2024 Challenge roth: Race Report

From Japan to Germany, a race to remember...or not. My honest reflections on what was meant to be the ultimate race experience of a lifetime. Make no mistake, Challenge Roth is 100% a bucket-list race to go to! I just wish it had gone differently...

You spend months preparing for that shiny A-race and then it happens: you have a race you'd rather forget about. I'd have to admit it's a bit rich for me to say that when I snagged a PR in my second long course triathlon, improving by 29 minutes (11:44 to 11:15). I am also  painfully aware that I ought to be proud of myself because I made the best of things - I got to the start line, I refused to quit, and I completed Challenge Roth. But if I'm being honest, I felt I had a good shot at sub-11 and it's hard not to have mixed feelings about the way it all spiraled!

At the same time, I look back and I don't think I made "mistakes" per se - it's just that a lot of things that were beyond my control happened. It's been several weeks now and I've finally more or less come to terms with how things panned out. 

LODGING AND STUFF 
In 2023, Challenge Roth entries sold out in 40 seconds and initially, I was told they were sold out at 1400 when registration opened on July 3rd. However, at 2135 the same day, I received another email saying "due to some double registrations which will not be used, we are able to hand out some very last slots..." Not one to push my luck, I signed up immediately that day. 
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I was looking forward to my second long course triathlon, but also, the post-race party in the stadium - if you've never seen videos, you must Google it. Lasers, strobes, and good techno with fireworks was RIGHT up my alley - I was pumped and I couldn't wait to das party in Deutschland. 

Travel, accommodation, and race logistics were coordinated by Tri Travel. After crunching the numbers and thinking about the logistics, it made the most sense for me to pay someone to do the heavy lifting. They pick you up and drop you off at the airport, provide hotel accommodation with daily European-style breakfast sorted, professional bike mechanic at each accommodation, and have a daily schedule of buses to take you to packet pick-up, swim recce, race day swim start, and post-race return to accommodation.

Other perks with Tri Travel included being able to shop at the Expo one day before it was open to the general public, current and former professional triathletes as the 'house mom/dad' for each accommodation (I had Kate Bevilaqua and Guy Crawford), and having your bike returned from T2 to the hotel on Monday. If I recall correctly, they had something like 250 athletes and about 320 supporting companions amongst the four hotel accommodations.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much information available about the homestays (it seems many of them are taken up by the pros), and the race-day logistics of this race with its 3,700 athletes and 260,000 spectators was intimidating, so Tri Travel really made things easy for me. I would recommend it for first-timers but if I were to go to Roth again, I think I would try to arrange differently. 
 
BEFORE THE RACE 
A week before the race and three days before flying to Germany, I woke up Friday morning and...could not get out of bed. I'd done something to my neck while partaking in my favorite activity - sleeping. Ha, get your minds out the gutter, y'all. Anyway, for the next two days, I had to slinky myself out of bed and literally lift my head up using my hands. Turning my head ever so slightly took my breath away and riding my bike was excruciating. It was a very bizarre turn of events and also really sudden.

​Long story short, I went to see a physiotherapist on Saturday and Sunday for intensive treatment - I was throwing the kitchen sink at it with ultrasound, stim, and even acupuncture (I hate needles). Come Monday, I was still very stiff but I was able to slowly turn my head. Over the course of the week, the pain gradually subsided and I'd more or less forgotten about it by race day. 

However, a new issue cropped up when I began feeling rather achey with a sore throat on Friday, two days before race day *joy* I was already concerned (cranky) at this point but I knew I'd *definitely* caught some kind of bug when I woke up on Saturday with an elevated RHR and there was no more denying the sore throat. I had no appetite, skipped all of the pre-race training activities I usually do, and really just stayed in my room to die slowly, I mean, rest. 

I've always been the first to catch an illness, so I'm always very cautious about traveling before a race.
I wear a KN95 mask at the airport and on the flight; I also remain masked as much as possible out in crowded places, indoor venues, on public transportation, etc. Due to the nature of TriTravel, people from all over the world were in close quarters frequently, e.g. breakfasts, and often for long durations, e.g. bus rides, while coughing, sneezing, BREATHING (how dare they), etc. Thus, despite my efforts to stay masked up, I got sick. At least, that's my theory that I'm going with. 

TRAVEL LOGISTICS
I flew to Munich via Singapore on SQ. I was on a 25kg weight limit outbound and 30kg on the return, so I put everything into my Scicon bike bag and had a carry-on duffel bag. At Haneda, the Scicon was over the weight limit so I wound up having to take out 3, 4kg of things and shove it in my carry-on - even then, I was at 27kg but the counter lady quietly okay-ed it. Bless her. 

