This is not really a review. This is an attempt to collect the thoughts I had during and/or about this race. I make no promises that they will be coherent or meaningful or mind-blowing. As this isn’t really a review, there will be no letter grades. If you would like to make an activity of interpreting my ramblings into some sort of grades, have at it. I won’t mind. Also, I won’t really be describing the technical attributes of the courses. If you want the basic info and course maps and descriptions, click here. They do a better job than I would, and I’ve got bigger things to talk about… like swag bags.      

So.
Toughman.
TOUGHMAN!      

Before we start down this road, we need to address something right up front. The name. To name a half ironman – 70.3 miles of self-propelled discomfort – “Toughman” is equal parts cheesy and awesome. Everyone knows that a half is – to say the least – “tough”, so it seems a little over the top to call the event Toughman. But at the same time… TOUGHMAN! It’s sort of awesome – on some level buried not-so-deep in the psyche – to rock a race called Toughman.      

Toughman is up in Westchester, which – at 5 in the morning on race day, with the only other cars on the road also heading to the race – is about 45 minutes from NYC. This means that if you live in the city, this is maybe the only half iron race you can do and still sleep in your own bed the night before. If you don’t live in the city, it means that you can make a weekend out of it, visit our fair city, feed the life blood of NYC by spending your tourist dollars on tchotchkes in Times Square on Saturday, and do a half iron race on Sunday. Also, you should see Jersey Boys.      

*****     

The race is extremely well run. Everything is well organized and easy to navigate, from pre-race set up to post-race barbecue. This is especially impressive when you look at the number of people signed up to do the race. Toughman has existed for only the past three years, and has grown each year, but it’s still a relatively small race. This year, less than 600 triathletes entered the race, 58 in my age group. This made finishing in the top 50 of my age group much easier, which I appreciated.      

The size of the race is also particularly interesting when you look at the logistics of running this race. The bike course alone spanned 6 towns in Westchester, and in each one of them, we the racers had the right of way, with plenty of volunteers and police to direct traffic. To these logistics volunteers and cops, add the seemingly continuous aide stations (fully staffed with volunteers), the cheerleaders (more on this in a minute), and the plethora of support folks at transition and the finish, and I would have no problem believing that there were as many race support personnel as there were competitors. This is a good thing, especially when you want your wetsuit stripped off for you (a thrilling first for me) or a post race massage (which I very much did).     

*****     

The bike course did things to me that I didn’t like, and I’m actively trying to suppress the memory of it, so I’m not going to discuss it. Years from now, when I’m in a better place (i.e. faster), maybe I’ll show you on the doll where the bike course touched me. But for now, I’m just gonna go ahead and block it out.   

The bike started nice like this, then got not so nice.

*****     

It’s tough to have a “crowd” on the course of a 70.3 mile race. The supporters of individual athletes stay near transition so that they can cheer for their athlete as often as possible. This makes total sense. It also means that there usually aren’t many people deep in the bike or run course to support you when you’re in the thick of it, which is less than ideal, since everyone likes people cheering for them. Toughman addressed this a few ways.      

Firstly, those volunteers that I mentioned before were great with the support. The race director put bunches of high energy volunteers throughout the course, sometimes for no other reason that just to cheer. One teenage volunteer was set up in the section where the bike and run courses share the road, and for at least 5 hours, he was standing in the same spot, cheering everyone on and singing a little jingle he had made up for the race.      

The second way Toughmanaddresses the lack of a crowd is – I’m guessing – unplanned. It’s kids. The littler the kid the better. Absolutely every minivan that drove by while we were out on the bike course had at least 2 kids inside that were pressed against the window, yelling to the bikers. I don’t know if it’s just that kids like bikes, or kids like yelling, or kids just get excited by everything (kinda like Adrian), but it was awesome, and helpful. Thanks, kids of Westchester! Incidentally, the cars without kids were fine too, with the occasional exception.     

The third way is cheerleaders.      

*****     

The run course is 13.1 miles long, because it has to be 13.1 miles long in order for Toughman to be a 70.3 mile race. I wish it were longer, because it’s a ridiculously beautiful run. I’m pretty sure that the run course Toughman has set up is one of the most awe inspiring runs you’ll find in any race on the east coast.  The run takes you below, over, and around the Croton Dam, shown in the bucolic scene below.      

Isn't that beautiful?

You see this view to your left as you enter Croton Dam Park, and then spend the next mile and a half or so trail running switchbacks through the woods to get up to the top of the dam. As if this view wasn’t enough inspiration to reach to top, this is where the cheerleaders come in. Toughman, pulling out all the stops, arranged for Croton-Harmon High School cheerleaders to be stretched out for a half mile or so as you enter the park and start up hill on the trails. And since everyone’s name is on their race bib, you get personalized cheers. It was a little absurd at times (Beat! Those! Runners!), but I loved it. You couldn’t help but smile, and after hours of constant motion and concentration, an unexpected smile is a wonderful thing to help you appreciate the event and the course, and make sure you’re having a good time.      

All told, there were probably 4 or so miles of the run that were on trails through the woods and parks of Westchester, which made the run more fun, interesting, and dam pretty (get it? DAM pretty!).     

*****     

Finish festivals are the part of a race I tend to think about the least. If I have a good time during the race, I’m happy no matter what type or quantity of food or entertainment is available at the finish. Having said that, I think the finish at Toughman did a great job for a couple of reasons that stand out.      

First, they had not one, but two massage tents. One was traditional Swedish Institute massage tent with massage students brought up from NYC to man the tables. This is always a good option. The other tent was much smaller, and staffed by Physical Therapists instead of massage therapist, and was exactly what I needed, considering the area I wanted attention for was rather specifically my lower back (where the bike course did bad things to me). Either way, the option of the two therapies was a great choice to have.      

Additionally, there were plenty of options as far as refueling goes, with the traditional bagels and bananas, but also pizza and BBQ chicken.      

I’m also pretty sure there was music, but I can’t recall if it was any good or not.  

Toughman’s swag bag is good. A Zoot technical shirt, a couple of water bottles (that you can lose at the bottle exchange without concern), an oval euro-style Toughman sticker, and a 20% off coupon to Paragon Sports in NYC covers the standards in the swag bag… and then things get a little weird. For some reason, they included a full size stick of deodorant, a huge bottle of Nair for Men, a mini tube of toothpaste, and a Red Bull Energy Shot. Apparently, the race organizers think we’re foul-smelling, overly hairy men with bad breath, who need a jolt of energy. This assessment, in my case, is exactly correct.     

*****     

I think Toughman comes down to this… For what this race is, it’s awesome. Some people will have issues with what it isn’t… You’re not going to qualify for Kona or Clearwater, or see a bunch of pros at the race, or win glory and universal admiration. But you will get a great local race, that’s so close to NYC that it doesn’t have to be local.     

-Nate  

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