Any comparisons to domestic half IMs in terms of difficulty?
Well worth doing. Beautiful course, but much more difficult than any others.
first let me say that I might be the wrong person to take this kind of advise from but here it is anyway … I have completed only 3 half’s so far …st coix was my first and then I did mooseman and timberman in NH. St. Croix took me 1:10 more than Timberman … I thought St. Croix was 5 times harder than the other two races I did. I loved the two races I did in NH but I wont be going back to St. Croix again and here is why …
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The ocean was really rough and part of the swim was next to this wall which the waves would hit after passing you once and then come and pound you from the other side … im not a good swimmer so this along with the shark factor kind of made for a bad swim for me …it took me 10 extra minutes. That being said I did have a good swim there 3 days before the race and there was a bit of a storm the morning of the race which all played a part in this.
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The bike was a b**** … coming from NY I didnt have much time to train due to the long winter and no matter how much time you spend on the CT or trainer you just cant prepare enough to ride those hills in with nasty winds against you. If you are from some where with a mild winter this obviously would not be a problem … but dont let anyone tell you the hills arent that bad and the wind isnt that bad because it is. The beast sucks but it is not the only hard part … the beast only sets you up for the beating you will get from the winds and the rest of the hills.
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The roads werent so great … there were a lot of spots on the bike course that had rough pavement and there were a bunch of speed bumps.
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The run was pretty uneventful … it was a bit hilly but after the run i was so beat that i hardly noticed the run.
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The heat and humidity were oppressive … i mean i got burnt (which i realize was my own fault) SO bad … and i felt sick and cramped the whole time I raced.
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St . Croix is pretty but I have been to a lot of places that are much prettier and the course is so tough that its hard to appreciate where you are while you are racing.
Im sure there are a ton of people that will disagree but its just my opinion.
I thought it was an incredibly tough course (my coach told me going in that it physically it’s like doing 3/4 of an Ironman). The bike course is hilly in the first half and of course there is “the beast” which easily lives up to it’s name and this year there were headwinds on the second half. The run is 2 loops through a golf course with lots of rolling hills and and one fairly significant hill. And it’s hot. No amount of sun screen kept me from getting a nasty sun burn. However, I loved the race. The island is beautiful and the bike course is very scenic. It draws a pretty hard core crowd but a very friendly crowd. The island is essentially taken over by people there for the race and the island does a good job of making you feel welcome. I also thought getting my bike there would be a lot more difficult than it was. I had no problems.
I read “I thought it was an incredibly tough course” then looked at your username and laughed OUTLOUD. Had to share, carry on. 
I know it’s a tough course if the bike and run are so hard I forget about the swim. Normally the swim makes or breaks a race for me and with St. Croix the swim was just something to get through before getting on the bike.
Very tough race but awesome. I love that race. Probably the best bike course of any race. The Beast is only a warm up. If you go stay at The Buccaneer, it’s awesome. You may see me there…again.
If you are triathlon St.Croix is a must do! At least once in your life… This race has been raced by the greatest in Triathlon and it’s been around for so long. The course is challenging and conditions are similar to Kona (hot and humid) not that I have been in Hawaii but the comments that I heard from many pros you have raced. Another thing that makes this race hard it’s because it’s really early in the year, if you are like me that live in the North America (Canada), I only had a chance to ride 2 weeks outside before the race.
-Alex
Hercules…so how does St Croix compare to the Wildflower course. Is it 20% tougher ? 50% tougher. I’m OK with heat, and humidity . So if you took those out of the equation, which course (topographically and wind wise) is tougher ?
MTL/Alex…I am seriously considering going. Either that or Half Monaco or an IronTour in the Alpes (one trip, too many decisions…). By the way, will you be out at Esprit working for Pierre Lavioe’s foundation ?
Dev
"“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure … than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” T. Roosevelt "
St Croix sounds like a race you boy, Teddy, would love! Or am I missing something. You finished, yeah? All the more sweeter that it was such a bitch. Me? I’m still looking for a race where the swim is downstream in a bathtub smooth river. The Bike is dowhill with a stiff tailwind and the Run is over soft grass and under sheltering shade trees and also downhill 
Dev,
I will be working for both the ESPRIT organization and Pierre… I don’t know how I will be able to sell all those bracelets but I guess there’s will be a small down time during all the events… I can’t tell you exactly what I will be doing at the ESPRIT because I don’t know my assignment yet…
You need to go to St.Croix… and at least sit on the “BEAST”!!!
Something that I forgot to add is if you look on my previous picture you can see the road surface not exactly the smoothest one, it will slow you down but also will beat you up after 56mi…
-Alex
Alex, very cool shot. Clearly a hill requiring a 34x25 (or smaller)…
I will see you in Montreal for Esprit half. St. Croix, the old Nice and Zofingen have always been on my list of “classics” that I want to do. Although Monaco half is not the same as the old Nice, it is the terrain on the Cote d’Azur that is a big draw. As I posted elsewhere, I bike toured in Europe every year from 84-88 and I made sure that I hit my favourite spots on the Cote d’Azur. Running on the F1 track in Monte Carlo would be very cool. One year, I ended up in Monte Carlo the day after the F1 race and I got to ride all around the “track” with all the cool signs set up. Aside from that, my wife and I went to the Cote d’Azur for our honeymoon in 94, so my sentimental side pulls me towards Monaco half, but getting away from Ottawa in early May to the Islands is equally appealing. I think I will wait until the reality of winter hits me in mid Dec before I make any decisions.
Dev
Rob, thanks. I did Wildflower in “another era” when I could run 1:28 on that course. I don’t think I can run 1:28 fresh these days :-). I’m keen to do St. Croix in the next few years some time. Its a “limited vacation and money” thing, in that I have to pick one trip for 2006. So far, I am leaning towards Monaco Half
4:43 at Wildflower 96 allowed me to squeeze in a few second ahead of PNF. First and last time, that was going to happen, and I only had 800K on the bike that year (but lots of XC skiing). From the sound of things, I would be happy to break 5:20 in STX.
Dev,
Contact the race organizer for a homestay in St.Croix. I was really lucky when I went I stayed with a couple that were in the real estate so I ended in a really nice villa. They drove me around the whole course. We went out on a little boat trip and they even lend me there car for the night of the awards (watch out they drive in the other side of the road…yikes!!!). We had all breakfast and lunch at their house free… Just bring some little souvenir to them when you arrive in exchange. This end out to be one of the best outside the country trip I had…(not very expensive also, it was less then $1000cdn race entry + airplane + diner on the island for a full week + race souvenir)…
Dev, comparing our recent race times, I’m predicting a 4:53 for you. I’m serious, braking the five should be the goal for you.
Stefan