Stanford Treeathlon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Marlene S.
Redwood City, CA

  (05-23-2010)

"Great start to the 2010 triathlon season! I've been looking forward to the Stanford Treeathlon for the past two weeks. I pushed the training hard two weeks ago after returning from my trip back East. This past week, I lightened it up to give my legs a rest.

The entire race experience went smoothly. I arrived exactly at 7am, when transition was opening. Luckily this year, they decided to do marked transition spaces and it was much less chaotic than last year. I had plenty of time to setup and re-orientate myself to the pre-race prep activities. After setting up my area, I took the bike out for a short spin to clip the shoes in and assess the mount/dismount lines. Next, I went out for a warmup run, probably around 1.5 miles. I noticed my Garmin 405 was acting up this morning because the battery was already reduced to 70% despite being on the charger all night. I wasn't sure what was up with it.

SWIM:

Before I knew it, transition was closing and it was time to make the 10 min walk out to the swim start. This year, they gave up plastic bags for our walk out shoes so it made it much easier to retrieve them after the race. All age group women were starting in the same last wave scheduled for 9:30AM. I think the first wave started a little late but once they got going, all of the waves went out on schedule. They didn't allow us to get into the water until after the prior wave had started so it was a brief swim warmup but you actually had to swim out a couple yards to the swim start.

The water was cold but not as unbearable as I imagined in my mind. I had a good swim. Only thing I would modify is that after the first buoy turn, I went a little too wide and probably wasted strokes. They pulled us out of the water onto the dock and then we had to jog back to transition. I

BIKE:

The bike course was FAST, FAST, FAST! The only slow points were taking some of the curves and sometimes maneuvering around the other racers. My new Garmin 705 bike computer (Valentine's Day gift) was awesome with a big display of my favs: cadence, speed, time.

RUN:

As I headed out on the run, I started to start the Garmin 405 and it was completely frozen. I tried holding the two button to soft reset but no luck. So I figured it was up to me to just run fast. I knew the course and being a sprint distance, there wasn't any need to pace much so I just went for it and it paid off!

RESULTS

* 1st in Age Group, 4th Overall Women
* Overall Time: 1:08:41

For check blog posting: http://www.accentfitness.net/accent-fitness/2010/02/1st-plac e-age-group-2010-stanford-treeathlon-time-10841.html"

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2010

leslie s.
oakland, CA

  (03-24-2010)

"This was my first race of the 2009 season. It's a good course but the bike has some pretty sharp turns, so you loose a lot of speed on them. Also, my 5k time was so much faster than normal for me, and the same was true for some of my friends. We weren't sure if the run course was actually a 5k or just 3 miles. Actually, the hardest part of this triathlon for me was climbing out of the water onto the dock. They had people there to help you but I still felt like a beached whale. Otherwise, it was a lot of fun, and a superfast course!!!"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Kenneth W.
San Francisco, CA

  (03-23-2010)

"This is a great beginner race. The swim course is protected and although cold is calm. They pull you out of the water at the end of the swim by your arms.

The course is flat and fast. The few drawbacks are the long distance you have to run on pavement from the swim exit to T1. Also, there were too few porta-potties this year.

Otherwise, a great course to set some PRs on.

Ken"

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2010

DTrain S.
Sunnyvale, CA

  (03-18-2010)

"This is a terrific early season race, perfectly placed in the calendar in order to test your fitness after your winter base period. The swim is water start and set in a marina environment. So you get all the benefits of salt water without the waves. The Bike is a super fast flat looped course, with only mild congestion on your initial lap. And the run uses a flat out and back format. The low key atmosphere and solid race organization make for a very enjoyable experience for both the first-timer as well as seasoned athlete. I'd recommend it as a great way to kick off your season."

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2010

Andrew M.
Stanford, CA

  (03-16-2010)

"I might have a slightly skewed perspective on this race as I was a member of the Stanford Triathlon team but neglecting that fact this is one of the better organized collegiate races in my opinion. It is one of the first races of the season in Northern California and people take full advantage of it. There are a ton of non-collegiate athletes that come out for it as well as some undisclosed pros tuning up for the season.
The course is flat and simple. Nothing special but situated in a business park which means that there is amble space to park and hang out before and after the race.
My only complaint with the race is the number of people that do it. The bike course is a series of loops which gets increasingly crowded as more participates get out of the water. Other than that this is a fun race and a great way to start the season. "

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2010

Julianne P.
San Francisco Bay Area, CA

  (03-15-2010)

"Sprint triathlon geared more toward collegiate athletes than the age group athletes or first-timers, but overall a good race. It's one of the few offered early in the year, which means I might try it again; otherwise, I'm not sure I'd bother repeating it.

I would not recommend for those uncomfortable with the swim portion of a triathlon, for many reasons. The water is face-achingly cold, even when wearing a wetsuit. The swim start is mid-water and requires everyone to shuffle down a narrow boat ramp; they didn't wait for everyone to get to the starting line before calling the start. The exit is darn awkward; strapping young college folks hoist one out of the water by the armpits. There is also about a 250 meter barefooted dash to transition. That said, the rest of the course is completely flat and no problem. Some might find the three loops of bike course to be a bit repetitive, and you need to watch the tight turns in spots. Volunteers were good about warning people about them.

I understand that this year's packet pickup was at the race location, which I appreciated *greatly*.

Organizers severely underestimated the number of port-o-potties needed. They were rather loose with allowing non-athletes in the transition area before and after the race, and they started to tear it down before the last racer arrived. Oh, and if you're a back-of-the-pack athlete like myself, the pizza will be LONG gone. Be sure to bring your own post-race nutrition. (I did manage to snag a banana and some peanut butter, though.)

Schwag was a nifty cap, which I was delighted with but might not count as "cool schwag" for others."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Kenneth W.
San Francisco, CA

  (04-28-2009)

"Very fun sprint course. Compared to the previous year the swim was different. It was much calmer and generally warmer than the previous year being in a protected area. The one issue was that the lauch ramp although covered with a rug was really a sharp concrete ramp with rocks next to it. As luck would have it my goggle straps broke 3 mins before the start so I had to swim back to the ramp, and the Stanford Tri Team anticipating just such issues had an extra set of goggles for me! However, scrambling back into the water, I did cut my feet on the ramp into the water.

The bike was flat and fast. The same as the previous year. Definitely a good course to crank on.

The run was different than last year. Also, totally flat and fast.

I've only done a couple of triathlons recently, and this one made me want to keep doing more.

Definitely one to do again!"

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009