I'm reviewing this on behalf of my wife who completed the sprint distance try (750m,20k,5k).
The Good:
-The course layout was good, the buoys were clear in the water although the water itself was murky and visibility was minimal.
-The bike and run were almost completely flat
The Bad:
-Bike was a 4 loop race and run was 2 loop race which made it better for spectators and not as much fun for athletes
-Bike was a couple lobes of out and backs which had you doing a point turn every couple of kilometers
-Weather was smoking hot (which could be expected January in Qld).
The Ugly:
-I'll start this section by saying that my wife was not at all fast plus with disruption to training due to injuries ended near the back of the pack. She started in basically the last wave and took around 2hr to complete the course
-Due to the heat the organizers decided to start awards ceremony before everyone off was off the course due to the heat to allow other athletes to go
home, they also started packing up the expo, taking down shade and also had people all over the course. For the most part this is understandable but I believe they should at least have attempted to keep the course clear of people.
-The main issue was the announcer and people near the finishing lines. We've been to a number of running races where there is always crowds cheering on those yet to finish. At this race they were already doing the awards ceremony and the announcer apologized to the crowd that they would have to wait while a couple people were crossing the finish line. There was no support and cheering just a sense of irritation for these people (who had struggled the longest of all through the heat to complete this race) would interfere with the award ceremony.
This experience has completely put my wife off triathlons and she won't be doing another one.
Overall I would say that the race was setup
well but the attitude towards those new to the sport or not as fast was very poor.
