Im leaning towards the barrelman because I want my wife and 2 year old son to not die of boredom (Its in Niagara falls and the run is two loops so they'll see me more often). also, they claim the water temp to be 69F (20C which is perfect).

Barrelman is your race, then!

That swim at Barrelman in the old Welland Canal, may be one of the BEST swims in all of triathlon - for the athletes AND the spectators!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I agree with Fleck, the Barrelman swim is great! Those two bike courses are polar opposites. Barrelman is very very flat, Muskoka is very very not flat.

I haven't done Muskoka so I can't really compare but I highly recommend Barrelman.

Do both. Muskoka half in July and Barrelman in Sep and then do the comparison report for everyone! Win win!

If you want an epic race, do Muskoka. If you want a fast and family fun, do Barrelman. They are both awesome races, I'd do both if I were you :)

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Rodney
TrainingPeaks | Altra Running | RAD Roller
http://www.goinglong.ca

not to hijack the thread, but I was thinking of doing either the Epic Half-iron or the Challenge in St Andrews, NB. have you done either of those?

Can't do both, they're only a couple of weeks apart in the schedule. Even then, might be tough since I'm planning on doing masters natl's in montreal. it'll be only 6 weeks til the Epic race, 8 weeks til Challenge.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Thanks for the response everyone. Im probably going to do the barrelman and make a trip of it with the family.

@JasoninHalifax feel free to Hijack. I got some great responses already.

If were going this direction already is it worth comparing the barrelman to the Epic Half or the Challenge and make a really nice big trip for the family?

Any opinions welcome.

I've done the full swim at Epic twice, once as part of a relay and another as an attempt at the Epic distance but had to pull out of the bike. However, the half that they are doing next year has the swim in a completely different location. So basically I haven't done any of the half course. :) Haven't done St Andrews either. I know a few that have and thought it was great.

I think they both have their pros and cons. Obviously Epic is much easier for you logistically to get to but take a close look at how they are doing the half. It's a point to point race and you will be starting the race late in the morning so you run the risk of afternoon heat for both the bike and run if that's a concern for you. Also if you have a SW wind, you will have a headwind for the majority of the ride. The RD (Tim) is pretty organized though so I suspect it will be very well run and a great race.

St Andrews seemed to have great reviews, even with a hurricane running over the course the day before last year! I think the bike course last year caught a lot of people off guard, lots of tough rollers but it was on a new highway that was closed to traffic. I think it was really hot for the run both years.

yeah i saw that the Epic is a point to point, basically using the second half of the iron-distance bike course and the same run course, IIRC. historically I've always been OK in the heat, growing up in Bermuda will get you adapted to the heat and humidity :-)

I'm pretty sure I'll do the Epic (i like supporting local races if I can), just wondering if there was a really compelling reason to do St Andrews instead. There will probably be at least one other person, maybe 2, from the swim team doing the Epic as well..

thanks
j.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Oh and if it matters, I'm pretty sure St Andrews was going to be a no wetsuit swim until the hurricane churned up the water and brought up some deeper cold water. I can't imagine Epic ever being no wetsuit, especially the half which swims in an ocean bay.

i might need to buy a wetsuit now.... ugh....

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

If you wanted to do a race that was a qualifier for the new Challenge WC maybe? That's about it really. