Tri the hook

tritriagain

Just wondering does anyone know if the route is the same as last year. Website suggests it is but I thought because of national series status the crossover junction between cycle and run would have changed.

Kurt Godel

Same route, with the crossover.

Who's in for this tomorrow? If you see a tall baldy guy in a Tinahely suit, don't try and sprint finish me, but more importantly come up and say hello before/after:)

Lightening can't strike thrice, can it? Let's hope for a full swim. Local webcam here. Weather info here. All looks good. Baginbun is a great, safe, place to swim; have to expect a full 750m this time, they can shorten the run if they like

Podge83

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Same route, with the crossover.

Who's in for this tomorrow? If you see a tall baldy guy in a Tinahely suit, don't try and sprint finish me, but more importantly come up and say hello before/after:)

Lightening can't strike thrice, can it? Let's hope for a full swim. Local webcam here. Weather info here. All looks good. Baginbun is a great, safe, place to swim; have to expect a full 750m this time, they can shorten the run if they like

No kurt - shorten the swim, lenghten the run!!

Grassey

Podge83 wrote: »

No kurt - shorten the swim, lenghten the run!!

Skip the swim, lengthen the cycle, skip the run suits me...

Kurt Godel

Podge83 wrote: »

No kurt - shorten the swim, lenghten the run!!

You got your wish!;) Was the swim even 550m? A shame, given that conditions were perfect. The defining characteristic of this race is that year after year they manage to feck up their greatest resource. The run and bike course are nothing to write home about, but the seas in this area are magic to swim in. I'm baffled as to why they continually underutilise what should be the best thing about it.

ructions

Kurt Godel wrote: »

You got your wish!;) Was the swim even 550m? A shame, given that conditions were perfect. The defining characteristic of this race is that year after year they manage to feck up their greatest resource. The run and bike course are nothing to write home about, but the seas in this area are magic to swim in. I'm baffled as to why they continually underutilise what should be the best thing about it.

My garmin said 471 and I don't usually swim in a straight line I'm a average swimming at best and it's a real shame they can't get this right. Conditions were perfect so there should be no excuse for this.

Podge83

Kurt Godel wrote: »

You got your wish!;) Was the swim even 550m? A shame, given that conditions were perfect. The defining characteristic of this race is that year after year they manage to feck up their greatest resource. The run and bike course are nothing to write home about, but the seas in this area are magic to swim in. I'm baffled as to why they continually underutilise what should be the best thing about it.

Ah yeah, I got my wish.... but as they say be careful what you wish for.

There was absolutely no reason to shorten today's swim - flat water. I'd argue with the first buoy so close to the start that for beginners it was actually a handicap as the first turn was probably made tougher and tighter by its closeness to the start.

Now this race was National series today and i'm pointing out my gripes:

1) Short swim with absolutely no reason in a flat smooth bay - the organizers of NS races must do better than "ah sure over there somewhere" - that'll do. Laziness led to a shortened swim. Very well put by Kurt - what a lovely place to swim - the shortness of the swim is mind boggling!
2) Prizes - merging categories not in the spirit of NS races. My main gripe with this is that this policy should be made clear before the start - this wouldn't be an issue or deciding factor for me whether to participate or not, but surely the list should be publicized before the race - would this not be easy to do?.
3) Not a mention in the prize giving about the regional championship that it was supposed to be!
4) Security - none at the end in transition. Especially with the transition being remote from the finish this isn't good enough. If a few gougers realized this they would have been off with some nice booty. It would be so easy - put on a bit of gear (god knows they wear enough sh1t tracksuits), walk in and away!!!
5) No markers on the run - is this not a basic easy thing to do?
6) Crossover of run and cycle - although it was marshalled well, surely this is an accident waiting to happen as it is blind for both runners and cyclists.
7) Drafting - wasn't marshalled well.
8) The Roads aren't great - I wouldn't slate the organizers for this though - they put on a race and the roads are up to the County Council.

