Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by iKristin
December 19, 2013
Review
This review is intended for the 2013 TriRock Race in San Diego.
PreRace Packet Pick Up: Hassle free. A good amount of vendors. ToughChik had the cutest apparel for women. It was your typical pre-race event with clothing, swag booth, GU’s, other race gels, and sunglasses. The t-shirt given was not true to size since it was unisex. It was 2 sizes bigger than what I would normally wear. It was a nice quality shirt, very simple logo which I appreciated (I hate when shirts are so busy and loud). But that being said, it’s probably not something I’ll ever wear due to the fact it’s so oversized, and fit more for a mans body type.
Race Day: Transitioned zones closed at the time stated which lead to some chaos for procrastinators. Get there when transition opens, and get to the porta-potties. There is always a line for those.
Race Start & Swim: I noticed when the gun went off for the first wave, more than half the wave was still swimming to the start because the waves were so large and only two people could enter the water at a time. The same trend continued into my wave, which was just the start of a very disappointing race. In prior years, I heard there was a “band on the barge” while you swam. There was no band for this race. It was a trend that continued throughout the entire race. But back to the swim. I think initially the course was marked well. But due to currents, it became a chaotic hot mess. And the lifeguards told people one thing, and others different. I’d imagine that’s hard to orchestrate a change in course while people are out in the water already, so I feel like this was beyond their control.
T1: Transition was sectioned off for racers, and was clearly marked. A job well done.
Bike: The initial start of the course wasn’t bad. They had volunteers heavily warning riders to slow down over the train tracks, and they did a great job. Then the course moved onto the naval base for a course that makes the road to Hana look straight… maybe not so much but it certainly felt like that. For the Olympic distance racers, you got to do the course twice. Yay me! I only saw one mile marker sign. I felt like this was odd because the day before I saw them setting signs up and magically they all disappeared. And still no music, or bands.
T2: Great great great.
Run: The run portion was very scenic which I appreciated, but after mile 3, you really started to share the road with a heavy amount of pedestrians who were all ignoring the signs posted to stay off the course. I wish there would have been more even staff watching this. Again, there were sporadic mile markers, some I think people moved, because right after mile 3, there was a mile 6 marker. It was just a mess.
Post Race: Medals are given out to everyone who finishes. Cute little guitar that also serves as a bottle opener. It’s the smallest and lightest of any of the medals I own. Post race food was great. Nice to see a race provide quinoa. It was delicious. The post race band was also very good. I appreciated the massage tent. A great amount of masseuses who went above and beyond.
Overall: I gave this race a D based on the 2013 event. I had such high hopes because I had heard such great things about the race. They did several things great, mainly the transition areas (which were heavily secured… MUCH APPRECIATED), amount of volunteers, and post race experience. But they failed on the most important factor of the race, the course itself. Due to poor organization of course, I had give this race an overall D grade. Kindly note, I heard years prior, this race was absolutely top notch. It’s because of such great reviews from friends that I signed up. Sadly, myself, and those same return racers will not likely be coming back unless there’s some significant changes.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by NubianSpirit
September 23, 2013
Review
this was my second year doing TriRock Olympic Distance and while i can understand the lack of bands on the bike course, i was wondering what happened to the ones that i had enjoyed on the swim and run courses last year?
expo: for an event associated with the rock & roll marathon series, the expo is surprisingly small. potentially, disappointingly small if you were hoping to pick up something specific.
course:
this year the swim course was incredibly challenging. i realize they don’t have control over water conditions; however maybe it would have been better to reverse the swim course once it was determined that the current was going to be so strong? i would have liked to have seen the time gaps between the waves be a little greater – and i wish that we all could have been in ascending age order instead of having the 30-somethings (my group) go first. the bike course was pretty cool and i am glad that the navy allowed TriRock to use the base. i was also very appreciative of the measures that were taken to ensure rider safety relative to the dreaded train tracks. since the run course was through seaport village, there was a lot of pedestrian traffic to avoid, dodge and/or weave. kudos to all of the race volunteers for their cheering!!
post-race: to be honest, i didn’t stick around for the post-race festivities. my race went so much longer than i had anticipated that i had to rush back to the hotel for check out. 🙁
overall: i’d like to see a bigger expo and have a bit more ROCK on the course. if they are just going to post speakers at each mile marker, maybe they could place them every half-mile instead.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by Davefromphilly
September 23, 2013
Review
This review for the Olympic/Intermediate Distance Course for TriRock San Diego on September 22, 2013. This is the first time that I had competed at TriRock San Diego.
