Callaway Gardens Sprint Tri

This is a GREAT Tri for first timers. This was my first Tri EVER back in 2005. Didn't race it in 06, but returned in 07 and placed 4th in my AG. Raced it again last year and was thrilled and honored to win my AG and place 4th overall out of 680! Having done that, I'm walking away, leaving the event for others to move up and enjoy.
The swim is great for first timers as its all "around" the side of the lake, between the beach and the buoys, in only 3-6 ft water max.
The bike course is a bit shorter then what's listed (10 mi?) its 8.3mi. All turns and feels mostly downhill, with only 2-3 very short little climbs.
The run is pancake flat back around the lake and is only 2 mi. so you can really go for it and empty the tank.
Last year they had just under 700 doing it and word was they were going to break it up this year with start times to help with congestion on the bike course.
Overall, a GREAT triathlon and one to enjoy with the whole family if desired....Enjoy

FM

Cube covered it very well.  It was also my first last year and I am going to do it again this year.

One thing to note is that transition is first come/first serve so you want to get there early.  Being a newcomers race some folks are not used to setting up their stuff in a small tight area so they think they can spread out over a 10 acre field.

The swim is not bad at all as you are in shallow water the entire time.  You then have about a 100 yd. jog up into the parking lot/transition area.

VERY spectator friendly race.  You can see the swim start across the lake, watch swim exit/T1/Bike start & finish/T2/run start all without moving more than 150 yds. and then move about 200 yds. and see the run finish.  There are also lots of things for the youngsters to do.

Enjoy and have a great race.


Steve

I am gunning for you this year, Cube... I have been training exclusively for this race, and if that isn't enough, I am sneaking motorized swim fins into the swimming area....

I'm in - this will be my first so I am jacked!

)

Wes,
You had me in the swim last year! I had a nightmare swim, kicked twice and slapped in the face (was that you?) knocking my goggles off.
Dont be disappointed, but im not doing this one anymore, going L O N G.
Your next chances would be next weekend at Westpoint Lake Oly, then Carrollton Sprint in July, Tri PTC in August, Vidalia Onion Sprint in Sept or Ironman 70.3 Augusta in Sept. Might throw in the Callaway Oly in Sept as a training day before 70.3.
But hey, you can always go for my winning time from last year of 45:26!!!
Thanks for the laughs, look forward to seeing you this summer.

FM

Ahhh, you heard I was coming back OK! I'll see you at Augusta then... happy tri-ing!!

This will be my first tri. I'm going with a couple who've done it before and they say it's pretty easy, the swim is along the shore in a slight (right, I think) curve.

This will be my first tri and I'm pretty excited but was not expecting 700+ paticipants.  Good luck everyone.

Any info on the bike course?

The bike course is a bit shorter then what's listed (10 mi?) its 8.3mi. All turns and feels mostly downhill, with only 2-3 very short little climbs.

FM

This will be my 1st Tri also. For those of you who have done it before, when do you set up in the Transition area?  I am staying Sat. at Callaway. Is this something you do on Sat or early Sun prior to the race?

Also, I had to email the RD about something and as of a couple of weeks ago, he said there were 1200 registered. Since then, I received an email saying that the registration hours were being extended due to the fact of the overwhelming # of registrants.

This is my 1st post.  I signed up and have been lurking for awhile. Thanks everyone for the information gathered here.

Good luck to all racing, especially the first timers...

1200 people could be a bit crowded on that bike course...

One bit of advice I can offer is that at this race, it's really easy to lose sight of your racking spot. I counsel taking a moment to get your bearings, ie your spot in relation to fixed landmarks, before you head down to the beach.

Once again good luck to our first timers!

1200 people??
That was the main reason I walked away after last year. It was crowded with 680, I can only imagine 1200+.
There was talk after last year that Dave Johnson was going to break it up, men starting at 7 am women at 8 am.
LOVE this race and it IS great for first timers but 1200 is over the top. The course is way to small for that volume.
Swim- your pinched between the beach and the buoys 20-25 yards off the beach. A time trial start would help, but with 1200 in waves its just a beat down.
Bike- 1200+ on a 8.3mi course, kinda tech with lots of turns, and beginners, can you say, LEFT!!
Run- 2 mi around the lake on cart path and road.
Transition- Good luck finding a spot on a rack if your late, there were people laying their bikes on the ground last year with 680.
Again, I have really enjoyed this race over the last 4 years coming up in the activity. I just believe 1200 is WAY to many for this venue.

