The Beginner Tri for MS is a mini sprint triathlon - 500m pool swim/17.5k bike/4k road/trail run. The course was set from Saanich Commonwealth Place. The race was exceedingly well organized and would be a great way to try out triathlons.

The pre-race bulletins were plentiful and they offered free sessions on how to do transitions. This race is untimed. There are plenty of triathlon coaches in transition to help newbies get set up and answer questions. There were lots of road marshals and volunteers on the the bike and run courses to keep participants on course in addition to the signage. Triathlon doesn't really lend itself to spectators outside of the transition/finish area, but this one has a number of spectators on the "out there" portions of the bike and along the run course.

The race is organized that the slowest swimmers go first in heat 1 - this means that there's not a "dead last" type of finish. Slower participants finish with the faster ones as they've had a head start on the course. Volunteers along the course communicated back to the announcers tent so as you ran around the corner to the finish - they were calling your name.

The lane counters were helpful in keeping track of everyone's laps. The number of participants in lanes 4-5 wasn't too much (25m lengths) and folks were briefed on passing etiquette prior to starting. I swim in this pool regularly and I'd describe it as cold, but I was cold from being outside in transition and the water actually felt warm (told me how cold I really was). The bike course was not closed but there were road marshals at all the major intersections handling car traffic. Most of the course had a dedicated bike lane. The course would be considered hilly by a newbie but probably just rolling hills by an experienced competitor. It was a 2 loop course (hope you liked that hill the first time....). The run course also had some hills in an out & back course. The hills would be noticeable to both new and experienced runners. About half the run is on pavement and then it switches to woodland trails out to Beaver Lake (pretty!). There was a water station at the transition from pavement to trail. Nicely placed for hitting it on the way out and the way back. The trail portion was really well marked both with chalk and volunteers. A good thing because I probably wouldn't have guessed it otherwise. There was a very supportive crowd at the finish cheering folks on. There were plenty of munchies (cookies, muffins, fruit, coffee, water) at the finish and free massages!

For the organization of the race alone I'd say this would be a great experience. But it was a fantastic experience because of the participants. I've run in a number of races and I've never seen the participant-participant support I saw in this race. I could count on one hand the number of participants who didn't call out support to other participants. I heard them in the swim, on the bike and while running. You can't organize that kind of good will but it was abundant at this race.

If you were just getting started in triathlon or were looking for something to start the season with, this is a great race. If you're hyper competitive and are looking for Kona-like challenges, this is not your race.