Morgantown, WV 1st year race 1/2 Ironman and OD. $25,000 purse for the pros in the 1/2 Ironman and the city really got into it. I did the OD distance. The good and the bad:
Good:
Transition area: On the bottom floor of a parking garage. This was a big plus since it was 80 by 6:30 AM. A nice cool area to set up and keep out of the sun.
Swim Course: Slow due to the upstream current but well marked and away from the sun. Basically point to point. Ran up a steep 40 meter hill to T-1.
Run: Shaded out and back for the Olympic and dead flat. The 1/2 Ironman had some nasty hills. One was about a mile long.
Post Race: Got results up very fast with splits, awards done in an expedient way.
Bike Course: This course could become a triathlon classic. One loop for the OD, two plus extra added on for the 1/2. Lots and lots of hills. The course was a bigger challenge than the Olympic at Columbia or Wildflower. Long View Hill, the big climb is around a mile and steep. Some technical downhill turns.
Bad:
Bike Course: The road was not in great shape. Lot of pot holes and dangerous tire eating cracks. Three rail road tracks to cross. The RD did a good job of marking the bad spots but I had to laugh at times when the whole road was circled in orange. Gravel on the course and the turns were pretty dirty. I’m thinking the ride was about a mile to 1.5 mile over 40k as well.
Ref’s: Did not see any. My husband said he saw some packs coming in off the bike course.
Run: No ice and the water was too warm at aid stations. Not fun on a 90+ degree run. One of the worst runs I have ever had since the legs were just used up from the bike and overheating became a big problem.
Overall a good race, well organized.