Hey Velogirl, I was out there on the Olympic too! This was my 2nd Olympic tri - I did Pac Grove (flat, nice & cool) last fall. The course was exactly as tough as I thought it would be. The bike course is hilly and beautiful. It was HOT out there, that's for sure. I had a great race, but I was wiped afterwards.

Running Mommy, I'm so sorry your husband got turned around too soon! What a drag. The volunteers out there are all Cal Poly SLO students. My friend used to go there and volunteer and they pretty much spend the weekend wasted. You had to apprectiate the 30+ of them streaking through the campsite on Saturday night though.

I do have to chime in on the TNT stuff here. As Tri Girl mentioned, only 25% of money raised goes to overhead costs like transport and dinners and all that. Many many charities, like, say, the United Way, have been unable to send 75% of donations back directly to their causes. Averages are more like 40-60%. I know that TNT staff works a bunch to negotiate discounts and donations for overhead-type stuff, too. And any friends or family out there with TNTers had to pay for their owner dinner tickets. What may have looked like a fancy meal may have actually cost a lot less than you think.

It sucks that you've had bad experiences with TNT. No Gatorade - wtf?? And I can't talk for other folks, but I cheer for everyone when I'm out there cheering.