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Race Reports for FirmMan Rhode Island

[1]
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: Firm does a great job with their events and listens to their racers. Good family run organization that gives back to the community as well.
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[2]
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? Below average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I have mixed feelings about this race. The volunteers are awesome - lots of them, taking a lot of time out of their day and super-encouraging - THANK YOU. For the organizers, they've been doing this for close to 20 years and maybe it shows - in good and not-so-good ways. The race is well-organized and the important things are in place including volunteers, road-marking and police. But there's little excitement or enthusiasm coming from the organizers and it seems maybe there are costs cut in a few areas. Some examples - communications before the race are minimal, with curt one-sentence replies to any inquiries; post-race food was plentiful but so-so in quality; security in transition is minimal; only 5 or 6 portapotties; and the finishers medals were not available on the day. So the race was well-run, but with more efficiency than enjoyment or enthusiasm. Maybe because this was my first HIM and a big deal for me personallly, I just found the ho-hum atmosphere to be a bit of
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[3]
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? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Not one of my better races..just no ease, struggle. but..kept moving & got it done.FIRM doesn't bill itself for frills,,but I was pleasantly surprised at the way this race was organized & carried out. It's clear this is not their first rodeo..& that they want you to have a good (& safe) race. The swim was well supported.There were enough water/aid stations with adeq choices, there were volunteers everywhere you needed them, the vibe was friendly, low key...the course was marked adequately. Police were at the important intersections.The finish may not be the hype of "branded" or lots of swag but overall job well done.
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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: Really enjoyed this race, set PR and was able to break 5 hrs. If schedule allows, will be back next year.
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[5]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?No

  • 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 liked this race, but really have nothing to compare it to since it was my first half. But I have done other distances and I was happy with this race from an organizational standpoint.
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[6]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?No

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

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

  • Comments: As a lot of people told me while at the race, this is a great race for people doing this distance for the first time. It was definitely a challenging race both physically and mentally, but I really enjoyed it. I will be recommending this race to friends. Proud to now be HALF IRON!
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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: This a good race. I would do it again. The bike course is a bit dicey, but the swim is fun and different and the run course is pretty nice. There were a lot of volunteers out on the bike course with the exception of a couple of spots where I thought there should have been more, but its a lot of miles to cover and I would guess it is quite the task to cover it all. Tons of volunteers on the run course. The race is a little ghetto but the price is reasonable and the venue is pretty darned nice too.
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[8]
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: Very good race. Well run of all of the FIRM racing events I;ve done.
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[9]
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: Considering they had to postpone due to Hurricane Hanna and still had the event go off without a noticeable hitch, I was very impressed. They certainly know how to put on a race.
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[10]
Reported by:
Race rating (2)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

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

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

  • Comments: The swim course was poorly marked and very hard to follow. They need to add more big buoys in the middle to help out (Apparently one swimmer got lost and showed back up at shore close to 90 minutes after the start of the race). Some of the intersections on the bike were poorly marked and some of the volunteers seemed to not have any idea on what was going on. Even the some of the police didn't seem to be fully aware of the intentions of the cyclists (a car hit one of the cyclist at the end of the bike). My greatest beef was that the last half mile of the run was on the beach. Whoever thought it was a good idea to have people run in soft sand after already putting in that much exercise needs to have their head examined. That being said, the majority of the volunteers and police did a great job and for a race of that length there are quite a large number of both. Part of the discrepancy may have had to due with the two week postponement of the race due to weather. All and all
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[11]
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?
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: FIRM did a good job with this race, I'm just not a fan of the ocean swim and bike course.
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[12]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

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

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

  • Comments: Thanks to all the great Volunteers that helped to get us back of the backer into the finish. They did a great job.
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[13]
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:

  • Comments: I am very proud to have FIRM offer this race in my home state. I realize and appreciate all the hard work that goes into an event of this size. The race director, the hours of dedicated work by Frantic Fred and huge number of volunteers out there making this day possible- we thank you.
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[14]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?No