Pre-Race: The race expo was held in the grassy area outside of the Hilton, where a lot of the out-of-towners were staying. Side note, the Hilton is a great hotel to stay at if you want to compete in this race. The hotel is a 5 minute walk to the swim start and the transition area. Back to packet pick-up, I was able to pick up my packet without a problem, and there are a good amount of volunteers helping everyone out. There were a few booths selling triathlon gear, and some had really good discounts! I got myself a pair of triathlon shorts for 50% off!
Course: The swim was brutal, to say the least. We started along the dock, and swam out about 20-30 yards for an in-water start. The first part of the swim was not to difficult. But when I made the first right turn into the bay, I was fighting the current. It felt at times that I was not even moving in the water. After fighting the current to get to the “U-Turn” portion of the swim, I was hit by one of the buoys in the bay. It looked like the buoy was moving from North to South. Once I got around the buoy, I was able to swim with the current (which helped a lot), and get back to the swim start and get it of the water. It felt like I was in the water forever, and when I checked my watch, it showed nearly 49 minutes! I have averaged roughly 32-34 minutes in previous Olympic distance triathlons. So that was very disappointing to see that on my watch after getting out of the water. On to the bike course, it was very flat. The only elevation was an overpass by the beginning and ending of each lap. The remainder of the course, as mentioned before, as very flat. I will commend TriRock for putting people out by the train tracks this year and directing and warning people of the oncoming tracks. I had heard horror stories from competitors in previous years of accidents on the train track area. I do commend them on listening to the athletes concerns and adjusting. The remainder of the course was through the US Naval base in San Diego. There were a lot of turns in the base, which kept my speed down, but it was a very scenic and enjoyable bike course.
Run Course: Again, very flat! Both laps seemed to go by very quickly, especially since I was chasing a fellow competitor through out the run portion. I was very happy with the run course. I would give the full course a B. The Bike and Run would get an A, and swim would get a D.
Post race: The post festival was great. It had a good band, a great beer garden, and a great breakfast! The only gripe that I have about the post race is there were no bands along the course. I have competed in a few Rock N’ Roll marathons before and there were many bands out on the course. It was a little disappointing, but not a deal breaker.
Overall, I would give this race a B. I will definitely compete in this event next year. I would ask the TriRock coordinators to focus on improving the swim. Otherwise, thanks for a great experience.
Shameless plug: Follow any of race endeavors on Twitter: @DavefromPhilly.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by triguy
September 23, 2013
Review
The San Diego Tri Rock has one of the best venues for a triathlon. I have now down this race 3 times. Pre Race: The expo was a decent size with a few dozen vendors around a large grass area. I had no problem with picking up my packet and the volunteers were all very nice and helpful. They also did “course talks” throughout the day which were very helpful. The Course: This was my 3rd year doing the Tri Rock and I believe the course has changed a bit every year. The swim was very interesting. The previous two years doing the race (intermediate distance) my swim time was around 30 minutes. This year it was 46 minutes! It was a brutal swim. The current was very strong going from North to South and I felt as though I was swimming in the ocean(as opposed to harbor) at times. I also started in wave 4 and had many people to navigate through continuously. Side note, if you’re new to triathlon PLEASE do not stop at every buoy. It creates a road block. Swim through or past the buoy then take a second to site where you’re going. I also had an issue with the last buoy you rounded before heading back to the South. I swear that thing was drifting! As I approached the buoy it seemed like it was getting further away. Once going South the current gave you a nice “push” to the swim exit. But it was incredibly demoralizing to take a look at your watch and see a time 16 minutes slower than expected. I felt a little better in T1 hearing others equally frustrated about the swim. The Bike: I was determined to make up for that brutal swim. And had a strong effort on the bike. The course takes you out on Harbor to the South. This part of the course is very bumpy but manageable if you take a good line. There are also rail road tracks that have been very dangerous in the past. This year that made a GREAT effort to let people know the tracks were approaching and that you should slow down and take them head on as opposed to at an angel. I didn’t see or hear of anyone who crashed (unlike previous years). The rest of the bike course went through the Naval base. It was rather technical with many turns but the roads were in good shape. It was also very cool to see all the ships as you were cruising through. Overall the bike course is mostly flat. It would be a fast course if not for all the turns and bumpy roads. I ended up averaging 20 mph which is what I expected. The Run: Flat! You run a basic out and back to the Midway museum with a side trip onto the peninsula. It’s two loops for the intermediate distance. There was decent support with two aid stations. Post Race: It was a bit disappointing having the finish line and post race expo at the grass in front of the convention center. Previous years it was held on the peninsula where they have the huge stage and bleachers for spectators. But it was still very good with the band, beer garden, and some cool vendors. Overall: I have to give the race a solid “B”. I’d like to find out more about the swim. Some people said they had their GPS measure close to 1.4 miles? I don’t know if that is true or not but I do know that it was 16 minutes slower for me than last year. And I’ve done a half ironman distance tri swim (1.2 miles) in 41 minutes. Another HUGE issue with this race was the absence of any bands!! This was supposed to be Tri ROCK. There were NO BANDS on the swim (they previously had one that setup on a catamaran), NO BANDS on the bike, and NO BANDS on the run. There was NO MUSIC at all until the finish line festival. I’m not sure you can call it “Tri Rock” when there is no music! But even with the absence of music it’s an incredible venue for a triathlon and I’ll likely be back next year.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by mid pack
