Anyone done this race? Just curious as to what you could tell me about the course, support, etc.
I didn’t do it - my husband did, but I can tell what I remember:
Its HOT, the bike was hillier than what people expected, lake looked really nice, short steep hill to transition, the run is two loops also a little hilly (wasn’t too bad, I ran it during the race, but I also hadn’t swum or biked beforehand!). Set-up, Inc. puts the race on and they always seem to do a top notch job. Did I mention it was HOT?
Thanks for the info Bri Bri. One question, do you know anything about the weather? Is it hot?
Actually, I lived in Macon as a kid, but having problems picturing the course.
Yup. Last July. The race site is very pretty. It was my first race longer than a sprint. And the longest fresh water non-wetsuit swim I have had–went out a little too fast and had to collect myself at the first buoy. You come out of the water and then run up a steep incline to transition. My HR monitor failed, and I charged the hills thinking RACE, RACE, RACE, DON’T LET UP. I paid for that on the run. It was a newbie mistake of not racing like you train.
3400 feet of climbing in 56 miles. Pretty much nothing flat. I was a road rocket–downhill. I came out of my saddle before reaching the crests, and pedalled all the downhills. My computer showed a top speed of 45, but I don’t know if that is accurate. I do know I had to put the thought of “What if somebody pulls out of that driveway” out of my mind. Just the slightest movement of my head either way changed my direction–and yelling “On your left!”
Bitching hot, with the heat index. The run was 1.5 miles up, 1.5 miles down, 1.5 miles up, 1.5 miles down. Then repeat. They say the run is 50% shaded: Maybe at night, but not during the race. Lots of guys cramping, some puking.
When you see a sign that says “U.S. Forestry Service Observation Platform, Next Left”, you know you have climbed a bit. That’s a Floridian’s take, anyway.
I did the race, too. I live in south Georgia, about two hours below Macon. I thought the race was very hilly. Down here in the hinterlands, we just don’t have hills. You either went up or down; nothing flat at all. Like someone else said, the run was advertised as 50% shaded, but that was lie if I’ve ever heard one. You were pretty much exposed to the sun the whole run. There was one little stretch that was shaded, but it was maybe a mile out of the whole run. The heat index approached 100 late in the race, and it was crazy humid. Par for the course here in Georgia, but if you aren’t used to it, you could really be in for trouble.
I thought the race was very well organized and produced. Two weeks before the half, I did a long sprint (.5/20/5K) at the same venue – same lake, 20 miles of the same bike course and 5K of the run course. I did that race to check out the venue and the terrain. That sprint was the Hephzibah Sprint Tri, which has been cancelled this year. Rumor was that somebody would pick up the race and keep it going. I hope they do – Hephzibah was a fun race with the proceeds going to a good cause. Anyway, if you’re within driving distance of Macon and you sign up for the half, it would be worth your while to do the sprint of somebody picks it up.
I’m seriously considering going back this year for the race. It really is an excellent race. Just be ready for some hot, hot weather.
RP
Another thing: Organizers are advertising a different run course. I don’t know how it will be configured. The run was a little boring last year. Not too bad, but monotonous nonetheless. Whatever they do, it should be an improvement over last year’s run. But even with the boring run, it was still a very good race.
RP
I did it last year too; an impromptu decision with nothing longer than a sprint beforehand.
Other than what’s already posted, here’s a few of my other recollections -
Swim - water was warm and pretty full of algae so you couldn’t see more than a few feet. Its a 2 loop swim, did get a little tough to sight the bouys occasionally but otherwise fine. Started from the beach by AG, not nearly as violent as several others I’ve done.
T1 was up a heck of a hill; hard to keep the HR in check. One loop on the bike… as stated by all, very hilly. One major downhill where I hit 42 and was afraid to even reach for my brakes; small reward for about 20 miles rolling climbs. Otherwise, decent course over very rural roads.
It rained in before the race which kept things cool for most of the bike. But, by the time you got your running shoes on it was HOT and MUGGY. Heard some antecdotes of the heat index being above 100, don’t know if thats accurate but sure felt that way. Newly repaved road didn’t help. By the 2nd out-and-back most of the aid stations ran out of ice which made the drinks and towels much less refreshing.
All considered, I’d definitely do this race again and would recommend it if you’re in the area.
Its fun to see comments about a race you did. I haven’t done many. I’m glad I didn’t tell any lies about having to wrestle a gator or anything.
You mean this guy?
… hmmmm… keep putting a picture of an aligator swimming w/ a deer in here but keep getting a green frown face in its place. Any computer-type know what I’m doing wrong?
About cried on the downhill… For each of the climbs I just kept thinking about the miles and miles of easy riding to come; only to give back everything on one hill. Guess it will make me ready for LP this summer…
I have to give a slightly different race report than the others have posted.
The water was dark due to tanin from the oak trees. Like almost all Georgia lakes are colored. The lake is a very clean lake. Last year was a two loop swim and if you are a fast swimmer, you could catch the latter waves very easily. This year, its a single lap to cover the 1.2 miles.
The run to T1 was across some deep sand and then up a hill. But, it was the most spacious transition area I had seen. There were only 4 bikes per rack. I’ve seen other race directors put as many as 10 bikes on a rack. It was nice to have so much room.
The bike was up and down for the entire 56 miles, but no real hard climbs. I was out of the saddle about 12 times and used my small ring twice. I averaged a little better than 20 mph. One hill has a 300 ft climb. Other than that its mostly just rollers. There are no switchbacks on the hills, so you can fly as fast as you want on the downhills, which will carry you almost half way up the next hill. There were problems w/ pack riders drafting. But, what race is without that issue.
The run was hot. Damn hot. Its hard for me to describe the run course as hilly. I considered it a gradual incline as you ran away from the lake. Then you hit the turn around and gradually run back. I didn’t think the mild hills on the run were the issue. The heat index was the issue.
I never noticed them running out of water or ice. The issue with the run aid stations was that the volunteers got overwhelmed. The run was a twice out and back. There were only 3 aid stationsfor the entire 13.1 miles. So, that meant you had to use the same aid station as many as 4 times. Well, the shear numbers of athletes wanting water at the same time overwhelmed the volunteers. The race director has changed the run course to an out and back w/ a loop. Much like Gulf Coast half IM is. It goes through a private neighborhood that appears shaded. I was going to run the new course on a recent trip through the area, but the private neighborhood guards would not let me past the main gate. Sometime before June, i’ll jump a fense and run the course.
Having said all that, I really enjoyed the event. The race director really cares about the quality of the event. The number one complaint from last year was that he didn’t provide finisher’s medals. He’s supplying them this year. That shows that he’s listening to the athletes and making changes for better.
you tried to do copy shortcut. Right click pic, then right click properties at the bottom, then copy the short cut should work.
Thanks for all the info. Sounds like a good practice run for Wisconsin. I was afraid it would be flat. PR will have to wait until Muncie then.