Anyone doing Quakerman on 9/12?

I know all about this race. Only did it once but ride the route all the time and have swam the lake for it and Steelman several times.

Swim will be a flat lake with sun glare issues if it's sunny.

Bike is 3 loops around the lake. The ride starts with a tough little climb right out of transition and goes clockwise around the park. Shoulders are wide the majority of the course. The route has many rolling hills of no real consequence but there are a 3 or 4 significant climbs on each loop. One as you come to your first right turn at rt 412, one after the falls on S. Park rd., the big one on rt 313 and then one shortly after you turn onto Mountainview Dr. (563). The loop is a great place to ride and get used to the AERO position because of so few turns and traffic. There are plenty of places to settle back in after the climbs as long as you take it easy and don't go too crazy on the climbs.

Now for the run... When I raced this course it was in the high 90's and 90% humidity so to say it sucked would be an understatement however, the run course is tough. Not much flat stuff, the run starts out on a walking trail and then climbs a decent hill out to rt 563 and turns left. It then continues on a rolling section of the road and eventually turns left down a side road. That road is generally downhill to a turn around then back up hill. I believe it is a 2 loop course.

I had a tough time with this course in general. No problem on the bike but the run and heat/humidity destroyed me. I also think I over did it on the bike and set myself up for a crappy run regardless of the weather.

Best advice is pace yourself. If you have any questions let me know.
Steve

I will be there. My first HIM also.

I was thinking about going out to the park to ride the course before the race.

Anyone interested in meeting up one night this week? 

I think I could do it this weekend in the AM on  Sat or Sun.

Thanks for the great info - one more question. Do you remember what they had for bottle exchange and nutrition on course? Bike water bottles to exchange or gatorade/water?

Thanks Johnny and Steve. I'm pretty psyched. I do remember the weather the weekend you guys did it; looks a little cooler this time. It will be a little bit of 'old home' since I grew up in Richboro and spent a lot of time riding out Swamp Road/rt 313, albeit back in the days when Peugeot still sold bikes in America and helmets were something you wore on a motorcycle. Now it's time to execute and have a little fun.

I went out last night to ride the loop around the lake. A couple of observations:
1. There is not a flat stretch in the entire 18 miles.
2. There is a great tailwind on the Mountain View Drive side of the loop, but also a headwind going the other way. 
3. From reading other race reports, it looks like the entire race is going to be on the shoulder. There was a lot of debris (small stones and even a decaying deer!!!), so I am bringing an extra tube.  
4. There is some loose gravel on the 611 side of the ride, especially when crossing intersections. 
5. There is a pretty good descent when getting back on rt 313 (hit 40+ mph), but then it is straight back up.
Good luck on Saturday.
-K 

They swept the road a month or so ago which made it a lot better than it had been. I ride out there all the time and have not had issues with flats nor yhave my co-riders, so I wouldn't be overly concerned.

The good news with riding in a big loop is that what goes up must come down. The bad news with doing 3 loops is you get to do the sucky parts more than once... But since we're riding in circles, we get to do the fun stuff 3x too.

I'm looking forward to a good day and a lot of fun. This is by far the furthest race I've ever done, but I also feel like this is the best shape I've ever been in (at least as a somewhat (don't ask my wife) responsible adult), so why not?

See you guys in a few hours. Havent checked in here in a while. My first HIM, good luck everyone. Ill check back a few days from now...

Well? How'd it go???

The first word that comes to mind is wet!!! The wet was both good and bad - good because we didn't have to worry about overheating like you guys a couple years ago, not so good because it turned the 313 hill into the "hill of terror".

Overall I loved the event; well-organized, pretty low-key, nice course (especially so on a nice day). I didn't have my best ever performance but that was no fault of Endurasport. I'm still working on my race report, and will have more detail there.

Thanks for everyone's help and notes. I would do it again.
Steve

I am working on my race report as well.
The rain was great though. I will take 60 degrees and raining over 90+ and humidity anytime.
313 was very scary. Did you have to go around the cop who had someone pulled over on the side of the road about half way down the descent? Saw a lot of flat tires on the hill back up 313 and on 564 back to the rest stop.

I concur that it is a very well organized event.  Challenging course, definitely not flat at all, especially on the run, but overall not too hard.

race report is up. It is under EndurSports HIM.

Yeah weather wise, not ideal but any day over the heat!

Swim was my best swim ever. Right at or under 35min.

Bike was going well... 2 miles in. Then I flatted! I was the first person with a flat in the race. It happened just before 412. Sucked, and eventually cost me 3rd in my AG! (25-29)

Run went amazing. Nailed my nutrition and felt awesome. My longest run to date and my best during a race.

I ended up 29th, with a 7-10min. flat. So I will take that for my first HIM.


To be honest, that race was pretty unorganized. If you have ever done a CGI race you will see why I say that. Nothing horrible, but could have been much better. I wont go into details. But overall a good and very low-key event.

Good job to all who raced!