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Macclesfield Tri

epacseepacse Posts: 92
Hi... did anyone do this on Sunday just gone, and what did you think if so?!

Reason why i ask, i did it, and what should have been a real nice event, was, well, a shambles and disappointment really!

I shall explain some more....

The principles were good! leisure Centre in Macc,with a good pool, plenty of space and some nice Cheshire country side to cycle and run in! Plus the BTF referee was a joy to watch in Transition, as he had reason to speak to nearly everyone, in and out of T1 / T2....had me straight away for my ear plugs in, i know, i know, BUT, the good thing was, meant everyone was racing the same...

What got me was the organisation...it was frankly, quite awful....one instruction was to be pool side for 7.15,for a 7.30 off which, everyone was, but the organises strolled up at 7.45, for the de brief, so nearly an 8 off...petty, no, i don't think so...why bother to have us all there at that time, when really it maybe should have stated, just be arsed to turn up when you like, as long as it's before about 8...bearing in mind, that me, and i'm sure i wasn't alone, had got up to be there for registration opening at what i thought was a late 6.45, at 4.45! The finish line was literrlay just being finsihed as i crossed, there was no commentator, so the event was quite lifeless really...no atmosphere....

The other thing that really got me was the fact that this event cost £32..fair enough, but where has my money gone?! There were volunteer marshals, young army cadets, which i'm sure were free, or a donation none the less, up to the 1st roundabout, and then nothing from there on out! Don't get me wrong, the course was wonderfully signposted, and really no one should have failed to find there way around cycle or run, but there was no great cost there! The leisure centre i dare say would have been not a great cost to hire / beg / borrow for the morning, considering that by the time the centre will have opened on a Sunday, the race will have pretty much finished!

And the race pack, which, lets face it, is the reason we do all this, consisted of....A shake, which i'm sure the sponsor will have given, so that would have been free, a brochure for the Edinburgh cycle centre, and a bottle of water, oh, and some vouchers.... no medal, no t shirt, no bag, drinks bottle, nothing...so where does the money go....on my calculation, the entry fee's would have raised,roughly, around 4K..[&:]My final point, this company is organising the Llandudno Tri this year, with an entry of around £60, and an olympic distance, and i so so hope that it is better organised than it was for Macc, and the DuAthlon i did last year at Oulton!There's allot riding on Llandudno, some stiff oposition, and my Tri club, and i know, the surrounding area clubs, will be wathcing with beady eyes, and hoping that they trip up, and after the weekend, i can see it not being a million miles away....

Comments

  • jaykay1966jaykay1966 Posts: 2
    Hi epacse,

    I too did the Macc Tri and this was my first ever experience of a sprint Tri. Whilst I was personally elated with my achievement I also felt let down on a number of fronts;

    [ul][*]Communications from Xtra mile are no existent pre event.

    [*]I was that concerned about the 30 minute window between registration and set up and to be poolside, that I was awake at 4am! (4 hours sleep!).

    [*]The registration team arrived (not set up) at 06:45.

    [*]I did feel encouraged during the course however I found the finish a bit flat. The promised goodies were all throw away promos and where were the stalls helping us be better triathletes?[/ul]

    It ia a good course though I at least now I know what to expect. If my family and friends hadn't been there at the end I would have felt quite let down as a novice.



    I'll also be at the New Mills event [:(] and hopefully will compare Xtra mile with a Fun2Tri event in September.
  • JulesJules Posts: 987
    I did the Oulton Park Duathlon last year and didn't notice any organisational problems? I also did the spring version this year which was very good too. I agree a T-shirt would have been nice though, and more to do for spectators.



    I have heard that Macclesfield was a shambles, apparently a group of marshalls didn't turn up.



    Communication - what are you expecting? I got an email to confirm my entry and then my race info by email a week before the event. What else do you need?



    I'm doing the Northwich sprint tri a week on Sunday which is also an Xtra Mile race, so I'm curious as to how it will go.



    Fun2Tri events are usually very good.
  • epacseepacse Posts: 92
    jaykay...my points exactly....and yes, course was good, enjoyed the course, for me the let down was the organisation!

    Your so right about the finsih.... if my partner and son wern't there at the finish, it would have been this big build up, and then...end....and just walk off...kind of...empty i suppose....

    The early starts are part and parcel as we know, but i just like the organises to be sorted and in place, makes you feel all the more relaxed, i get worked up enough as it is, let alone, not knowing whats what where and all that...

    Oh well, lesson learned and all that!

    Goody bags are a nice reward, some memrobilia from a tiff sport...our choice ofcourse, but it's nice to have things to look back on, and nice to have things to show...



    Well, jules, good luck, have some friends doing that one to, and sure the course will be good, and if it's a pure 'race' you want, i have a feeling it's what it will be!

    Let me know, maybe catch me at Eccleston one OW club swim! :)

    Good luck....[;)]
  • IronABSIronABS Posts: 66
    I did Oulton Park Duathlon & Northwich Sprint both of which are Xtra Mile Events races - And i know where you are coming from - I thought the Duathlon was well organised but it didnt require too much organisation when there was less than 100 athletes all racing on a track.

    Northwich sounded similar to your experience at Macc - The whole event was 30 mins late so there were large congregations of people waiting for their wave by the pool, the bike route used the same road as another bike race taking place that day with its own signposts and when i got there they were still trying to sort out how big the transition area should be and how everyone should rack their bikes this was 15mins before the first wave was due off. At the end of the race they had a large screen in the back of a van displying everyones chip time, however everyones swim times were initially wrong, it had me down for 20min swim when it was actually 7min 12sec, to their credit they did get that amended pretty quickly. I also agree a t-shirt would be nice but i think they will claim a big chunk of the entry fee has gone on the chip timing whichi believe xtra mile are using for the first time this year.
  • JulesJules Posts: 987
    I thought Northwich was a good event but the organisation was crap.

    As has been said they were for no apparent reason half an hour behind with the swim starts, so there was loads of hanging around.

    I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt over the other cycle race. That wasn't much of a problem and it wasn't clear whose fault that was.

    The security in transition wasn't great. They security guy for some reason showed people bringing bikes in where their point on the rack was, leaving the entrance unguarded.

    On the run we were told to keep the markers on our left, but at one point it became obvious that they should be on our right.

    The chip timing didn't work properly. Lots of competitors came to check their times and they were wrong. Mine had my swim at 21 minutes for 400m. They got it right in the end.

    Shame really as it could be a good event.
  • jacjac Posts: 452
    I'm doing the Leeds Xpress tri organised by xtramile in August. Hoping it doesn't have problems like those described elsewhere.
    One thing that's already struck me though is that is clashes with the Ashes test match at Headingley in Leeds and the bike route is on one of the main routes to the ground! Presumably they know this?!!
  • JulesJules Posts: 987
    Oh, I forgot to say, the bike was originally advertised as 20km, but this was amended. It was the same route as originally advertised, but it was only 18km.

    Jac, I would ask the question, just to be sure!
  • IronABSIronABS Posts: 66
    Yeah i'd definitley check with xtra mile as they possibly may have missed that. Northwich does have the potential to become a good race - the run course was badly marked out, i mean how much does a couple rolls of tape cost?? I also noticed the bad security on transition.
  • jacjac Posts: 452
    Just to report back on the Leeds Xpress..
    Overall it went pretty well. Thankfully traffic on the A61 wasn't too bad (probably because England were well on their way to losing the Test!)
    The bike was about 23.5k and the run about 5.1k.
    It was marshalled well and everyone went off on time etc.
    No commentary but a good gaggle of supporters and supportive marshalls.
    Overall a pretty good event.
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