I would love to get some feedback about Boise 70.3 and Lake Stevens 70.3.
I did Boise this year. 2pm start. Transitions 7 miles apart. T1 at the reservoir where you swim (64 degree water). Clean transition...nothing could touch the ground at T1 except the front wheel. About 73-74 degree air temp at start and falling as front came through. Out of water, head to wet suit strippers uphill, then carry your wetsuit to the bike. All stuff out of a bag hanging on your bike and leave wetsuit, cap, goggles in the bag on the ground...they transport back. Bike across dam then wham, 40 mph + downhill right off the bat. Uphill later. Rolling hills with one really steep climb. I had a 12-21 cassette and was thinking how a 23 or 25 would have been nice climbing that one. It rained on and off during the bike...pouring on me near the end. I heard some people got hypothermia. I was merely thinking that for once I wasn't sweating my ass off in Florida. T2 is right downtown with a great view of the capital as you come down the last mile. It was absolutely the most scenic and well-organized 70.3 I've done to date. The finish downtown is great. Very supportive community, and the city has a smalltown feel. The intent was for the finish to turn into an evening party but it was too cold for most. Everyone told me that the rain was unusual for June. My wife and I loved the race and Idaho. I signed up for IMCDA 2010 because of my experience at Boise. I intend to go back in the future.
I did Lake Stevens this August; the race has about 800 or so people in it (teams included), so it is smaller, but was a nice race. The swim is an in-water, off the dock start; out and back rectangle and you exit at transition in the public boat dock area. The water temp this year was upper 60's - I think 68 might have been the official race day temp - so it was wetsuit legal for everyone. I work a full-suit and was way too hot, but that is just me. There was a lot of fog on the water that delayed the start about 10-12 minutes, and when the race started it was still too foggy to see the far bouys.
Transition is all in one spot; you'll have a designated bike rack spot and can lay out whatever you need on race day. PEM (Premier Event Management) was really strict about letting athletes only in the tranistion area, so keep that in mind for race morning and picking up your stuff after - you have to carry everything.
The bike and run courses are both two loops - the bike starts with five miles out from transition, the you have a 23 mile loop you do twice before heading the five miles back to T. The bike has two significant (steep!) hills in the first part/halfway point of the loop, but you have some significant downhills (you can get up to 38+ mph) on the back end of the loop. There is about one and a half big hills on the second half of the loop (Dubuque Rd) but your momentum from the downhills basically carries you up the hill so it isn't too much effort. The bike course is open to traffic and the back roads in this area tend to have speeding cars out for their weekend drive, so you definitely need to be aware of your surroundings, especially on loop two if you are towards the end of the pack.
The run course is fairly flat (some minor rolling) and has one hill in it - the hill isn't very steep (it borders the lake) but it is about a mile long and is part of the two mile out-and-back portion of the run, so it is a little exhausting just because of the length. Since the run is a double loop, and the course is shaped like a lollipop, you cross in the middle five times, so good for spectators to see you leaving transition, then mile 3ish, then 7ish, 10ish, then when you turn to go to the finish line.
The finish is right next to transition and is also the race start area, so everything in that sense is really close. The expo is fairly small - this year there were only three vendors and the merchandise booth. Also, they sell parking lot spaces for near/around the start/transition area, so if you are needing to drive yourself to the race site, I would recommend spending the $20 for a parking lot spot. They do have off-site parking at Lake Stevens HS and you can take a bus to transition, but the bus isn't available after the race and it is a 20 minute or so walk to LSHS from transition - so you might need to consider that before taking the bus option, especially after finishing 70.3 miles on your own.
The bike course is also mostly in the shade, which is nice since August tends to be a hot weather month in western Washington. The run course, however, is almost all in the sun, so be sure you apply sunscreen to you leave T2 (there isn't a sunscreen team and they don't have it on the run course). The bike course only has two bottle drops too, so you need to plan for your bike nutrition to be self-sufficient. Run course has aid every mile, but the Gatorade and water out there tend to get warm after being out all day in the sun.
Lake Stevens was my first HIM, so I enjoyed it - I'm from Washington, so I liked doing a "local" race (I'm from the east side of the state) and had wanted to do this event for a while, and was glad I did.
Boise is great race. Did not do it this year, but did in 2008. Swim at Lucky Peak and right away it is hauling a-- downhill towards Boise. There are several pretty good hills. Up to the Raptor Reserve then up into the flatland south of airport. Saw Chris Lieto "pass" the lead motorcycle coming off one of the hills in '08!!
