I was one of the lucky ones. Spudman registration filled in about 10 minutes, and I was one of the nearly 2,000 aspiring triathletes that got in. That was back in January.

The race was Saturday July 26. It was supposed to be my first Olympic distance race, but due to a couple invitations earlier in the year I did an Olympic in May (St George) and another in June (Cache Valley). So theoretically I was well prepared.

We participated in the pasta dinner on Friday night. They did an amazing job with the dinner. There were no lines in spite of all the people. The food was good, but the heat was a little overwhelming. I sat in 95 degree weather eating hot pasta, potatoes, and green beans. All I needed was a nice bowl of hot soup to really round things out.

Spudman is unique because the swim is downstream in the Snake River. The current isn’t strong, but it’s enough to make a significant difference on your swim time. Generally speaking folks swim this in about 2/3 the time of a standard lake swim.

Because the swim is down river, T1 is not in the same place as the starting line. T2 is back at the starting line. So, racers have to be quite methodical about what goes in each transition area. The opportunity to check and double check the transition gear is gone, too. Once you leave T1 early in the morning, you won’t see your bike again until after you complete the swim several hours later.

I started in wave 3 of 7. There were about 300 people in my wave. I was expecting it to be pretty crowded, and I figured I would be fighting the current while waiting for the gun to go off. I was wrong on both counts. The current is only noticeable if you look at the shore and realize you’ve drifted. Otherwise you feel stationary. The river is wide enough that I experienced less bumping on this race than on any other. I was also expecting the river current to act somewhat like a tail wind on the bike, making the swim feel effortless and fast. Wrong again. The swim felt just the same as any other except that it was over pretty quickly.

Swim (1500 meters): 19 minutes.

The transition area is on grass. That made it easy to lie down and take a little nap before I took off on the bike. Not really, but my T1 time might make people think that. It took me over three minutes (compared to most people’s two minute transition). I don’t adjust very quickly coming out of the water and have a hard time getting to the point where I can stand up without falling over. I prefer to wait for that sensation to pass before I get on the bike.

The bike ride is flat as a pancake. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. I figured I would set the cruise control at about 20-21 mph and save my legs for the run. Wrong again. I averaged 23.5 mph. Way fun.

This race has a history of pack riders that don’t honor the tri rules. Blocking, illegal passing, and drafting penalties could have been given out in bulk to pretty much everyone. I would put the hammer down and separate myself from the pack, but before long they were right on my tire. Then I was getting passed. . . on both sides! I couldn’t escape. So I would let the pack go by, swing out to the left and pass them all at once. Then they would catch up with me again. At one point a rider was passing me on the right and said, “Dude! I think you’re the only person in this race who’s not cheating!” I told him I thought he was probably right.

Bike (supposedly 25 miles, but probably closer to 24): 1:04

I came into T2 (back by the swim start area) about 1 hour and 4 minutes after leaving T2. I hung the bike, changed shoes, and dropped the helmet before heading out on the run. T2 was pretty decent at just over 1 minute.

The start of the run is a climb up out of the golf course. I wasn’t too worried about it until I got there. My right calf cramped up and almost sent me to the ground. I stopped, massaged it for a second, and moved on. The remainder of the run is about half trail and half asphalt. Flat as a board. I like that. I saw a few folks wearing head phones and wished I would have brought mine with me, too. I shave about 30 seconds/mile off my time when the tunes are cranked. But, in the spirit of keeping to the rules, I refrained.

I’m a slow runner, especially after a bike ride, so I was quite pleased to average 9 min miles. I sprinted the last couple hundred yards. I’m new to this game, but I get the impression it’s considered poor form to go hard like that in the finish chute? I think I passed four people. I didn’t care about what anybody else thinks. I was thrilled that I had any legs left to push that hard.

Run (6.2 miles): 56 minutes

Overall time was 2:25. Recognizing that course conditions are a significant factor (down-hill swim, flat bike, flat run, good weather), I was thrilled to see that my times keep getting better. My first oly (St George) was 3:15. #2 (Cache Valley) was 2:45.

I learned after finishing that somebody had drown in a wave behind me. That ruined the moment. I seem to jinx every event I go to - either the weather is awful or somebody dies. I couldn’t help but think about this guy’s family and how awful it would be to lose someone that way. My wife and I started talking about patrolling the swim, recognizing how difficult it must be to patrol a moving body of water like that. I don’t know that they could have done much more than they did. I feel for the race director, since I’m sure he carries this burden with him through every passing moment. I have no respect for those who are quick to criticize how the event was run. I don’t believe this accident would have been avoided even if there were 100 kayaks floating the river. Accidents happen. It’s unfortunate. This guy went down so fast that even the swimmers right next to him couldn’t get to him. Someone in a kayak, even if the kayak was right next to him, most likely wouldn’t have been able to save him.

I loved this race. I will probably do it again. The two biggest negative factors:
1) Location. I had to drive four hours. Too far to go the same morning, and too far in the middle of nowhere to make a family vacation out of it.
2) Crowd. There are lots of people (~2,000 racers, each attracting 3-4 observers), so the venue was packed and crowded. I far prefer the smaller events. Cache Valley had about 100 Olympic racers (and about 500 sprinters). That’s more my speed.

I’m sure many others will not return due to the lack of referees and rule enforcement. I say, good for them. More room for those of us who believe the rules are overrated!