Happy Valley Tri / July 5th

I registered for this race, it should be a lot of fun. As long as your paypal was accepted you should be okay. I had trouble registering online so just sent a check to the RD. Shoot the RD an email just to be safe, though! Better safe thyan sorry.

I just went to the site again and maybe this just was added or I didn't notice it before -- the have a weekly-updated, list of all registered entrants.  I'm on in so I'm in!!

First tri so I'm excited!

Edited by jfdjrr 2009-06-04 6:54 PM

That's great good luck in your training. You will do great based on your logs right now!

I'm looking forward to it.  Like this race because the swim is in the pool.  I'm a good swimmer but prefer pools or nice clear tropical water!  Need to get some lake & river time in this summer.  Plan to do an olympic tri in Sept and the swim will be in a lake then. 

Since I've never done a tri (lots of running race experience), I'm going to observe a race this Sunday and sort of watch the transition areas closely.  Have to see what I need to be prepared for in them.

Good luck to you.

drp5063 -- Should be a good place for a first tri!  Good luck.  Are you starting down this road with aspirations of Ironman?


Edited by jfdjrr 2009-06-05 2:50 AM

I'm in!  The online registration system worked flawlessly for me this morning.  I actually liked this more than going through Active.com or the other methods I've seen.

BTW - I did this race last year and had a good time. It was a nicely organized race with a good, supportive crowd.

The course left a little to be desire for me, just because I'm not a big fan of "out and backs" and both the bike and run portions are such.  The race takes place in such a beautiful area of Pennsylvania, but I felt like the course kind of fails to take advantage of some of the local beauty.  I would love to see the bike course turn right down Rock Road after passing the airport, ride along the gorgeous Spring Creek canyon and return up the hill on Orchard Road (a tough climb to end on) rather than out and back.  And I'm not sure why the run goes over to the "industrial" side of Park Avenue rather than using one of the traditional 5K loops through the scenic Penn State campus.

However, I never voiced these suggestions to the RD and was just hoping for changes to happen spontaneously, so I don't really have a right to complain.  Silence is complicity, right?

It's a local race for me, which is wonderful to have and, like I said, it is well-run, so it was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to it again.

I have to agree, it's a great starter race.  Last year was my first triathlon year, so it fit nicely with my skill levels.  I hope to knock some time off this year!

Good luck, everyone! 

yeah i can't wait! thanks!  yes i do have a goal of finishing an ironman, who knows when but it's definitely a long term goal

We did this race as a team last year and I don't feel everything was well organized or communicated. Hopefully they have the bugs worked out this year.

The people out on the run course didn't pay attention and tell you where to turn and they weren't allowed to paint the road.

It wasn't communicated real well either as to where you were to dismount. Maybe because we were in the first wave things were disorganized, but it was a bit frustrating.

Also IMO the swim is rather long for a sprint, I know a bunch of people that passed on this race for that reason.

Yeah, I can definitely see those points, mtnchick.  Especially considering the knowledge and experience of the organizers.  I might not have noticed the run issues since I ran the course in practice the week before.  I definitely DID notice the transition issues, but attributed the confusion to my "newbie-ness."

Anyway, I still had fun.  And I'm sure it will be fun this year, too.  It was certainly better than Lewisburg and I had fun there too.  Maybe I'm not picky enough?

I ran part of the bike course this weekend. It's certainly not as flat as the elevation profile would have you believe. It's typically rolling PA hills. Should be fun!

I did it last year.  I didn't have any issues, but I also knew and trained the course ahead of time.  It's a very small race, so I don't have the same expectations that I would of a race with 2000 people.  First year, bumps to be expected.  

Definitely not flat, more small rollers that as PSUguru said, very typical of PA.

I'm hoping to go up, but probably won't race it. 

Good luck to everyone!

Good luck to all you guys racing this weekend!