It was recently announced that the inaugural Atlantic Coast Triathon would be held at Amelia Island on Oct 4th.
For the record I do not work for DRC Sports but let me say for the record that Chris Moling and crew are the best at what they do and that is putting on high quality Multisport events. I moved to Florida in 2001 and remember the days when his races had less than 50 entrants. Now he regularly gets 300+ at his Crystal River Races and attracts the likes of Spencer Smith and Evan Evans as well as some of the top local age groupers in the state.
Please get the word out as well as consider coming to what could possibly become the race to do!
Below is some info I swiped off the Tri Juice website. DRC Sports can be found at www.drcsports.com :
A new Fall 1/2 iron distance triathlon event has been added to the 2008 triathlon calendar in northeast tip of Florida. The new Atlantic Coast Triathlon is set to take place on Amelia Island in early October and is being setup by DRC Sports.
Triathlon: ** Atlantic Coast Triathlon at Amelia Island**
When: Saturday, October 4, 2008 @ 7:30 AM
Where: Fernandina Beach, Florida, USA
Divisions: Age Group, Relays
Website: www.drcsports.com
The triathlon will consist of a 1.2 mile swim in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean from the main beach in Fernandina Beach. (Wetsuits will most likely be optional as expected water temperature is around 76 degrees.) Then a 56 mile bike ride thru scenic Amelia Island on a flat and fast course and finish with a 13.1 mile out and back run that should have plenty of shade.
The race will be limited to 800 triathletes and will feature relay teams.
Awards will be given to the Top 3 Overall Male, Female, Masters, then 5 deep in each 5 year Age Group, Clydesdale (Men 200+lbs), Athena (Women 150+ lbs), Fat Tire (Mtn Bike) and Top 3 Relay Teams.
Registration will be available via mail and active.com, see the website for specific details. The entry fees are as follows; make sure to register early for this new triathlon event as prices go up after July and because this is a limit of 800 athletes for this race. Before July 15
Individual $160 (USAT) and $170 (Non-USAT)
Relay Team $320 (USAT) and $350 (Non-USAT) After July 15
Individual $185 (USAT) and $195 (Non-USAT)
Relay Team $370 (USAT) and $400 (Non-USAT) After August 15
The Course Maps have been posted for the Atlantic Coast Half. As expected, flat except for the causeway bridge on the bike and relatively shaded run through the state park. should be great.
I spoke with Chris this weekend at the Crystal River Tri and he said that the half may hit 500 entries and possibly 200 for the Olympic distance being held the same day. Not a bad turn out for an new half iron distnace without significant branding. Definitely worth checking out:
I signed up for this race back when it was first posted on the DRC website. I have done several of the sprint triathlons put on by DRC Sports which are held at Little Talbot Island just north of Jacksonville. Chris Moling and his group do a great job and I am looking forward to doing the ACT at Amelia Island.
They quitely also added an Olympic distance race to the event called AmeliaMan Olympic Distance at Amelia Island
Saturday October 4, 2008.
First Wave Start at 7:30 a.m.
Where:
Main Beach Park
99 N Fletcher Ave
Fernandina Beach , FL 32034
Course:
SWIM 1.5K (.93 Miles) In the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean (beach start) with a fresh water shower into transition #1. Swim caps are provided in your race packet and are REQUIRED during the swim.
BIKE 40K (24.7 Miles) Flat (Except for the bridge), fast course thru the scenic Amelia Island on N.E. Florida’s beautiful Atlantic coast.
RUN 10K (6.2 Miles) Out & back with water stations at mile marks. The run course is through tree covered Fort Clinch with plenty of shade.
I agree that registering after Aug 15 has become painful and I questioned it as well but Chris tries to price this as fairly as possible with other races. I simply looked at it from how much the 70.3 at Disney sets me back which is way more even if you’re the first Mofo in line.
The Amelia Man will be a great race as well. If anybody has ever done his Jax or Crystal River races they know that they produce great races. The goody bags etc should be well equipped as well.
Just checked and the participant list is finally up for the half iron distance. It looks as if there are less than 150 signed up so far; didn’t think to check to see how many are doing the olympic distance. Maybe the masses with all the money are waiting till the last minute to sign up.
It’s likely that many are like me in that we’ll make sure training goes well and a hurricane isn’t overflying jacksonville before plunking down a massive entry fee. I’m also doing WDW oly next week and the Beach Blast oly the week after so going to use those as a fitness gauge to see if I can step up to HIM again.
