Ironman 70.3 Muncie - TriathlonOlympic

Believe it or not, the morning air temperature is COLDER than the water temp! Amazing! Now starting out, I tried to either draft or get clear water. But, neither worked. It was obvious I had slower swimmers in front and around me and I had to breast stroke just a bit to keep from running into them. I finally got going and I gotta tell ya, I was being bumped into all OVER the place! In this case, being in the back was not the best idea. I'm going to have to think about this for future races, especially if my swim times improve. Despite these problems, my navigation was actually pretty good here and I was able to keep a decent line on the buoys going out. Still had bumping from time to time. The main issue though that continued to be an ever increasing problem is that I couldn't seem to get into my rhythm and settle into my breathing pattern. I was already breathing more to one side than I usually do at this point. It was just difficult to do anything else! I was concerned about this and it was getting to me a bit mentally. Still, I was able leave the yellow buoys behind one by one until I was finally at the first red turn buoy. Now since the sun had just come up not too long ago, it was bit difficult to see but not really a problem. Looked like I was keeping pace with my group pretty well too from what I could tell. A few folks kept pace with me and I think actually drafted me for a bit too. But, I had one guy climb on me several times here! Gosh I thought, PLEASE GET OFF ME! I should've kicked this guy off as every time he got on my legs, I would slow and lose balance. And my breathing still was issue. Something just wasn't right here. But, I pressed onward. Now we all come up to what we THOUGHT was the second red turn buoy. But...no. There's a kayaker there saying we've got one more. In the morning sun, this orange buoy looked too much like one of the red ones. I actually believe all the site buoys but the last ones coming in should've been yellow so there wouldn't have been confusion. One more buoy to the turn (sigh). Now when I turn, the sun is directly in my face! I had difficulty seeing the orange siting buoys let alone the shore arch. That I couldn't see. So I basically followed the group of caps that were my group in front of me. There was a wide enough area of them, so someone had to be going in the right direction ;) I also saw support water craft/kayaks on either side which were actually easier to see than the siting buoys. So I just kept pressing onward. By this time, my breathing was all messed up. I finally just decided to go with it and try to relax while breathing on the one side. This seemed to work okay, considering. I wasn't happy with this but I adjusted. Somewhere in here, a woman from the wave behind passed me and I tried to catch her draft. Nah, she going along a lot better than me. And I think I remember seeing a couple of fast guys from another wave behind ours too. I finally at last see the swim in arch and I'm so relieved. Getting tired now and breathing is still messed up. Just wanted this portion to end. I'm not usually feeling like that as I enjoy doing triathlons, despite the swim. Just wasn't having a good one today for some reason despite the great training times I recently had been having. At last my hands hit the bottom and I jog up out of the water and through the arch. THANK GOODNESS!


I think I'm going to have kick folks off of me. I'm not usually like that but it really slows me down. Perhaps maybe start closer to the front but I really didn't get there in time to get a spot there. So, I underestimated the amount of time I had and didn't plan my pre-race routine sequence quite as well as I should've. The water temp turned out to be a definite limiter.

Jogging up to transition, I look at my watch and I'm here in 38 minutes which really was 35-36 minutes since I started my watch early....YUK! I was very disappointed at seeing this and thought I really could've put in a better swim time than this, at least closer to 30 minutes. Well, no time to think about that now. Pass a few guys on the jog as they're just moving slower. Hey, Jeff is there on the sidelines cheering me on and trying to get some video or pics as I make my way up! Always helps to have someone cheering you on!

Making my way down the length of transition and see my gold towel down the line (thanks to Racine Multisports Swim Fest)! Cap and goggles were already off and put them aside. Race belt with race number on first (you had to wear it on the bike). Helmet next. Decided no sunglasses since it was still early morning and I could save a bit of time by not messing with them. Try to get shoes on and found I had left some things in the shoes (chuckle). Get them out quickly and in shoes shortly thereafter. Don't wear socks on the bike and would put them on for the run. Grabbed my bike and I'm outta there!


