Ironman 70.3 Augusta : Official Thread (Page 21)

I thought it was a blast! I agree that you have to compare course to course!

Despite the early communication hiccups, I think PEM and the city of Augusta did an outstanding job. 

I had a different experience than everyone else had with the athlete briefing.  I showed up at 1:40 for the 2:00 briefing.  Knew that I would want to be standing by the exit, which I did.  Flew through the rest of packet pickup.  Was done 2 mins after the briefing was over.

I was also in the early waves.  The only contact on the swim was the early leaders from my own wave who blew up at 500 yards; once I swam over/past them, I pretty much had clear water.

I had to navigate around folks the first 10 miles of the bike, but after that, it pretty much was single file the rest of the ride. 

The run course was probably the most spectator friendly run course I have seen.  I loved it.

I have done Augusta, Macon, Steelhead and Gulf Coast.  While I don't think it's fair to compare one course to another or one race time between races either, I think that Augusta is definitely a PR course. 

Macon was by far the hardest and that course probably adds 20 mins for difficulty.  Augusta and Gulf Coast tie for easiest (although, there are no easy 70.3s).

For those that did this race, what was the entry fee?

Personally I think the race is what it is. Was the point to point river swim, with the current, beneficial. Absolutely. It was worth about 5 mins in my estimation. At least for me based on what I can usually swim that distance in.

That being said, I'd also add that the bike course was not the easiest course I've ever seen. It wasn't the hardest either, but, there were some hills and a decent headwind for the majority of the last half of the bike leg. I train on hilly terrain due to where I live. So having some hills on the bike leg actually benefits me as compared to some of the others competing. However, I would definitely be much faster on a flat course with no wind. As compared to a flat course, I'd say Augusta's bike leg cost most of us what we gained on the swim.

A PR is just that. A Personal Record regardless of the race. So next year, if I go back and do Augusta, and come in 5 mins slower because the wind was blowing harder on the course, does that allow me to excuse next year's time due to the wind. Not at all. My PR from 2009 still stands.

All that being said, personally, I race the course. Each year I repeat a race, I try to improve on my time for that race.

Anyway, Augusta was great. Like others have said, they have some logistics to work out but the course was superb and the run course was ideal for family and friends to come cheer you on. I'll probably be back in 2010!!

Oh...I thought the goodie bags kind of sucked...I've done much smaller races and received some decent samples in my bag. Just sayin....

Just thought I'd throw my thoughts out there as a non-local. I was entered in the race and decided not to race b/c it was too close to my full IM, but I already had tickets so I came out, went through check-in with my racing buddy, swam in the river, ate a pre-race dinner, and spectated the course all day.

I was VERY disappointed in Augusta the city. Maybe as someone not from the South my expectations were off, but we stayed in downtown Augusta and it wasn't the beautiful vibrant shopping-and-dining-filled city that had been sold in all the race literature/website. We found ourselves absolutely desperate to find food Saturday morning with very few choices. I did not have a car and had to have someone drive me way the heck out of downtown for lunch and dinner. Even the restaurants far out of downtown were utterly overwhelmed by athletes during Saturday dinner time. Our hotel (the Ramada downtown) told us they had no idea this event was coming (as did the folks at the gas station/mini mart at Broad & Boundary on the bike course). Lines to get food at the very few open establishments for spectators during the race were insane and the staff were more mad at us than pleased for the business. I came close to missing my flight out of Augusta Monday morning because the cab company told me they were overwhelmed with more calls than they could handle (even though I arranged pickup in advance).

Packet pickup was the worst setup I've ever seen in a 70.3 race. We certainly spent less $$ at the expo than we would have otherwise because of the crowding and all the wasted time spent in line.

From a logistics perspective, I was really glad I wasn't racing because all the above would have contributed to too much pre-race stress. That said, the course looked lovely and fun and I would have liked to race it (if it were picked up and dropped in another city).

"Thanks for the reply.
I think the bottom line is that you can't really compare PR times from one course to another, based on all of the factors in the form of questions you listed. I understand that.

However in the case of hilly or windy courses, the difference is that you have to run/ride both UP and DOWN the hill, or WITH and AGAINST the wind. Not just downhill or with the wind to your back the entire time. This swim was 100% in one direction, WITH the current. That's a pretty big difference in my book.

And:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=181882&posts=15&start=1"

what's the alternative ... swim upstream, lol. There's only one direction to swim a river.

Edited by swimshady 2009-09-29 3:53 PM

Actually quite a lot of races go both ways in a river in their swim course. In this particular river with the strong current, that would have been difficult. But there certainly is NOT only one direction to swim in a river.

Ironman Kentucky swims both directions in the Ohio River.

