Race Report - Bracebridge Half Iron Distance

Aug 11, 2008

Other then the Hamilton Duathlon a few years back, I had not participated
in any of the other HSBC series races. This past weekend I took part in the
Inaugural HSBC Bracebridge Half Ironman and I have to admit I was impressed with
the Race Organization and that the Race Directors actually seemed to care about
the competitors.

I drove up to Bracebridge on Sunday morning and despite the steady drizzle
going up Hwy. 400 by the time I arrived in Bracebridge the rain had stopped.
In fact other then a 'refreshing' burst of rain during the run, the weather gods
provided us with pretty good weather.

Race registration was quick and I liked the Technical Shirt that was included
with the race entry fee. About a 1/2 hour prior to the race start, the race directors
held a pre-race meeting where they went over the entire race course
(swim, bike, run) so that all of the competitors knew what they were in for.

The Swim:

- The swim was a two loop course on the Muskoka River.
- My friend, Les Scholl had told me about there being a strong current but the large
amount of rain caused the current to be even stronger. Something about a
'watershed' or something.
- I knew the current would be an issue when during a warm up swim I was
doing some breaststroke against the current to get back to shore and I was
not moving.
- The swim start was extremely crowded and despite the small amount of
competitors it was more like an Ironman swim start.
- The first loop of the swim wasn't too bad because of the ability to draft
off other swimmers while going against the current but the second loop when
things had spread out it became more difficult. It was like swimming in an
endless pool.

The Bike:

- I liked the out and back bike course, it was challenging with some rolling hills
but there were also some flat, fast sections. Other then a small rough section
most of the roads were in very good condition.
- It was obvious that the Race Directors had been out on the bike course, I could see
that they had tried to mark some problem spots on the rough portion of the course.
(Not nearly as bad as Muskoka)
- The course was well marked (every 5kms), there was Police support at every
intersection and although the course was open to traffic, it was pretty light.

The Run:

- The run was very forgiving. It was pretty flat with a fair amount of tree cover.
- The run is two loops along a well paved road which runs alongside the Muskoka
River. Once again, every kilometer was marked and there was plenty of support
(Aid Stations) along the course.

Post race comments:

- I see the HSBC series as a nice alternative to Trisport.
- The number of competitors is smaller then the Trisport Series but the Race
Organization was equal. Maybe it is because of the smaller numbers but the
HSBC Race Directors did seem to care a little bit more about the concerns of the
competitors.
- One of the Race Directors, John Salt was at the finish line congratulating all the
finishers personally and during the Awards/Draw Prizes talked about the swim course
and how they planned to improve things for next year to make it a better race.

My Race:

My goals going into this Race were to improve upon my Peterborough Half overall
time (5:28), ride the bike a little harder then Peterborough but have some legs left
to run a 'fast' half marathon. I accomplished most of what I wanted to do. I have to
thank my friend, Les for being the 'carrot' while I tried to chase him down during the
run. I don't think I would have run the time I did, if he had not been there.

My overall time was 5:19:41 and my splits were as follows:

Swim: 49:37 T1: 1:55 Bike: 2:53:32 T2: :55 Run: 1:33:45

Bill