The Good: There's a lot of good; but I would say the water was clean. BIG DEAL for me.
The Bad: I did the double down (both a Saturday and Sunday Race) but the race medals were the same and I didn't get a cool medal for doing both.

Overview:
This is a great triathlon regardless of whether you are a first time triathlete or a tried and true athlete. Everyone is super helpful and informative. There is a lot of communication leading up tot he race.

The Pre-Work
Registration is through Active.com so if you have signed up for any races in the last 5 years, you are bound to have used active. BUT if not, Active.com is easy to navigate and saves your information.
NJSTRI's website is easy to navigate also. All the information you will need be it race day or leading up to race day is on the website and easy to find.
Results are easily identifiable for the current year as well (you do need to dig a little to find previous year's results)

Communication from the RD:
there was a lot of it, mostly advertising.
but the important stuff got through and I feel the did a good job.

The Expo:
Meh.
What you would expect from a small town race (only this is a big deal.) There were a few vendors; nothing to write home about.
If you followed my 2019 race journey (or just the reviews) I haven't had the time or ability to attend race expos, so I was really looking forward to it this time; but I felt somewhat let down. A few discount vendors and a bunch of NJST gear...
The best part of the expo was being able to see the course and the transition area and the speech form the race director.

The Course.
Swim:
The water is clean!
I don't know what mob boss was paid off to pull the bodies out of the water, but they did it.
I was really happy that the water wasn't slimy or grodie.
I've been in water which was really gross (Louisville) but you actually feel pretty refreshed after going in (despite the water temps being 88.)
Bike:
New Jersey isn't known for its rolling hills. Which should tell you that this course is going to be pretty flat. That being said; riding your bike competitively with no undulation is hard.
The course was closed from traffic which was really nice! No cars to honk or get in your way!
Run
The run was the run...this is bibrave its what we do! The course was the walking path through the park. Thankfully there was shade through most of it. The race staff set up a 'misting station' which was clutch in this heat. I would have liked to have seen water at the turn around, but that may me being nit picky...
side note:
From a run course perspective; it was okay
From a participant perspective; if you're going to walk, walk on the grass not the path where we are racing.

The Swag:
meh.
They are know for their swag, but it was okay. nothing to write home about. Sorry

The Medal:
It was a nice medal, but I don't need 2 of the same medal. In my opinion the Olympic should have been different than the sprint...just saying

Post Race:
with amazing efficiency they get the athletes through the food area quickly.
There are pretzels and bagels and beer. I feel that was really a good set up
There was also an amazing misting booth after the finish line. I'm actually going to call it a shower (even though it's not a shower proper)
It was a great addition to the race especially after the scorching heat you experienced on course!

In short.
Do it.
I'd do it again