Anyone race it yesterday? I thought it was a PERFECT Wisconsin day for racing…low 70’s, sunny, cool breeze off the lake and a FAST bike course.
They claimed at the awards ceremony that the fastest men’s time was the fastest 1/2 IM in the world…and that Lisa Bentley’s 4:12 was the 2nd fastest of all time too…
But I’m positive the swim was at most 1 mile long…no way was it the full 1.2 miles…awesome, fast race…just not sure about the swim distance b/c the buoys got pounded by the current and waves early in the morning.
The swim was definately short, based on my time im thinking it was a mile. I heard the last bouy was blown in by waves and wind. It was a good race, The bike course was a little rough, but even with the wind it was fast. It was a nice day.
I have to agree the swim was short. After the last bouy it was very difficult to figure where the exit on the beach was. The swells made for a challenge when sighting - more than once looked and all I could see was waves. At least the water was warmer than last year; reports of 55 but this year 72 (according to the life guards ) Thought actual temp was in high 60’s
The bike was more challenging than last year, but fun. I thought it was one of the roughest bikes looking at biking surface. You could start your own LBS with all of the gear ejected on the course!
Great race, big PR and intend to return next year.
Yep, I was there. I was planning to freeze the boys off, but it turned out to be a nice day, weatherwise. The swim was either short, or the current was wicked strong! The first 200m out to the first buoy was a bit rough, but otherwise, smooth sailing. It seemed a bit more rough, in terms of body-slamming, than last year…can’t account for that. Couple friends got kicked/punched/molested. Maybe the waves were pushing people into one another. The bike course was o.k., although the road surface was crappier than I remember it being. How about that nasty sport drink stuff they had on the course?! I needed the sugar/salt, but just couldn’t choke that stuff down.
Yes, the swim seemed to be short. The PA guy said that one of the buoys, as stated by another post, had moved somehow (due to wind or the current I would imagine). It was a fun race with great weather though!
InfinIT…or whatever the sports drink was called was absolutely awful…they were calling it gatorade as they were handing it out and when I took my first sip I almost choked…it was awful.
I’m trying not to use my bottle launcher this year, so I’m kind of stuck to what they have on the course…though just about anything would have been better than that stuff.
…that’s about it though, other than that a perfect race day. props to HFP for great race!
Yep, I agree…a great event and a really nice location. It’s great that they’re able to draw some top pros, too…what a treat to get to see them out on the run course.