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Races
General Race Information
| Race: |
New Jersey Devilman |
| Location: |
Cumberland, NJ |
| Website: |
http://www.piranha-sports.com/devilman.html |
| Type: |
Triathlon - Half Ironman |
| Comment: |
2005 was the innaugural race. Approximately 3:15 drive from Reston (not ideal for a morning-of drive). |
Comments from RATS
| 1. Brady DeHoust: |
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The Venue
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Shaw Mills Pond – about 8 miles south of Millville, NJ. The drive is about 3hrs 15min from the Reston area, mostly on I-95. I would not recommend this as a "morning of" race, unless you plan to leave around 4am. There were quite of few people picking up race packets on Sunday morning. It’s worth it to drive up Saturday evening and get to packet pick-up as it opens so you’re not waiting in lines and stressing about time and feeling rushed. The nearest hotels are in Vineland, NJ – approximately a 15-minute drive to the race site.
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Transition
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The transition area is in a big, bumpy (for lack of a better word) field. The Boy Scouts did a really good job the day before fixing the transition area. They put down quite a bit of hay on the paths athletes would be taking in and out of transition. There were quite a bit of annoying bugs early in the morning. There was plenty of space on the racks and in transition in general. Entering T1 goes around to the back of the T-area, and exits for the bike towards the front. You enter T2 the same way you exited T1, and leave for the run the same way you entered T1 from the swim (out the back). It's best to be racked towards the front of the transition area to minimize distance to run with your bike. They allowed folks to keep shoes down by the swim exit to wear heading into T1, but I found it unnecessary and was not bothered at all by the surface with bare feet. Like I said, the hay made it very bearable. It’s also good to note that there's a ~30-yard stretch after exiting transition before mounting your bike. This stretch is hard packed dirt, and if it rains, could be muddy. If you don’t keep your cycling shoes clipped into your pedals, it’s a good idea to bring along duct tape (especially for speed play riders), and put the tape on the cleat so not to get dirt/mud in the springs.
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Swim Course
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The swim is "flat" and in a fairly shallow pond. It’s an in water start, beginning on one side of the pond and exiting on the other. It's a two-loop, clockwise swim, but you never exit/re-enter the water. The course is well marked with big orange buoys and bigger yellow buoys at the turns, so siting is not an issue. The water is pretty mucky and there were some weeds encountered throughout part of the swim.
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Bike Course
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Best described as flat and fast. I'd say this course is comparable to Eagleman, with the wind being the variable (on either course). So, on the same day, and same conditions, I'd say the splits would be close to even. The course is 2-loops on fairly good road surface. There are two sections that are pretty bumpy; the first immediately after transition for ~2 miles, and the second around mile ~16/44 for another couple miles. On the second bumpy section, you really need to be cautious. It's not an ideal time to reach down and take a sip of drink, or decide to reach back and open a bar or gel. There were two aid stations at mile 14/42 as well as coming through on the first loop. Each station had water, Gatorade, and hammer gel.
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Run Course
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The course is entirely run on hard, packed dirt –probably 1.5 times the width of the W&OD trail. It's a flat run, but the surface type makes it a little slower than an all road surface. There are times when you need to watch your step for crevices/holes. The run is two out-and-backs. Some of the earlier parts are shaded by tree line, and the later parts are open to scorching heat. Some zig-zagging is necessary later in the run when the course is crowded with a better part of the competitors, although, this was not too much of a hindrance. There were aid stations each mile (or 1.5 miles?) with water, Gatorade, and hammer gel.
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