This was my first Ironman race ever. I had volunteered the previous year but this was my first time as a participant.
The packet pickup was well organized and an easy process. This was done at the Ironman village. This was set up right by the finish line. This is also where the Athlete Briefing was held. I went to the first Briefing and it was packed. It was hard to hear because I wasn't in the tent so that may have been the only issue is not being prepared for the amount of athletes.
There was a good amount of vendors at the expo, it wasn't huge but a variety. The official merchandise tent had an awesome amount of goodie. Every type of item you could want, I spent a lot of money!!!
Everyone that I dealt with was very nice and helpful.
The day of the event the parking was easy and close. The bus ride over to the swim start took longer than expected because the driver got lost. We did make it in plenty of time. The race start was based on what you thought your finish would be. I much prefer by age as of course there were a ton of people that started WAY to early and then it was a struggle to swim pass them. It is a lake so the water is well, Lake water. Not horrible but not clear for sure.
The transition area is on the football field.
The bike course is FLAT. Lots of peddling and corn fields. There isn't much to look at, pretty ho-hum route but it was safe and the aid stations were well stocked.
The run portion was a double loop. It was flat and very shaded which was nice for the time of day for the run. The aid stations were great with a mix of options like chips, pretzels, coke, water, Gatorade and lots more.
In my opinion, this is a great 1st half ironman, not a super tough course, great support and great organization.