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Race Reports for Full Vineman Triathlon

[1]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Volunteers were amazing! So helpful and cheerful. I tried to thank and encourage them, but I often felt like they were underappreciated because the most you can do is give a thumbs up when whizzing by at 20mph. So thank you volunteers! You make a world of difference. Excellent organization and gorgeous venue. If I ever were to do another IM I would love to come back to Vineman. Top notch all around.
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[2]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This is a good destination race. The river swim was a nice change and the bike course was hilly and challenging but doable. The road conditions, while not stellar, were not awful. The run was hilly so if you do this course, be prepared for that. As an athlete, I think that this was a great event. I was treated well and there were a lot of volunteers on both the bike and run course. I hope to do this event again in the future.
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[3]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Overall, loved it! My family was everywhere on the course cheering. I had MyAthleteTracker and my family knew exactly where I was through out the entire race. It made it easier for them to plan their next cheering spot. I highly recommend it.
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[4]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Vineman is an incredible race. The organization was superb and the volunteers were great. The course is hard but not ridiculously so. It makes me mad that it was so unusually hot because i think that under normal conditions I could have achieved a sub 13 performance. However no race has all go perfectly so I will take my result gladly. I would love to do this race agin and i would recommend it to anyone. I improved my time from my first IM last year by 1 hour 28 minutes. I did 14:50 last year and 13:22 at Vineman. My marathon time was 5:50 last year and 5:06 this year. My bike was 7:08 and this year it was 6:25. So, overall, Vineman for me was a big success.
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[5]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This is a great race at a great venue. If it had been held the week before, temps would have been in the upper 70's/low 80's. This was my first IM distance Tri and I made the podium so feel pretty good about it, especially with the challenging conditions.
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[6]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: great race for a first iron. i said i would only do one, but after this one, who knows!
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[7]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: The Full Vineman Triathlon race is a really fun race to be in for first-timers. The level of competition isn't as high as the traditional MDOT races so the intimidation factor isn't as apparent. I have learned that in order to be successful at the Ironman event you're doing, you have to train for the elements that will be present at the race. I look forward to doing another full distance race soon!
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[8]
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  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: I loved this race! The people (volunteers and spectators) are AMAZING. The bike course is BEAUTIFUL. Yes the bike roads kind of suck (several ejected bottles, flats, and two people 20 miles out from the finish with broken chains) but it is still worth it. If I was to do an IM again...I would do this one.
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[9]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Did this in celebration of turning 50 yrs old the next day.
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[10]
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  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: My goal was for sub-13 since last year at this event, my time was 13:31:02. I am very happy to get 12:49:50. The worst part of the day is the long walk (0.4 miles) from Johnson Beach to the car parking lot at Armstrong Road. I was going SO SLOW! (with tri transition bag).
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[11]
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  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Abbie and I had a rough day on Friday. I have a broken bike frame and she lost her wallet. :-( I had a wonderful day at the Vineman Ironman on Saturday. I really liked the course. Great volunteers. Lots and lots of fun. This was a fun day for me. Now, back to lots of training. Thanks to Abbie for being a great race Sherpa and a wonderful friend!
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[12]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?No

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Too hard

  • Comments: You can't beat the venue for this race - though vinyards and great views. Some of the cons, though, are that the roads on the bike are so bad they really affect the race in a negative way. I didn't think there were enough aid stations on the bike and there was enough traffic to make me feel uncomfortable and unsafe in many places - as well as construction around mile 45/90. The run is "more than challenging" hilly - with un-runnable hills but plenty of aid stations (no chicken broth though). I wouldn't do this race again, but it was a good Bucket List kind of experience.
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[13]
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  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

