Whats the deal with "halfmax nationals"

Triathlon Forum
1

Hi all!

continuing to research sep/oct HIM races for my late season schedule…

What is the deal with “halfmax nationals”? http://www.halfmaxchampionship.com/index.php

It claims to be a) a USAT championship b) a national championship and c) a HIM distance tho of course not WTC affiliated.

Oddly, it says its by qualification only (top 20% finish in your AG in a bunch of non-WTC HIM races) but it has 200 open entry slots, and they are not yet full. Also ive never heard of it before (bad sign).

Is this a real race? Is it a good race, good course? Only 280 ppl did it last year, which makes it a lot smaller than any WTC HIM or most of its qualifying races…and unless the course was really hard, it seems that a lot of folks werent going super fast (hard to say though)…

Dont want to step into some political meatgrinder- but is this race a) for real b) a real national championship and c) a good race?

Thx

N

2

The most powerful tool on this forum is the search button. You will find plenty of info about Ultramax events, “nationals,” “championships,” etc…

FWIW, it’s a good and hard HIM.

Joe

3

Great race, action packed weekend. I think there are three races that weekend at the venue and two national champiomships being contested. If I remember correctly. There wasn’t a national championship race for the 1/2 IM distance so the UltraMax people started one. Also club championships are going on . You can race any of the three races and gain points toward the club title. 10,000 dollars for the winning Club! UltraMax puts on the BEST races I’ve been to. That said it is a hard course. Water is good, Bike moderately hilly, run very hilly!

4

I haven’t done the race, but I checked it out last year. If I remember, there were two sets of results: one for the open (unqualified) group, and one for the qualified group. With regard to checking times, make sure you are looking at the qualified group. The times are a little slow as I remember, but the bike is rolling hills, and the run is apparently quite hilly. See the race, as I seem to remember there being course profiles available.

The race is “real”. If you look in your USAT ranking booklet that came out a month or two ago, you will notice that the long course age group champions are the age group winners of this race.

Also, last year you could qualify via another “series” race, or as long as you posted better than a specified time at ANY half Ironman distance race.

Paul

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Its real. I entered as a “general entry”, as I’m not yet fast enough to qualify for anything… I think thay want to make it a long-course national championship, but have some general-entry slots so they can make enough $ to make it viable until its a big enough deal to be qualifier only.

I have no idea how the elite crowd feels about the race, but from my view it was: a beautiful location, well-run, challenging bike until you get off the resort area, and an absolutely brutal run (not a flat spot the entire way). I’d do it again, but I signed up for IMoo. I think thats why its not so crowded- the really fast longer distance racers are vying for a Kona spot, and/or are doing the 70.3 world championship.

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Put on by one of the best RDs in the business.

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The athletes weren’t necessarily slow last year. It’s a very hilly course, particularly the run. It’s almost an evil joke, actually. Search for some earlier threads on this race. It’s one of the best directed that I’ve ever been to.

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If it’s the same as last year, qualification at an official qualifier race gets you a $20 discount on the entry fee. There is still the “open” field but the two started at the same time last year and I don’t think results were separated. I “qualified” on time so didn’t get a discount on entry - although I did get a “qualifer” bib number FWIW.

It was the USAT long course national championship for 2006 and will be for 2007 and 2008. It’s an extremely well run race. I loved the course. Clear, cool water and just enough room in the lake for a one lap swim. The bike has about 6 miles of short steep hills per lap (first 3 and last 3) and 20+ miles of gently rolling big ring stuff in the middle of each lap. The bike was a bit short last year - maybe only 54 miles. The run is killer tough - probably the toughest run course I’ve ever done. I thought I was ready for a hilly run but I wasn’t ready for hills that steep. My run was about 10 minutes slower than normal.

I’m going back this year to conquer that run course :wink: And for the BBQ and beer!

9

I’ve mapped the run and bike routes on www.usatf.com under the route finder function. Go under Wright City, Missouri and check out Quartermax Run 207 and Quartermax 2007 for the map of the route with elevation profile. The Halfmax simply does two laps of the Quartermax being run this weekend. I am making a run at one of the qualifier slots for the September USAT Long Course Nationals. It is still in the process of attempting to catch on, but if I read correctly the top five finishers in the September Nationals qualify for some World Championships in Australia (?) It is in a gated lake community so the parts of the run and ride that are inside it are fairly peaceful (speed limit inside is 22 MPH). You can qualify by placing top 25% in one of the designated qualifier races (all but one are halfs), or by hitting a qualifier time (I think it is around 5:15 for men in their 30s and 40-44 age group). Plus there are a limited number of general entry spots. I live reasonably close to the area and ride around the Innsbrook area. Actually they could make the Halfmax bike really sick if they headed down toward Marthasville/New Melle/Augusta area for a 56 mile loop.

10

I did the full, when it still existed and the half a couple of time. hands down one of the most organized races out there. Loved it.

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This will be the 3rd year that Halfmax will be the USAT Half-Iron National Championships and it is on the schedule for next year as well. Essentially this is intended to be USAT’s version of age group long course nationals, hence the qualifications.

FWIW it is a very tough course. Patrick Evoe who won the men’s race is now racing pro this year and Elizabeth Fedofsky who won the women’s did a sub 4:30 at Eagleman this year.

