We arrived the Thursday before the race and located the apartment we had rented online. It was in the highly touristy area of the Old Port ("Vieux Port") which has a gorgeous setting with a boat harbor lined with historic buildings, outdoor cafes/restaurants/bars with apartments above, performing street musicians, outdoor vendors and within walking distance of several museums as well as bus and metro stops so you can get anywhere from this location. Our apartment was on the 5th floor which meant carrying all our gear, bikes up all those stairs.
The studio apartment was small but well-equipped, newly renovated and tastefully decorated in a modern decor. It looked right out onto the Vieux Port. At night it was particularly beautiful to see the boats in the harbor lit with blue lights and the historic buildings lit up as well. It was also quite lively with street musicians, enthusiastic spectators, people dining/drinking/socializing in outdoor cafes/restaurants or bars. As a result, it was also a bit noisy especially with windows open as there was no air conditioning. We settled in that first day and ate dinner right along the harbor in an outdoor cafe.
Friday afternoon we went to Packet Pcik-up at the small Expo on La Plage du Prado (Prado Beach) where the Race Start/Finish were located. Volunteers were fantastic and tried hard to speak English with us and I made the effort to speak French. I can honestly say their English was much better than my French. We looked at the cours maps posted on a board but there was not much information on the bike course other than a map with no street/road names, recognizable landmarks or course profile, but we heard that once you left town there was a lot of climbing.
On Saturday morning I took the public bus to the beach to do a practice swim. I was hoping I could swim on the course but that beach was closed so I ended up swimming in the nearby public beach. The water felt warm. I heard it was close to the wetsuit cut-off temperature. I did not swim in my wetsuit during this practice swim.
When I returned to the apartment, our son Mark had arrived. He still ahd to pick up his packet and plus, we all had to turn in our bikes that afternoon. So, we all biked down to the Expo through the busy streets of Marseille taking the scenic route that went along the harbor and then by the sea. Once Mark had his packet, we got in the bike check-in line. They wanted you to have your helmet on when you checked in your bike and they did a check of the bike itself and took a photo of you and your bike! They also body-marked you then. After locating our assigned bike spot, we had to pick up our timing chips. We then took the bus back to the apartment and had an early dinner there.
We set the alarm for a little after 4AM. There were still people out partying on the local streets as we headed to the parking garage to drive to transition. We drove down in the dark and were able to find parking on a side street. It helped that our bikes were already racked.
We went to transition, checked our bikes, added fluids/nutrition, set up our bike shoes/run shoes/race belt. We were not allowed to have anything else in transition as it was tightly packed. Instead, you could check your gear bag and pick it up after the race. Then it was off to the porta-potties... only 6 for about 1000 athletes!
SWIM - There were 4 swim wave starts (Pro's, AG women, 2 AG men's waves). It was wetsuit legal. The winds were gusting, the current was strong and the water was choppy. Some people seemed to be swimming all over the place and the volunteers on kayaks were blowing whistles and trying to keep swimmers on course. I can honestly say I swam the whole course (and then some)!..
BIKE - The bike started out on main roads with a lane blocked off for cyclists. Once out of the downtown, the route became a winding, climbing two-lane road that kept going higher and higher. Mark passed me on the ascent. It reminded me of biking Mt. Lemmon except the views included the sea. The winds had really picked up and were gusting adding to the challenge. Once you crested the big hill, there was a series of winding roads and two segues with a turn-around and then back to the steep, winding descent. My husband passed me on the descent and ended up having a slightly faster bike split but by less than three minutes.
RUN - The run paralleled the sea and was two loops. It had some flat parts but there was also a hill that seemed longer and higher on the second lap. To show that you finished the first lap, you were given a yellow "chou-chou" (band) to wear around your arm. Winds had really picked up and at times gusts would kick up sand. I had to duck my head to keep from getting it in my eyes. The air temperature was in the 90's. I was happy to cross the Finish Line. This was one of the toughest Olympic-distance triathlons I have done. I did end up taking 2nd in my age group. Rodger was the only one in his, so got a 1st place. For our son Mark, he completed his first Olympic distance triathlon.
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This was the first time all three of us had competed in the same race so that made it extra special. The volunteers were terrific, supportive and put in a lot of hours to make this race successful. Now that we've done the race and know the course, we are considering doing it again.
Thank you to the city of Marseille, the race organizers, Ironman.com, the Montpellier Triathlon Club, the volunteers and all the sponsors who did a great job to make this event successful. A special thank you to TriSports.com for continuing to sponsor me, for the Tucson Tri Girls and friends and family who continue to encourage and support me.
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