This seemed a bit slow for me but it's in line with other folks' time after one considers the long jog from the swim and the long transition area. So, I don't really think much different to do except get the stuff out of my shoes ahead of time ;)

If the course had been 56 miles, I would've had my aero drink bottle with Powerade Zero and another bottle in the back with just plain water. At mile 30 I planned to pick up water on the course just to stay hydrated and still have some of my own water left and at mile 45, I would take in the course carb drink. I also would be taking Endurolytes in the beginning about every 45 min or so plus start Clif Bloks 1:30 into the ride. But, for the 30 mile course, I decided not to have the extra water bottle and just use the Powerade Zero in my aero bottle. I still planned to take water on the course around mile 22 or whatever the last aid station was. I also took my Clif Bloks and planned to use a few of those as I exited the loop section of the course.

On the bike now and heading to the big loop section. Some light rollers here and there and this would be the story for nearly the entire bike course. Adrenaline is definitely up and I have to calm myself down a little bit as I settle into my rhythm here on the bike. I'm passing a few folks here and there but other faster guys are passing me as well in this first section. This first part has some shade to it as well though it's not really hot at present. At around mile 3 or so, we turn right onto the big loop section which is State Road 35. As I enter this part, I see one of the faster women on the swim and I tell her this as I go by. She says thanks and then mentions it's the only thing she's good at. Well, she seemed to be plugging along pretty well here too. At mile 5, I note my time - think it said 14 something. I'm thinking "Cool! That's better than 20 mph!" But, still have 25 miles to go... could I maintain this type of speed? Well, not at the expense of having nothing left for the run. Learned that lesson a while back. Still with the shorter distance and the fact that I just practiced this type of pace the Sunday before, I was confident I could maintain and still have a good run afterwards. Shortly thereafter, the first aid station appears with a long line of volunteers holding out water and the Ironman carb drink. I moved left away from them to indicate I didn't need anything, but as I would pass by them again after I looped back around, I yelled out "No Thanks, not this time, but I'll catch you on the flip side!" Pressed onward. Just to note, the motorefs were making their presence known and as the course was a tad crowded, I had to ensure I wasn't inadvertently drafting. I don't intentionally draft as I think it definitely takes away from your personal effort and triathlon is meant to be an individual sport. But, when a course gets crowded, you can't help but catch some draft as groups of people whiz by you. Just a note here that while it's not overly hot yet, we are now out in pretty much full sun and very little shade on the big loop of the bike course. It would've been interesting and a bit more challenging to have been on this course for the full 56. Pass by small clumps of spectators and volunteers and I thank all that I see if I'm not overly concentrating what I'm doing. As I'm maintaining a decent speed, sweat is now starting to make its presence known mostly down the sides of my face. I decided to take a Clif Blok here with the extra salt and down some of my Powerade Zero with it. Now come up to the first turnaround point a little bit after 9 miles into the course. On the way back, I'd turn right here instead to head back to the transition area. But, that's approximately 14 miles away and had two more lengths of this loop yet to do. As I turned around and got back up to speed, I saw a LOT of groups heading the other way. The course was getting crowded now. Come up to the 10 mile marker and I'm here in just a bit less than 30 min! So, continue to make good time on the bike and over 20 mph. 20 miles to go! Nearing the second aid station and just before this, an ambulance with lights flashing passes by me....uh, oh :(. I see the aid station ahead with the long line of volunteers and the ambulance stops near the middle of the aid station. There, in the middle of the road, a person is attending to someone who's down. Always a shame whenever this happens. I coast a bit more through here so I'm not going full speed if I need to stop for some reason. Don't take anything here as the plan is for water a bit later. But I think it's here is where I saw a loose bottle of water and I yell to the volunteers to pick this up when they're able. I was on the left and able to keep clear, pressing onward. More folks are starting to pass me now, though I'm still able to pass some folks as well. One guy with I think "61" on his calf passes me. Oh man :( Then a gal passes me in a distinctive red and blue one