Sunday, September 19, 2010 marked the debut of IRONMAN 70.3 Syracuse (and the debut of yours truly as a 70.3 triathlete!).  This inaugural event was a point-to-point race, staged at Jamesville Beach for Swim / Bike / Transition and finishing at the Inner Harbor in downtown Syracuse. 

Put on by Premier Event Management (they also stage the Nautica NYC Tri and Nation’s Tri, among others), the event was pretty smooth from the get-go.  These folks know how to put on a race.  The first thing I noticed was how laid back the atmosphere was.  I was prepared for mayhem (perhaps nerve-induced) and was greeted with a chill vibe.

Jamesville Beach Park is a great venue – and HUGE.  Although there’s only one road in (get there early to avoid traffic), there’s tons and tons of parking.  Transition was roomy, spread out in a large field.  There were two changing tents, plenty of port-o-lets (worth noting: they were the best ones I’ve ever seen.  Carpets, trash baskets, handmade potpourri and SYR signage inside), and Syracuse Bicycles was on-site for last minute bike emergencies, as well as providing a ton of bike pumps for general use.      

Inner Harbor was lack-luster and post-race was small.  There was a massage tent, the IM Store and food tents hosted by Bella Domani.  Spectators had the option to buy some snacks while the athletes were treated to fruit, hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled chicken (delish!), grilled veggies, cookies and – wait for it – macaroni and cheese!  That was the best post-race treat I’ve ever had.  And they weren’t stingy!  The Amphitheater was supposed to host the Awards Ceremony and is gorgeous, with a fantastic view of the Harbor.  Unfortunately, there were sound system difficulties, and the Ceremony had to be moved. 

On to the Course….

SWIM

The beach area is large, w lots of grassy areas for spectators (and waiting your turn).  In nice weather, the view is awesome.  The water, unfortunately, isn’t exactly crystal clear.  And while I’ve been told it’s normally “like glass” early in the morning, both times that I’ve been there, I’ve felt a pretty strong current.  It’s an in-water start and the Course is a simple clockwise rectangle.  Noteworthy for right-sided breathers: you start swimming north, which means the rising sun (in nice weather) will be in your eyes the entire swim out.  Remember those mirrored goggles or practice to your left.  Wetsuit strippers and a fluid station await you at Swim Exit.  But beware the long run to Transition – it was probably ¼ mile. 

BIKE

The first two miles basically get you out of the Beach area and off to the main road.  Watch out for the railroad tracks just out of Transition – they don’t quite run parallel to the road and you’ll slide or get caught if you ride thru without paying attention.  As you turn off Apulia Rd, there’s a small downhill that rolls into our first steep incline.  You don’t get a whole lot of momentum, and it’s a little tricky with lots of bikes jostling for position.  When you get to the top of this smaller hill, you start what looks like a nice little decent.  Unfortunately, at the bottom, we take a right turn – it’s a fierce 90 degree turn – that goes IMMEDIATELY into a steep incline (read: get out of the big gears!).  The climbing essentially goes from Mile 2.4 to 11.75 (not that I was paying attention).  Once you hit Mile 6 /7 /8, there are some false flats between the climbs.  The Course flattens out, so to speak, around the 12M mark w some rollers mixed in.  You do want to be careful at Mile 20-ish.  There is an awesome downhill and you’re thinking, “Here’s my payoff!”  And as you are flying down, you turn a corner and catch a glimpse of a near vertical incline approaching.  Thoughts turn to “Oh, no!  Down shift, down shift!!”  And it really is vertical.  There was no shortage of dropped chains and even a few folks walking their bikes up the hill.  There’s another tricky hill like this around Mile 30 (every 10 miles to keep us honest, perhaps??).  Expect another section of climbing, not necessarily steep, but pretty long in the early 40’s.  The last 10 miles are pretty easy.  There’s lots of down or flat and straightaway.  They snuck in a small climb at Mile 55 which really isn’t much, but you’d prefer to not have it a mile out from Transition. 

