Race Report: Challenge Atlantic City
This past Sunday I completed my first Ironman-distance race, the inaugural Challenge Atlantic City. I had heard great reviews about Challenge Family events. They are a huge series outside of the United States and this was their first event in the US. I consider them probably the only major competitor to WTC in terms of Iron and half-Iron distance races. This was an inaugural event so one has to enter with the expectation of a few glitches. The key was "a few glitches." I was not impressed with this race at all, nor was I impressed with Atlantic City. To be completely honest, AC itself is a disaster. Maybe it is from doing too many races in Disney or Florida but AC is not a very nice city. Even the casino and Boardwalk area looks as if it hasn't been updated in years. They still permit smoking inside the casinos so the entire public areas of the casinos smell like smoke. Stained carpets, falling apart rooms and outdated decor wer...