piece suit. I thought it was red, white, and blue with stars but I think it was some sort of team/sponsors suit. Personally, I don't mind getting "chicked" if you will, because they're not in my gender and therefore definitely not in my AG. Besides, this is still a triathlon and not a bike hammer fest. I sometimes tend to see some folks I've taken note of on the bike later on the run. Pass 15 miles and halfway into the course I'm still on track for a good ride coming in under 45 min here. Now with the modified course, I only knew that we couldn't miss the next turnaround point because we couldn't go any further southeast on route 35. So, it wasn't too long after this that I saw flashing lights ahead. So, this must be the 2nd turnaround. Slow to make the turn and get back up to speed shortly thereafter. Now right after I gear back up, off to the right is a merge area where folks are just entering the big loop. As I'm writing this and after checking the distance on my bike computer later, I realize now that this is a LOT sooner than they first indicated at the Athlete's Race Briefing. And NOW the course is quite crowded! This is a problem with the shortened course in that in the original one, we'd be more spread out. After all, there was about 33 miles where we'd all be going the same direction without other folks coming onto to our part of the course. This had now been reduced to about 8 or so! So the next 8 miles are jammed full of folks of all sorts of abilities: slow, my speed, and FAST! And so, when I go to pass someone, I really have to look back to ensure I'm not blocking anyone. I remember at least a couple of times when I was going to pass someone, looked back, and saw a group of fast folks quickly approaching. So, have to patiently wait until they went by and ensure I wasn't drafting the person in front of me. The latter just wasn't always possible, but like I said, it wasn't really intentional. About here, I start trading places with number 876, Alicia Cooper from Canada. I'm moving better down the rollers and she catches me going back up. I yell over to her as she passes are we just going to keep trading places here? She yells back that I look like I can do better on the hills than I am. I reply that my bike is bit heavier than most and I'm saving myself a bit for the run, though I'm still checking my time here and still doing better than 20 mph on the bike. Now come up to the first aid station once again and I yell out for water. Slow and grab one of the waters in the outstretched arm of a volunteer. Guzzle this all down as I've worked up a sweat here during this time. Discard the bottle before I reach the "no littering" zone. Press on! Shortly thereafter, I'm approaching the 1st turnaround where I'll turn right this time and head back to transition. Alicia moves left as she's on her first loop and I wish her a good race. She gives me well wishes also. Now what a change this is! No more packs and I'm now keeping pace with a guy up a head of me with a few other folks ahead of him. And really, this is pretty much how it stays for a little while. As we're within 6 miles of transition, decide to take 2 Clif Bloks here for the caffeine in them with the remainder of my Powerade Zero. This would allow my body to process the Bloks about 15 min before the run. I did manage to move past one guy who had slowed a bit for nutrition. Then I notice a few other folks in front of me and the motoref appears. Ah, it looks like the ref may have given a penalty to this guy in front of me who's uncovered. Yeah, you had to have a shirt, jersey, or bib top on for this race. But, the ref and this guy are talking and I'm catching. Had to ease up just a bit until they were done and finally the ref motors ahead and I'm able to pass uncovered guy. It's not too long after this that I see the final turn heading back to transition. Some light rollers here with a good line of folks scattered on the side of the road cheering us on. Soon, I hear music and see the transition area in the distance down the road. I pass a few folks here in this final stretch and I see one guy ahead getting out of his shoes. I move right shortly thereafter and start doing the same. One of the folks I just passed moved by me here. But, after I'm out of shoes and pedaling on top of them, swing my leg smartly over, balance on one pedal and hit the road running into T2 while also passing 3 guys at the dismount line as they're still slowing and unclipping. Bike portion is done!!


Interestingly, though this may be the fastest time I've recorded in the bike portion of a triathlon, I actually lost places in my AG. Also, if the bike course was 29 vs 30 miles, it was really 21.56. That's still a PR for an Olympic distance for me and still equals the fastest avg speed I've logged in a triathlon. Now either folks were REALLY hammering the shorter distance or else my equipment (circa 2006) is really limiting me now. I suspect a bit of both.


