THe man is a machine.
Great photos of the sprint at http://www.derkacsphotography.com/Races/Pumpkinman-Triathlon-091309/9623458_pXccR#P-2-12
I’m sure others will post how the weekend went…but I have to say, I am so incredibly happy with the overall outcome of the entire weekend. The Half Elite field was a NE Championship for sure!!
Big PROPS to our boy kdw, who threw down a SICK time there to take the M40-44 win, and finish solidly in the top 10 OA.
Overall Male Age Group 00:28:48.227 00:02:12.239 02:21:55.586 00:00:46.932 01:25:17.301 04:19:00
Smoked it on the swim, bike AND run.
Big ups to xraycharlie, who completed his first halfie in 5:29:12.329, including a flat tire and unseasonable heat and humidity.
Thanks for a fantastic experience yesterday Kat and letting me into the race so late in the game!
Great race you have going there and I encourage others to give it a whirl, you won’t be let down.
Rob
THe man is a machine.
Great photos of the sprint at http://www.derkacsphotography.com/...9623458_pXccR#P-2-12
I’m sure others will post how the weekend went…but I have to say, I am so incredibly happy with the overall outcome of the entire weekend. The Half Elite field was a NE Championship for sure!!
this was my first half, and let me say a few things about the event:
TOP
FRIGGIN
NOTCH
the site is BEAUTIFUL. Looks like a postcard.
When looking at the bike course, I was worried as the cue card had a lot of roads listed. Well, they had 4-5 volunteers wearing bright orange shirts at each turn with huge flags telling you wear to go. volunteers were top notch.
And for post race food? how about full blown turkey dinner. Real mashed potatoes, everything homemade. Killer.
The top of the field was VERY strong.
IMO, a must do race if you are in the northeast. You GOT to put this race on your calender.
Thanks for putting on a great race! Well-organized, and a very nice course. Also, much appreciation to the locals who turned on their lawn sprinklers for us.
I’ll probably be back again next year.
Big ups to xraycharlie, who completed his first halfie in 5:29:12.329, including a flat tire and unseasonable heat and humidity.
I just want to make sure that everyone here knows that it takes me half an hour to change a tire. That’s because I don’t bring a pump or CO2, and just inflate the thing with my own superhuman lungs.
Tony is an amazing guy - congrats to him. Won of the best winners out there!
This was by far on of the best 1/2s out there - food was amazing, course was fast and fun plus so close to home from Boston. The volunteers were top notch - all smiles and super helpful.
Put it on your calendar for next year and lets hope the keep it small - the home town feel really made this race perfect. So much different the Timberman, in a really good way!
Ended up with a PR of 4:56 so I was happy to end the season.
Thanks everyone for the Props! We work very hard all year to produce the kind of event we want to race in! ALready hard at work today, renewing contracts with our amazing sponsors (gotta love that tent), timing (OH MY GOSH - SATURDAYS results were online at 10:30 - Sunday’s by 3pm, but its a half you know- he even had live athlete tracking for the sprint) JP at Tri and Du It Timing and Race Management may just be the most calming force I have ever worked with, and our announcer Andy Schachat…who did a little research today and determined TONY DELOGNE HAS THE 4th FASTEST HALF IRONMAN TIME in all of NEW ENGLAND HISTORY!!
And a special thanks to the weather GODS! It didn’t rain until everyone was off the bike on Saturday and just sprinkled on the run (heard it was pouring just 10 miles south in Portsmouth, NH), and Sunday did not look like we would have an on time start due to severe fog, but 2-3 minutes before seven the sun broke through and never left!
Jesse Kropelnicki thanks for color commentating on Saturday, and Kurt Perham on Sunday - WOW! you guys were awesome!
Spring Hill is a hidden gem! We are so fortunate to have this wonderful venue right here just an hour north of Boston.
Thank you especially to the volunteers, now referred to as the Pumpkinettes (that’s their name not mine)!
It was also very nice to meet so many of you that I hadn’t met before…sorry if I embarrassed you with a hug…it’s just me, cannot help it!
To followup on what was stated in the previous post about Delogne’s winning time. My research indicates that Andy Potts’s last two Timberman efforts (3:52:32 in 2008 and 3:51:19 in 2009) and the winning time by Oscar Galindez at the 2008 Ironman Rhode Island (3:54:04) are the only times faster that Delogne’s 3:54:11 at yesterday’s Pumpkinman. Michael Lovato won this year’s Ironman Rhode Island in 3:54:38 for the 5th fastest half-iron in New England.
New Hampshire race and Maine race have top two and three of the top four!! Nice statements for small states and a credit to both race directors
First of all, I would like to thank every person involved with the race, starting with Kat Donatello who’s directing it all. You can tell from the time you arrive on-site that the volunteers have been told what they’re there to do. Every intersection is appropriately staffed and safe to approach at race speed without second guessing oneself. The announcing is top notch. The post race food is as good as it gets, especially on Sunday. A turkey dinner??? That’s on par with the lobster dinner at Lobsterman a few years ago.
The venue is fantastic. Parking is quick and there is no need to get there 3hrs ahead. The Hill Climb out of the swim to T1 is unique.
And what can I say about the field and prize money? In the last couple of years, we have been blessed in the New England area that organizers have stepped up to promote a high level of competition on a local level. Everyone knows Timberman 70.3 and Rev 3 (which are International caliber races) but we now have a handful of races that offer just under $5000 of prize money so local pros and Elites without a pro license can compete locally and save on travel expenses. This year, Cohasset, Marlboro, Gloucester, Cranberry Country Tri, both Pumpkinman races, and very soon the Scituate Duathlon (Oct 17th) offered cash. I probably missed a few others.
