Can anyone give a recommendation or review on the great Floridian full or half? I’m thinking of doing it but I’ve heard some bad things about the event… Such as running out of supplies at the aid stations etc… I have done several races -IMFL, Gulf Coast and several other great events but this will be my wives first race(She wants to do the half) so I would hate to have her hate the experience. She wants to do this one so she can work a Disney trip in :). Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Nice neighborhood race.
Advantages: Convenient to Disney, you can sign up the day before the race, options for 1/2 or relay, theme aid stations on the run, less expensive then Mdot, nice bike course, low key.
Disadvantages: Non Mdot (low key, aid stations simply adequate), not much to do around Clermont proper (aside from Orlando), can be hot/windy/pre-hurricaine…
I’ve done the 1/2 and the full twice. Well maybe the half 3 times I think. Well run, great course (tough) and good support from volunteers. I’ve never heard them runnning out of anything on the course. I’d recommend this race for your wife since its her first 1/2 and its not as big as some of the others.
I love the GFT, but I don’t know if I’d reccommend it for a first IM distance event unless the person wants a challenging course. It’s certainly not the hardest one out there, but it’s still a pretty tough course.
Great race(s), great support on the course, relatively low key, tough course (yes, we have hills in Florida). You may have heard there were some problems with the aid stations, but that was just this last race, prior to Hurrican bloody Wilma nailing Florida, when they may have had a shortage of people available for race duty. I didn’t really notice any shortages, but I believe there was one bike station which wasn’t fully ready when the first riders came through, and one of the early stations on the run had run out of water when I went through, but had a supply on my way back. Overall, it’s a great race, and a lot of first-timers do it. Just be prepared for a tough course.
Cheers
Barry
I agree with what the other posters said. I did it as my first half and I thought it was great. This race was really good for me to do as a first because I am a relatively lousy swimmer and the Lake swim at GFT is pretty mellow compared to the Gulf swim at a race like Gulf Coast.
If I had to think of anything negative to say, I would personally skip the “talent” show at the pasta dinner. The food was really good, but…
We also did it in conjunction with Disney. Combining triathlon with vacations has been a great way to strike a balance with family and racing.
The volunteers are awesome and I look forward to doing this race again.
the 1/2 at Clermont was my first ever in 2004, Loved it so much I came back and did it again in 2005. (my first triathlon ever was in Clermont, early '80s, the folks know triathlons - National training center is a nice benefit if you have extra time) Must concur with prior post - tough bike hills! We made several weekend trips to train on the course both years and truly made a difference on race day. Love the town, it’s one of the few quaint/quiet places left in FL, although the developers are working hard to change that.
I love the Great Floridian. I have done it 4 times and the old september Florida challenge half 3 times. It is defintely hillier than the rest of Florida, but for the most part they are rolling hills, the hilly section through Montverde and Buckhill rd offer downhills prior to the uphills which gives you lots of momentum on the following climb. It can get windy too so be mentally prepared for that too. I have done both IMF and GFT and have found virtually no difference with respect to the aid stations.
I’ve done the GFT for the last 3 years (only the half last year) and found it to be a great race each year. There were some coordination issues this year due to the hurricane, where there was water at some stops but no one to hand it out, and stuff like that. Apparently just less than half of the volunteers “unvolunteered” themselves due to the impending storm.
The swim is flat water but dark because of the tannic acid, the bike is mostly new pavement now (SR19 sucked the last 2 years) but the bike has 4200ft of climbing and several >10% grade sections. This puts it in the realm of IMUSA’s 5200ft (I think) even though it is in “flat” Floriduh. Some have compared it to IMWI because of the continuous rollers. Anyway, the bike course is pretty challenging especially with the normal high winds, but the run has been fixed this year to delete the climb up Hospital/Cardiac Hill. This was at mile 2-3 on the run and is steep enough it’s hard to walk up it.
I’ve also done IMFL and found no substantial differences between them. IMFL ran out of cups at 2 stations in a row last year, and didn’t have vaseline until mile 5…so their races aren’t perfect either. Overall it’s a good race and I’ll be back there again this coming year!
Did it as my first half last year and loved it, it is challenging, but it is fun! I came back and did it this year and it was still fun. Good support from staff/volunteers, great venue! I will continue to do this race.