Hagerstown Sprint Triathlon : Official Thread

it is a very fun race. i remember them talking about using timing chips this year, do you know if that is the case?

I think they were supposed to last year but my wife and I can't seem to remember if they did or not.  I will e-mail Ken and ask him, he is always good about getting back to you.

I just completed their duathlon and Ken said the race was not big enough yet for chips.  Maybe this one coming up will be big enough.

This is the most BT'ers I have seen signed up for the event, so not sure if that means just more BT'ers or more people in general.

Hoping he sticks with the same swim format as has been done in the past, sooo much better than having the snake swim they use in most pool tri's.

x2 I get so messed up with snake swims. And while I'd like chip timing, it seems like they did an ok job last year.

Hello.  I am planning to do the Hagerstown sprint and it will be my first.  I am currently nursing a sprained ankle, but my physical therapist says I should be able to race.

I chose this race as a test for myself as I lead up to Irongirl in Aug.  It seemed like this race would be a good place to start.

I can't wait!

This is a good race to do for your first tri.  I have a friend who also is doing it for the first one.  Have fun!

Yeah, like Terps421 said, this is a nice first tri to do and to get some experience before IG. Pretty flat course overall both bike and run and only 300 yds in the pool. The bike course does have some gradual changes in elevation with 1 short hill near the end. Other than that, it's a pretty fast ride. The run has no hills and goes through the park. A few gradual changes in terrain but nothing like Columbia or the IG course.

Depends on how your ankle feels, but you may just want to take this 1st tri easy and learn from it for IG so you can really crush that race.

Good luck!

Thanks to you (and terp) for the advice.  I am glad to know this is a good starting race and that the hills are minor (would not have thought so considering Hagerstown).  You are right about my ankle.  It will determine how hard I compete that day.

  Still, I can't wait!

Have a good day.  Let's hope the rain stays away.

Good evening,

The Hagerstown Sprint will be my first triathlon. My goals are: Finish, Don't totally embarrass myself, Beat 2 hours.

I don't know much about transitions other than watching Ironman on TV.
I plan to wear a regular swimsuit and goggles for the swim.  My bike is a 21-speed Trek mountain bike.
Transition - Take off goggles. Dry off quickly with towel. Put on shorts, shoes, socks and a tank top shirt over the suit. Strap on helmet, and bike. After the bike, I have a different set of shoes in mind... figured I would change socks too.

You'll be just fine. Hagerstown is a great event for your first. You'll have plenty of time to watch others start, to get an idea of what the transitions are like, etc. Looks like you're good to go with transition planning, I always practice doing my transitions in the week leading up to a race.

Yeah, as raidenolson says, you should probably practice your transition plan a bit before the race so you know how to set up your space and how you're going to slip things on and off. Since you're doing a mountain bike, do you need another set of shoes and socks? Just asking. It's a short enough race and if you can slip on a pair of socks and running shoes on during your first transition with your bike, you can save some time by not changing in second transition from bike to run. You pretty much dry out on the bike from the swim (well, except for sweat). Still, you could probably save about a minute if you didn't change shoes and socks in T2. Still practice, practice, practice as it's said transitions are the 4th discipline in triathlons.

Good luck for your first one!

Yep, last year I finished 2nd in AG by about 5 seconds, 3rd place beat me on swim and run, and was real close to me on the bike, but I beat him in transition by a minute or two which proved the difference.

Since it sounds like many people are using this as their first tri, I gotta put a word of advice for beginners/newbies which is related to USAT rules. When you're on the bike, please try to stay right unless you're passing. And before passing, you might want to look back first if anyone faster is coming up from behind (I'm guilty of not doing that sometimes). There's a USAT rule about no blocking and I see beginners unintentionally violating this rule fairly often. Basically, you're either staying left when no one's around or you're staying left and not passing within 15 seconds. I actually know of someone in one race who got penalized for being on the left of the bike lane though he wasn't passing. See, you're not supposed to pass on the right and you're not supposed to cross the double yellow lines on a road either. So he was essentially blocking other folks who may be coming up from behind. Also, watch your steering if you grab food or water that you're carrying. I was coming up on a rider pretty quickly during a race when he grabbed his water bottle and proceeded to swerve all the way from the right into the passing area on the left and right in front of me. Fortunately, I saw him in time and let him know I was coming up on his left. If you are overtaking on the left, it's good to let folks know you're there especially if they're drifting a bit to the left.

While I'm not positive whether this event is USAT sanctioned, think the basic rules still apply. If you want to read more about USAT rules, there's a link on their website.

Hey, only 3 1/2 weeks to go!

I'm hopefully doing the october hagerstown duathlon.  Good luck to every one doing the tri in a few weeks!

Thanks for the information about the biking for us newbies!  The more I know, the more comfortable I will be on race day!

Feel free to ask questions. Someone's bound to know the answer and those of us with a few races under our belts have all been there.

Edited by sbrdave 2009-07-03 3:41 PM

I have a question about the pool... is it 25m laps or 50m laps? How many lanes? Will one person be in a lane at a time or will I have to share? If someone needs to stop to fix their goggles or whatever, can they stop?

25M pool, so you will do 6 laps for 300 yards.  2 people per lane.  When one person is done in a lane they drop someone else in.  yep you can stop, walk, whatever it's your 1/2 lane until you are done.

It is a bit annoying if you signed up late as it could take an hour for you to actually get in the pool, but the alternative is a snake swim that has it's own set of problems.

Looking at pictures from the event (as I can't remember), it looks like 6 lanes, but I think half of the one is blocked by a slide or something. So perhaps 11 people at a time. It was a bit difficult to tell.

Just got the e-mail that bib numbers were out.

Wow 400 people racing this year, there were 285 last year (according to the race results)

31 in M35-39 and last year there were 13.  Definitely going to be a lot more competition this year and a lot more crowded.

Should be interesting as it looks like if I go off closer to 6:30 and there are some listed as going off after 9:30 that I could be done 2 hours before they even get in the pool.

Wonder if this is the last year for the 1/2 lane per person setup and they will go to a snake swim.  Hope not but not sure how people will like the above timing.

Note though that in the Participant Guide that the swim is a continuous swim: "We are doing a continual swim format which means that we will continue to replace swimmers as each swimmer finishes." So, there will be a constant stream of folks swimming rather than waiting for a wave to finish. The start times in the bib numbers listing are approximate and not exact. Looks like you have to really pay attention to when you might possibly be going. Still, it could be a wait for the earilier folks for the awards ceremony.

Edited by sbrdave 2009-07-16 8:03 AM

For those BTers interested, I plan to do a double brick of the Sprint course on Saturday morning 7/18 starting around 9:30 AM at Martin L. Snook park. Note that this is very weather dependent. At present weather forecast looks okay, but I'll have to cancel if it's raining or looks very threatening. The first brick will be casual, just to do the two courses. This way, everyone gets a feel for the two and it's a warmup for the second one. The second one I'll be doing at sub-race pace but not casual. I was thinking about the pool afterwards but I'm not sure if we'd have to wait long or not as it doesn't open until noon.

I'll be in one of the first parking lots on the right as you enter the park. Think this is near the tennis courts as I recall. I have a white Chrysler T&C van, 70.3 and USAT stickers on the back. I have a blue Felt S32 tri bike.

Maybe see a few of you there.

Edited by sbrdave 2009-07-16 8:42 AM

I suspect this may be the stupidest question I have ever asked, but:

What exactly does the participation guide mean when it says, no pushing off the walls in the pool? What are you supposed to do?