Amica Niantic Bay Triathlon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Erin N.
Farmington, CT

  (08-29-2009)

"This was my first Tri so I figured I would either love it or crash and burn.

Swim was tough, but only because the tide starting coming in as we were starting. Yet it was beautiful to be swimming in the bay in the early morning.

The bike course was crazy hilly. Be prepared to crank. Shout out to the people on top on the BIG hill playing "Eye of the Tiger". You guys rock!

The one thing I really didn't like was the transition from bike to run, we had to dismount and run our bikes down a steep hill to T2. This meant having to remove your bike shoes. Just not as smooth a transition as one would hope for.

The run was easy. Mostly through the neighborhood, but has an awesome finish along the beach. I made sure to look out over the ocean before I finished to appreciate my beautiful surroundings. Gotta love Niantic Bay!

This race well organized, we were emailed updates which made a first-timer like me more comfortable. The registration area, transition area, etc were well placed and spread out so it wasn't too crowded.

I felt like this race was friendly to newcomers and am happy it was my first triathlon. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

alan m.
Branford, CT

  (08-16-2009)

"What you need to know:

Swim- Starts about a third of a mile from transition, so be prepared to walk up the hill and over the grass to get there. Half-mile swim.

Transition- The transition area is very nice for a sprint. Large, racks are numbered in rages. The transition area is larger than many sprints and this allows a fast and organized transition.

Bike- 12 miles. The bike is NOT flat. It's rolling, and the rolling is easy for the first few miles, but there are two decent climbs on the course. Still, it is a fast course.

Run- The run has been improved from if you did this race the first few years, but it might be a wee short. However, it's a fair run.

The review:
Like all races in the Sound, the tides are an issue. In this case the water was pretty flat until about race time, when the tide came in, making the swim out to the turn buoy pretty rough, with 1-2 foot swells. People seemed to struggle getting out to buoy. Once you made the turn, though, it was a quick and easy swim back into shore.

It was easy to sight the landing point, which is a great thing (especially if you swim like me).

I'm calling out the race website for saying 'an ocean bay with no waves or strong currents.' It's Long Island Sound. Wind and tides make it impossible to predict either. This was a hard swim for a lot of people.

The bike course is very fair course. It starts out with a series of rollers. If you can get on top of your gears, none of those rollers require much actual climbing, as you can hammer them. It takes a while, but eventually you will hit one serious climb that had most people standing and in their small chain ring. It's not the only climb, but it stands out because it's long and steep enough to zap your legs a little bit.

There's more downhill after that and a few sharp turns but nothing an experienced triathlete can't handle- you will have to get on your breaks once or twice but it's never a big deal..

The scariest part of the course is the dismount and 'run' down to the transition. Because they have the run going out a gate, they have to have the bikes go in on the other side, otherwise the riders and runners would be intermingled with cyclists at dismount.

If you haven't learned how to take your feet out of your shoes while still on the bike, learn. I lost at least ten seconds as I babied my way down to transition, and I'm someone who has run 7 miles in my bike shoes after getting a flat.

Or just dismount and take your shoes off.

The run is a very fair run, with little dips and rises. There is only one part of the run you could even vaguely argue has a hill in it, and you'd probably lose that argument.

Some people don't like the beach finish. It's just a couple hundred yards and I'm not sure why people don't like that. It adds some real character to the race and also the crowd builds on the beach and you have a nice run into the finish with everyone cheering you on.

If you don't like beaches, why are you doing triathlons ?

Seriously though, it's a good race, the waves are set up in a way that spaces out the athletes so it's not overly congested. I didn't like the decision to allow athletes to request placement in the first wave as 'elites', but that's a personal thing.

Finally, big cheer for Amica sponsoring this race as part of their series. I'm not just a customer, now I'm a beneficiary of their sponsorship, and I think it's a good idea. Glad to see them and hope they continue as sponsors.

"

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009