EPIC Dartmouth - Triathlon

I actually volunteered at this race (hence all the blanks in the "performance" section.) It was the first tri where I've volunteered, and the whole experience was fantastic. The welcome dinner on the Friday night was delicious and entertaining, a great opportunity to meet some of the competitors, and the organizers. The race director came around to each table to meet every attendee. We met people from all over Canada, the States, Germany, Sweden, and Australia.
There were practice swims throughout the week, and we popped by the race area on Saturday so my husband could do a practice swim, and I could pick up my volunteer kit. There were plenty of volunteers to oversee the swim, and assist competitors and volunteers in kit pick up. We drove the bike course (gorgeous! and challenging in sections...) but skipped the run, since my husband had signed up for the "Aqua" challenge - the swim and bike, no run.
Everyone there seemed really impressed with the options that were available, i.e. not taking part in one of the events, or adding on a longer run if you had energy for it after biking 180k. There was a 5k and a 10k on the Saturday, as well as a kids' triathlon. Every event was wonderfully organized, and even in the pouring rain, there were cheerful spectators, and the participants wore huge smiles.
The race started on time - with a spectacular spontaneous rendition of O Canada by the participants, since the sound system to broadcast it bailed at the last minute. I watched a portion of the swim, and then made my way over to the bike water stop to which I'd been assigned. There were several police cars stationed at different intervals to guide traffic, and the signage for directions looked good, although I understand one person did go the wrong way, in spite of several of her competitors hollering for her to turn around.
There was cold beer and delicious pizza for the competitors at the end (volunteers were given plenty of cold drinks and sandwiches over the course of the day), and good music playing while the finishers came in. My dilemma for next year is whether or not I should train to take part, or volunteer again! Can't wait to watch this race grow more and more each year!