Positives:
1) Transition gave you plenty of space and was well neutralized.
2) Although the roads weren't great traffic was quiet unless you were unlucky to be caught by a farmers tractor.
3) Lovely swim - such a shame it was so short.
4) Good overall spirit about the place


Other than that I had a decent outing today, and after the disaster last week that was good.

EC1000

Shame about the swim alright. Beautiful bay for it. I would imagine the short swim wasn't intentional.

The area has the potential for a good race. Road surface not great but not a lot can be done about that. However, as said above, transition not secure at all. Not sure what the benefit is of finishing in the town when we ended up in a field anyway. Good atmosphere about the race overall but lots of things about this need improving to be of a national series standard imho.

RacoonQueen

Did they acknowledge the short swim?

Podge83

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Did they acknowledge the short swim?

No acknowledgement of swim distance - there was no reason to shorten - It seems that this race just has a short swim - they should advertise it as so. It was my first time doing it but every year it is short I believe.

Another gripe of mine that could easily improved is the toilets -2 portaloos in transition and within reach of the start. That's not enough for a NS race.

EC1000

=Another gripe of mine that could easily improved is the toilets -2 portaloos in transition and within reach of the start. That's not enough for a NS race.

Not enough for any race with 300+ racers!

Hani Kosti

I'm a really weak swimmer so short course suits me... yet no justification for a NS race
Road weren't in the best condition, the cycle/run crossing was unnecessary, also finish so far from transition seems a bit odd.
Will I come back? Probably, the course almost killed me so I want to kill it next time!

sofacanslow

Hani Kosti wrote: »

I'm a really weak swimmer so short course suits me... yet no justification for a NS race
Road weren't in the best condition, the cycle/run crossing was unnecessary, also finish so far from transition seems a bit odd.
Will I come back? Probably, the course almost killed me so I want to kill it next time!

Agree100% with podge83. Did this last year when it was not ns and expected much more this time with ns and Leinster status but seems nothing changed. Shameful to have such a short swim in a perfect bay with flat calm water. Crazy. Same bike and run crossover where there was a bad accident last year although much better marshalled this time but who wants to have to stop running till they have a gap between bikes to cross the road in a national series race? Crazy. Two portaloos, same as last year, but this time for a sold out ns race! Crazy. And this stingy approach to prizegiving leaves a bad taste. How about dropping the tee shirt for next year and award those who made the podium in their age groups in a national series and provincial championship race. Positives were a good atmosphere, spacious transition, nice location, plenty of friendly marshals. But if a race is given ns status the organisers have got to step up to the plate.

Podge83

sofacanslow wrote: »

Agree100% with podge83. Did this last year when it was not ns and expected much more this time with ns and Leinster status but seems nothing changed. Shameful to have such a short swim in a perfect bay with flat calm water. Crazy. Same bike and run crossover where there was a bad accident last year although much better marshalled this time but who wants to have to stop running till they have a gap between bikes to cross the road in a national series race? Crazy. Two portaloos, same as last year, but this time for a sold out ns race! Crazy. And this stingy approach to prizegiving leaves a bad taste. How about dropping the tee shirt for next year and award those who made the podium in their age groups in a national series and provincial championship race. Positives were a good atmosphere, spacious transition, nice location, plenty of friendly marshals. But if a race is given ns status the organisers have got to step up to the plate.

If they get NS next year.

Maybe it should stay as the small local race it was?? The approach of the current organizers is that way

P2C

It beggars belief that races such as this can be awarded the national series. Its seems to be a lucky bag approach to picking races or maybe if it just suits the calender. Some great local races that organize fantastic events are over looked every year

EC1000

P2C wrote: »

It beggars belief that races such as this can be awarded the national series. Its seems to be a lucky bag approach to picking races or maybe if it just suits the calender. Some great local races that organize fantastic events are over looked every year

I'm not in the know here by any means but how many sprint distance races in Leinster applied for provincial champs this year? Maybe nobody else did?

