RACE REPORT - The Great Six Flags Triathlon - 2015 Season Opener

Jason Butch -- olympic winner of Six Flags Triathlon 2015 --
 racking his bike before the race. Setting up with the view
of the roller coasters is one of the cool things about this race.

Backstory

Great visuals for set up.

This year Split Second racing cancelled the Red Bank Triathlon (probably after the low turn out and mucky/dangerous water conditions last year -- you'll remember the winner, a masters swim teammate of mine named Jason Butch, cut his foot on a razor clam during water entry and later had to go to the ER for a tetanus shot). Instead, they moved the Six Flags Tri onto the third Sunday in May to take Red Bank's place.

For me, shifting Six Flags back in the schedule leaves me with a gap in the end of August, but I did it anyway, because I need a season opener.

I had a lot of fondness for Red Bank, because it was my very first tri back in 2013. Still, I see why the director made the choice to axe it.

RACE OVERVIEW

The Swim

That towel was just for wiping my face after
the swim. Everyone had black beards of goo.
Not cool.

The water quality was a factor last August, and even though the water in the man-made lake in the theme park was colder in May, it was still scudgy and gross. Nothing else to say about it. It is not good to swim in. The only good thing about the swim course is that, for inexperienced or nervous swimmers, you can almost always touch the bottom, and there are no waves.

It has to be one of my least favorite tri swims ever.

The other quirk that Six Flags is known for is an exceptionally long slog from the water exit back to transition. This year it was shortened somewhat by moving the transition area a little closer to the water, but it was still much further away than for most courses. Furthermore, moving transition they put it on really hard, huge gravel. For the stronger cyclists, who often run barefoot with their bikes out of transition and their shoes already clipped in, that was absolutely not an option.

The Bike

Coming out of transition onto the bike course, there are enormous potholes in the parking lot. You really have to be paying attention to avoid them.

The bike course is scenic but hilly. I was glad I didn't kill myself on those hills on the first half of the sprint course, because I wouldn't have had any legs left for the run. This isn't a course where it would be easy to set a PR or post a high bike mile per hour average.

Having the race in May instead of August, however, made the cycle was less hot and less buggy. Those were good things, especially for me since this was the race where I biked through a huge cloud of gnats last year and I got one in my eye. I was blinded and tearing for the last three miles and pulling bug limbs out of my eye even on the run. No fun. This year was bug free.

The Run

The run course is flat and fun. It winds through a scenic trail for a while (some people commented that they wished it had be clearer that it was partly trail running and not paved surface), then cuts through several of the park's ride areas and then circles through the safari area where you can see baboons near the end. I like the baboons a lot. They've seen it all.

Other notes

You know it was a small race if a mid-packer like me gets
a trophy. Still, it's always nice to feel special.

• Not many ladies showed up -- so I got an AG second place in the sprint even though I was exactly mid pack. 
• This is supposed to be a good spectator race, but I can't comment as I had no spectator with me.  
• You get a discount park ticket as part of your race fee, but there isn't much place to shower off all that nasty lake goo (I saw was a single black hose with ten people trying to use it and no soap), so, if you decide to stay and enjoy the theme park after the tri, you will probably be on the rides smelling and feeling pretty funky. 
• There was NO bottled water at the end. They put out dixie cups of water, but there were none of the typical barrels of cold water bottles you see at every race. This was a huge and unwelcome surprise. I ran part of the run with a first timer who was struggling, trying to help her out and encourage her; after she told me to go on ahead I knew I'd stick around at the finish to give her a bottle of water and a congrats. Instead I was only able to hand her a tiny paper cup with a spoonful of water in it. Even the lamest local 5k charity race has bottled water (I know because I have directed a couple), so this situation was just strange. There were bananas and maybe one other food item I forget, but no real post race food spread for all the participants. It felt chintzy. 
• My masters swim teammate, Jason Butch, won the olympic distance. He's a great competitor and also one of the most humble people around, as is another top finisher, Rob Fisch, who is also in masters swim with me (confession: I didn't go consistently this past winter). They both chatted with me before race start. They're never too cool to chat with a mid-pack lady just doing the sprint. Neither of them is obsessed with talking about gear (Rob's wet suit was moldy and falling apart but he just laughed it off). Neither of them ever brags about their training schedules (and I happen to know they both hit 5,000 in the pool at every masters swim practice). They embody the best parts of the sport of triathlon: they are there because it's fun and hard, not because they have big egos. 
• I didn't have my sponsor kit for Skratch Labs for this race, but I will for every other race this year. :) 

I'm a "Taste Agent" for Skratch Labs this year. 
Their hydration mix is key to my participation 
in triathlon and multisport. 
I wouldn't have applied for sponsorship if 
I didn't believe in their products.
Check them out online.