All in all, it is a BEAUTIFUL course.  There’s farmland, mountains in the backdrop, and green everywhere (just try to ignore the manure smell in some areas).  There’s also a stretch where we ride along a lake, which is pristine.  While the roads were open to traffic, that was never an issue.  It’s pretty quiet out there, especially on a Sunday.  Any vehicles were very gracious and cautious.  There were also military personnel positioned at EVERY intersection, making it very safe. 

Crowd support was minimal.  When folks did come out, they were fantastic.  Unfortunately, I think the cool, damp weather kept many of them at bay.  Additionally, I’d like to see split mat outs there next year.  Being a single loop course, it made it nearly impossible for one’s fan-base at Jamesville Beach to prepare their cameras for your arrival to T2.    

RUN

The run starts with an uphill run out of the parking lot to a short out and back (totaling a maybe 1/2M) on a dead end road near the Park.  It then heads out onto Apulia, the same as the bike, for another couple miles before taking a left onto Jamesville Road.  The rumor was that this run was all flat or downhill.  Let me be clear: it was not.  In fact, most of it was a slow incline and mainly on Erie Blvd, which visually left much to be desired.  It’s a typical multi-lane main drag heading to downtown Syracuse, dotted with virtually every chain restaurant, gas station and shopping center you can imagine.  On the bright side, even though traffic was pretty much at a standstill (many thanks to the local PD – they were all over the place, keeping us safe on the roads), the motorists were all very supportive, honking and cheering.  Fluid stations were located every mile and were well stocked and supported.  The lane was also chalked with inspirational sayings all along the Bldv – which I loved.  Mile 12 is when you finally get relief, ending with a fierce downhill that rolls into the flat Finish line stretch.

Overall, there are still a few kinks to work out here: the point to point makes it tough for spectators; split mats are needed on both the bike and run; and better organization is needed at registration.  My guess is that crowd support and participant numbers will increase in coming years; they numbers were low simply because it’s new and relatively under-the-radar.  All in all, it’s a worthwhile trip upstate.  I’d definitely recommend it, especially since it’s an M DOT series race.  You might even find it a nice change of pace from Timberman, if you’ve done that one before or get shut out.  There’s also plenty of good eats in the area (hellooooo Dino BBQ!!), local hotels that run reasonable rates and if you choose to extend your stay, you can celebrate with a wine tour of the Finger Lakes vineyards. 

Course: A- Granted, the run left much to be desired in regards to beauty, but the bike more than made up for that.  Additionally, it was challenging, which made it that much more rewarding.

Organization: B PEM knows how to put on a race, even in its first year.  It’ll only get better with time.  Sometimes, you need to see an event in action before you can make tweaks.

Atmosphere: B Crowds were sparse, due to point-to-point, and being a new event, the venues weren’t blown out.  I can see that changing in the future.  And some more vendors, beer tents and some bands along the run course and you have yourself a party!

Logistics: B- Jamesville Beach was fantastic, and while I understand there are probably political reasons for the race having to end in Downtown Syracuse, the point-to-point made it tough for spectators.  Change the Course to have it finish at Jamesville or find a way to get fans to the Inner Harbor and the score improves dramatically. In terms of accommodations, we stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites which was adequate more than adequate. It’s about 1-mile further than the host hotel and ran a discount for participants. They also held room blocks for various clubs and even started continental breakfast early (4:30AM!!) to accommodate racers.

Overall: B+ Expect major improvements next year, as well as a jump in attendance.  It’s the perfect late-season race, perhaps for redemption from an early season race snafu or a chance to claim a Clearwater slot.  As a first timer, I thought it was a fantastic experience.

Extra Credit goes to Endurance Factor, a Professional Endurance Sports Coaching company headed up by Coach Doug Bush, for hosting a one day, on-site training camp in August.  Mad props to Doug and his crew for providing a supported day of training on this Course; this was an excellent idea, and a great opportunity to test out a challenging Course. 

-Susan

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