Ironman California was my first Ironman and overall it was a great race that I would highly recommend to any first timer. The course was designed to be fast and … MORE
Ironman California was my first Ironman and overall it was a great race that I would highly recommend to any first timer.
The course was designed to be fast and easy and it delivered. The downriver swim had an insane current and the water was pretty warm compared to the Pacific Ocean that I am used to training in. T1 and T2 were a bit long and people didn’t seem to like that, but I am pretty sure it was to balance out the crazy fast swim. Seriously, I was expecting to swim 1:40 and I came out of the water in under an hour. Having to run 3/4 of a mile in transition is worth the swim time savings. Doesn’t really matter because I guess they got so many complaints they announced transition will be shortened in following years.
The bike course was completely flat. I barely had more than 700 ft of elevation gain in the 112 miles. I also saw a lot of complaints about the strong winds and while the winds were indeed very strong.. talking sustained 15-20 mph, the bike course was still easy and very scenic through beautiful Sacramento wine country. Sure, the way back you’d be crawling at 10 mph, but on the way out you’d be flying at 25-30 mph easily. I just held steady power and was done with minimal trouble.
The run course was probably my least favorite part. The first part along the river and through old town was great, but the second third goes to and out and back through Discovery Park and that’s the part I didn’t really like. There was just minimal crowd support and it was the hardest part. I was also pretty quick so I got out of there before sunset, but I imagine it’s much worse after sunset. It’s scenic enough.. it is a park, but it’s just lonely.
The last part through the city was better and the end with the two loops of the capitol building was epic. I know I read a lot of complaints about people forgetting to do two loops and then getting DQ’d, but I don’t really understand how that happened. I was asked multiple times by volunteers to make sure I had ran the correct number of laps around the capitol before being allowed to run down that red carpet. I don’t know how people just “forgot” to run 3 miles. I believe the course changed this year to avoid that so it shouldn’t be an issue anymore.
In terms of overall production, I think it was pretty good.. it is an Ironman event after all, but as it was the first year, there were a few hiccups. The biggest one is the lack of buses to transport swimmers from transition to the swim start area. As a result a lot of us slower swimmers started almost an hour after the race began. Not a big deal since we are chip timed, but it got pretty annoying. I think the organized addressed this and said there’d be more next year.
Also, there seemed to not be enough volunteers at the finish line. I was fine and made sure I got all my swag.. medal, shirt, banner, backpack, etc. but I heard not everyone did. It was also not clear were the post event food was, but I did eventually find it. Perhaps better signage is needed. For that, I ding them 1 point on production, but other than that it was great.
Please login to reply to this review.
Awesome, Fast Course Great for 1st Timer
Ironman California was my first Ironman and overall it was a great race that I would highly recommend to any first timer. The course was designed to be fast and … MORE
Ironman California was my first Ironman and overall it was a great race that I would highly recommend to any first timer.
The course was designed to be fast and easy and it delivered. The downriver swim had an insane current and the water was pretty warm compared to the Pacific Ocean that I am used to training in. T1 and T2 were a bit long and people didn’t seem to like that, but I am pretty sure it was to balance out the crazy fast swim. Seriously, I was expecting to swim 1:40 and I came out of the water in under an hour. Having to run 3/4 of a mile in transition is worth the swim time savings. Doesn’t really matter because I guess they got so many complaints they announced transition will be shortened in following years.
The bike course was completely flat. I barely had more than 700 ft of elevation gain in the 112 miles. I also saw a lot of complaints about the strong winds and while the winds were indeed very strong.. talking sustained 15-20 mph, the bike course was still easy and very scenic through beautiful Sacramento wine country. Sure, the way back you’d be crawling at 10 mph, but on the way out you’d be flying at 25-30 mph easily. I just held steady power and was done with minimal trouble.
The run course was probably my least favorite part. The first part along the river and through old town was great, but the second third goes to and out and back through Discovery Park and that’s the part I didn’t really like. There was just minimal crowd support and it was the hardest part. I was also pretty quick so I got out of there before sunset, but I imagine it’s much worse after sunset. It’s scenic enough.. it is a park, but it’s just lonely.
The last part through the city was better and the end with the two loops of the capitol building was epic. I know I read a lot of complaints about people forgetting to do two loops and then getting DQ’d, but I don’t really understand how that happened. I was asked multiple times by volunteers to make sure I had ran the correct number of laps around the capitol before being allowed to run down that red carpet. I don’t know how people just “forgot” to run 3 miles. I believe the course changed this year to avoid that so it shouldn’t be an issue anymore.
In terms of overall production, I think it was pretty good.. it is an Ironman event after all, but as it was the first year, there were a few hiccups. The biggest one is the lack of buses to transport swimmers from transition to the swim start area. As a result a lot of us slower swimmers started almost an hour after the race began. Not a big deal since we are chip timed, but it got pretty annoying. I think the organized addressed this and said there’d be more next year.
Also, there seemed to not be enough volunteers at the finish line. I was fine and made sure I got all my swag.. medal, shirt, banner, backpack, etc. but I heard not everyone did. It was also not clear were the post event food was, but I did eventually find it. Perhaps better signage is needed. For that, I ding them 1 point on production, but other than that it was great.
Holy wind!!
while I can't blame Ironman for the wind that was over 20 mph, I can for the logistical nightmare it was. Transition was over a mile away from everything. From … MORE
while I can’t blame Ironman for the wind that was over 20 mph, I can for the logistical nightmare it was. Transition was over a mile away from everything. From swim out to T1 was insane! over a mile run barefoot up to the stadium, then repeat the run to get out of T2. They need to find a better place for bike rack and T1 and T2