Yeah, I say this nearly every time now - get into shoes while starting out on the bike. And as mentioned, I think my bike/wheels are now starting to be more of a limiter than me. I do think I could do more with me, but the equipment is now nearly 6 years old.

Now after I start running into T2, we go over a plywood piece of board and I barely hear the volunteers say to take it easy as it bounces. Oops...too late! Bike bounces pretty hard on this and unbeknownst to me, one of my bike shoes comes unclipped. I looked back at the volunteers but I was pretty oblivious to what they were trying to tell me, concentrating on jogging with my bike as quickly as possible back to my spot. Once again, find my spot via the gold towel and rack my bike. Helmet off, quickly wipe feet of debris, and socks on. (chuckle) Gel in my shoe which I fish out (gotta quit doing that!) as quick as possible. As I'm doing this, a SUPER volunteer shows up. She had followed me ALL the way back to my rack spot with my bike shoe that came unclipped!! I can't say enough about the superb volunteer support at this race and I was treated to more just a bit later on the run. Okay, gel stuffed away, shoes on, grab other gear and....Elvis has left the building!! Run out of transition and out onto the 10K run course.

This is pretty decent time for me as my times have been around 2:20 for HIM. No real differences here between HIM and Olympic in what I'd do differently in T2. No overall placing for transition times.