Starting in the 3rd to last wave, I also thought the bike course was crowded. I also saw a LOT of inexperienced riders out there. Just a bunch of stupid stuff going on. Riding on the left side of the lane, three wide, weeving all over the place while trying to fuel..etc. One almost took me out and made me drop my Endurolytes. After giving her an ear full, I fugured my blood sugar was low and I quickly downed a Clif Gel.
If they go to gear bags, with only bikes in transition, that would help a lot.
Other then that, I too thought the event went over well and look forward to returning and pushing another new PR in 2010.
On a side note, from a personial standpoint, I wish the medals were a bit BIGGER!!
I like that it spins, but BIGGER would be good to.

FM

Ironman Kentucky swims both directions in the Ohio River.

I wanted to post something relevant but Im spinning my medal!  It's shinny!

Sorry someone had such a bad experience. Personally I thought Augusta did a decent job. I ran into alot of locals who did not know about the event, but I am not sure I completely expect a convenience store clerk to know or care. I mention this because the one at the Shell station I talked to was curious about my "Orange arm band" and what a "Half Ironman" was.

Other than that, I had no real issues. My family and I ate downtown for dinner Friday and Saturday night and lunch on Saturday. No issues any of those times. And I thought the food options downtown were pretty good. I can't speak to the service of the local establishments during the race but the days and nights leading up to it seemed fine from my experience.

Oh, the one issue I had was with our hotel who would not allow us a late checkout. My wife had our 20 month old all to herself on race day and we were trying to set it up so that she was not "homeless" with a young toddler from 12pm on and also not responsible for taking bags to the car by herself. The hotel we were in would not work with us at all on this. Which is fine. We just won't be staying there next year when we do go back.

I paid $250 in December.  Right now it's $225.

And yeah - goody bags not too good.  Not even a sample gel.  That being said there were plenty on the race course - I went home with more than I came with .

I personally had an awesome experience.  I felt the few little bads were so non existent compared to the goods.  I loved the course - the down river wet suit swim, rolling bike course and flat run with tons of crowd cheering.  We stayed at the host hotel and there was more than enough restaurants and food within walking distance.

I will be back next year!

Thanks for the response Lisa. I am 90% of the way toward signing up for 2010

I will def. do it again next year

It amazes me it turned out to be the worlds largest Ironman 70.3 - I think that is so awesome LOL

I learned a lot too with this race, more so than doing a sprint distance and know what I need to work on thats for sure. Granit I was sick for the race and still did it I'm glad to have just finished!!!

Hornet makes an appearance. The sporty girl posting above me is the truest warrior out there. and thats the fact jack

Thanks slayer and csharp - if you say so though. . .I was just out there doing what I do regardless of everything in between going on

but it also amazes me that I was able to finished the race haha!!!  I owe it to my coach for running with me though!!! We finished together and that was the best part about it all!!!

I will be back next year in a new age group to ready to rock it out and if you could slayer send me some of your quickness so I can fly by you on the bike - like you did me on the bike couse lol

Good times this past weekend - good times for sure!!!

I loved this race. It was my first HIM and im ready for my next one. I was in wave 7 so the bike course was not to crowded for me. I thought the river swim was great. The bike course was alot of fun. I was worried about the hills but the wind was a bigger factor. They had plenty of volunteers and food and all the aid stations. All in all agreat race. Hard to believe it was a first time event. Everything was very smooth. i agree the transition area was to crowded but not a big deal. Id race there again for sure.

I have a feeling MUPPETDOG were expecting Augusta to be more like Carmel by the Sea.

I am not from Georgia but have grown up and been educated in Louisiana, North Carolina, and Virginia. So I am very familiar with the different areas of the south. I have also lived in LA and traveled to NorCal and Tahoe quite a bit. I have also traveled quite a bit around the world (both high and low on the affluent scale). In short, I have seen a lot of places.

The two areas (NorCal and Eastern Georgia) are vastly different in geography, culture, and affluence. Augusta is a quiet, small, fairly well to do southern town/ city that has grown from the surrounding farmlands into its current character. She still has quite a bit of charm. She may not be in the best of form due to our current economy (and generally small town USA has struggled mightily over the last twenty years). I do not know a tremendous amount about Augusta but I am willing to guess that 99% of the US population only know of its existence because of golf in the spring when the azaleas are in bloom and the city's population explodes to twenty times its actual size.

Quite frankly... I will just come out and say it. Your post sounds like a typical NorCal snob. Why do you travel if not to see how others live, how other places operate? Can you just openly accept that other places are different? That is why you travel isn't it? To experience something different?

I suggest you stick to the haute couture destinations of Tahoe, Carmel, and Aspen for your travel destinations. These cities cater year round to the tourist that pines for a boutique shopping experience. We "lil workin' class folk" that actually use our towns would appreciate it.

P.S. Thank you Augusta and PEM. I enjoyed my first Ironman 70.3 with you. As I do in my own personal life, I am sure you will learn from your mistakes and improve to be better. See you next year.

Edited by rugb_wngr 2009-09-30 2:16 PM