I raced the inaugural She Rox Philadelphia. One of the things I loved most about this race was that if you hadn’t done a triathlon before, you could sign up for a race buddy, a seasoned triathlete who would give you race and coaching tips. The pre race meeting was well organized and actually a lot of fun. We were led in group cheers, all of the vendors catered to women athletes, and the swag bags were full of useful stuff (gels, energy bars, chamois cream).
The day of the race, they bused you to the swim start, so got a chance to meet and talk to a lot of the races on the bus. There were plenty of volunteers to help us in and out of the water, too.
The bike course was challenging, with a few steep hills, but not too bad. The run is a bit brutal in that you are out on the main road, which is closed to traffic, but there is absolutely no shade, so it got pretty warm out there. The water and aid stations were well stocked, but the if it’s hot the day of the race, it’s HOT.
The finish was great. There were tons of people at the end and the good energy. The announcer did a pretty good job of trying to announce everyone’s name as they crossed the finish line. Plus, the medals were pretty nice.