Getting into downtown and T2 is great. Huge crowds and two loop course that winds along river, through campus, parks and shops restuarants. Really cool.
Great race and plan on doing it again. Have a buddy that has done both and he liked Boise better.
Comments
Boise has the late afternoon start, which could be good for those who are not early risers.
Thanks, Chris
I did Boise this year. 2pm start. Transitions 7 miles apart. T1 at the reservoir where you swim (64 degree water). Clean transition...nothing could touch the ground at T1 except the front wheel. About 73-74 degree air temp at start and falling as front came through. Out of water, head to wet suit strippers uphill, then carry your wetsuit to the bike. All stuff out of a bag hanging on your bike and leave wetsuit, cap, goggles in the bag on the ground...they transport back. Bike across dam then wham, 40 mph + downhill right off the bat. Uphill later. Rolling hills with one really steep climb. I had a 12-21 cassette and was thinking how a 23 or 25 would have been nice climbing that one. It rained on and off during the bike...pouring on me near the end. I heard some people got hypothermia. I was merely thinking that for once I wasn't sweating my ass off in Florida. T2 is right downtown with a great view of the capital as you come down the last mile. It was absolutely the most scenic and well-organized 70.3 I've done to date. The finish downtown is great. Very supportive community, and the city has a smalltown feel. The intent was for the finish to turn into an evening party but it was too cold for most. Everyone told me that the rain was unusual for June. My wife and I loved the race and Idaho. I signed up for IMCDA 2010 because of my experience at Boise. I intend to go back in the future.
r/Paul, Tampa, FL
Transition is all in one spot; you'll have a designated bike rack spot and can lay out whatever you need on race day. PEM (Premier Event Management) was really strict about letting athletes only in the tranistion area, so keep that in mind for race morning and picking up your stuff after - you have to carry everything.
The bike and run courses are both two loops - the bike starts with five miles out from transition, the you have a 23 mile loop you do twice before heading the five miles back to T. The bike has two significant (steep!) hills in the first part/halfway point of the loop, but you have some significant downhills (you can get up to 38+ mph) on the back end of the loop. There is about one and a half big hills on the second half of the loop (Dubuque Rd) but your momentum from the downhills basically carries you up the hill so it isn't too much effort. The bike course is open to traffic and the back roads in this area tend to have speeding cars out for their weekend drive, so you definitely need to be aware of your surroundings, especially on loop two if you are towards the end of the pack.
The run course is fairly flat (some minor rolling) and has one hill in it - the hill isn't very steep (it borders the lake) but it is about a mile long and is part of the two mile out-and-back portion of the run, so it is a little exhausting just because of the length. Since the run is a double loop, and the course is shaped like a lollipop, you cross in the middle five times, so good for spectators to see you leaving transition, then mile 3ish, then 7ish, 10ish, then when you turn to go to the finish line.
The finish is right next to transition and is also the race start area, so everything in that sense is really close. The expo is fairly small - this year there were only three vendors and the merchandise booth. Also, they sell parking lot spaces for near/around the start/transition area, so if you are needing to drive yourself to the race site, I would recommend spending the $20 for a parking lot spot. They do have off-site parking at Lake Stevens HS and you can take a bus to transition, but the bus isn't available after the race and it is a 20 minute or so walk to LSHS from transition - so you might need to consider that before taking the bus option, especially after finishing 70.3 miles on your own.
The bike course is also mostly in the shade, which is nice since August tends to be a hot weather month in western Washington. The run course, however, is almost all in the sun, so be sure you apply sunscreen to you leave T2 (there isn't a sunscreen team and they don't have it on the run course). The bike course only has two bottle drops too, so you need to plan for your bike nutrition to be self-sufficient. Run course has aid every mile, but the Gatorade and water out there tend to get warm after being out all day in the sun.
Lake Stevens was my first HIM, so I enjoyed it - I'm from Washington, so I liked doing a "local" race (I'm from the east side of the state) and had wanted to do this event for a while, and was glad I did.
Boise is great race. Did not do it this year, but did in 2008. Swim at Lucky Peak and right away it is hauling a-- downhill towards Boise. There are several pretty good hills. Up to the Raptor Reserve then up into the flatland south of airport. Saw Chris Lieto "pass" the lead motorcycle coming off one of the hills in '08!!
Getting into downtown and T2 is great. Huge crowds and two loop course that winds along river, through campus, parks and shops restuarants. Really cool.
Great race and plan on doing it again. Have a buddy that has done both and he liked Boise better.