Wow! What a great venue for a half Ironman! Race Director Bill Burke knows how to put on race!
This was the first year for this race and while it had a couple of issues I'm sure they will be taken care of before next years race) the organization and race course were wonderful. Over 3,000 athletes, and 10,000 spectators enjoyed the race, including athletes from all 50 American states and 23 countries came to race and enjoy the great food and historical sites. Having the finish line near Jackson Square in the historical French Quarter helped provide the unique atmosphere of the race.
Conditions were near perfect for the race – the day began slightly overcast and the swim was very smooth, followed by moderate winds and temperatures in the low 70s for the bike and run. The swim was point-to-point in Lake Pontchartrain which went very smoothly. The bike course was completely closed to vehicle traffic! While the race was huge and I started in the 15th wave, I never had to contend with packs of cyclists. In fact, I did not see a single pace line! The run course was a simple point to point course that started from the transition area at the University of New Orleans Research Campus and ran along Lakeshore Drive then headed down into City Park before heading south along Esplanade Avenue to Decatur Street and the finish line located at World Famous Jackson Square.
Finish Strong athletes racing included Mike Bard, 5:21:50 (PR and improved his run by 1:03/mile), Todd Gibson, 6:07:18 and Marshall McInnis, 6:14:22.
I had a fairly good race clocking a 4:42:16 which was good enough to win the age group and earn a slot to the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida in November.
I would encourage all to sign up for 2010 race now while you can!
This was the first year for this race and while it had a couple of issues I'm sure they will be taken care of before next years race) the organization and race course were wonderful. Over 3,000 athletes, and 10,000 spectators enjoyed the race, including athletes from all 50 American states and 23 countries came to race and enjoy the great food and historical sites. Having the finish line near Jackson Square in the historical French Quarter helped provide the unique atmosphere of the race.
Conditions were near perfect for the race – the day began slightly overcast and the swim was very smooth, followed by moderate winds and temperatures in the low 70s for the bike and run. The swim was point-to-point in Lake Pontchartrain which went very smoothly. The bike course was completely closed to vehicle traffic! While the race was huge and I started in the 15th wave, I never had to contend with packs of cyclists. In fact, I did not see a single pace line! The run course was a simple point to point course that started from the transition area at the University of New Orleans Research Campus and ran along Lakeshore Drive then headed down into City Park before heading south along Esplanade Avenue to Decatur Street and the finish line located at World Famous Jackson Square.
Finish Strong athletes racing included Mike Bard, 5:21:50 (PR and improved his run by 1:03/mile), Todd Gibson, 6:07:18 and Marshall McInnis, 6:14:22.
I had a fairly good race clocking a 4:42:16 which was good enough to win the age group and earn a slot to the 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida in November.
I would encourage all to sign up for 2010 race now while you can!
No comments:
Post a Comment