Athlete Race Report - Cultivation Nation Triathlon (by Brandon Rouse)

The 2019 edition of the Cultivation Nation Triathlon marks my 3rd time racing this event and it just keeps getting better every year.  This race is special to me because it was the first race that I ever placed in my age group at a triathlon.  I remember how happy and surprised i was at the inaugural event and i also remember that i didn't know a single person in the tri community.  Fast forward to this season I know almost everyone at every race and I'm part of this awesome team of stellar athletes.  It's pretty crazy how much things can change in a short amount of time! 

The race is held at Flint Creek Water Park in Wiggins Mississippi.  If that sounds familiar it's because it also played host to our team training camp this past Spring.  As I was walking towards transition the sun was slowly rising to reveal how beautiful this venue actually is.  It's pretty much the perfect place for a triathlon! 

Let's get down to business starting with the swim.  It's a self-seeded swim with an athlete getting in the water about every 5 seconds so everything is pretty spread out and calm.  My favorite!  The water was calm and fairly clear.  I felt like I had a great swim but when I got out of the water my watch said differently but it did say 600 yards which was impressive for it to be so close to the advertised distance.  Kudos to whoever set up the buoys.

A fast transition and I'm off on the bike.  It was definitely a hot August morning but it was a little overcast so that made it seem not so brutal.  One of the most surprising things to me about Stone County is how nice the roads are.  I mean it's a fairly rural place so I would just expect to have rough roads but we were lucky enough to have a few miles of brand new asphalt.  It was an out-and-back course with some rolling hills and maybe a few that could be considered steeper than rolling but all in all a fun ride.

I dismounted off the bike and started the run feeling strong.  It's a challenging out and back run course mostly on a dirt road.  The rain the day before made the ground soft in some places but not so sloppy and muddy to be annoying.  There isn't much scenery on the run but it was nice and shaded.  The mens and womens team had an excellent showing and everyone was racing strong 💪

I look forward to putting this race on my calendar again next season.  Thanks for all the hard work that the race staff and volunteers put in to make this such an enjoyable event!  I was very impressed with the number of volunteers and they were friendlier than most!

Also, as always, a HUGE thanks to our team sponsors!
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RESULTS LINKED HERE