Anyone have any opinions of quality "all-women's" triathlons? (Page 2)

I've done Danskin several times - first time to 'learn to do a tri' and after that as a supportive friend and training buddy. They are definitely WONDERFUL for first time triathletes (especially the talks by Sally Edwards) but I am vowed not to do one again because it is a lot of work for a short sprint (at Disney they shorten it every year) and I find the bike especially frustrating - almost impossible to get up a good speed. But they are FUN if you can roll with that, or if you are starting out, and especially if you have a group to do it together.

The first year Danskin was probably the only race I've ever heard racers talking about where they got their workout gear DURING the run. ("Oh, cute top, where did you get it?" as you passed people on the out and back)

I've also done one other women's tri, in St. Pete year before last, Subaru was the title sponsor of the series, but I think that's changed since then. It was a TOTALLY great time. Great expo, nice swag, well organized, etc. I would do that in a heartbeat, but they didn't hold it in St. Pete this year.

One of my favorite things about the all-women tri's is that a LOT of the volunteers are the gorgeous male triathletes. It's been tempting to pretend to need to hold onto a kayak when that lovely male athlete is paddling it. :-)

And on a side note, I think that people put on women's tri's because they want to sell lots of stuff to women - get a woman into triathlon and ka-ching!!!!

I've done two all-women's tris.

My first triathlon ever was the Danskin in Orlando. The course bordered on a super-sprint distance of 1/4 mile swim, 9 mile bike and 2 mile run... and for the first-time triathlete like myself, it made everything seem extremely achievable from the get-go. I was surrounded by first timers that day and I'm still SO happy that I chose it to be my first attempt at triathlon.

The girl-power environment of the Danskin was way too "sugar and spice" for me, but overall it was a well run event. The expo was orderly, the speakers were knowledgable and the course was well marked (although it's a terrible bike course with an annoying 'no passing' zone). I'm planning on doing it again this year, but it's only to get revenge on my time.

The second all-women's tri that I did was the Orlando Women's Triathlon. This tri amused me in the fact that the race director stood up at the end of it and proclaimed (in so many words) how much 'better' it was than the Danskin b/c it has a longer swim, bike and run. However, it was quite unorganized from the start and the timing was completely messed up. My friend (a first timer) was awarded first place in the novice division during the awards ceremony only to find out the next day (when the true times were posted) that she was actually 6th place.

The overall level of competition was better at the Orlando Women's Tri than at the Danskin, but for me, that didn't really make up for the organization factor. To be fair, the OWT is a fairly new event (this was its 3rd year), so maybe better organization will come with time.

I like all-women's events and I would choose to participate in any 'women's' event that I could get my hands on. In Florida, mostly everything is flat... so level of difficulty from one tri to another doesn't really vary all that much. What's nice about the all-women's event is that women just tend to be really supportive towards each other at these events. Male triathletes don't intimidate me, but maybe for some women, that is a factor.

I've done 3 all-women's series'....Iron Girl, Danskin, and Subaru.  I'd say that on - the -whole, they were all very well-run and provided a combination of great venues and excellent organization.  Of the 3, I found Danskin to be the most crowded but beginner-friendly.  Subaru and Iron Girl were far more competitive, although they offered several distances so that placed a lot of the beginner-types in the super sprints.  At any rate, I think they are usually fun environments and good races.  (Mine were all West Coast --- Vegas, San Diego, Anaheim, Denver)