Podge83

Tri The Hook FB page quote:

"Thank you to all our Competitors, Marshals, Sponsors and supporting organisations for a fantastic event. A special Thank you to the Ladies who kindly provided Massages to the Competitors - We will be completing the full age group prizes over the next week or so and will be in contact with the Competitors involved"

Sounds like something was said

Oryx

Podge83 wrote: »

Tri The Hook FB page quote:

"Thank you to all our Competitors, Marshals, Sponsors and supporting organisations for a fantastic event. A special Thank you to the Ladies who kindly provided Massages to the Competitors - We will be completing the full age group prizes over the next week or so and will be in contact with the Competitors involved"

Sounds like something was said

Its a condition of ns races that they award full ag prizes. I was surprised to hear they hadn't and was curious how they got that past TI.

Podge83

Oryx wrote: »

Its a condition of ns races that they award full ag prizes. I was surprised to hear they hadn't and was curious how they got that past TI.

Doubt if we'll see the NS banners there next year

boysinblack

Anyone do this is 2015? Have they got any better?

tritriagain

Ns again this year. Same route.

Kurt_Godel

I heard from a few that 2015 was a full-length swim, and supposedly better organisation in general (didn't do it myself).

After the 2014 race I sent them "constructive" criticism, mentioning that sharp bike corners had a lot of gravel and hadn't been swept. Answer- "we rely on the Co Council to maintain the roads and will revert back to them in relation to the sweeping of the gravel". If it was organised by a Tri-club they would have understood the issue.

Still, good luck to them, its up to Tri Clubs in the SE to offer alternatives (and I'm a member of a SE club).

Murtinho

I think the 2016 swim was full length, seemed to be anyway, also they did say something last yr about how the council had cleaned the road a bit beforehand. Surface wasn't a problem on the day, both the run and cycle have plenty of smallish hills.

joey100

I done it in 2014, the same as Kurt. I wouldn't be rushing back. Swim was way short, think I clocked it at around 450m. Bike was awful, like Kurt said there was gravel on nearly every corner. Lads standing on the corners with sweeping brushes in hand but no effort to sweep away the gravel. Run course crossed the bike course too, know a few years ago the lead runner was hit by a bike. We had to slow our run to fit between the gaps in cyclists. 3 portaloos for 350 people racing too. I won an entry for last years race and I gave it away, wouldn't be rushing back. Lovely part of the country but not a lovely race.

086Jazzy

Anybody got a garmin / strava link to the bike /run courses?

Is the bike course TT or road bike?

Kurt_Godel

Tri the Hook Facebook wrote:

Lots of queries this morning regarding the weather for Tri the Hook tomorrow. We are hopeful that all will go ahead as planned. The forecast so far is for west - south westerly winds which thankfully Baginbun Bay is quite sheltered from. Obviously in the interest of safety, conditions will be assessed in the morning and a decision will be made in consultation with the Triathlon Ireland officials.

If I was a betting man...;)

tritriagain

Not doing the tri but just back from baginbun and its as rough as one seen it out at head. The bay is quite calm with just a moderate swell near shore. Nothing to worry strong swimmers but on past history I would be very surprised if swim is ,at best , not cut short.

Kurt_Godel

The swim went ahead today, in a sheltered bay. Just round the corner in Carnivan bay there were huge waves surfing to the beach from a kilometer out. The only issue was they forgot to put out the large turning bouys (left on the beach), so directions were to swim to one kayak, then across to another, then back to the beach. Very hard to sight the right kayaks in the swell, and there was a load who cut the second kayak. (Needless to say there were also safety kayaks dotted along the course that people aimed for...). Still, I was personally happy to finally get a proper distance swim after years of trying, so no complaints from me. No-one drowned either, always a positive

Bike was very windy, and very wind-y, and only some of the sharp corners were swept, others had lots of gravel. Didn't see any spill myself, mind.

