Why the WTC is scared: A spectator's review of Rev 3 Cedar Point

Let me start by saying congrats to my wife and rock star Heidi for her 3rd place AG finish and a 18min 70.3 PR at Rev3 Cedar Point.

As I mentioned before, Heidi traveled on her own this weekend to compete in the Rev3 race in Sandusky, Ohio.  From a thousand miles away, I did my best to help her out, which manifested itself with me glued to a vista of screens, feeding information to her Mom on site and offering support through tweets and text messages.

In addition to sherpa-ing her through another 70.3, I was previously looking forward to seeing what the "new" Rev3 organization had to offer as compared to the M-dot races I have done in the past.  I was certain that I had missed my opportunity for comparison when I stayed here in NOLA, but as it turns out - there was plenty to contrast even from a different area code.
If I had to qualify the key difference between the two series in one word, I would choose "details."  Perhaps by the nature of its relatively small size, the Rev3 appeared to cover all of the little details that make athletes feel like they are getting their money's worth.  From posting names on transition spots, to using tatto number markings, to the apparent quality of the swag (haven't seen it in person yet, Heidi gets home later), the Rev3 race seemed to lack the assembly line feel that has come to be so synonymous with WTC events.

Additionally, the Rev3 seems to remember that there are spectators for these events, both on site and online.  By hosting the event at an amusement park, they just filled the gap and eased the pain of many, many spectating spouses who can toss the kids on a roller coaster while mom or dad heads out on another lap of the bike loop.  And the online coverage of the Rev3 race made the Ironmanlive feed look Junior Varsity, at best.  By utilizing twitter and actually interacting with spectators (through Beyond Transition - which is also showing up at WTC events as well) to supplement a quality live feed (and displaying actual, immediate timing updates) they made the race fun from miles and miles away.

That is not to say that Rev3 will be taking over the market anytime soon.  They are still an up and coming organization, and their comparably small number of events requires some serious travel for most folks to participate.  On top of that, I personally am not in love with their logo - just not quite iconic enough for a tattoo, ya know?
And so, while the Rev3 series emerges as a serious threat to the WTC, (they must be scared, right?) the M-dot company is quickly joining the class of Wal-Mart, fossil fuels, taxes and other necessary evils for those of us who want a 70.3 or 140.6 race within driving distance.