rather have a coke after the race instead of water late start, I mean they started exactly on time, but an 8:30 start is a bit late, why not start the race at 7:30?
I’d give it a C+/B-, but still good value for the dollar around here.
Agree with all your pros. The swim course was awesome. Bouys every 50 or 100 meters was a dream come true…to bad I couldn’t hold on the feet of the guy that smoked us all in the 1st wave.
Bike course was great! I rode the course on 4th of July weekend, and there was lots more glass and rocks. Looks like they swept it or something. Plus, at least 4-5 Marines at every turn and intersection stopping traffic and directing bikers.
The Marines were out there cheering the entire time. They cheered just as loud for the first wave as they did for the last wave. Even saw a couple running with competitors into the finish to keep them going. They made the race awesome.
That swim/bike transision was killer. I actually walked it, got yelled at by marines to pick it up, and then passed by 4 people. I saw them all out on the bike course though, the walk was worth it.
Though the bike course was super fast, and kind of a pain to have the race meeting there, but not too much of a burden.
This was my second International distance, and loved it. One of the best organized races I have been to. I’ll be back next year for sure…and I promise not to bonk on the run hill…OUCH!!!
I see the grunt guy at all the san diego races. He’s always talking to himself through the whole thing. He also FLYS by me on the run to, so maybe he’s doing something right. I need to start grunting to. He always seems like he is just about ready to blow up too, but doesn’t!
