Silicon Valley Olympic Distance Triathlon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Marlene S.
Redwood City, CA

  (07-13-2009)

"I must say this race was a joy for me! It had very fast courses, warm water and the weather was perfect. My prep (or lack of specific prep) definitely seemed to paid off. For breakfast, I stuck with my normal meal (double oatmeal, lara bar, grande non-fat latte and a bottle of cytomax). I had two gels on the bike and one gel on the run. It was good hydration and nutrition for the race. When I left T2, I made a point to not sprint (like I had been doing) so that I was not winded immediately at the start of the run. I also changed the data fields on my Garmin watch to show Average speed, distance and clock. Watching the average speed instead of the actual speed (which fluctuates so much) helped me to remain more level on the run and not over stretch. I was not miserable during the run since I could breathe well (unlike at Alcatraz last Sunday). It was very delightful. My total time was 2:38:47 and I placed 7th in my age group.


There were some organizational and logistical issues with the race production company:

•Over 20 minute delayed start
•No aid stations on the bike course
•Run course should have been 10K (6.2 miles) but ended up being 7.4 miles

The official times came in from the 2009 Silicon Valley Olympic Distance triathlon and I discovered that I was assessed a 2-minute penalty for drafting, knocking my official time out to 2:40:47 and bumping me from 7th to 8th place. Oh well, I can't say that I didn't draft a bit in the beginning as me and another woman were positioning back and forth. I still know in my heart that I came in 7th. LOL.

They gave out over 50 penalties for mostly drafting, swim start and headphones so be prepared for next time if you are planning on doing this race.

TOTAL TIME (w/2 minute drafting penalty):2:40:47.4
Breakdown:


•SWIM: 21:45.9
•T1: 0:02:21.4
•BIKE: 1:09:17.7
•T2: ( -- )
•Run: 1:05:22.1 "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Heather Z.
San Francisco, CA

  (06-23-2009)

"This was my triathlon so I don't have any other tri races to compare it to but I've done half marathons, marathons, and open water swim races so I know how events are suppose to run.

The transition areas had a lot of room and were pretty intuitive. I didn’t determine the in/out areas before the race and easily figured it out during the race. As mentioned in the other reviews the swim started late and the announcer was far away so that was a little confusing. The swim course was easy enough, marked well, and the water was warm. I didn’t think it tasted bad but then I swim in the SF bay which doesn’t taste good either. The bike course was great, good traffic control, and lots of volunteers showing where to turn. It was flat and fast; the one hill was not bad at all and I’m new to the bike. The run is where things turned bad. They had plenty of aid stations with water, sports drink and gu but the distance was off. That was pretty frustrating, extremely frustrating, and because of the course, confusing. I kept running farther and farther away from the finish but I supposedly only had 1.2 miles left and I wasn’t at the turn around point. You couldn’t see the turn around point so the farther away I got the more frustrated I became as I realized that either the mile markers were way off or the course was longer than 6.2 miles. The run was flat and shaded part of the way which was nice. The race organizers were aware of this mistake so I would think that next year it will be ironed out.

The finish line was great. Being my first tri I had a bunch of friends and family there and it wasn’t crowded; I heard/saw them cheering for me and easily found them at the end. The food/drinks after were very good and instead of getting your race packet in a plastic bag they gave out fabric bags, very green, and a nifty water bottle.
"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Geoff L.
San Mateo, CA

  (06-23-2009)

"The race directors sent out an email apologizing for their lack of organization and the extra 1.2 miles we all had to run, so i will try to be objective. I'm sure everything that went wrong was unintentional and likely won't happen again.

Coming the day before to pick up the packet was useless...not much of an expo set up...yet, picking up the number took 30 minutes cuz of the line..

The swim as mentioned before started 30 minutes late. There was no announcement. It wasn't until we all started walking up to the water, that the organizers told us all. The swim start was far from the announcer and "starter" so we could barely hear the starter...

Bike was great. Well monitored and traffic controlled. Fast ride!

Run is where my beef was. I knew something was wrong when i supposedly ran a 4 minute mile and a subsequent 9 minute mile. Then hit the 6 mile mark and was still on the opposite side of the lake.

The finish was good and well supported. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Lauren S.
San Francisco, CA

  (06-22-2009)

"The event organizers were new to the SVODT this year, and there were some bugs being worked out. They ran out of color coded caps (not a big deal) and the swim started about 30 minutes late. Water was warm, swim start by age group, although very goose dropping-y. I didn't mind, but some fellow racers were concerned with the smell.
Transition was fine, not clearly marked, but unless you are first, probably doesn't matter.
Bike course was flat with one medium hill, good traffic control, some wind, aerobars recocmended! Very fast course. Keep an eye out for glass along the route though, saw a few flats.
Run was at least 1 mile too long, race directors VERY aware of the distance issue. Lots of aid stations however with water and Goo.
Post race event was cool, free water bottles at finish line, good food, beer and free FRS.
Pro Challenge at the end was AWESOME! Always fun to see Chris Lieto and Becky Lavelle tear it up! "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009