I’m signing up for Rhode Island IM 70.3 for next July as my goal race. Up to this point (and this is my first summer of tri), I’ve only raced sprint distance but feel confident that with the proper training over the winter and through the spring that I should be just fine.
Anyways, what can everyone tell me about this race? Is this a good first 70.3 (from pics I’ve seen it looks gorgeous and apart from a couple moderate hills its really nothing but rollers)? Am I right on the assumption about the gradient of the race? Any thoughts at all would be great!
I really enjoyed this race. The bike is not that bad, mostly rollers with one steep climb. The bike is actually fast for the first 15-20 miles before you hit the rollers. However, the run is tough with a ridiculous hill, that you run twice, around a quarter to a half mile into the run. It is a bit unique in that it is a point to point race but is well supported and caused me no issues. All in all a very good race that you will enjoy.
I did it this year, it was my first 70.3 that I did, but I did a handful of olympic distance races last year. You should be fine if you train right.
I thought the swim was super easy, but I know a lot of people who were freaking out due to the bigger waves in the morning.
Bike course is hillier then people let on, but you get really long cost time to recover. But you have an insane tail wind for the first like 15-20 miles. Its pretty rough roads the last 4 miles, so don’t have your fav water bottle or you’ll lose it like I did.
The run is brutal, I’ve been told it the toughest 70.3 run course, but if you can hold it together you can fly by people. RD was predicting that maybe 10 - 15% of the people would be able to run the whole course, felt good that I was in that group.
I would love to do this race every year, but going to focus on shorter races next year to build up speed before I head back.
I’m fairly strong on the bike so the hills don’t concern me that much but hearing about how difficult the run is makes me want to go run like right now to start preparing. I know the run is my weakest and plan to focus on that during the winter months.
Thanks for all the feedback and keep it coming. Any other insights are much appreciated!
i think you cant lose by doing this race. it is in a great city, the bike is not bad at all (easy compared to others ive done, savageman and rev3 in CT). the run is manageable, i walked college hill on first lap, ran it in its entirety second. i cramped up bad due to to nutrition mismanagemnt coming off the bike had to stop and stretch then had to hit up port-o-john (again, nutrition mishaps) and still ran a 1:43 and i am not fast at all.
the point to point thing is not a big deal. i would advise getting someone to drive you and your bike down to T1 sunday morning (T1 and T2 are separate locations). racking it saturday is just extra mileage and wasted time, plus beach traffic going down can be a DOWNER.
Best part of race is all the incredible italian restaurants in fed hill, just a stones throw from the host hotel (and many others downtown). I have done a bunch of races and this takes the cake.
as for your worries, train hard, train effectively, and you wont have any worries.
This was one of 5 -70.3s I did in 2009 - it was a great race for sure. Swim was only tough because of the storm that rolled through the night before - made it choppy and hard to sight, but once you made the turn back to shore - the waves helped you in. Bike was not that hard - a few people say it was hilly, but after Rev3 in CT - this was easy. Tailwind out of T1 is sweet, roads were great and the only crappy part was some rough roads when you came back in to the city. Lots of energy as you head into T2 and the crowd was great. The run is tough, not not crazy tough. Looking at my other times, I ran a 1:50 vs. Rev3 (1:51), Timberman (1:51), Pumkinman (1:46) and Nola (2:07) - pretty standard for me. The hills are were people lost time - I ran every one, even made my wife stand there and watch me so I would not walk. Great feeling to power up them and pass tons of people.
We stayed downtown and spent Saturday at the beach, which was nice and relaxing. If you can get a ride to the start and bring your bike, no real need to rack it on Saturday. I got to the expo early on Friday (snuck out of work in Boston and took the commuter rail back and forth), which was nice to have done.
City has some great food and was really nice vibe.
Moving up from sprint to half is not that crazy - just get a good base in over the winter and work on nutrition - that is key for any longer distance race. You should check out Timberman and Pumkinman (ME). Both are great!
A few thoughts:
a) do NOT use the shuttle bus the race morning- if you have to do that, you have to drive your bike down to bike check in on saturday- tons of beach traffic
b) bike course is great, but it is hillier than everyone thinks. there is one steepish climb. do not go into it with your “desert course” gearing, or you will be overgeared for the climbs. last 5 miles of the bike sucks
c) the run course is definetly NOT the hardest 70.3 run course out there (easier that stcroix by a HUGE factor) but it has one really steep shortish hill. by really steep think “stairway”. i saw pros walk it in the first year.
d) the first year they had it it was REALLY hot. then this year it was much less hot (hottish but not brutal)
overall- first year this race REALLY sucked- they had mandatory bike checkin, the wait to get bib #s was like 3 hours long, was a complete logistical disaster. This year it was a pretty good event, everyone had a lot of fun.
If i was in the northeast and i was only going to do one half iron, i woudl rate this one a “B”. I would rate mooseman, timberman, and pumpkinman above this one though.
SWIM: Great ocean swim with the security of breakwaters. You go out almost a half mile, but it feels like you are close to something. The beach is flat and smooth
T1: Nice large beach parking lot that is very well organized. They have (or did in 2008) baby pools as you come off the beach to get most of the sand off. Pack lite for transition area as they ship your stuff up to the finish in downtown Providence T2.
BIKE: Very easy start with a beautiful ride along the coast and under the coast guard tower arch. It goes from being a coastal ride to a country roller (some good hills) to an urban ride where you have to begin to worry about traffic (saw a rider down from gettin hit in 2008) to city roads. There are some tough corners the closer u get to T2, but I was surprised the city portion was nicer than I expected.
T2: Great location for a T2 on the lawns of the Capital looking building of Providence. Easy in and easy out
RUN: You heard it. College hill is the signature of this race. If you are doing this race, you better find a good steep hill to train on. The majority of folks were walking at some point or at a very slow jog. It is a beautiful run through the college part of Providence. You do get some shady areas and it doesn’t feel too stuffy like running around other cities. The finish is awesome; you are returning on a slight up-hill to the Capital building with loads of folks cheering you on.
I skipped it this year due to changing jobs and not getting ready soon enough, but I’ll definitely do it again next year.
If you are looking for an easier Half Ironman in RI (although it has its tough dash to the finish through soft sand) is the FIRMMAN in Narragansett RI. This is more of a coastal race with less traffic. The swim is a little harder since there is no breakwater and you have to go through the surf at the beginning, but the bike is smoother and less hills, and the run is relatively flat with one or two small hills. The last quarter mile is on soft beach sand.
Not much to add about the course, mostly covered in previous posts. Bitchy run. Evryone complains about college hill, but there is a long steady uphill before the turnaround after that as well. Easy bike.
As to checking in your bike, my sister and I did this race this year and really got lucky with our plan. We rented a place near T1 for the week, spent soem time riding the course and did lots of OW swimming because neither of us really gets into the ocean very often. The waves would have freaked me out badly if we did not do this. As I had a chance to figure out how to swim in choppy water, the swim was actually pretty good and I had a PB (Also PB on the bike). We stayed in South RI until Saturday, checked our bikes in, and headed to Providence for Saturday and Sunday night. A little pricey, but my sis wanted a family vacation at the beach, so who was I to say no to a free week on the beach? Of course, now I am stuck paying for the entire shot next year in LP, but it’s only money
I also really enjoyed the last five miles into town. You go from a great beach ride, to a great hilly country ride to a bombed out, nasty city ride. But there is lots of turns, so it kinda feels like a real technical crit. When I got to this section I was racing with three other guys that were about my speed so it was fun passing and repassing.
