Rev3 Anderson - Half Rev : Official Thread

not the hardest rev3 course out there but plenty of ups and downs on the bike and the run

I'll be doing it, but I've never been out that way before so I'm no help in terms of what to expect.

I signed up today. Looking forward to it. Doesn't look like this event is very popular on this board though...

I live in Anderson and will be participating in a relay team but I can give you some input on the course.

The swim will be much better this year because the lake actually has water in it. In past years the lake was so far down they had a hard time with the course. The park area for the swim and the start is nice and the actual swim start area is a man-made sandy beach so it is nice on your feet.

The bike course is always very well marked. There are some sharp turns but nothing that I would consider dangerous. The course itself is a very rolling course. There are a few short climbs with some grade but no long grinders with the exception of the first couple of miles out of the park. These first few miles are all uphill and can lead you to regretting it later in the race if you go too hard. The course really has significant flat patches to speak of. My best advise is to use the downhill momentum for the coming uphill as often as you can. This course wouldn't be considered the toughest bike course in the country or anything close to that but I wouldn't take it too lightly. If you get a chance to ride it early then I would recommend that.

This race does have separate transitions so be prepared. The bike to run transition is located at the Anderson Civic Center which is the same place they locate the finish.

The run course, in my opinion, is not that great. The first few miles are on paved nature trails within the civic center. The trails follow some nice scenery but there a few very short, very steep hills on the trail that you have to either run up or down. We are talking a tenth of a mile of less in length but enough of a hill that you really have to change your stride. After the trail portion (first 3 miles or so) you get on a lane of a major road. There is not as much scenery here but the road is flat and well paved. You will leave the paved road for a big loop around a big, grassy park. There really is nothing in this area but a paved access road with grass in the middle. It can get pretty hot on this portion and since there will be no traffic on these roads you can get pretty lonely. The access road also has some short hills that will make you change your stride a little. A few miles on these roads and you basically turn around and run most of the course in reverse.

All in all I would say Rev3 does a fantastic job with the event. The swag, cost, and atmosphere are very nice. There will not be the crowd support like you would see at an Ironman but the community does a pretty good job of supporting the event. The course itself is probably not a PR course because of the hills but it is a fair course that will challenge you and leave you feeling accomplished.

Woa, wait....I've never done a race like this. How does that work? Are they within walking distance of each other for race morning dropping gear off and picking gear up at the end of the day?


This will be my 3rd Rev3 this year so I'm familiar with them and have been very happy to support this company.

Thanks for the information I greatly appreciate it.

The swim is at a nice local park on Lake Hartwell called Darwin Wright Park. There is very little parking around the outside of the park and they do not allow vehicles in the park during gear drop off the day before and during the race for safety reasons. You will swim around the point of the park that juts out into the lake. This means you start on one side of the peninsula on the sandy beach and finish on the other side of the peninsula coming up a paved boat ramp and into transition 1 which is located in the park.

The bike ends at the Anderson Civic Center which is about 4-5 miles away from the swim start and T1. T2 is in the parking lot of the Civic Center. The race will give you a bag for all transition gear in T1 as well as a morning clothes bag. You have to put all of your belongings that you use for the swim (including wetsuit, cap, goggles, etc) into the T1 bag. It takes a little bit longer in transition but everyone has to do it. The race staff will then haul your T1 bags over to T2 and they will be there waiting on you when you finish the race.

The morning of the race everyone parks at the Civic Center and they have shuttle buses that run from T2 to the park on race morning. I thought this would be a huge cluster**** but it turned out to be a very good system. The buses ran every 5-10 minutes and it is about a 5-10 minute bus ride total. Also, family members and friends are welcome to take the bus over to T1 to see you start if they want. The buses will run after the start of the race to take them back over to the Civic Center. Since the finish of the race is at the Civic Center you will have your car, bike, and belongings all in one place once you finish. Then you just enjoy the finish line festivities, grab your gear, and hop in your car to leave.

The biggest issue most people have is bike check-in the day before the race. You have to take your bike over to the park and check it into T1 the day before. Because cars are not allowed in the park and there is very little parking you will see people just parking on the side of the road just outside the entrance to the park. The area is mostly aware of the race and the road is not a super busy road so people are flexible and generally kind to all the athletes trying to get bikes into transition.

In all honestly, the separate transitions scared me at first but it turned out to be no problem at all. Rev3 manages it very well.

Excellent, thanks for all the information.

Do you think it's spectator friendly at all? Seems a little chaotic for family members to come to the race.

I would say it is as spectator friendly as most other triathlons I have done which is not really. The park is nice and you can enjoy the prerace with family and friends. Spectators can stay in the park and watch you enter the water and exit the water from your swim. They will see you in T1 and when you ride out of the park. The bike course is not a spectator friendly course and honestly you will only see other athletes, the police blocking traffic, and maybe the course marshal while out there. The finish of the bike and T2 is spectator friendly so family can catch the shuttle from T1 back to T2 and wait for you to finish the bike and start the run. The run goes out and around some of the Civic Center so if they want to walk out along some of the run course they could but most families just wait at the finish line to see the finish. Rev3 does a good job entertaining kids with fun stuff at the finish but the bike and run courses themselves are not very spectator friendly.

Savageman is over, so time to focus on the next race: Rev3 Anderson. Should be a good race!

Will anyone run a disc for this?

Getting pretty excited for this! I love Rev3 events.

less than two weeks away...time to do the race ready shake down...

Yes

My wife has watched me do it twice and loves the race. In the past they have had a Jumbotron and there is entertainment at the finish area. They had kid games and inflatables in the past. If you bring the family, I would suggest staying in downtown Greenville vs. Anderson. There is just a lot more happening in Greenville.