I haven’t done this race since it changed names and moved down town. How hilly is the bike course? Should I use an 11-23 or 11-26 cassette? For reference I usually ride 1:05 to 1:08 for a 40K. Thanks!
Im going with an 11-23, I went with an 12-25 last year.
Its not bad, theres maybe 2 hills that yuoll remember but not bad at all.
I know there used to be an elevation profile listed somewhere.
Good luck
It’s rolling hills, nothing too big, they’re kinda long but I don’t even come out of aero and run 53/11-23 with no problems at all.
Unless you happen to just be terrible on hills you should have no problem at all running the 11-23.
Elevation profile of bike course on the Team Magic site. X2 on previous description of course.
Randy
11-23 for sure. The hills are not that hard
Did any/everybody else melt out there today too. Two miles into the run I was toast.
My time was a minute slower than last year but considering the heat I’ll take it. I started getting lightheaded a half mile from the finish but managed to get in at 3 hours.
I was crushed by this race. Lost my nutrition (all liquid for me) before mile 2 on the bike. It was the on ramp up onto the interstate where they had a real rough section. Had a lot of speed coming into the ramp, hit the rough spot, bottle shot out of the front. Too crowded and we were going too fast for me to try and stop to pick it up. So, the whole bike I was without anything to drink and no nutrition. It destroyed me on the run…glad that one is done
Sorry to hear you had bad luck. As I was reading your post it just reminded me of my Macon Rock N Roll man half. I was dropping gels and bars as I went down the road. Makes for a difficult race in the heat.
It was a scorcher for sure. I was taking two cups of water at every aid station on the run, dumping one and trying to drink the other. Very well organized event!
Yeah, that’s a bad bump. There’s one on the way back in too that nobody was pointing out.
I was a good bit faster this year. Third year in a row I’ve gone. I always say it’s my favorite. But I may change that thinking. Would be a fantastic race if it was in September.
Best part of the day was the beer and pizza at Mellow Mushroom.
Did any/everybody else melt out there today too. Two miles into the run I was toast.
I swore I would never do this race again for that reason. I really missed not being out there today though. Pretty sure I am a lock for next year.
I was feeling pretty good off the bike today. When I checked my watch in T2, I figured I was going to have a big PR. Then the HEAT hit on the run. I went from PR mode to survival mode. I was never so glad to see the finish line. I pretty much still feel like crap now 7 hours later. I love this race though. Can’t wait for next year (and maybe cooler temps)!
Wow, this makes me feel better. I had a decent swim and fair bike but the run was filthy ugly. Overall, beat last years time by 2 minutes but I expected my run to be about 5 minutes faster than it was. Heart rate was topping out early in the run and just never seemed to get speed to equal effort. Kept waiting for HR monitor to show “911” as current HR. Ended up walking the big hill at mile 5…there was just no way my legs were going to run it.
In bonehead move of the day I pulled swim skin down to waist as I exited the swim but forgot to take it off in T1. Didn’t realize I still had it on until I got on the bike and noticed something flapping behind me. Made for some discomfort down south for the bike.
Randy
Ha, I noticed you on the bike course. I thought either that guy is committed or about to die…glad to hear you made it ok
I did beat my best time there by about 6 minutes. But I’ve been training so hard that it could have been a lot more. And it didn’t help that I got sick mid week. Again. Second time this year.
And it seems like I got no help from the current on the swim. Although my goggles were fogged up the whole time so I had no idea how well I was sighting.
I absolutely adore this race, do it every year and will as long as I can, but holy smokes yesterday was brutal. I left after the finish completely bummed out as I assumed with my dismal run time that I’d be 30th AG or something awful. Turns out I came in 6th (still not very good, I understand, but WAY higher than expected) so I guess I wasn’t the only one who melted out there.
Funny you say that…I packed up, headed out of town, laying on my couch last night at home in Nashville and saw I took third in clydesdale. I could not believe it. My time was horrible and I assumed I was going to be at the bottom of the pack in my group but I guess the heat kicked us all in the teeth. Oh well, wouldn’t have wanted to get on the podium after they announced that time anyway.
I don’t understand why they don’t start that race at 6:30 instead of 7:30…would make a big difference in my opinion.
A great day to race yesterday in Chattanooga. This is one of those races that if you don’t bring your A game, you are going to have a hard day. You will most likely have a hard day even with your A game.
Funny you say that…I packed up, headed out of town, laying on my couch last night at home in Nashville and saw I took third in clydesdale. I could not believe it. My time was horrible and I assumed I was going to be at the bottom of the pack in my group but I guess the heat kicked us all in the teeth. Oh well, wouldn’t have wanted to get on the podium after they announced that time anyway.
I don’t understand why they don’t start that race at 6:30 instead of 7:30…would make a big difference in my opinion.
You beat me on the run. And the swim, bike, T1 and T2. Other than that, I kicked your ass. 