Hits ocala review

Triathlon Forum
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I normally do not write public race reports but with a good bit a talk on the HITS series going on I thought I would chime in and talk about my perspective on the Ocala event yesterday. I raced the half and ended up 2nd overall…had decent race…so will try not to let my positive race outcome influence my judgment of the race it’s self. I will try to make this a review of the race its self as opposed to a personal performance race report. however some of my very few issues with the race are probably a result of where I was in the race…which I will discuss further.

Total time: 4:18:46
S: 32
B: 2:20:09
R: 1:23.03

I feel the distances where all spot on accurate according to Garmin and SRM
I had no idea what to expect going into this event as I really knew nothing of their tri series, and honestly I picked this raced based on the calendar rather than the actual location or series.

My overall impression from the event is a positive one. It was a very well run race for a first time event in a new location and feel the staff as a whole was working very hard to make it a positive experience for all athletes. With a smaller field it had a nice relaxed feeling and conveniences that only occur at smaller races… I was able to park about 100yrds from transition and finish line, which is very nice on race morning. Despite the small race feel however it maintained a serious professionally put on event atmosphere. The transition area for example was fantastic. It was very well laid out and had a very smooth flow to it. The physical transition racks themselves where a really nice surprise! Not your typical shaky steel “rack,” style you see at many events. They use the nice on the ground wheel slot style with wetsuit bucket style. Each area had a comfortable well-spaced area with a small stool for each athlete.

The race organizers were very accommodating and helpful pre-race answering questions, etc. For example the race owner was patient and took time race morning to speak with and answer my girlfriend’s questions.

The swim was great, clear 72deg water etc. no issues.

The bike course was legit for a Florida bike course…nice rolling terrain on rural winding roads…not your typical straight flat speedway like a lot of FL courses. The pavement condition was great for the majority of the course as well. The only drawback to the bike course in my opinion was that one of the intersections was “at your own risk,” as the course was open to traffic….but most serious intersections had police traffic guards. Another issue I heard people complaining about was that a good portion of the bike was through hardcore FL trailer park country…but this had no effect on the actual bike course.

Transition area was easily navigable and very smooth flowing…

The run course began on shaded trail loop for the first 3.x miles. The shade and trail portion I liked a lot but the “hard packed dirt surface,” was interspersed with some pretty soft sandy areas as well. Not a huge issue by any means just slowed your pace down a bit and stressed the lower legs a bit more. After the 3miles trail section the run exits the woods and continues on pavement for the rest of the run. I was honestly a bit surprised at the terrain of the run. No real crazy step hills but a good combination of false flats and rolling terrain.
The entire course was well laid out and easy to follow

The aid stations on the run are my only real complaint for the entire race. The good majority of the stations where simply not ready. I think the first one I utilized at mile 4 or 5 was literally filling drink cups as I was arriving… and this was not due to being backed up as I was literally one of the first runners. At the next station when I yelled for coke they where opening a fresh bottle (full fizz) and pouring it into a cup, again as I arrived. Being one of the first runners to come through probably contributed to the “not ready,” issue. This was not the volunteer’s vault but most likely a case of not getting a good enough tutorial prior to the event.

The finish area was relaxed and festive. The food was a pretty good variety of typical post race food…Still better than most IM brand events.

The photography was top rate as well. While I did not order any pics there was as a lots of photogs. and several pics of each athlete during each leg of the race. There was an on sight trailer filled with about a dozen computers to view the days race photos, which was pretty neat.

The timing was fast and efficient with results physically posted promptly on sight and from what family tells me results where available online almost immediately…apparently HITS also a nice twitter feed of the event going.

The staff was very interested in athlete input and opinions post race and where very receptive to suggestions and comments. Everyone on staff was very professional and pleasant

Overall I was very pleased with the HITS org. and feel I got my entry fees worth. In quality of experience to me it ranks right up there just about any other race series I’ve done.

I think the main problem facing the HITS series comes from people judging it before doing one. I hate this mentality!
Just about everyone I spoke to doing HITS for the first time yesterday felt the same way.

Aside from a free beer post race I cant really think of much more I would want from them.
I honestly really hope them the best and personally will have no hesitation signing up for another of their events in the future if it fits my schedule.

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feel I got my entry fees worth. In quality of experience to me it ranks right up there just about any other race series I’ve done.

Hello!

I will chime in on this one, since I was there, too. First, Congratulations, Placid Pirate! It was a hot and windy day!

My overall impression was good, too, considering what I had heard. I do like small, hometown races, and this one is definitely at that level. The niceties of having a close transition, spectators moving freely, being able to talk to the race director, etc. etc. are very comforting. In addition, they had built their own bike racks for transition, which were very convenient and left enough room for everyone. AND they had a stool for everyone (very nice).

I rather liked the bike course, EXCEPT where it went through town. I had to slow for cars, who were slowing for bikers ahead of them. With such a small road on a small town, there was no room (shoulder for me) for all of us to be on the road. This was very frustrating as I was trying to gain momentum, only to have to slow down in a race? Hopefully this only happened to me.

