I am doing the Mussleman half next month and wanted to know what course was like (i think a few changes from last year) On the website the have a bike and run profile, but that really means nothing to me i can’t translate that into real life
thanks in advance.
I did it last year and thought it was really a nice event. The beginning of the swim had a few logistical issues which I believe they’ve ironed out. The run course was much harder than I anticipated (very hilly), but o’all it’s definitely be a race I’d recommend.
As you mention, they supposedly did make some changes to the course, but for what it’s worth, my race report from '04 is posted here if you’re curious:
http://personalbestnutrition.com/cgi-bin/forum/YaBB.cgi?board=2;action=display;num=1098845607
i live in rochester (about 40 minutes away) and rode the course on saturday. i’d say rolling hills - nothing to steep or long. but no big downhills for breaks either. overall a very fair course. don’t know about the run. also, both times i’ve been there to train, i’ve been hit with wind coming off the lake. nothing terrible but enough to give it some thought.
Hi,
I raced the Musselman half last year and will be there again this year. The bike course is nice…great views of Lake Seneca and Lake Cayuga and just a one climb of any significance about 20 or miles in. The run is more challenging, as Brian mentioned. There is a pretty tough hill in the middle of the run. It isn’t real long, but there isn’t much shade during this part and if the sun is out, it’ll feel really hot.
The turnout looks to be good this year. I just looked at the website and saw that 444 people have signed up for the half.
Good luck…maybe I’ll see you there.
Cheers,
Matt
The issue with the swim course is that the lake is pretty shallow for several hundred yards from shore. We all had to slog throuogh the water until it was deep enough to swim. There were also troughs thatgave you the impression that it was deep enough, so people were diving in and then popping back up to run some more. My gf said it looked like hundreds of black dolphins leaping through the water. You also had to be careful because zebra mussels could slice your feet. I got a small cut on one foot.
Jeff moved the swim start farther out to avoid this problem. I’m signed up for the sprint, I chickened out on the HIM (again).
Overall, I thought it was great, that’s why I’m coming back. I heard lots of people turned out in town to cheer on the runners and one little girl played violin as people ran by.