September 19, 2013
Review
The Tri Rock San Diego Triathlon is a great experience. I’ve done it a few years now and make it a family event. Find a nice hotel within walking distance to the course and enjoy the beauty of San Diego. The packet pick up is easy and quick. The expo is rather small for an event of this size (my opinion). But the people there and volunteers are all very helpful. I did the Olympic distance race and had a bit of trouble with the swim. I thought it was a bit confusing which buoys to round. Maybe it’s my fault for not attending one of the pre-race talks. Other than than it’s a bummer you can’t jump in and warm up a bit before your wave starts. It’s pretty much jump in and get ready to go. There’s a boat at the start of the race with a band. Nice touch! The bike course has changed a few times. The last time I did it the course went towards the airport and had 3 loops. Not a big fan of loops! And the course got a bit crowded with the merging of the Oly and Sprint competitors. The run is about as flat as you can get. Right along the boardwalk and out past Seapoint Village. Incredible scenery for the last leg of the race. And there are bands every mile. Great to get your mind off the pain. But beware of pedestrians/tourists that tend to wander into the trail even though it’s marked. The post race festival is one of the best around. Beer garden and live concert. Be sure to stick around and chat up other triathletes. I plan on attending this event every year. Great race!
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by Cervelo_Chris
September 10, 2012
Review
This was my second year at Tri Rock San Diego. Packet pick up is very organized, Great location, Family friendly race, bands were great. The water temp in the bay was about 72 degrees not much to say about that!!! The bike Course was still a little bumpy in front of the convention center. I hope for next year the race organizers will plan the bike course with less loops. San Diego is such a scenic city would love to see some a little more elevation change for the Olympic course. The Run Course was flat along the water front with great views of the city and Coronado Bridge. My friends and I had a great time and will definitely be back next year.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by RaceGrader
September 10, 2012
Review
First, I think Tri Rock did a great job of listening to people’s complaints from last year and made and effort to improve the event (Including to have the OLY distance racers first). PRE RACE: This is the second time I’ve done this race and I have never had to wait in line. The expo was well organized with great volunteers. COURSE: I give it a “B” even though it was a big improvement from last year. First, they need to do a better job with marking the swim course. Or explaining the turns. There was a lot of confusion before the event and even in the water on the turns for OLY distance swimmers. I think it’s a bit confusing because of the sprint and olympic distance sharing the same swim area. The major confusion was after the last turn around the orange buoy. Did you still have to keep the sprint buoys on your left(yellow) or could you go straight to the steps? I thought the OLY swimmers only had to worry about the big orange turns? Even now, I’m not too sure…Also, it was a “rush” between waves. After wave 1 went out they waited 2-3 minutes before allowing our wave to enter the water(which is not real close to the starting line). There was no time to make adjustments to goggles, get comfortable with the water, etc.. T1 was great. Love grass transition areas! The bike was an improvement over last year but still had a few too many turns and bumpy roads. I’m also not a big fan of doing 3 loops. But it was well marked and great volunteers keeping pedestrians off the road and warning you about upcoming turns and bumps. The RUN was 2 loops. Kind of a strange course because of the “mini loops” in the peninsula area. So you really ran the peninsula 4 times. But it was still an improvement over last years course. Pedestrians were still a problem, but most of them seemed courteous and stayed on the side of the path to allow the runners to get by. The bands on the course were awesome. Especially the “Ramones” cover band at the end. Def. gave me a “pump” to finish strong. There was adequate support on the course. Seemed like you had plenty of opportunity to grab water. POST RACE: I’m not sure you could do it any better. Great atmosphere, beer garden, breakfast, and a huge stage with the Red “NOT” Chili Peppers playing. It was great to hang around and soak it all in. OVERALL: This is one of my favorite races. Great location, well organized, and cool atmosphere. I also liked that they acknowledged issues from last year and tried to improve on the event. If you don’t live in San Diego, put this one on your schedule as a “destination race”. Make a weekend out of it with all the great hotels in the area. Fast, flat course and great for spectators with all the loops. Your family/friends can see you racing 3-4 times!
