I am planning on doing the st. croix half this may. Has anybody here done it before, and if so, what are your impressions of “the beast” and of the overall race.
thanks
bump - be real interested in the logistics + costs of doing the race (flights, hotel, etc)
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This is one of those treads that come up every year so there is tons of past history to search. St Croix was my first triathlon 3 years ago and I had a blast. I would highly recommend the race. As for the beast, the bigger problem are the trade winds that you face after you have completing the beast. As the race director said in our race meeting “everyone knows the beast at mile… after that the race gets challenging.”
One of the largest challenges is acclimating to the tropical (Heat & Humidity) climate so early in the season.
We rented a house with another couple. I would highly recommend that. Others have recommended staying at the Buc which is on the run course.
Do it and have a great race.
I did it this past May and it was my first half or anything over a sprint distance. I did the half at Cleremont just recently and beat my time in St. Croix by 50+ minutes. I have no real hills to train on, so take that into account. People told me there was just one hill and nothing else to worry about. By the time I got to the Beast my legs were toast. After the Beast and some more mystery hills you had a good stretch directly into the Trade Winds, approx. 20-25MPH. The run had some pretty good hills on it also. The race absolutely wooped me. I want to go back though!!!
Getting there and back was interesting. It wasnt that bad though. When I go back I will stay at one of the hotels near the start/finish not at thehost hotel that was on the other side of the island. You are pretty isolated out there and the taxis are not cheap. Everytime we went somewhere it was $8-10/person and that was in a van that held upto 10 people.
Some of the people I went with had some issues with the staff at our hotel and at other establishments. A few times I had issues with bad service but overall was not to disappointed. I do tend to be overly nice to people so maybe that helped.
The race was well run and the support from the locals was outstanding.
I will go back!!!
Edit: I heard the Bucaneer was a good place to stay also. It is close to the start/finish.
Here’s a great race report written by a friend of mine who qualified for Kona at St Croix last year. http://www.xtri.com/article.asp?id=1482
Thanks for the info from all of you. I am fairly new to this forum and I did eventually find some past threads about st. croix. I chose this course because I wanted to really challenge myself this year. My parents are funding the trip and race entry for my college graduation present, so I wanted to pick a race that I knew I would remember. I’m sure that it will live up to all of the hype that surrounds the race. Look forward to more info from other’s who have done this race, and I will follow up when I finish.
It was my first tri ever and I loved it. The beast was as advertised and given that I train in super flat chicago I found it really tough. The entire bike course was tough but scenic. I got there fairly early so by the time the race came around I’d already taken my bike up every hill on the course so I was mentally prepared and felt pretty good going into the run.
We stayed at the host hotel and the service was terrible but we had our own kitchen so we saved some money that way and the room was fine, it just never got cleaned while we were there but luckily we weren’t super messy. We also rented a car and while it was a little more than what you’d pay in the US I think it was worth it not to rely on the taxis and in the end we probably saved a lot of money. Some friends stayed at the Buccaneer and they loved it. The run goes through the golf course of the Buccaneer so you are very tempted just to stop the insanity and go join the other tourists at the pool.
Hello CB ;>)
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You will love the race - the island - the community and the athletes! Be ready for heat and hills - GREAT after race party at the Divi Resort. Lots of beer and RUM.
The swim is beautiful - you will see fish and corral the entire 1.2 miles - Bike is a bitch - run has some nice little hills and lots of heat. Crowd is very into the race.
They have a live radio broadcast during the race and it goes out over the internet.
See you there. Z
don’t swim into jellyfish and stay focused when in aero positions…roads are not the best and…well…I crashed in that race. Other than that a great race and the Beast is not that bad, short & sweet. Make sure you bring the right gears for you and if you ride some steeper hills you will be fine.
good luck!
I did the race in 2003 and 2004 and will be going back this year. other than Hawaii this is my favorite race. the course is as beautiful and interesting as it is difficult. the Buccaneer is a great place to stay. It has nice beaches and a great included breakfast buffet with stunning view overlooking Christiansted Harbor. I wouldn’t stay anywhere else. it’s just a short cab ride or bike ride into town. You really don’t need to rent a car.
As others have said, the beast is very steep but not that long. You are up it before you know it. The toughest part of the course comes after the beast. I had an 11-23 which was fine but it would have been better to have one lower bail out gear. The course has Hawaii like conditions only tougher. The hills are steeper and more of them and the winds can be as bad. And it’s hot. Very hot.
I love the race and can’t wait till May 7th.