Good run route which took you along the storm-washed Carnivan, and then backroads to the finish.

I really want to like this race, but there's just so many little things wrong that tell you a Tri club has no input (the first couple of bike racks in trans were numbered, then only sporadic numbers, meaning everyone confused where they should rack. Having said all that, its certainly improved in the few years I've been doing it, and the marshals were on every bend, with good local support along the route and at the finish. I'll be back next year, if only to swim in Baginbun again. Definitely a race on the up.

noc231073

A race on the up or down????
Tbh I don't think it deserves a national series race ...
Just because of poor organisation .. Forget to put the bouys out ..??? Had no clue where I was after the first Turn .. ..
Also transition was as loss .. I could have walk out with 10 bikes at the end nobody looking after them and I was in the second or third bus back..
I really think they are better races that desire NS than this one .
Struggled with the wind on the bike wrong wheels brought ..

noc231073

Oh any idea of who did chip timing looking for results

Dilbert75

My bike was checked on the way out - 2 people were checking. But totally agree on the buoys - conditions were difficult enough without looking for particular kayaks.

Kurt_Godel

I was 2nd wave- the first wave had been counted through, on start line, when someone appeared with two large inflated bouys on the beach. Too late. A lad in Hi-viz was signalling to the kayakers who were in place to come in and get them, but they didn't see him. All the while wave 1 were waiting to go. Didn't see any power boats, so taking the bouys out would have taken a lot of time. Guess they just decided to go for it. Yes, it made sighting very difficult- I was undercutting the 2nd kayak before realising my mistake, and swimming out and around him (swam "over" a few others and pointed, they followed and went on the right course). Plenty just undercut and went in to the finish.

Is it a race on the up? Yes, based on what I saw in 2012 and 2014 (that'll tell you the nonsense that went on then).

Does it deserve NS? No, but I'd say TI are looking at what clubs from the SSE are willing to put on NS races, and they are lacking offers.

(Agree with Dilbert, my bike/number was checked on exit. It wasn't previous years)

Macy0161

Bike was checked for me on exit too.

I was also wave two, and went around the second kayak, but a big group in that wave didn't. Doesn't matter to end of pack fodder like me, but I guess could potentially feck up some age groups. Heard (unconfirmed) reports in the bus back to transition that the second kayak capsized during wave three!?

To be honest, as a slow but generally confident open swimmer, I didn't feel like there was enough boats in the water for the conditions. Particularly compared to some other races I've done that were in much more benign weather which had more kayaks.

I'm on a road bike, and found the bike fine tbh, and enjoyed the run.

Haven't been doing it long enough to give more of judgement, but I'm not sure I'll be back (despite being happy enough with my times for everything bar my transitions actually!)

noc231073

Anyone get results ??

Dilbert75

noc231073 wrote: »

Anyone get results ??

Nope and have checked several timing companies' websites and saw no mention.

Dilbert75

Macy0161 wrote: »

To be honest, as a slow but generally confident open swimmer, I didn't feel like there was enough boats in the water for the conditions. Particularly compared to some other races I've done that were in much more benign weather which had more kayaks.

Totally agree. I'd opted for a white hat (weaker swimmer) - got an awful calf cramp between turns 1 & 2 so I flipped over and put my fist in the air. Nobody came near me. Tried swimming. Flipped over again, fist in air and again nobody came near me. Ended up waiting for it to pass and making my own way in. Very poor form though - I could have been in real trouble.

Edit: Red tag did the timing

boysinblack

By far the worst bike course in Ireland. Dangerous turns and awful road.

No idea how that can be counted as national series race , the swim wasn't the same for all three waves or even for any wave , kayaks constantly moving. Complete farce. Bikes been taken as people where still coming in off the bike. Lack of marshals on points of the run.

