The starts are in waves, like every 5 minutes.

On the swim I got toasted, but it wasn't that noticable because I was always ahead of the latest wave who just started (they'd pass me later, but then another new wave would've started, and so on)

By the bike the racers were pretty well steady-stream, with a few of us passing the bejeebers out of the folks who had passed the bejeebers out of us in the swim.

The run, it was still pretty steady stream of racers, no one really looking like they were in the lead or in the rear. Everyone I'd passed on the bike passed me during the run. Cuz I walked. Quite a few folks walked, or run/walked.

There were lots of folks just having fun.