Not one for relaxing travel vibes, I went ahead and lost my credit card (it fell out of my phone case) during my layover at Changi. After recovering it less than 10 minutes later, I inhaled some local favorites for a midnight snack, and finally landed in Germany on Tuesday, July 2nd.

As I mentioned earlier, Tri Travel collected us all and we made the 2-hour drive down the autobahn to Nuremberg where we would stay at the Arvena Park Hotel. Over the next few days, I put the bike together, rode around twice, went to the swim recce at the canal (Thursday), shopped at the expo (the lack of smaller sizes was disappointing), and did some of my normal pre-race stuff - but a lot of it was stymied by the gradual realization that I had caught some sort of bug, as well as the adverse weather conditions. 

WILKOMMEN
*rewind* Upon arrival, it was a balmy 13 degrees. Guess who brought exactly one pair of pants and no jacket! Throughout the week leading into and including race day, it remained unseasonably rainy and cold. In the mornings and evenings, it would be around 11 to 13c, but in the afternoon it would warm up to the mid-20s. Even the Germans wore quilted jackets and winter apparel - in early July!

I was informed that this was very unusual but not to worry, the week following Sunday's race would bring on the sizzling summer temperatures. Arvena Park Hotel was right by the train station and a handful of shopping centers with grocery stores and a range of casual eateries, making food easy to find.

After a few days, the German cuisine started to wear on me and by Day 4, I had to have mediocre Chinese food. I really wanted rice and the hotel did not have a microwave. I also had the same European-style breakfast everyday, which was not ideal for the Asian gremlin that I am; overall, meals were so-so, but the snacking and grazing were excellent. 

RACE DAY MORNING / SWIM
I woke up at 03:45AM on Sunday feeling rather unwell and as we milled about the swim start, I felt flat and rather unenthused. My throat hurt and I couldn't shake off the acheys but I'd come all this way, so I figured I should start this thing and see how it goes. So off I went with Wave 12 at 0735. Each wave was about 100 athletes and there were 24 waves; it was a floating start with a rope that lifted on go.

The canal was about 22c/72f, making the water temperature warmer than the air temperature. I stopped a few times to admire *the bridge* and just take in some of the vibes. There is an INCREDIBLE amount of people EVERYWHERE; the swim was much more enjoyable if you could catch glimpses of everything above the murky waters.

With the amount of athletes - about 3,500 including relay teams on race day- you'll almost always have company, but it never felt abysmally chaotic.  With the prospect of a long day ahead and feeling bleh, I didn't want to dig myself into a hole early so I cruised along, finding feet where I could.
I didn't feel much of a current until about the 3k mark prior to the second U-turn to head back to the swim finish. Otherwise, a fairly uneventful swim. I was a bit slower than I had anticipated, but I was quietly surprised that I managed to finish at all with a 1:17.

T1 was probably the closest I've ever experienced out of a swim. I plucked out my T1 bag from its designated spot where I'd left it on the ground and found a space on a bench not quite inside the tent.
As I took my wetsuit off, the cold hit me like a ton of bricks. Commence shivering and teeth chattering.
A wetsuit stripper came to me a few moments too late and having already lost more time than I wanted, I decided to forego the arm sleeves. After depositing my T1 bag, I waddled to Max (the bike) and started the bike, very wet and very cold.

BIKE 
Did I mention I was freezing? When I started the bike it was likely about 16c/61f and towards the end, it was probably about 22c/72f to 24c/75f. It was also drizzling, the roads were slick, and we were wearing not dry tri kits on fast bikes. The first 70k were the most miserable in memory - but after that, the sun started to peek out and I finally started to dry out/warm up. Every so often, especially on descents, I would wail/shout outloud "I'm so f***king coooold!!!" in a bid to engage my core and rouse up some warmth in my belly. Somehow, it also helped with temporary relief for my throat, which was now on fire.

I had a fairly good idea of the bike course because Tri Travel took us on the route in the buses on Thursday after the swim recce. One thing about the roads in Germany...they are so buttery smooth! I was absolutely floored. I actually felt a weird sense of despair and shame for the condition of the roads I ride around the Miura Peninsula. 

Anyways, the course is described as about 1,500m of climbing over the 180km - although I only recorded about 1,280m. There were two significant climbs (four times total) but I felt a lot of it was more false flats at 1~3%. I enjoyed the bike as the scenery varies greatly from the woods, small towns, and farmlands. 

