Twilight Triathlon - TriathlonSprint

NASTIEST SWIM EVER!!! The swim was in a very shallow, muck bottom, shelly, dark brown, awful tasting lagoon. Visibility was zero because of so many people having already churned up the muck. My wife said some people were coming out of the water and you could see the muck on their faces. She compared them to chimney sweeps! As I approached the shore, I stood up when my fingers touched the bottom, at which point I immediately sunk to my knees in crap. On about my third step I cut my second & third toes on something.

NOT THIS RACE!!! There are way too many races that are closer and cleaner than this event.

T1 was very short because the timing mat was right at the entrance instead of down by the water. Had an end spot because I got to check in early. Took a few seconds to turn on lights and wipe off my feet. Could really feel the cuts burning. Wiped off my left foot again and could see it was bleeding, but not too bad.

Not cut my toes on the swim.

Once I got my feet in my shoes, I really didn't feel the cuts. The road had a decent bike lane, but the white line has been painted so many times there is a lip to it, so most riders were riding in the road. The road was rough with some potholes that were more like splits in the asphalt. Really had to pay attention to what was ahead. Saw one guy afterwards that was chewed up pretty bad, overheard him say that as he was riding, his front wheel "just disappeared out from underneath me." There was also a small bridge that had a dip/drop at each edge. At both the turn around and re-entering transition, there were cars backed up that forced me to slow up and maneuver around them. All that aside, the thing that bothered me the most was being passed by trucks pulling boat trailers. The road dead-ended at a boat ramp 500 feet past transition, so EVERY boater going home that evening had to pass the riders.

NOT THIS RACE!!! There are way more races closer that have better and safer roads.

Another good T2, had almost forgot about the cuts until I stepped off the bike.

Not cut my toes exiting the swim.

All runners were on the same side of the road, so there was a lot of traffic. It wasn't really a problem except for the water station. Runners running towards each other, both trying to grab a drink and not enough volunteers. And it was getting dark. It made for some close calls. I did see one volunteer sprint to a lady who went through when there was no cups ready and brought her 2 cups of water. Just after the turn around, I was caught by another Clyde and we ran stride for stride to within 400 yards of the finish when he dropped me with his kick.

Not cut my toes on the swim exit! Pushing off was really uncomfortable but the thing that bothered me the most, was my big toe (which was not cut) sticking to the insole because of the blood.

Train more, eat less, get faster and lose weight!

Went to the medical tent to get my toes cleaned up.


I was about 3 minutes slower than I was hoping for. The combination of a poor choice for lunch and eating too late along with the inability to fully use my left foot was probably the difference.


The allure of a night race got me to drive 2+ hours to this event, glad I did it, but don't think its worth the time in the future. Too many things that left me feeling let down by this one.