Seems like a fun race. The fact there aren’t 2000 athletes seems like a bonus to me.

12

I am the fed-of-sky. Actually went 4:32 at Eagleman - too bad transition time has to count - but thanks for the nod :slight_smile: Halfmax is a great race - very challenging course (run is out of control hilly - it’s no joke), the bike course is fun with first 5 miles of each loop fairly hilly, the swim is smooth, and the Race Director and volunteers are top notch. Hands down my favorite half course out there.

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To all considering HalfMax–

Absolutely add HalfMax to your schedule. It is hot, grueling, hilly, but so b-e-a-utiful and is put on by the absolutely BEST race director/ promoter and crew I have ever seen. As a matter of fact, I am going out to Innsbrook this weekend for QuarterMax ( 1/4 IM distance, imagine that ;).
I am so excited to get out there.

Yes, you may qualify, which basically saves you some $$, or get pay extra for a general entry slot. That’s what I did last year, and lucky for me I won my Age Group, so now I am qualified for this year.

I don’t know if you have done much swimming in or around Missouri, but if you’ve ever heard of the stout alchoholic beverage named Missouri Mud Water you’d know why it has that name. You’d also be familiar with the typic Mo muddy water races- where you can barely see your elbow. This is not the case- the swim takes place in a private lake/ resort where no motorized boats are allowed. It’s crystal clear. The venue is so scenic, but be prepared, “that ain’t no joke.” There are some tough hills on the bike, and the open roads can get a bit breezy. The run, well, you’d be hard pressed to find a hillier half marathon to run.

On the same token, however, you would be even harder pressed to find such excellent volunteers, post race MEALS (at HalfMax they serve LUNCH and DINNER), goody bags, event shirts, and such an amazing venue.

Also, you probably haven’t heard much about it because this is the first year I have seen any advertising for it. It is also being held in conjunction with USAT Club Champs which will take place with a “quarter” and “octo” on Sunday.

To answer you questions:

  1. Yes, this race is for real
  2. It is a real national championship (I’ll bet my title on it, ITU long distance world champ qualifier spot and my USAT points;)
  3. It is one of the hardest damn courses and best races you’ll ever experience. I can’t say enough great things about the promoter and event. I wish that I could attend more of the promoters events, they are freaking amazing (oh, and your entry is of course 100% tax deductible as they are a non-profit charity organization)

I’d love to share my race recap from last year with you, as well as any photos from the race if you’d like. Email me at triswimcoach@yahoo.com.

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As others have said - it is a really well run event and a pretty tough course. I don’t think it is a “real” national championship…I think it is more of a regional championship. Don’t get me wrong…there are definately some fast people who race it.

15

I had the same concerns about the Halfmax Nationals. Earlier this year I was thinking about doing it, but the website (as of January I believe) still wasn’t updated yet for the 2007 race. That was a red flag for me. I emailed Halfmax and they said they would update the website soon. I kept trying to see the current info, and it still wasn’t updated. By February I decided to bag it since the website didn’t have any 2007 information on it. I haven’t looked back since.

On a side note, there’s too many national championships (and championships in general) these days. Halfmax, USAT, Ironman, etc etc. Lets say someone goes to worlds in the half iron distance for USAT. How does that stack up to the 70.3 Ironman worlds? It seems like every organization wants to have a championship, and there’s so many out there that going to a big championship is, in my opinion, starting to loose its significance.

With that said, I have heard that Halfmax is a great race. I just didn’t like that the website took so long to have current info on it.

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I dont supposed you remember the total elevation for the full do you? I was just thinking about that course for the 1st year ultramax and that bike course was the hardest I ever had done.

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I tried finding that information once, but it is gone. I think it was upwards of 10000 feet.

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That might have been a different venue though. Ultramax was held in the Ozarks for two years I believe.

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absolutely BEST race director/ promoter and crew I have ever seen

This is mostly b/c they’ve ran everyone else out of town/region, but yet are now capped b/c of their business status and funding.

It’s unfortunately as there needs to be more events, not less.

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Elevation maps, both are two loops (so imagine doing each of these twice) and the bike profile is missing a couple miles, i couldnt get it to scroll over… http://i14.tinypic.com/53ajdsj.jpg

http://i12.tinypic.com/4m0qwsy.jpg

Diesel: RE:
absolutely BEST race director/ promoter and crew I have ever seen

This is mostly b/c they’ve ran everyone else out of town/region, but yet are now capped b/c of their business status and funding.

… I can’t say I agree entirely. Yes, they probably are held down a bit because they are non-profit, and as for running everyone else out of town, I don’t know about that, but as I see it, doesn’t the company with the best and most inexpensive product usually sell the most, which can indeed shut down others? (Capitalism at it’s best, I think). I live in the KC area and there’s a promotion company out here that I’ve seen do not-so-hot (to say it in a nice way) time and time again. I will not be doing any of their races this year (vote with your $, right?). There is another company called Blue Hills Adventures in Manhattan, KS that also does a very very nice job. I expect to see good things from them soon.

If you think that there is a better RD/ Promotion Co in the Mo/Kan area, please let me know, I would LOVE to do one of their races (no, really, I’m being serious not a smarty pants, if there is someone even better out there, let me know, I’m all over it).