Really not much

Out on the run course now. Via the race forum on Beginner Triathlete, I had been warned of the rollers on the run. As Doug and I previewed these the other day, I would say they are light rollers, i.e. no real long up or down hill portions. But, they can sap you if you're not prepared to adjust. Now I had also been warned that there wasn't much shade on the 13.1 course. Well, for this shortened course, nearly all of it had some shade. Yeah, there were parts without, but not like at Eagleman where there REALLY is NO shade. Temps are now in the high 80s with some humidity taking the heat indexes into the low 90s. The course is an out and back with two turns along it. During this first mile, I'm moving quite well, not feeling any problems in my legs, calf problem seemed to be gone, and am already passing people. Check my time at mile 1...Whoa! It says 7 min. I throttle back because this is not a 5K. Now to keep cool, I have my wet towel draped across my neck and stuffed the rest into my jersey top, plus the wet cooling pad in my hat. I decided not to take my fuel belt for this distance and would attempt to use all the aid provided on the course. I did have a gel just in case but I would only use that if needed. If this had been the hot 13.1 mile distance, I would've taken my fuel belt with my own drink as I can take that in better than the cups at the aid station and rehydrate/refuel easier. First aid station comes up and I decide to take a cold wet sponge plus a cup of water or two. Drink some water and rest goes over my head. About halfway to aid station 2 and a guy in my AG passes me though I'm still passing other folks :( And just to comment here, I don't really remember that many folks passing me on the run course. Well, I decided to keep this guy in my sights in hopes that I could pass him near the end. As I pass folks, I see the rollers combined with the heat are taking a toll on many here. Yeah, the occasional sun breaks in between the shade aren't helping either. At the next aid station, I asked for ice and stuffed it down my shorts as I heard some pros discuss this as a great way to cool down. But....I didn't quite get this right and the ice falls through (chuckle). Well, try at the next one. Sweat is building up on my face and arms and I wipe this away with my towel. I believe just after or around aid station 2, I pass the gal who passed me on the bike in the red and blue outfit. Tell her to keep up the good job. I still have the guy who passed me in sight as I come up to aid station 3 and here I take another sponge, ice, and a cup of Ironman performance drink. This time, I get the ice to stay and gosh it's cold down there!! Okay, perhaps a bit of TMI, but this really did help to keep me cooled down a bit and I think more so than putting it under my hat. Gulp down the carb drink. Finally at the turnaround 5K point. I don't have my time anymore on my watch at this point, but my 3 mile split was recorded at 23:23 which was a 7:47 pace. So, I throttled back way too much and really should've been doing something like a 7:20 to 7:30 pace. I was keeping track of my overall time but I should've been tracking individual mile times so I could gauge this a bit better. On the way back now and I attempted to pick up my pace. I still had that one guy in my sights too. Still passing people as well. Look over the other side and I see a LOT of folks not enjoying themselves at all. Some walking, some shuffling. With the rollers, I use the downhills and let gravity take me down. I'm able to pass folks like this quite often and continue to do so on these during this course. Aid station 4 comes up and it's time for more ice, water, and sponge. Man! The sponge over the head and neck just feels great! Ice is again COLD! And after this, the run is starting to wear on me. Nevertheless I know I'm running slightly faster here as my breathing rate has increased. At mile 4, I see I've reached it in about 30 min. So, I'm still under an 8 pace and not doing too bad. This is where I wanted to be in the 13.1 and so I wanted to see what I was doing at the 5 mile mark. Unfortunately, I missed this as 38 min went by. I had thought at the time that I really slowed and I think picked it back up a notch. The last aid station comes up and I ask for sponge, water, and the Ironman perform drink. I am moving quickly through this aid station and I get the sponge and water but the volunteers don't have the carb drink ready for me. I think I would've been okay without it but just as I'm about to get to the end of the aid station, a volunteer runs up behind me and essentially says, "I got you covered! Here's your drink!" And I reach back for it, gulping it down! Again, what super support! Now in the final mile and something to go. Believe it or not, I still have this guy in my sights. So, it's in this final stretch that I attempted to push a bit more. But it's not looking like I'm going catch this guy as I think he's picked it up as well. And though I recognized my surroundings, I realize later that I wasn't gauging my time as well as I should've in order to really make a final push here. I don't think it would've made much difference overall but I need to remember this if I run another Olympic distance. With longer distances, I seem to be able to gauge things a bit better. Olympics/10Ks go by a bit faster and it's easier to lose track of your time since there's not as much distance. Now during this last mile, a younger guy passes me on the left...only to stop on the uphill portion of a roller with a cramp. I pass by and seconds later, this happens again. I think he tried to pass me 3 times. Can't remember if he finally did or not but I'll talk about him a little later. I am now very close to the finish after I recognize some landmarks, but I'm just not quite sure how close until I see the turn off the road to the left into the grass which the two lines of banners leading us into the Finish arch. Okay, time to turn on the afterburners! And despite the somewhat uneven ground, I am flying! I am REALLY pumping here to the finish in the final 0.2 giving everything I have to cut off even a little bit more time. A few guys ahead of me finish and I'm hearing the two lines of spectators cheer me on as well as words of how well I'm moving. Finish arch is just up ahead and raise my arms in triumph as I cross under the arch! I didn't hear my name called though Doug's relatives told me they did when I talked to them later. No matter...I have FINISHED the Muncie 70.3/modified Olympic race!!


I think the only thing would've been to track my mile splits and use them to gauge whether I should speed/up slow down. I think I was certainly capable of maintaining a sub 7:30 pace, but didn't really track how well I was doing with mile splits. Otherwise, training in the heat paid off once again.