FM

1200???

OMG. I am a clydesdale and am in one of the last heats. I joked last year I was going to get a recorder with the message "on your left" with as many people as I passed on the bike . Pardon my language, but I now fear this will be a giant cluster F%#K

I am wondering if I should just take my road bike since getting into aero may be impossible and shifting will be a pain

I TOTALLY agree. I've done this race twice ('06 & '07) and even with 600 it was super crowded. The roads are just too narrow (and not closed to cars!) for that many people. While this is an excellent beginner race, it got too crowded for me too.

For the new folks, there is one sharp turn about 1/2 way through, if I remember correctly, and maybe people have gone down - it's a sharp left.

Good luck to those racing!

Anyone want to meet up Saturday and do an easy ride?  I plan on biking the bike and run course to get a feel for what to expect.  We can meet at the first transition.  I'm flexible with time as we will be down there by noon on Saturday.

Kevin

There were 1000 people there last year, and I knocked 4 minutes off of my time from 2007. I'm hoping to do something similar this year. I agree that 1200 is a lot of people, but this tri is geared towards first timers and a more "relaxed" race. I doubt we will get much sympathy from the RD.

See you out there Sunday!!

Great race today. I went off in the second wave and by the time I got to the first turn buoy, the water was clear ahead. They spaced the waves 4 minutes apart. I had to remind a few new peeps to stay to the right on the bike, but other than that, about the same as last year, including my performance :-(

This was my first "official" triathlon ever (did a few practice tris in the pool and around town by myself).  I am absolutely hooked.  About the race ...

As I already knew I would, I struggled through the swim.  I could never get out of the pack and constantly had my stroke messed up bu kicking people behind me and getting kicked by people in front of me.  Had trouble sighting / swiming straight and kept getting to the right inside the bouys.  Need to work on Swim ability and swim course management.  Pretty sure I came out mid to back of my group.   

Bike course was flat and easy.  I started off in the CLydesdales group on the swim (next to last wave) and the women all started in front of me.  The bike course was over crowded and made passing difficult.   "On your left" doesn't work when there is no left (the whole road is taken) and no one will move over.  WOuld like to get faster on the bike, but that will come with time and hard work.  Got passed by one gown man, one kid, and one woman.  Passed so many people I lsot count (mostly women. 

RUn course, fat flat and easy.  Only got passed twice, and I passed one of them back.  Prob. passed 30 or 40 people. 

Ovearall - Finished in 59:36 by my watch.  Official results arent posted yet.

I am looking foward to completing a few more sprints this year with about the same mindset as this when (survive the swim, advance on the bike, challenge the run).  THen I look foward to workign hard during the offseason and coming back to Callaway next year to compare the results.

LOVED IT!  I will do full RR with all the gory details but, met goal number one to not drown or walk during the swim, goal number 2 -dont crash the bike or get ANOTHER flat (details about flats will be in the RR).  Goal #3 run in less than 20 dont trip and fall into the woods to die.

Could not believe how much fun the bike was, I got behind one of the other Clydes and we must have passed 150 people.  The run was ok at the start till I emerged into the sun about 200 yds in and was looking for my legs while thinking you could cook an egg on my head.  Took 2 short walks and slow jogged most of the way but still was about 19:30 which surpassed my not too lofty goal.

When there was about 300yds to go you could see the finish and hear the crowd cheering, all heat, fatigue and whatever else ails you just leaves and you feel an unbelievable rush of adrenailine that has to almost be illegal.

Yeah, thats right - its on now! I cant wait to go again!

Congrats to all first-timers who raced in and completed the event!  It was also one of my first tris last year.  You will have many more great races in the greater ATL area to enjoy in the months and years ahead.  Nice work!

What a blast. 1st time here also. Absolutely no training...60 lbs overweight.....gave myself 1 hr 30 minutes to complete....came in at 1 hour 18 mins.


Results are up at results.active.com

Great experience. I can see where the more veteran triatheletes would be frustrated at this event. It was great for me and a buddy (1st time also) Will do a RR on the breakdown of times.

Plan on training...losing weight....and breaking 1 hr next year.  Competed as a Cly  will do age group next year to get in an earlier wave. It was hot!!

I did the RR and may be worth the read if you are new like me -- all the things you read and do to get ready are worth it, and experience is priceless.

I would post the link to the RR but am currently too stupid to figure out how?