I have only done the Racine race, but I can’t say enough good things about HFP racing who put on the race.
The bike course is quite challenging. The roads are not great, but HFP has gotten them to repave many of the worst sections both this year and last year, so it is much better. The wind was unbelievable this past season. The course is basically a big rectangle around farms. So the wind whips through. Tough, but rewarding and very beautiful. The run is a two loop, basically totally flat, through the zoo and along the lake. It is a great race. Hard, but fun!
Come to the Whirlpool Steelhead Triathlon on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2006. Great race, great course, great volunteers, great food and a perfect beach weekend. Z
Go to Innsbrook for the Halfmax. It is a wonderful race wonderfully run. It is a beautiful venue with a challenging course. (be prepared for a challenging, hilly run). Guaranteed good experience.
I also did Effingham this year, and don’t have anything bad to say about that race. It simply didn’t have the venue or production of Halfmax.
I didn’t list Whirlpool b/c I was thinking that 8/6 and 9/25 (or so) might be too close to have 2 A-races.
I was thinking that an earlier summer 1/2 would give me some type of feedback (comparing to my 9/10/05 race) on what I have improved on and what areas need more improvement (or at least the MOST improvement), and that I could devote some more attention to that area.
Of those listed, I’ve only done Sylvania. It was a nice small race. Swim is in a very clean man-made lake, transition is plenty roomy (in a parking lot), bike is almost entirely flat, a couple of “inclines,” no real hills at all. Run is pretty flat, but has a kind of weird layout (uses one of the aid stations from the bike course). Volunteers were pretty inexperienced (many from Racing for Recovery) but all of them did their best. If you’ve ever done the Sylvania olympic race, the swim is almost identical, much of the bike course is the same, but the run is completely different. It’s the closest 1/2IM to home for me, so I’ll be doing it again next year.
Why not the Little Smokies 1/2? A little earlier. Also run by HFP Racing. VERY challenging with a lot harder bike course than any of the others listed. Also in OH, but a lot further south than the Sylvania one.
HalfMax is a REALLY challenging race. The bike is not too bad, although there are some tough, short hills inside the resort. The run is very tough. Lotsa hills. But you won’t find a nicer venue, and Mark Livesay puts on a terrific race.
Yes … although they would probably gladly accept my check for this year’s event. =)
Why not the Little Smokies 1/2?
I had that one bookmarked, but did not recognize it b/c it was HFP racing. As of now, L’il Smokies is it. The other alternative, Halfmax, is in June. Due to new school construction we started late, so we get out late … on June 12. School policy is “no personal/sick days” the last two weeks of school … so I would not be able to get there early. I get to take 1-2 days, take the family and enjoy a l’il mini-vacation at the l’il smokies … and perhaps cross off two major league stadiums of my list while I am there.
The L’il smokies (early race date) race will also allow me to use TPeaks and GB’s 13 week IM program.
Steve … thanks for the honesty regarding Halfmax … that’s probably more than I want at this point … but a great idea for '07 combined with the GFT.