Understandably after the final kick, I'm just a tad out of it as I slowly move through the finishing area. Get my medal from one of the volunteers and a hat from another (yea! a hat!). A volunteer gives me a cold water as I walk out of the area. I think one or two made sure I was okay and saw that I didn't seem to need any help. I check my watch and see that I made it here in 2:48 something, which is really a bit less than that as I started my watch early. While I know I had a good run and decent bike, I'm unsure of my placing with the modified course. Try to find out a little while later. I move over to get something else to drink, a banana, and a cookie. Move over to one of the picnic tables to sit for just a bit. Actually, I feeling quite decent. Nothing cramped despite the heat and fast effort. I'm just sweating a bit even in the shade considering the heat which is definitely in the mid 90s now. A lot better than some others around me: one guy under the pavilion has IV bandages (saw several folks with those during this time). Another next to me is holding an ice bag against his calf and tells me he thinks he pulled something. I say it looks like his soleus or lower calf muscle from where he's got the ice bag at. Tell him I've had those problems as well. A friend of his comes up and says that the heat took its toll as he had collapsed at the finish line. I'm actually somewhat surprised to see all of this considering how well I'm doing. After I finished the first round of light food and some drink, I moved around the area a bit looking for Doug's family. But, I first found the guy who had the lower leg cramps several times while attempting to pass me during the last part of the run. He said he just couldn't stop his leg from cramping going up the rollers. He'd work it out, go downhill, and it would cramp again on the uphill. Talked for a bit and moved over to the finish area where I found Doug's father. We chatted for a little bit as he didn't realize I had already finished. Saw one guy being carried to medical during this time too. Heard a LOT of "First Time" being called as folks finished but I think that was first HIM rather than first tri. Still, I think that showed there were a good number of newbies here even to the sport. I think considering I finished in the top 1/4 Overall says something as well to how much more experience I had compared to a good number of other folks too. Probably how I’ve learned to train for such races as well. Then I decided to get some more chow as they had started to serve BBQ sandwiches and baked beans. It was a bit early for this but after all, they were expecting this to be a lunch for the finishers after 4 hours of race time. I still ate it anyway. After all, I did pay for it and I didn't think I would get anything else to compensate for the shortened distance. Sat down a bit worried about cramping and not getting back up. But after I was done, I was fine. I looked over at one guy and I asked him if he was okay. He didn't look it but said he was. I asked again just in case and he reaffirmed that he was doing okay with a small smile indicating a bit of surprise at my concern. He said he just wanted to sit there. After this, I'm not positive exactly how events unfolded from here. I know I went to the finish area to see if I could see Doug finish. But unfortunately, when I heard his name called, I was too late. Still, I greeted him just after he finished and let him know where everything was. Not too long after that, we met up with his relatives who took our picture together. I then wanted to see if I could find results. As I know I had a good bike and even better run, I was understandably curious what my place was in AG. I asked a volunteer where results were and he pointed to the Ironman booth. They pointed me to a building down by the reservoir. Nobody was around that and so I just looked for the crowd. Found the big gaggle of people by the Ironman merchandise tent. Eventually got to see the list which was in itty bitty tiny print! No AG listings, only overall, and these didn't have run times on them. I realized later that the AG place was there, but it wasn't obvious. I gave feedback to the race folks later that they really needed to have individual printouts at a booth that at least two other races I've been at have had available shortly after folks finished. So I went back up to the Ironman booth and after they still were pointing folks to the building, I corrected them and said where the listing was. Then I asked what this booth was for and it was the 70.3 Championships rolldown booth. So, I asked where I was. They had me at 21st. Hmmm, probably not close enough for the rolldown, but who knows. I would return later.

I headed back to the RV and cooled off a bit in the A/C. Talked to Doug and his relatives for a bit. As Doug and Jeff had computer tablets, we were able to check results online much quicker than trying to find out at the race site. Saw essentially what I've reported here. Again, disappointed with the swim. After this, went to transition to pick up my gear. It was here a few guys from my AG were also picking up their gear and said they had problems on the swim too. And much later as Doug and I headed back, we found from his swim coach that very warm water like that can really mess your body up. As a matter of fact, USA Swimming won't allow folks to swim distances of 5K or greater if the water temp is 87.6 degrees or greater. So, I wasn't as disappointed later after I realized the 88 degree water temp was probably an unexpected limiter on my swim. With gear taken care of, I changed and decided to get something else to drink prior to the awards. Got a nice mocha coffee cooler drink from the coffee/smoothie company there too - AAAAHHHH! Now they had a massage tent there but I wasn't sure from the race website and Athlete's Guide whether I had to pay for this. Legs felt real good, so I didn't bother this time even it was really included. I told the race folks this was not stated in the Athlete Guide and unclear whether it was included. At last awards were being presented. Not surprising, Greg Bennett won the Men's competition and Overall as Olympic distance is his forte. Kelly Williamson won the Women's and only lost to Greg by 10 minutes. Now this going on 2 and a half hours after I finished. And the last two finishers on the course come in at this time! At least they finished but it must've been near 100 out there now. Whew! At last the IM 70.3 Championship rolldown arrives. I don't really have much of a chance but my hopes rise when in the AG previous to mine, no one takes the spot in the rolldown of names and the MC asks if anyone from the AG is present to take the spot? Well, could that happen in mine? Alas, there's 1 rolldown spot and it's taken after the second name is called. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to get faster ;) With that, Doug and I eventually head back to his sister's to recover, relax, and refuel. Head back home the next day.


