Memorial Herman Town Lake Olympic

Brand new race.

If it is anything like Bridgeland, it will be a great race.

Hopefully, they got a new timing chip company.

I would love to do the race but I have the Syracuse 70.3 the week before and won't be returning until the 25th. 

I plan on doing this one as well.  I am a little upset that they are letting folks do a 300 yd swim and the full bike and run.  The swim is the part that helps my ranking !

Anyways the swim and run course looks like they are going to be fun. 

Edited by mattpatt 2010-08-16 9:01 AM

Here is link to the registration:

http://www.onurleft.com/ONURMARK_PRODUCTIONS/Houston_Triathlons_%26_Duathlons_-_Onurmark_Events_%26_Registration.html

It is organized by the same RD that did the Bridgeland Sprint tri and it was a blast.

Also, in regards to the 300 swim, I read that if you choose to do the small swim, you are not eligible for awards.  So I guess only the folks doing the full course will get ranking.

55% full as of today!

 

This will be my first Olympic, looking forward to it. The run sounds fun!

The folks doing the 300 will not be ranked with everyone else and are not elibible for hardware so they will not affect you or your ranking.


I am registered for this race.  I signed up for the Gateway/Bridgeland/Towne Lake trifecta early on and am looking forward to it.  Like Bridgeland it is near me so that is a bonus.  The swim will be nasty, similar to Bridgeland, the man made lake is new and very muddy and shallow.  The water is sure to be warm/hot with no visibility but I really love that OUL is hosting two olympic races in the area and they put on a great race!  We can only hope the timing issues have been worked out or better yet they hired a different company to handle the timing.

I am doing this race too.  It will be my first Oly distance.  I signed up for the trifecta too....supposedly we get some hardware/momento for doing all 3 of these races (Gateway, Bridgeland and this one).

The run course going through the Berry Center is unique and concerning given we are running up ramps there.....Can anyone tell me what those ramps are like?  Straight up?  Switchbacked?  Circular?  I have not been in there.

I have two high schoolers in Cy-Fair ISD so I have been to the Berry center several times.  The ramps are not bad at all but of course it depends on the path they take us on.  Does anybody know if it finishes in the Berry Center?  If so that would be SUPER cool!  Berry is an amazing venue and finishing on that field would be a bonus.

Last time I looked at the course map, it looked like it finishes close to the start in Towne Lakes close to a community college that is there?

That was almost inexcusable and quite a shame.  I doubt they have had time to arrange for another company to handle the timing. 

I was planning to sign up for the Olympic, but my swimming isn't where it needs to be.  I may be a wuss and sign up for the 300M swim.

Yeah, I've done a total of about 12 races in the Houston area (tri's + running races) and every one has been timed by Run Wild. I'm sure there must be some another company out there, but there probably aren't enough options to be changing at the last minute.

Do it. The run and bike course should be a lot of fun. I'm also a little partial to OUL  

I talked to Aaron (RD) about the timing issues. There really is no one else. He had mentioned that Onurmark may venture into timing and eventually time their own races but not until either the Monster Mash or Gateway. Not a lot they can do with no other current options.As for The Houston Triathlon (actual name if the race)....he said it's about a half mile through the Berry center and that they are actually going to use the Lonestar Parking Lot for transition and the back road for the finish. I've been out there and the lot and road are nice and new, should be well executed if it's anything like Gateway and Bridgeland.The swim is the swim. Not to many options here in Texas. After looking at houses in Towne Lake with my husband we did find out that the lake they are using will be a LOT bigger in the coming seasons and will be the site of a new amphitheater and marina. They couldn't tell us how long off that was but it should make the triathlon even better in the future.

The one thing I really like about Aaron and his company is they really do listen to athlete feedback and make changes.  The biggest gripes about the Gateway oly race were the ridiculous decision to body mark the night before, rack bikes the night before and to get more (and taller) buoys for the swim.  I believe all those issues have been corrected.

Yeah those buoys at Bridgeland were HUGE and so great to site off of. I heard him mention that next year for Gateway they were thinking about temp. tatoos for body marking in their packets (fun!) or even doing the ink stamps like Kona has (just as fun).

Not that anyone cares about my opinion but I think body markings are a ridiculous waste of time and basically serve no purpose, especially in a wetsuit legal race.  The stickers on the bike, helmet and bib are enough.  My brand new Kiwami Konami trisuit is basically ruined from the marker running and staining thesuit.  That's a $200 suit that looks like crap now.

Every race has them it's how it is. It's for photographers, medical, and USAT officials. Ironman has it too, no way around it. You'll need a new trisuit every couple years anyways : ) Temp tattoos are a good idea just not sure people would remember to do it. I know Aaron had mentioned it before at one of our meetings but that would require a sponsor. Kind of pricey I think. Remember this will not be wetsuit legal either.

Edited by Aggiemom65 2010-08-19 1:42 PM

I hear that concern and yes we are trying to dress things up a bit with tatoo numbers although because of the expense it may not happen this year at this event. Being first year there are more important things to spend money on and ultimately this should be a sponsorship thing we get taken care of. To avoid that just make sure that whoever is marking you up knows to mark you a bit lower or our of the way of where your suit is. Should be just fine. Like Aggiemom said it is for safety, rules, and spotting people. No way around it, it has to be done.

And without the numbers you wouldn't be able to go around for two days getting to explain to everyone who asks at the grocery store or school "why do you have those numbers on your arm?" that "Oh, I did a triathlon!" and see the impressed look on their face!



Edited by mademille 2010-08-20 3:13 PM