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

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

  • Comments: There was a lot of drafting going on, and some riders appeared unaware of this. The race didn't seem that organized; I thought it was very average in that department. The pasta dinner was mediocre, the expo was a dud. I really enjoyed myself--the volunteers were great, I thought. The run course needs some work and really, for a coastal race there should be more course on the water (because there currently is basically none.)
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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? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: A fun race worth doing once. But Firm does some things that annoy me. The race has so much potential, but it's lacking in the simple perks offered by Sun Multisports and Endorfun. Especially for what they charge.
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[16]
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 race venue, but I have to say that I would not want to do the bike portion as it seems a bit dangerous out there on Rt. 1 crossing over the exits and whatnot. The run was real nice and the swim looked nice too. Ending on the beach in the deep sand seems a little cruel though.
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[17]
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: Too hard

  • Comments: I thought this was a good race. I really enjoyed hanging out with Kathy and meeting more BT people at the race. Kudo's to my teammates Kathy and Laura for doing a great job with their part of the race, I wish I had helped my team more, but I warned them that I was a slow runner. :)
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[18]
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 bike course is OK, the run would have been a great course if I wasn't in so much pain. The 200 yard run on the sand is cruel, but that is the race's trademark. My complaints: Packet pickup is crazy when the weather is nice and the beach is packed. There should have been more bouys in the water. Bike course is a little boring. I liked the back roads with hills and corners. Route 1 is too flat and straight. No showers open after the race.
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[19]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

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

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

  • Comments: Race organization was just OK. Not terrible, but nothing great. This might sum up the race organization - there was a spot on the bike course where there was broken glass along the side of the road. So, they spray-painted "GLASS" and indicated where it was. Which was nice. BUT, why not just SWEEP IT AWAY?? Basically, things were not fully thought through.
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[20]
Reported by:
User photo
  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

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

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

  • Comments: thanks to Polly and Pam for allowing me (old and slow, remember?) to play on their team :)
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[21]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?

  • 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 thought FirmMan was a good race but my thoughts may be biased by how psyched I am with my performance. Went into the race weighing 200.5 lbs. For kicks I checked the Clyde results and had I registered as a Clyde I would've taken 9th in that category. Enjoyed the ocean swim and run course. The beach is awesome and kept my family entertained for the hours when I was out on the course. Despite what was a long day the kids had a great time which made me feel better about them being there at what isn't necessarily a spectator friendly course unless one is willing to drive. Beautiful, scenic. Found the bike to be a little more challenging than advertised by folks. It's not entirely flat and the headwinds were downright nasty. Additionally, Rt 1 has some wide shoulders in places but at the on/off ramps there are definitely some potentially dangerous sections where there is rought road/chatter strips marked with cones/orange paint. Requires bikes to go a little into traffic
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[22]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?No

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

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

  • Comments: Firmman is a good race. The swim and run venue are very nice. You wont get a prettier beach anywhere around. The bike was challenging but I question the safety of all the 'chatter strips' at the exit ramps. Having to go around them and barely into the traffic lane is dangerous. The bike course could have been swept more. The only other bad move, as far as water stops go, the RD provide a sport drink mix called "heed". It was AWFUL!!!! powdery tasting, yuck. They should have stuck with gatorade. Overall, I would recommend this race to anyone. Next year however, I will probably do another 1/2 IM somewhere else. 3 times for this one.
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[23]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?No

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

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

  • Comments: Best Firm race I've done...fun Race Director....lots of good volunteers. Suggestions...porta potties on bike and on run beyond mile 1...don't give out Heed on bike course telling everyone it is Gatorade. Real Gatorade would have been wonderful on bike/run course. Would do a relay again but not have this be my A race of the season.
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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? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: I've only done one other race so I don't have much to go on. Body weight for this race was 165.
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[25]
Reported by:
User photo
  • Organised?
  • Events on time?

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

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

  • Comments: I was really, really happy with the volunteer support. I did about the time I was anticipating, and I was fully prepared to find empty aid stations. But the support was awesome - I didn't see any stations that had been manned on my way out empty on the way back. With people finsihing from 4 to 9 hours, it must be a really long day. Special props go to the woman living at the mile 7 aid station who let me use her bathroom. Note: I'm missing a T2 and run split. Assumed 2 minutes for T2, then back-calculated.
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