the water was very clear and shallow enough that you could see the bottom growth the whole way, which made the swim fun. the temp was perfect and sighting was pretty easy.

this is definately not flat and fast. there were quite a few hills, a bit technical and oh that wind blowing off the sea. the roads were in pretty bad shape so I find I was very spoiled by the amazing roads in the Netherlands.

volunteers did a great job of having little signs up so you knew exactly where to find what at the station i.e. the water, versus energy drink so you didn't inadvertently find yourself handed something you didn't want.
an odd thing on the bike which was also on the run the race really really emphasized no nudity on the course no urinating in public yet at the aid stations, there were urinals set up for the men so they didn't actually go inside a porta pot, they stood out in full view of everyone using the urinals.
also, no litering, but the woman in front of me on the bike for about 30 miles threw all kinds of things off the bike at randomn spots - including her water bottle when it was empty, several times in front of the ever present race marshalls.

not count on nutrtion being on a course that is listed as provided.

no public nudity really emphasized, but again the open sided tents for full exposure of anyone changing. this cracked me up. why really, really emphasize no nudity but then not give people a choice?

i took my shoes off becore getting to transition but one fell off the bike as I jumped off the bike. i picked up the offending shoe intending to throw that one inthe transition bag. the volunteer took the shoe and put it back on the bike. that was very nice of him.

The lesson I learned during this race, is do not count on the nutrition being on the course that is listed in the athlete guide. I took a chance and counted on bike nutrition that wasn't there. This was foolish on my part, but I assumed because Netherlands had it so too would this race as advertised.


for people deciding on a European Ironman, I highly recommend the race in Netherlands over Copenhagen. I had read all kinds of things saying to Copenhagen crowd was amazing. Netherlands put Copenhagen to shame. The crowd completely disbursed by 7 PM and there were very few on the bike course compared to the cheering at Netherlands. Netherlands crowd even showed up enmasse for the swim. Us old people had not yet started when the first swim wave was finishing and started a full hour behind the first group. By the time we got to the run, all the sponges were gone, by the second loop several aid stations had run out of cups for water, by the third loop one aid station was packing up. The legendary Copenhagen crowds are a myth in comparison to Lake Placid and the Netherlands. they have no more spectators than the normal race.