Unfortunately, there is no personal needs for Roth - but you can have someone at any of the aid stations pass you items. Of course, I had no such person and my fueling plan had to change to accommodate this. Mostly, I relied on super-concentrated bottles and the aid stations.

At the expo, I sampled some of the Powerbar fueling and hydration for the aid stations beforehand and had made most of the calculations for what I'd need/want on race day from the aid stations.
Fortunately, I am equipped with an iron gut and fueling was not an issue. 

Of course, Solar Hill is *the* highlight - and truly, it was everything. We passed it twice and both times, the crowds made me feel all the feels. It's a fairly punchy climb so I was kind of dying, but  also sort of smiling and had goosebumps. It's wild, having thousands of people on both sides of this alarmingly narrow uphill path, cheering, clapping, and ringing cowbells. It's very Tour de France, but for triathlon - and after all, this is what makes Challenge Roth so special. 

I squeaked in sub-6 and for the first time, had bike catchers at T2 - made possible by the 7,500 volunteers at Challenge Roth. Which, I should mention - it was incredible having so many volunteers who were not just helping hands - they seemed to know exactly how to do their positions WELL and how to help each athlete. Once I arrived at T2, a volunteer handed me my T2 run bag and a different (very chatty) volunteer asked me about my life story as I did the T2 things. 

Overall, despite a PR on the bike with a 5:58, it was also a record low IM power output for me as I barely pushed 2.6 w/kg and less than 65% of FTP. Roth is known as a PR course, and I personally attribute my PR and low power output to the fast descents and smooth roads. After about 100k on the bike, I realized I could probably finish the bike and get to the run. After all, I had not only come all this way but I'd also stacked months of training, and I really wanted to get to the finish line and party at the stadium - Challenge Roth hosts Europe's biggest laser light show and the VIBE is off the charts.

RUN 
Anyone who knows me, knows the run is where I try to pick things up. Once on my two legs, I was glad to be on the run because it's (usually) my happy place and I even felt a little better. Yay! Let's do this! 

I was chugging along at a fairly decent pace for the first hour, averaging 5:05/km - just as I had planned. I had high hopes but in the back of my mind, I was thinking it unlikely to hold on for the whole marathon with the way I'd been feeling the past 48~72 hours. 
At 18km, I stopped to go poop, and by this point, my overall average pace had dropped to 5:10/km. My heartrate also started to drop, then plateau at a rate lower than usual/expected. Simultaneously around this time, my bib also tore off my shoe lace bib belt, so I had to fold it up and tuck it in side of my kit. Consequently, I have been unable to find photos of me running - although I've also not looked very hard (I plan to, eventually). 

I was hoping the potty break would help me reset things but it actually did the opposite. From there, my pace and heartrate began to suffer and it became a survival game. And it was really, really hard.

The stretches of gravel path along the canal were REALLY LONG - and it's two-way traffic. It felt very narrow on some segments - I had to time passes for when there wasn't anyone coming in the opposite direction. I did not love the gravel path and I don't think it was all that much softer than asphalt - my guess is that the gravel segments comprise at least 1/4 of the marathon. There's also a bit of a climb into the woods towards the end, which felt brutal. I was definitely not having fun.

I'm fairly decent at finding a last kick but I was barely hanging on - I'd have to admit being passed as many times as I did was a bit demoralizing. Long story short, I managed to find the finish line with a 3:48, which recorded 500 meters short of a full marathon. Ironically (?), I ran a faster pace at IM Philippines in 2023 - then again, I was in good health on race day in Subic Bay. 

After finishing, I stood around shivering waiting for them to find a S sized finisher shirt. At some point, medical threw me a blanket since I was shivering, and after grabbing my street gear bag, I headed to the showers. 

The post-race showers were epic - a parade of male and female triathletes in varying states of undress -  it was quite the scene to behold. Lots of totties and peens in a wide range of conditions. The port-a-showers were warm but the water pressure was mostly non-existent and there are no toiletries. I had suspected as much and had brought my own towel and toiletries in my street gear bag. 

After changing, I had a few bites (LOTS of food available) and grabbed my (very cool) Erdinger finisher glass, as well as the finisher certificate. However, I was fever-ish, could barely swallow as my throat was on fire, and while I debated going to medical for some proper medical treatment, everything was so people-y and overwhelming that...I just wanted to get back to the hotel. 