  • Lots of volunteers to help?
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: Next year's goal ... 12:59:59.
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[14]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This race is well-organized in a beautiful area. If the roads were not so bumpy, it would be a perfect race. I think the race draws an above-average number of Team in Training participants, so do take that for what it is worth. It was great to cheer these folks and the Barb's race folks on, but it still hacks me off with the Team only cheer for people in their group. And, the San Franciso IronTeam totally copied the flames from our Team Buttercup kits. So, I may have some sour grapes. Pun intended.
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[15]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This is a good destination race. The river swim was a nice change and the bike course was hilly and challenging but doable. The road conditions, while not stellar, were not awful. The run was hilly so if you do this course, be prepared for that. As an athlete, I think that this was a great event. I was treated well and there were a lot of volunteers on both the bike and run course. The run course got a little bit boring and I wish there had been more crowd support there. I would do this event again sometime in the future.
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[16]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I choose Vineman for a couple of reasons. I grew up in the Bay Area and figured it would be a great place to race. I also really wanted my family to see me race a full iron distance (they didn't see me at Louisville or Wisconsin) and I figured the only way that would happen was if I raced near them. Most of my family was planning on watching us, but an unexpected turn of events changed that. My Mom suddenly became ill a couple weeks before the race, and ended up passing away the Sunday before Vineman. It was completely unexpected and a total shock to everyone. I contemplated not doing the race at all, but then decided she would have wanted me to race so I did. My heart wasn't really in it, but I knew I needed to cross that finish line no matter what. The hawk reference is for my Mom. Even though she wasn't physically there, she was there watching over me. I love you Mom!
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[17]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Great race. I can't say enough about the volunteers, the organization of the event, and the beautiful course. This race is a classic.
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[18]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: This was a wonderful event. So many volunteers. And enthusiastic volunteers at that. What a wonderful day. And the weather was hot, but not unbearable, could not have asked for more. Overall, a great race experience. And as far as the road on the bike course. Maybe because I train on chip seal and fairly rural roads, but I did not think it was that bad.
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[19]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: The only thing that wasn't ideal for the race was the morning transition area. Ideally they would let people drop bikes the day before. Parking is a bit crazy and getting down into transition was a mess. They don't have any outhouses in transition either so out of the water there was no place to go if you needed to. Other than than it was very well organized and the volunteers were amazing as were the spectators. Just get to the race a lot earlier than you think you need to.
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[20]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: An amazing event for my first Full Iron distance triathlon. I would HIGHLY recommend this event to anyone and everyone. Outstanding volunteers. Good food, great aid stations, plenty of restrooms both pre-race and at every aid station. The whole community was out cheering and helping! On the run there must have been 5 to 7 people with hoses out spraying you down if you wanted it as you ran/walked/crawled by! Beautiful venue with so much to do. Just Awesome!
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[21]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: My coach (the guy in the Speedo in those posters on the bike course) said that I should be able to do the race in under 13 1/2 hours, so I made that my "best" goal, with finishing before sunset my "good" goal, and just finishing my "at the very least" goal. Glad to have met the best goal. I'm sure if I did the race next year I could do it in under 13 hours, but I'm just gonna focus on half iron races next season. It's too much of a time commitment to train for full. I was walking like a cowboy for a couple days after the race. A 7 hour drive back down to Los Angeles the day after the race isn't the best way to get the blood flowing. I was really sore despite (or because of?) the massage. So the first "iron man" is in the books. I'm taking a break from that distance for a year and only doing half iron races. Then I'm going to come back for another one, probably an M-dot "official" Iron Man.
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[22]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Vineman is a good race -- it makes a great first 140.6. It's getting bigger, which gives it a nice feel -- I had worried it would feel homey for being so small, but it never did. It's still family and novice friendly though. And of course, it's in an amazing location. I shipped my bike and flew across the country to make this my first IM, and I would do it again. After the race, I spent a couple days in Sonoma and a week in Yosemite with my family -- hard to beat that.
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[23]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: For anyone looking to do an Iron-distance race, this is one to consider *IF* they resurface the roads. Both the bike and the run give idle minds plenty to work with.
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[24]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: 1st Ironman, but over 25 bike races, tri's, run races, etc and this race was great! Will probably do again next year.
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[25]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Great race - the pre and post race is good. Organized. Fun expo and it was nice for my family. Would do it again.
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