I’m training up for my first half IM and I’m now faced with making a decision about which race to do. I live about half way between the Pineman and Atomic Man races which are both being held on the the same day in late September. Which race would be a better race for a first time half IM (and if all goes well, I’ll do the other race the following year…).
thanks,
Andrew
I have only done Atomicman and I do like the race. It is not as well supported as Gulfcoast (maybe 4 or 5 aid stations on the run versus 12 at Gulfcoast), but it is a nice venue with a tough course.
Never done Pineman before.
Herbert
I’ve done Pineman put on by HFP Racing.
Nice venue out in the middle of nowhere, fairly smooth roads, small field, very well run.
Not really that tough of a course. Last year was 2 loop swim, 3 loop bike and 2 loop run.
If you do that one, get a couple of buddies and stay in the lodge or stay in Grove City for less $$.
jaretj
Is Pineman usually wetsuit legal. I believe Atomicman usually is.
o
Pineman would be easier, thus perhaps a better first 1/2. But, it is not that scenic of a tri though. I have not done Atomicman, but it has to be more scenic. Pineman is usually wetsuit legal as well
I did AtomicMan a few years ago, and am iffy on it. The bike course is nice, and fairly challenging, the run course back then sucked. Very few aid stations, very little shade, and through an industrial area. The finish is at the top of a very steep hill in a parking lot, but that is not the transition area. You could not see transition area from the finish, and there didn’t seem to be much in the way of security in transition. Non-participants in there all morning before the race, and no one really checking things after the race to make sure you were walking out with your stuff and not someone else’s. I had a bad race there and thought about going back and settling the score, but keep finding reasons not to do that and doing other races.
It was the last 2 years.
Last year I think the water was around 72°F
jaretj
Atomic Man moved the course from the Uphill finish. It is much better. It rained like crazy during the swim and first part of the bike and I flatted from some derbis from the road. Learned my lesson about not carring tubes on half iron… I dont rememeber if there were aid stations at every mile or not. But I will be there this year!
Did Atomic Man last year, well, started to and crashed on the bike. Okay now though. It is usually wetsuit legal. The problem on the ride is that it is on a 2 lane highway so while the shoulder is mice and wide, there is lots of glass, nuts, nails, etc, etc. It rained bigtime the days preceding last year as well as during the swim and part of the bike. They did sweep the road, but all that was swept off was washed back on. I have never seen so many flats. I flatted which is what caused the fall. It is rolling hills with a doable incline…steady grade so it isn’t gradual and then in the middle of the hill some random steep grade.
Didn’t get to the run. Cop wouldn’t let me leave when I fell, and I understand…small, female, didn’t really know how much I was or wasn’t hurt. He called my hubby on his cell and they came to get me. I emailed the officials this tip: have more medics. The very nice volunteer that came to my aid took nearly 30 minutes to get there and only had a baggie with bandaids in it. Nothing large enough to cover my smallest boo boo. I imagine they will step this up a bit.
It is a GREAT SWIM, the water is fresh and cool and the run is fairly shaded, from what my friends who also did the race advised. I was going to go back and do this one again until I decided to do Lake Barkley full on 9-22-07.
I will go back to do Atomic Man next year hopefully. It is pretty and the people are really nice and helpful.
Tip: Bring toilet paper with you and bring wash cloths/soap/wet wipes and chairs for family and/or friends. It is a big lawn down by the water and near the parking area and there aren’t a ton of places to sit and wait.
I’ve done Pineman the last 4 years. As others have noted, its a fairly easy course. I prefered the old bike course to the new one, but in terms of difficulty, they’re about the same. It was pretty windy last year. The run is usually pretty warm and is 100% exposed with no shade. The swim is often set up along the shore to avoid having to wait for the fog to lift across the lake.
It is a pretty lowkey event but is adequately supported. It used to have a full and 3/4 distance going on at the same time. That added a more epic feel to the race. Overall its a decent half IM. The main reason I kept doing it was because I wanted to get one last longish race in.
There are lots of places to stay if you look around. If you’re coming from the South, you might check out the Amerihost hotels. There are two of them right there on I71. We usually stay at Washington Courthouse. There’s also the lodge and a decent campground also.
It will be wetsuit legal. That water temp always seems to drop below 78 the morning of… 
Was Pineman an iron-distance event the first year with the killer fog, or was it a half?
If I recall correctly, everyone was affected by it. The guys that were doing the full had to cut their swim short because the fog was actually getting worse. They were supposed to do 4 laps and at least some of them had to come out after 2 or 3 laps.
I was doing the Half and they had just decided to pull people out of the water as I finished my swim…
I wanna say that was maybe 2003 or 2004.
is it still iron-distance or only half?
Half, Olympic, and Sprint, now no full IM anymore. Also, Du of each distance as well, so lots of races going on! HFP does a good job of juggling them all for sure.
I’ve done both of them - Pineman in 2004 (the year of the fog) and 2005 and Atomic Man last year. I though Pineman was a little better supported and the course, as others have noted, was a lot easier. But I liked Atomic Man too and will probably do it again this year. The bike course is hilly - it’s hard to avoid hills in East Tennessee - but it wasn’t that bad. And I thought the run was great. For the first part. you were running through a very nice neighborhod with some great views of the mountains. I almost wanted to stop a couple of times just to take in the view. Either way, I think, you can’t go wrong - just depends what you liike for a race course.
can you post a link to pineman? i didn’t find what i was looking for when i googled it.
thanks,
o
I raced Pineman in the old venue. Tough race. I think HFP puts on a good race.
Bernie
I think this is the right page - I’m not sure if they still call it Pineman - it looks like it might now be called the Toyota Challenge…
Thanks everyone for the feedback. At this point, I think I’m leaning towards the Pineman. Form their website, it sounds like they have changed the bike course for this year to flatter and faster - and I’m going to need all the help I can get…