Should never get national series again.

noc231073

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Nope and have checked several timing companies' websites and saw no mention.

Yep can't find anything

noc231073

boysinblack wrote: »

By far the worst bike course in Ireland. Dangerous turns and awful road.

No idea how that can be counted as national series race , the swim wasn't the same for all three waves or even for any wave , kayaks constantly moving. Complete farce. Bikes been taken as people where still coming in off the bike. Lack of marshals on points of the run.

Should never get national series again.

I have a tendency to agree people collecting bikes where right in the middle of the way of people still racing

Macy0161

Kurt_Godel wrote:

(the first couple of bike racks in trans were numbered, then only sporadic numbers, meaning everyone confused where they should rack.

Whether it's true or not, a marshal told us they were numbered last night and the stickers blew off. Stayed down there last night, and given some of the gusts and squalls, that is believable.

Facebook saying we'll get a text of (I assume) a link to the results.

Dilbert75

noc231073 wrote: »

I have a tendency to agree people collecting bikes where right in the middle of the way of people still racing

Presumably these were relay cyclists - were there many?

Edit: looks like 12 teams

Dilbert75

Results are up

http://www.redtagtiming.com/index.html

boysinblack

Results are a total jokeshop. My overall time is way off to what was recorded on my watch!

The basis towards wave 1 and wave 2+3 swim times is just ridiculous ...

TI will have to do something here surely?

foxer3640

boysinblack wrote: »

Results are a total jokeshop. My overall time is way off to what was recorded on my watch!

The basis towards wave 1 and wave 2+3 swim times is just ridiculous ...

TI will have to do something here surely?

Yep times are way off. I was standing at the finish line for 7 or 8 minutes waiting on my wife but results say she finished 5 minutes before me. It's my first tri so I'm not fussed but it must be pretty annoying for the proper triathletes

tritriagain

Did you try opening it in pdf format.I opened xls on my phone but varied ( with some crazy results) to the pdf version which seems correct. I knew 6 people doing it and pdf would seem to tally.

noc231073

Yeah my results seem to match my watch
But Defo a lot of cutting went on in the swim

Dilbert75

tritriagain wrote: »

Did you try opening it in pdf format.I opened xls on my phone but varied ( with some crazy results) to the pdf version which seems correct. I knew 6 people doing it and pdf would seem to tally.

I'm disappointed. I didn't get any faster when I switched to PDF. Same mediocre times.

Dilbert75

foxer3640 wrote: »

Yep times are way off. I was standing at the finish line for 7 or 8 minutes waiting on my wife but results say she finished 5 minutes before me. It's my first tri so I'm not fussed but it must be pretty annoying for the proper triathletes

Did she not start at least 10 mins after you? So she's got a different start time?

Kurt_Godel

boysinblack wrote: »

Results are a total jokeshop. My overall time is way off to what was recorded on my watch!

The basis towards wave 1 and wave 2+3 swim times is just ridiculous ...

TI will have to do something here surely?

I came 20th overall fastest swim between waves 1&2, not an unexpected position given tough seas. Made sure to swim around both correct kayaks too. Sure there are some fast times in Wave 2 that I'd suspect are down to undercutting, but there's nothing TI can do about this now, if they weren't pinged on the day.

Wave 3 looks very fast- probably due to a disappearing kayak!- but male and female are essentially different races (as regards NS points), so I doubt anything will be done about this either.

If you swam around both kayaks then fair play to you for doing so (ditto everyone else who did so too). It's not fair that others cut corners in a NS race, but I think they will have an overall limited impact on overall NS points.

Personally I'm just glad the swim went ahead in rough sea's, not something we often get to do in TI races.

Macy0161

My results pretty much match my watch overall (within the a couple of seconds), and time doesn't change between xls and PDF.

Dilbert75

I was at the back of the wave 2 swim and was passed by several yellow hats after turn 1. But while I was going around the 2nd yellow kayak, they weren't.