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by Jonathan Hildebrand
September 9, 2012
Review
Okay, I have done all of the previous Tri-Rock San Diego and have been a big supporter of this brand of race as kind of like a WTC-like sprint race. The first year the race was done was an automatic, out of the park home run with the exception of the railroad tracks. However, let us look at this years race.
This year, I had really high hopes for because of the change in the bike course.2 weeks before the race, I find out that they changed the bike course from 11 miles to 8.5. Wow, that is a huge change and their concern was the course would be too crowded which it was not. So for me, this was strike one against them. They could have cut out the stupid bridge that they love to have people go over by the hotel, and have you do 2 laps and it would be around 14 miles which is a good distance for a sprint. (I mean really, do you need to put a U-turn right by the end of the bridge to go right back over it with not changing gears from coming down)
Next, they changed the sprint race to later in the day (my wave went off at 8:30 instead of like 7:45 in the past). It was already getting warm in transition, and people were sweating buckets in their wetsuits. The last wave for the sprint wound up going off at 9:30, that was a little insane.
Lastly, their distances were off the mark a lot. My Garmin calculated the run at around 3.5 miles instead of the 3.1 that the run used to be. Overall, if you are in the area, this is a good race for a beginner. However, to travel here with hotel and everything else it is extremely expensive. I think this is probably my last year doing the race, and I will go do LA next year and save an extra 100 bucks.
I hope they look at the concerns that all of the legacy people have with this race. Maybe move the course to Fiesta ISland where they hold more triathlons throughout the year.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by deanna
February 7, 2012
Review
Love the energy, love the location – just gave a C to the course for the bike portion – whew, a bit rough with potholes, but look forward to improvements in 2012! Already signed up for the Olympic distance and ready to rock it! Thanks to my club TriLaVie for their encouragement!!
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by runnerdude
December 22, 2011
Review
I concur with Your review Rob. Better swim explanation, less potholes and railroad crossings, and rope off a place to run. If they don’t get 2012 right it could be my last year.
Overall
Pre-race
Course
Post-race
Submitted by Rob Peterson
December 22, 2011
Review
Tri Rock Olympic Distance triathlon was on 9/11 in 2011. That was good and bad. It was great to honor those we lost and the patriotism shown at the race. But the bad was the course got shortened because we weren’t able to access the Naval Base for the bike. It seems like someone in the Navy or Tri Rock may have realized that going onto the Base on 9/11 may be an issue? There was also a lot of talk about the bike course. It traversed over railroad tracks a couple of times and there were a handful of crashes. They apparently have plans on changing the route for 2012. The packet pick up was very organized and quick. But the “expo” portion was pretty minimal for a “tri rock” event. The swim course was in the harbor. They could’ve explained the course a little better considering there was a “sprint” course starting just before the OLY. Our group was the first after the sprint distance and many of us didn’t know exactly where we were going. The bike had 3 loops because of the last minute change in plans because of 9/11. The run was an out and back right through Seapoint Village. Absolutely great views and scenary. But you had to dodge a lot of the general public because you were running on the sidewalk. They also could’ve had a few more aid stations. The finish to the race was great as you enter a “stadium-like” area. The medals were great and the post party was the best I’ve seen with live “rock” entertainment. Overall, the course had some difficulties but the race was still very good. Especially since I made a weekend out of the event with family and friends. Already signed up for 2012!
Hi! You must be logged in to review a race. Please sign in or create an account using your Facebook, Google, Twitter or OpenID.
