spirit of racine half vs steelhead 70.3

I have not done Spirit of Racine but heard great things about it.  It was televised and on the broadcast they kept commenting on how the flat course should be very fast. (they were discussing the pros, but I'd still take that).  Lake Michigan probably isn't the easiest beast to tame though.

Huh, right in your neck of the woods too.  Say, arent you looking to do a HIM next year?

I take back what I said about you in the mentoring thread.

I didn't consider Racine, but I did Steelhead this year. 

Plusses:  Swim with the current, cool 'jump off the pier' start, flat bike (only a couple notable hills) with smooth pavement (by Michigan standards), volunteers were OUTSTANDING, race organization was fantastic (I didn't have problems with the shuttle), most excellent volunteers (bears repeating), perfect on-course bottle exchanges and nutrition, etc.  Also, the proximity of nice lake Michigan beaches and B&B's really can help make it a family-getaway, if that kinda thing interests you.

Minuses:  It's a lake Michigan swim, so it CAN be choppy, not much of an expo, post-race buffet could stand a little more stuff, not much shade to sit in after the race (it's on the beach with a pavillion, but that's IT), longish walk to your car with the bike after the race.  St. Joe's/Benton Harbor isn't much of a town, and has limited lodging, nightlife, and eating options.

As far as the expo, buffet, and shade, I expect they'll have that sorted out by next year.  As McFuzz pointed out, this race had 1100 more people in 2006 than in 2005, and I'd be that these were some of the 'growing pains', easy enough to remedy...the only thing I don't know how they'll improve is the shuttle system...the geography of the venue and the one-way swim almost dictate this kind of system(I didn't have an issue with it, but some people did), sooooo....

I'll be back.  It was good.

It's funny you should start this thread.  If you check the "Who's doing a HIM in 2007" thread these two are among the most frequently mentioned.  Possibly the two most mentioned.  Seems like there will be large BT contingents at both of them.  From the title of your thread I thought you were proposing some type of cross-race challenge......

I've done Racine twice now, and everything that's been said so far is pretty much correct...there has been a lot of road construction this year, I don't know what impact that will have on the bike.  It depends...they changed the course this paast year, no way to know if it'll change again. 

 We had a fair number of BTers here last year...the year before too.  Our house is always open for showers before the drive home (we live less than 4 miles from race start).  We always have a lot of fun with this one, MarkK and I are signing up this payday. 

 The park at North Beach is VERY nice, huge with allt he "cool" stuff (as opposed to just swings).  I can't swear to it but I'm 99% sure the zoo is open during the race.  Also, last year Salmon-A-Rama was going on just down Main St. at Festival Park.  Even if you aren't into fishing (I'm not!) there's lots of non-fishing-related games and stuff for the kids, tons of food, and usually live music

I've done Racine twice now, and I'll be making a 3rd showing in 2007. 

The new course design is very fast, and 2006 was a huge improvement over 2005.  I hope that 2007 has the same bike course, as they cut out some very badly maintained sections of road on the bike.

The run is great, it's double out and back.  You do go though the zoo, so you make 4 trips through the zoo during the course of the day.    The support is great, in terms of aid stations.  It passes through a mainly residential area, and lots of locals are out cheering and offering to spray you with their hoses ( which can feel really nice on a hot day! ).

All i can comment on is Spirit of Racine...Well organized event.  Lake MI is what it is. Beach/standing start. Bike course was essentially flat..well marked, aid stations, bottle exchanges etc.  Run had a lot of spectators out..and as coredump said..a lot of water/hoses to cool off too (although ill think twice about it next year, and try to keep shoes dry). Plenty of aid stations during the run, well stocked, many volunteers.   The big plus side is if you have kids...The park by the beach and the zoo are great to keep kids interested while you are out on the course.  Ill be there next year too!

JT

Just saw this thread looking for another one.  Amazing how many people have done one or the other but not both.  I did my one and only HIM at Steelhead this year.  The only thing I can add is that I was one of the people that mentioned the parking "issue" in my RR, but it is really not that big a deal.  I just didn't want to walk to my car after completing the race but in reality it was probably just what my body needed.

Sounds like they are both really good options.  Steelhead might be a little more hilly but it is really pretty flat compared to most other venues.  I did think it was kind of cool participating in an official Ironman event.  That said, it sounds like you could probably go by which location and date is more convenient for you.