​And so perhaps in my most heartbreaking decision, I did not return to the stadium for the party. 
It was something I had REALLY looked forward to - I mean, there are no races where you can finish, SHOWER, then PARTY! The lights! The music! The vibes! The STADIUM! 

But I was running on fumes, felt like absolute death and was nearly delirious, no part in me wanted to be around people, and I was most likely contagious. So, I shuffled back to the bus, returned to my room, and overnight, proceeded to sweat through three bath towels in a fever-ish explosion of illness. 
This was not how I had imagined my Roth experience, and I was - for lack of better wording - f***ing gutted.

In hindsight (?), my main source of sadness is that I was unable to bring my A-game to Roth. I believe in my training and I took a lot of precautions prior to Roth, but of course, getting sick really derails everything. So I'm just sad I think, that despite a solid build-up from winter base training to 70.3 Bangsaen and Miyakojima, I couldn't deliver when it mattered. 

In what was the most fiercely competitive and highly PR-friendly course that Roth is, I was simply not in good health. At the same time, I rallied and did what I could, I nailed fueling and hydration and I pushed myself in cold weather conditions that I've never encountered before in a triathlon.
Not every race is gonna be a good race but boy, this one stings! 

POST RACE
On Monday afternoon, I actually roused up the energy to participate in the Guy Crawford Beer Mile, which I won the "half" (two drinks in four laps). I also threw up most of it but that's ok. I rallied and also joined the drinks afterwards - it's funny how alcohol can make you feel better! #delulu

For a few hours, I barely noticed my sore throat - but in the evening, I started to feel the weight of my ill-advised activities. At some point, I went to the drugstore and got meds but I really wanted some...oh, I don't know, horse tranquilizers? I eventually lost my voice (tragic, since I really enjoy talking) but I rallied frequently, walking to other vineyards, imbibing in wine that felt absolutely horrid for my throat, and attempting to eat all the foods, because well, I was in Europe for the first time in over 20 years. 

I am not sure what I was sick with, it's possible I had COVID but I was too scared to get tested, haha 
It was primarily my throat, which made eating and drinking immensely painful. I was also just really fatigued, all the time. Over the course of the week, I gradually felt my health improve and my voice slowly restored to a deep drag queen esque throaty, husky voice that I actually kind of liked. 

Most of the week was me being grouchy at a vineyard in Germany, then in Luxembourg at my friend's place. I managed to rouse up the energy for a rather provocative Sam Smith outdoor concert in Lux but for the most part, I was dead inside.  I was going through roughly one bag of Riccola and assorted European cough drops every two days; I was unsure if any of the meds were working, sure didn't seem like they were helping to relieve my symptoms any faster! 

Eventually, I made my way back to Munich where I had left my bike at the airport's baggage storage/left luggage (it was about 70 Euro for 6 or 7 days). After having left for Germany on July 1st, I left on the 16th, made a 15 hour pit stop in Singapore to see friends, and returned to Haneda on the 17th. 

RANDOM THOUGHTS  
- The athlete briefing on Friday was outdoors at the stadium with almost no shade - I really recommend going early to find a shaded area, especially if it is super hot or raining. 
- The pasta dinner was VERY crowded. I was one of the first to get in but it was overall an unpleasant experience due to the sheer number of people. They really try to accommodate everyone with multiple buffet lines (with vegetarian options) but the queues were just crazy. It was neat to see Sebastien Kienle serving the desserts, and I saw Laura Phillip hanging out (also masked!) but honestly, I would not do the pasta dinner again because I get really tired being around so many people all the time - which was most of the build-up to Roth - so I tried to be efficient with these kinds of 'events'. 
- Magnus Ditlev rode past me and it felt akin to a (fast) freight train passing by because he and his bike were just so...large? It was like the air shifted as he got closer. 
- At Roth, the transition bag colors are opposite what we are normally used to - usually, it is blue for bike/T1 and red for run/T2; but at Roth, it is the opposite where we use red for bike/T1 and blue for run/T2
- The level of athleticism at Roth is on another level! There were 95 women in my age group (35-39), and I came in squarely at the middle of the pack in 47th. Overall, there were 633 female finishers including pros, and I was at 226.
- The number of men visibly peeing on the side of the bike course really surprised me (and others I spoke with) - that's an instant DQ if an official sees you - and there were A LOT of officials roaming. 
- I know some folks really want the family/team finish, but I can't get with it. It was truly annoying having people streaming in from the sides to finish with their person.​