I’ve been planning for the Chesapeakeman to be my first 140.6 and I was reading some race reports this weekend. I noticed almost all mention Sea Nettles on the swim. Nobody said they regreted doing the race. So I’m wondering how bad they are? One person said they were stung about every 2 minutes.
Can anyone shed any light on preparing for this? I plan to have a full wetsuit so very little skin will be exposed. Does vasaline really help on the exposed parts? Do you put this on your feet, face, hands?
I was stung through my long sleeve, on my arm…a little hole through the suit and a large red welt. I had put vaseline on my feet and hands (so much vaseline that I slipped and fell as I was running late for my wave!) and my feet and hands were ok, couldnt believe one stung me through the wetsuit!
The guy next to me in transition had a mix of meat tenderizer and water made into a paste in a tupperware container and he said to take some if needed, so in T1 I put some on my arm…5 minutes later I didnt think about it again, as there was of course other things going on. To tell you the truth, if I had known about this before I was setting up in transition then told about the nettles, I would have thought 2x about doing it as sea creatures freak me out. But if you are going to do a race that long then suck it up! but, be prepared, have some meat tenderizer and yes use the vaseline.
I’m not sure what a Sea Nettle is but there were small jellyfish on the swim in 2008. I could see them and feel them on my hands but didn’t get stung on the swim during the race. I did get stung on the prior day in a prep swim – it was no big deal, just suck it up. Others talked about getting stung during the race in 2008 but if you’ve done all the training, you’re not going to DNF because of a little sting…
There were no jellyfish in 2007. In 2008 there was a hurricane coming in and that is what some said was the cause for the large numbers of jellyfish in the river. In 2008 the bike was almost as wet as the swim because of the low-lying areas and copious rain (i.e. 1-6 inch deep puddles covering the road in a 1-2 mile stretch).
Also, realize that the Choptank river is aptly named. It is usually choppy on race day…
I had fun both years and plan on being back again this year. It is a great race with a small field and flat (usually windy) course.
They are not a big deal at all. I did it in 2008. My hand hit one jellyfish for a second during the swim. It grossed me out a bit, but it was one second. The race is really rewarding and the further removed I am from it, the more I think I actually enjoyed the experience better than the m-dot races I did in Lake Placid and Austria. Read James Michener’s Chesapeake - it will really put you in the mood to run, bike, and swim there. Much of the action even takes place in the Choptank.
I second the “no big deal” school of thought. I’ve done C’Man twice and loved it. Felt a sting or two on my hands and face but the effect was momentary, more irritation than pain. One of the many things you’ll face on your way to the finish, but far from the worst