Special thank you to Janda, Mike, Tim, Felipe, Jesse, Crystal, Kim, Cait, Mary, Amanda, and all the other Elites for making Pumpkinman a “race”. Thank you to all the age groupers for making this a popular event that will be around for years.
Tony
Huge thanks to Kat and all of her volunteers. This one is definitely a keeper on the New England triathlon schedule whether you are a first timer or someone who wants to compete against some of the top triathletes around.
Tony is definitely the Big Dog. You didn’t mention that he also missed winning the hill climb contest by less than a second after having the fastest swim of the day!
I spent the first 10 miles of the bike trying to catch Tigerchik. When I got to mile 15 and still hadn’t caught her I was thinking “Wow, she is having a smoking race.” By mile 20 it dawned on me that maybe she hadn’t made it to the start, which ended up being the case ;-<
Then I remembered that a guy who beat me by a minute at T-man was most likely somewhere a few minutes ahead, so I tried to catch him. It wasn’t until I got to the 1st turnaround on the run that I realized he hadn’t made the start either. Great…6 miles into the run and I’ve been chasing ghosts…then I realized that there was a guy ~1 minute behind me who was very real and running me down like a dog. Managed to hold him off for a new HIM PR.
The one bummer for the day was that the food tent and the beer tent were not the same…talk about a dilemma!
Thanks again for hosting such a fun event!
I have to say Tony is the most humble and professional athlete out there. Having said that, Janda, Mike, Tim, Jesse, Cait, Felipe, Mary, Amanda F., Crystal, Kim, Amanda R., Carrie, Catherine, and Aaron are also world class in the humble department.
Answers:
I know about the beer tent, but because of our license we cannot combine the two…but next year there will a chute between the two tents 
It does surprise me that with a $2K prize purse for the sprint (3 deep) and a $5k prize purse for the half (5 deep) that we don’t see more of an elite field. The largest non WTC/70.3 purse for the Half and the 4th largest sprint prize purse in NE.
Someone asked if this race will always stay small…the answer ABSOLUTELY!! 500 will always be our max number of athletes each day.
Someone else asked about our volunteers…and to be honest, I frankly believe, that because this race is a non-profit our volunteers know that by making this event special the athletes will come, and if they are treated well, are cared for on course, and know they are safe they WILL COME BACK! In just three short years, this tiny small town race has donated alot of money to our community and its making a huge difference…I can only thank both the volunteers and athletes for making that happen.
Now, about the turkey dinner…Tony did not mention…it is INCLUDED WITH YOUR RACE ENTRY…that’s not the case with all post race dinners.
Why turkey dinner? Because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, always has been always will (just ask my mom). Thanksgiving is never about presents its about family and giving thanks…what a better way to finish a Half Ironman!
Registration will open on Halloween
I spent the first 10 miles of the bike trying to catch Tigerchik. When I got to mile 15 and still hadn’t caught her I was thinking “Wow, she is having a smoking race.” By mile 20 it dawned on me that maybe she hadn’t made it to the start, which ended up being the case ;-<
aww… I’m touched. CONGRAULATIONS to you, by the way.
I had an attack of Acute School Stress Sickness and needed to spend the weekend relaxing at home, recovering. I was thinking of you guys. (Dreaming, rather, spent a fair amt of the weekend napping with the nap cat.)
Congrats again. xoxo. Alyie
Ah, yes, the Nap Cat. Great for recovery days. If you don’t already have one, I’d also highly recommend that you also obtain a Quad Massage Cat. I have one (in size XXL) that I have been using to good effect today.
Thank you for organizing such a fantastic event! One of the best races I’ve ever done! Very well-marked and safe course (I loved that there were barely any cars on the roads during the bike!) The post race food was amazing! I hope to be back soon.
I will agree that this is one amazing event. The volunteers, the course the food - it’s all top notch.
I had an absolute blast the entire time. maine is simply gorgeous in September.
Kat does an outstanding job of running everything - coordinating volunteers, parking, awards, post race food, ensuring the course is safe and well marked and manned.
Definitely a race I will recommend, and am certainly coming back next year. I loved out homestay, and got invited to come back in the winter to ski - pretty sure it doesn’t get much better than that!
To followup on what was stated in the previous post about Delogne’s winning time. My research indicates that Andy Potts’s last two Timberman efforts (3:52:32 in 2008 and 3:51:19 in 2009) and the winning time by Oscar Galindez at the 2008 Ironman Rhode Island (3:54:04) are the only times faster that Delogne’s 3:54:11 at yesterday’s Pumpkinman. Michael Lovato won this year’s Ironman Rhode Island in 3:54:38 for the 5th fastest half-iron in New England.
New Hampshire race and Maine race have top two and three of the top four!! Nice statements for small states and a credit to both race directors
Timberman bike is 56 miles and the swim in 1.2 miles, how long is Pumpkinman?
How is the fact that winning time in a race is “fast” a credit to the race director and how is it related to whether the race is any good? It sounds like Pumpkinman is a good race, if the winning time was 4:25 should we say it sucked and the RD is bad?
The winning time is fast because you had some quality athletes on a course that was short.
The swim was about 2’ short (.1 mile) and wetsuit legal. The bike was exactly 55 miles on a fast undulating course with few turns. The run was 13.2 or 13.3 according to a few Garmin readings. Weather was perfect, 70s and little wind.The first transition is slow because of the long run up the hill.
My guess is that people should add about 4-5’ to make a fair comparison (if it’s even possible).
I’d agree… this year I went 4:45 at that tough bugger of a Rev 3 course, 4:29 at R.I. 70.3 and 4:24 at Pumpkinman. Really difficult and maybe pointless to compare overall fastest times in N.E. as triyoda suggested but my takeaway from Pumpkinpalooza was that it was a cool event in many aspects (style/detail of finish area and quality of volunteers really stood out).
Definitely on the agenda for 2010 !