In case you haven't noticed, we're a little bit fun and a little bit funky. We like being slightly different and are fine when you call us special. There's a certain wacky pride in doing different stuff, and to be sure, doing triathlons is "different stuff."
We have fun doing a wide variety of races - there's joy to be found in the small, local sprint tri; there's joy to be found in the polished, very professional atmosphere of a corporate "production" tri; and there's a whole boatload of joy in the slightly off-kilter, fun and funky vibed races that are out there. We've had the pleasure of finding a few of them and figured we'd share. Please do not take this post as a bash of WTC, who puts on Ironman branded races. We've done a branded 70.3 race and have experienced two 140.6 venues. Those races are absolutely top notch and we have great memories of the races - they each have their own character within Ironman. We're just talking here about the "fun and funky" vibes that are out there.
The first crazy vibe race we stumbled into was a small, local tri called Riverstock. Sadly, it hasn't survived. It was a tough course and low participation numbers (plus Hurricane Irene) managed to kill it off. This race had a crazy Woodstock-y vibe -- they gave out tie-dyed t-shirts (that we still wear!) and age group prizes were old 45s with a peace sign sticker and the race details. This was the first hint that chaos was out there to be found.
The next entrant in the crazy vibe line-up is the American Triple-T. It's a four pack of races over three days in an absolutely gorgeous state park in southwestern Ohio. You know that a race weekend is awesome if folks are willing to drive out to SW Ohio. There's something special about camping before a race and being so tired each day that you nearly fall asleep in the campground shower. The race organizers herd the cats very well and aside from the very plastic-y race singlet (mandatory to wear) - the weekend of racing is just top notch. Check them out here: http://www.americantriple-t.com/
The insane vibe category belongs to SavageMan. This is simply the best race we've ever done - jaw dropping scenery, tough hills (check out the fail video on the homepage: http://www.winthefight.org/savageman/ ), perfect organization, and a run course that goes right by your tent in a cruel twist of "there's my pillow, why am I out here running" insanity. Just an amazing atmosphere and all the staff and volunteers are amazing.
The next two races we haven't done yet. But, we've organized our 2013 seasons around them. You already know about Norseman if you've read this blog before. The other "fun and funky" vibed race we're doing is Epic Dartmouth. We heard about this one last year, but weren't able to make it work. We checked out the race reviews and it just sounds like a solid combination of low key, focused event and quality organization. As a snapshot of why we think this one is going to be a winner - within 24 hours of registering, we each received an email from the race director offering to assist with questions or logistics (the race is up in Nova Scotia). That certainly counts as going the extra mile in our books and gets a shout out. Check them out at http://epicdartmouth.com/
All those races have the usual social media presence, so give them a look. And if you're thinking about a tri, we'll vouch in two directions. The larger well-known races are large and well known because they do things right and put on quality races. But the smaller, off-the-beaten track races have a lot to offer and have a character and soul all their own. There's no right or wrong answer to selecting a race. But we're finding that fun and funky has a special pull - and our 2013 season is headed in a distinctly fun and funky direction, with a healthy dose of hills and chaos.
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