Elements Events finally got the results posted for the Sprint on Sunday. Seems like most times dropped by 2-3 minutes from the original, non-split times to the final, split times. Anecdotally it seems to be the swim leg that was wrong, and resulted in the shortened final times.
Giving proper lee-way to it being a first year event, this one needs work. Aside from the glacial pace of getting results, the run course included markings from another race (saw at least two people short-cut the run each lap based on the bad markings), riding through the packed parking lot was un-nerving, and drafting was rampant. They should have taken some of the hordes of volunteers guarding the T-zone and put them on the course to nail the pace-lines. 150 men starting in the same wave? Gimme a break…
Hopefully their other events can learn from this one. It was nice to have something local this weekend, but too much hassle to put up with for a Sprint.
Sounds like a few issues. But at least you had better weather then the Novi Island Lake race the week earlier. Think I will stick with Novi one for now.
I was a spectator and talked with quite a few participants afterwards and from what I heard, most of the feedback on this first time event was mostly positive. The event had quite a few first-timers, but there was a good showing by many of the top local triathletes.
The venue, the transition area and the course looked very good. I agree there are a few things that can be cleaned-up and tweaked (additional waves, a few more volunteers on the run course) but for a new race management company and a new event…they did pretty well. Let the organizers know what they can do to improve the event…I’m sure they are willing to learn and implement changes for 2008.
First and foremost, this post is not meant to be disrespectful towards the person who started this thread. I respect their opinion and I’m confident there’s a lot of validity in the poster’s concerns.
I raced this event as well. I think I’ve raced about 12 triathlons this summer and it’s in my opinion that this event was one of the best events I’ve attended for race year 2007. It’s also my opinion that in the sport of triathlon nothing will ever be perfect. The gold standard race management in this area (again in my opinion) is Elite Endeavors, and even they can’t be 100% perfect. From the swim course, to the bike course aid station, and even to the challenging run course, this event gave participant more than most mature races in this area. Check in was painless, never a porta potty wait, great prizes, awesome food, give aways & shoes to the overall winners! Things I feel are important, The Elements race group covered like pros.
I want to see this race back next year and as a permanent mainstay on the SE Michigan race calendar.
The timing was lagging and is a bit off. It looks like we are missing T-2… I do not feel that is unique to a brand new race. It happens often… And that’s why I always wear a watch.
P.S. Cadence Cycle and New Balance really did a great job sponsoring this event!
I have to say I forgot about Cadence and New Balance. They really DID do a great job as sponsors.
I’ve raced for 15 years so I know that no race is perfect. Even organizers like Elite Endeavors and 3D have their issues. And like I said, due consideration for it being a first-time event. I guess in this case it was a collection of small stuff that kind of soured it overall. Nothing by itself was catastrophic, but it added up.
Heard from the event organizers. They found whatever was wrong with my times and say they will correct them. Hopefully whenever they get them posted it will be to fix everybody’s times and not just mine.
Looking over this expanded information it’s interesting to see 7 or 8 racers (mostly men) who clearly only ran one lap of the run but who didn’t DNF (either that or they bike 16 MPH and run 4 minute miles). One is even in the Top 20 men!