But yeah, hurricanes wiping out non refundable events is getting real old…
Edit: 135 in the HIM, 104 in the oly as of 9/12
My first and only HIM prior was the 2k+ entrants at Florida 70.3 at WDW, this small a race should be pretty bizarre!
I’m speaking for Chris or DRC with respect to non refundable events…But in the past when the weather has impacted the race and he had to cancel or reschedule he was always very good about working with the entrant on transferring the entry fee to another event, rescheduling and in some cases a refund. Chris is a straight up kind of guy and always errors on the customers needs as long as they are being resonable.
I hope those sitting on the fence pull the trigger and sign up. He sold out his last two Sprint tri’s so his turn out at Jax has been very good.
Here we are in race week, and I ran out of excuses, so I pulled the trigger. Weather looks good, wetsuit legal even, and my last two weeks of races went well. See you all at the start!
Edit: 129 in the oly and 151 (make that 152) in the HIM, last updated 9/24 tho I’m sure a bunch of last minute people like me have registered since then
“I’m speaking for Chris or DRC with respect to non refundable events…”
I checked in on this post and re-read my last post which began with the above statement. My Homer Simpson typing skills and love of beer had me omitting the word 'not between the ‘I’m’ and the ‘speaking’
That being said, I hope the entries have picked up in the final week as well. Assuming no wind or rain it will be a great course and should be a fast one.
Do any of you have reports on the race? How was it first time around? I’m laying out my schedule for 09 and want a late summer/fall HIM in FL and for the lack of hills (Clermont) and lack of elephant dung (Miami Man) this seems like a good bet. Any reports from the race would be much appreciated.
I did the Oly. Organization and venue were excellent. Great support throughout the bike and run course. Swim should/could have been better. It was a triangle out, up and back. Current played havoc with 1/2 guys as the first leg for them was against a north courrent and they were corraled to go against it. I think the whole 1st two sets missed the first bouy. Afterwards, most planned better and I think the Oly was easier as we lined up much better. I suggest to organizor a point to point. We will see. Bike cousre was very well marked and supported. Flat except for bridge onto island. (and back). The location was great for wife who does not compete. Great little Downtown area. Run was in a park area and except for one small area on the OLY and not sure of the 1/2 shady. Medical tent was full after teh 1/2. Some jeely fish stings including me. Wet suit legal swim.
I did the Mallrat Du that DRC held. It was the 4th and final Mallrat, so those that missed it, it was an awesome race. Chris and the DRC crew put on an awesome event. Im really looking forward to hitting up some of his other events, like the Crystal River tri series and the greater gator duathlon. For those that live in and around citrus county florida, the citrus roadrunners is also an awesome group, led by none other than Mr. Moling himself. If any of you get the chance, you need to drop the hammer on a DRC Sports race.
I would have to agree with his summary as I competed in the half. Well I wouldn’t say competed. My hydration was screwed up and I began to fade at mile 40 of the bike and ended up waling the first 5 miles of the run. That’s a story for another day though. Other than the swim being a challenge the venue, course accommodations, pre race, post race, etc was top notch. The pre race dinner was so so, but that is the norm.
The swim for the half was standard triangle. The current was a pain but oh well, everyone else had to deal with it. Maybe a 2 lap swim on a smaller course would be better. Sighting was tougher for me than the current personally. I would also warn you that at thsi time of the year, wetsuits are borderline and though they were legal I wish I had not worn one as I was severely over heated when I came out of the water. Its a personal call but with it being salt water I’ll go one piece next time.
The bike course was flat but scenic and most of the time you had a shoulder to ride on as it was an open course. The south end of the course will be a bear if the winds show up at the next race as it is out in the open for about a 1/3 of the course. Every turn was clearly marked and usually had 2-3 people at it. Bottle change outs every 10-12 miles.
The run course was probably the best facet of the race (And mine stunk, and I’m not a great runner to begin with). Only a few miles of unbroken sunshine and the rest on canopy roads with lots of shade. The water stations on both the bike and run were filled with volunteers who got you what you needed and kept the motivation high. Many got into the spirit with themed water stations, or wore their organizations uniform etc.
To echo mcdoublee, stryker, and my earlier comments I would recommend that you do this or any other of DRC races. Chris’ events remind me of Bill Scott’s Set Up Events back in the early days before he really became a huge success. Set up still puts on the best show around from what I read but back in the 90’s when he was just getting going they were always relaxed, fun, family affairs, but always professionally executed. That decribes DRC events to a T. Sommer Sports was once the premier event shop and Chris is working hard to fill that void.
I’m also doing WDW oly next week and the Beach Blast oly the week after so going to use those as a fitness gauge to see if I can step up to HIM again.