Question:Going after my first half iron this year and looking for any comments
on these two races? Which would be most forgiving to a rookie at this
distance. My swim is above-average, my bike is average, and my run
is... let's just say I'm working on it. I'm an Oly-distance guy from
Cali moving to Mass this summer and ooking to bump up the distance.
Answer:
Never heard of the Timberman. The FIRM organization is easily the best
Triathlon Org. I have come across in my 8 years of racing. Raced about 25-30
FIRM races, everyone of them good experiences. Miss the hell out of them here
in FL. Have raced the FIRMMAN 4 times in 3 locations, is it still in
Naraganset? This was the best location, my favorite course ever. Beautiful
ocean swim, fast bike with lots of scenery and little traffic. Nice run. A
good "rookie" race for sure. Check out some of the FIRM's sprint races before
the 1/2 IM. They have a race almost every weekend in the area during "season".
I would bet on FirmMan, only because Timberman is in NH and bound to be
hillier.
http://www.timbermantri.com/timberman.html
Forgiving? You don't want forgiving, you want a test of mettle ---
man against the elements, bring on the hills and rain --- look up a
giant hill and say to it "is that all you've got?"!
That said, my wife and I both did the Timberman up in the lakes region
of New Hampshire as our first 1/2 last year and loved it (figuring that
if there was hideous weather or some sort of a mishap, we then had the
Firmman as a backup a month later). We then did the Firmman down at
Narragansett Beach in Rhode Island as a relay in support of a friend
who was doing that as her first 1/2, so we got to see both events.
We plan to do the Timberman again this year. The organization was
incredible --- from the pasta dinner the night before (with an official
explaining the rules, along with visual aids of just exactly how long 7
meters is) to the transition area security to the pizza and ice cream
after the race. Every detail was thoughtfully planned out. (I love
the folks at FIRM and enjoy their events as well, but they did have a
couple bike-vs-auto DNF's and ran out of water at some of the aid
stations on the run before the slower folks (who might really be in
need of some water) arrived.)
The Timberman is hillier than the Firmman -- there's a good climb about
12 miles into the bike (check the altitude profile at their website)
but otherwise it's not too bad. And the Firmman had a current-aided
ocean swim last year, which might negate your strength to some extent.
Timberman: http://www.timbermantri.com
Firmman: http://www.firm-racing.com
http://www.firm-racing.com/
