Opinions on the L.A. Triathlon?

[apologies if this has already been covered on RST--I googled but
didn't find anything recent]

Any opinions on the Los Angeles Triathlon? I can't decide whether to
register. I hate to skip a race named for my town but it seems
expensive, it sounds complicated, and I've heard rumors that it wasn't
run so well in the past.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Susan in LA

I did the LA triathlon the first two years they put it on, in 2000 and 2001.

Because the two transition areas are over 20 miles apart, the race organizers
take it upon themselves to transfer your T1 gear from Venice Beach to downtown
(T2). The first year, I didn't get my gear until 2 1/2 hours after I finished
my race. I thought in 2001 they would have their act together, but that year, I
didn't get my T1 gear until 2:30 pm, over 4 1/2 hours after I finished. Also,
they had bike catchers in T2 laying bikes down in the middle of the street
because they were overwhelmed by the numbers of people coming into transition.
I stayed away last year, but heard that they mismarked the age-group swim
course, and it was 400 yards short!

For an Olympic-distance event, where there's a good chance the swim course
length will be wrong, the bike course covers rough, pothole riddled roads in
desperate need of repair, and you get to hang out in downtown LA in your race
gear for several hours after you're done, I think $ 125.00 is a little
expensive. I'll save my money and do Malibu the following week.

Jeff

pernst6000@ (PErnst6000) wrote in message news:<20030819224531.29648.00000195@mb-m21.>...
> I did the LA triathlon the first two years they put it on, in 2000 and 2001.
>
> Because the two transition areas are over 20 miles apart, the race organizers
> take it upon themselves to transfer your T1 gear from Venice Beach to downtown
> (T2). The first year, I didn't get my gear until 2 1/2 hours after I finished
> my race. I thought in 2001 they would have their act together, but that year, I
> didn't get my T1 gear until 2:30 pm, over 4 1/2 hours after I finished. Also,
> they had bike catchers in T2 laying bikes down in the middle of the street
> because they were overwhelmed by the numbers of people coming into transition.
> I stayed away last year, but heard that they mismarked the age-group swim
> course, and it was 400 yards short!
>
> For an Olympic-distance event, where there's a good chance the swim course
> length will be wrong, the bike course covers rough, pothole riddled roads in
> desperate need of repair, and you get to hang out in downtown LA in your race
> gear for several hours after you're done, I think $ 125.00 is a little
> expensive. I'll save my money and do Malibu the following week.
>
> Jeff

I didn't race in 2000 or 2001 but they seemed to have their
act a bit more together last year. While it's true the swim
was short everything else seemed perfect. My T1 gear was at
the finish before I was and some of the streets in Hollywood
had been paved since the the previous triathlon. Some, but
not all.

For me, a 15 year LA resident, the coolest thing in the world
is sailing down the avenues from Venice to downtown on your bike,
in the middle of the road, ignoring all the street lights, with
the police blocking all the intersections. For a bit more than
an hour it's better service than the presidential motorcade
receives!

It's 2 days until the race so we'll have to see how things
work out this year. Hopefully the swim will be correct and
the T1 gear will be ontime again. It's a great race, especially
if you normally fight the LA traffic all year...