The 88 degree water was definitely a limiter I think. Yes, there were other problems on the swim, but I really should've been able to do closer to a 30 min mile. For the modified distance, I didn't consider the heat a factor. My bike/wheels are starting to limit me now on the bike portion, though my decision to race as I trained and not hammer on the bike worked to my advantage on the run.


While I'm still disappointed overall with the decision to shorten the course (especially since the actual temps were about 5-7 degrees lower than forecast and the fact that Eagleman has NEVER been shortened due to heat), I still had a pretty good race despite the swim. I believe I adjusted well to the course change and was patient on the bike while others hammered and I virtually passed them later. I would bet that several of those in my AG hammered on the bike only to lose steam on the run and possibly succumb to the heat. The heat was not really a factor for me since I had raced in previous seasons, knew what to expect, how to counter it, had super support on the course, and had adequate training for it prior to the race (unlike Eagleman in early June where often one does not have any acclimation time). Would I recommend Muncie 70.3 to folks? Prior to the shortened course decision and what WTC did later to "compensate" folks, I would have said a resounding "Yes"! This is a pretty fast course, despite the rollers on the run. The closed state roads for the bike make this a really nice bike portion and had it been the actual 56 miles, I don't think it would have nearly been as congested as it turned out to be. Volunteer support was OUTSTANDING! I really can't say enough there. Overall good race for the most part. They do have to communicate better with folks prior to the race and after the race for results and amenities. The race participant list was not updated for 2 months after I had registered and I had to ask them if I really was. I had the email confirmation, but really wanted to see I was on the list especially since there were two other "David Millers" entered. In addition, it really wasn't clear if there was complementary massage after the race or not. There was massage you could pay for prior to the race. But I wasn't sure after and I unfortunately didn't ask. Posting results was essentially a disaster as one of the printers got fried due to the heat. Even so, there should be individual result printouts as soon as possible as I have experienced that in a few races now. There was fairly quick preliminary results on the web, but I didn't know that until later. Good support on the bike and run with plenty of cooling items too. Some folks don't like sponges as they sometimes the water soaks into your socks. But, I do appreciate that they're available.

That said, after I received word of what I would consider weak/lame compensation I received for the shortened course, I'm having a more difficult time recommending any Ironman 70.3 races in the future. I do think the WTC compensated those folks in the Muncie region with an okay deal to only pay $150 for next year's Muncie 70.3 event. They also offered $125 discount on four later 2012 races. But, for those of us out of town and/or not close to these other race venues along with the fact that we may be tapped out for racing budget in 2012, what they offered isn't right in my opinion. It's not just about the registration fee, but travel expenses that go with it. The other 2012 races were Austin, Branson, Timberman (NH), and Steelhead (MI), all MUCH too far away for me to race in at this time. At the very least, I would've accepted some small discount to a 2013 70.3 race that was closer. Yes, I got to race and got the amenities that went with it. But I raced an Olympic and I paid for a Half Ironman. Except maybe for Eagleman again, I'm going to be hard pressed to think about racing in another Ironman 70.3 event. Enough said. If you don't mind dealing with the WTC and can handle the travel (9 hours for me to Muncie), then Muncie 70.3 race could promise to be a good race for you. It's a bit less well-known, isn't quite as expensive as some other 70.3 events, doesn't seem to sell out fast, and is a qualifier for the 70.3 Championships. Alas, I don't think I'll be returning any time soon.