Like I said, overall impression was that of a nice, hometown race. What I disagree with you about is "…** feel I got my entry fees worth. In quality of experience to me it ranks right up there just about any other race series I’ve done. "**

HITS is as high-priced (and higher) than the other brands out there, but DOES NOT provide the same level of quality.

  • The volunteer/support force is probably my biggest gripe: There was only ONE volunteer per aid station. That’s it. On the bike and run. While the support people (I will call them that b/c I don’t think they were true volunteers, which is fine), they were helpful, but they can’t do it all by themselves, even with only 100 racers. God forbid, you would be coming through on the bike at the same time as someone else, cuz one of you would be SOL and if you wanted anything other than water or heed, you would probably have to stop. As the run went on, with more people on the run, it turned into a serve-yourself at the aid stations and they weren’t ready with adequate water, etc. At the pre-race meeting, the race director mentioned that “we should carry our own stuff and they were really just there for backup”, I wasn’t too sure how I felt about that statement. For $250, I shouldn’t have to carry anything, if I don’t want to.

  • NO TIME CLOCKS: Anywhere. Not in T1, T2 and not even at the finish. I asked the guy in timing what the race clock time was when I rolled into T2 from the bike and he didn’t know what the race time was even. Additionally, I had to wait for over an hour just to find out what time I finished in. And the timing was not spot-on when I finished, in fact the lady was repeatedly quite rude to me and other racers who were getting asking for their times. Just have a race clock out at the finish, that’s all I am asking.

  • SWAG. A shirt with a logo, that’s it.

  • THE MEDAL. Again, a generic medal with a HITS Triathlon finisher sticker on it. That’s it. No location, no date and not even a distance (they probably gave the same medal to the Open finishers). It was a big let down. I traveled to this race and wanted some sort of keepsake memory of it.

  • POST-RACE food. Nothing other than bagels and fruit. No post race meal. For pete sakes, order in pizza or burritos or something with a little protein and such for your people to help jump start the recovery process. There were some racers out there over 8 hours! I have never been to a half that doesn’t offer some sort of “meal” option after, even if it is just a half of a sandwich.

**Regardless of the negativeness that I just posted, I really don’t have a problem with this race other than the PRICE. **Currently, it is a good, hometown race, which will/could grow into a great race, in general. It is my impression that HITS got into this business b/c IM was taking over and they wanted to make the races more accessible, but they don’t. They don’t offer the same level of quality and should be priced that way. Will/could they grow into it? Sure. But then will the prices just go up from there? At first, I thought I was being too harsh, but in contrast, I did race Rev3 Knoxville half their first year and the opposite was true, with plenty of support, volunteers, swag, etc. so it can be done, it just costs $ – which I don’t think HITS is willing to give up.

So, there’s my two cents. It was a good training race for me, but worth $250? I would rather spend that on a Rev3, whom I know will take care of my racing needs and not short-change me. While I am glad to see that HITS seems to have overcome the major safety concerns posted about other races, *it seems like HITS, while saying they want to make the sport more accessible, is just trying to reap a profit. *

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True…i had actually forgot about the entry fee.

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I live somewhat local to the race and passed on it because of the entry fee. I think for start up races they need to prove their value before they charge as much as IM events. Get some momentum like Rev3 before you slowly raise the price.

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I did the HITS in Corpus Christi in February. I agree that the race and everything that went along with it was not perfect. My only real complaint was the aid/ water stations. They needed more I thought and Yes, a clock is a must for future events. But, I thought as a whole, it was a fantastic event. I loved the smaller feel of it as was pointed out earlier. Yes, parking was close, easy to get around and everyone was generally helpful and did their best to make this a Great event. I will definitely sign up again for Corpus in 2013. I think more people should try to support this series. It will only make it better in the future for all of us.

6

Nice race.

Now that I think about it more and after looking at the swim times they were pretty slow. Was everyone just suffering from a slow swim or was the course a little long? I know the swim time included that small sandy uphill run into T1, but I’m not sure if it added on that much extra time.

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Does anyone care that the HITS series does not have USAT draft marshals on the course?

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Does anyone care that the HITS series does not have USAT draft marshals on the course?

It didn’t bother me. Comes back down to that local/backwoods race feeling. With nothing on the line for the finishers, it’s really about your own race. If a person wants to cheat, that’s their issue. Once HITS gets bigger and the fields are deeper, yeah maybe incorporating marshals would be a good idea.

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thanks for writing that review. I just signed up for their hunter mountain 1/2 and I am very optimistic.

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Thanks…
yeah I thought the swim was a bit long…no including the uphill run part to transition.

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I can understand a gripe with price but at least HITS gives you an early bird entry fee option. Good luck getting that with any IM event! I just completed IMFL one month ago and found out that that prices have gone up for 2014, hence my interest in doing a HITS race.

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HITS did away with their early bird option that they had in 2013. For example - the full is $300 for the early bird now (was $150).