The Revolution is Here

Revolution3 Triathlon that is. The crew bringing a full distance triathlon to Northern Ohio was in town for an informational meeting. One year from this weekend the Cedar Point FullRev and HalfRev will take place. One full year in advance, Heather Gollnick and her staff came out to look at the park, swim the waters of Lake Erie, and ride the roads.

Last night there was an informational session at the host resort. Since I am the USAT contact for SBR, I had received information about a club challenge that was going to be offered. I drove out to see what the race would be like. Oh yeah, meeting Heather would be a nice bonus.

A small group of people attended the event. The RD of the Greater Cleveland Triathlon, Mickey, was there. Sherman from Bike Authority showed up. There was Brandon, Ken, Tim and George representing the Cleveland Tri Club. Jim and Andy from the Spin/Second Sole team showed up also. Kyle Amsdell was asking some good questions as well. It was a great representation of Cleveland triathlon.

Heather, Eric and LJ represented Rev3 very well. They each provided great insight into the concept or Rev3, the race, how they want the race to be run, etc. After the general questions were answered Heather fielded some triathlon specific questions about nutrition, tapering, spousal support...anything we wanted to ask.

I was taking notes so that people could get a feel for the race. Here are some of my notes.

Currently there is no limit for entry. Being the first race at Cedar Point they anticipate good but not huge numbers. If they were to cap the entries it would be around 1500. Can't remember if that was for both races of not, FullRev and HalfRev.

The course is 90-95% done. Small changes are still in the works. The bike and run course are pretty much set. The swim course may move from one side of CP to the other. Last night the wind was from the north and Heather personally saw what type of waves the lake can produce. The white caps made her nervous. But she did say the "bay" side of the park was great to swim in.

Swim will be 1 or 2 loops, hoping to keep it one.
Bike and run will be 2 loops.

FullRev starts first with possibly a mass start followed by wave starts for the HalfRev. The HalfRev wouldn't start for about an hour after the FullRev. This should help with any congestion issues.

Due to the large pro purse being awarded there will be a large number of USAT officials on the course. Drafting will be the biggest concern but I'm sure the officials will be watching all aspects of the race.

Aid stations will be typical for a full distance event. 10-15 miles on bike and every mile on the run.

Similar to what Mickey does with training days at GCT, Rev3 will sponsor preview rides, swims, runs with pro triathletes leading the way.

Rev3 uses a front wheel bike rack system. No hanging the bikes by their seats. This would make everything nice and tidy. The racks will even have a name tag that you get to keep.

Club discounts will be available. Those that have already signed up don't worry. When the discount is available you will just need to contact Rev3 to get the discount applied....get a refund.

Even the volunteers can get discounts. If someone does volunteer for the race they can get a discount for the next year.

Rev3 is introducing a Club Challenge for the featured race at each of their events. At Cedar Point the featured event is the FullRev. A club can have teams of 3 men and 3 women compete for prizes. The lowest cumulative time of all six club members determines the winning team. Each person must be competing in the FullRev. Interesting concept.

There are still some logistical items to be worked out. Spectator entrance to Cedar Point is being figured out, especially if someone doesn't want to get on the rides. Family and friends just want to watch the finish. It will be worked out over the next year.

There are other things that I may not have written down but it will have the support and feel of an Ironman event, especially for the FullRev.

I came away from the meeting feeling pretty good about the event. They have been working hard with local resources to make the event attractive to local and out of town racers. Heather, Eric and LJ displayed a genuine excitement about the race. Heather and LJ especially had a high level of energy and enthusiasm about the race. The manager of Sawmill Resort was also providing input about training opportunities on his beaches.

The local support is definitely there.

After all the formal hoopla Heather answered some questions, took some pictures with us and signed some pictures. She was a pleasure to talk to and meet.

Here I am with Heather. Is this a blogger meet-up? A pro triathlete sighting?


Here is some more of the guys wanting a picture with Heather. The guy between me and Heather was from the Toledo Tri Club. Do I smell a Club Challenge between Cleveland and Toledo? Could be.

I'm glad I went to the meeting. Now I have to decide my race schedule for next year.

Game On.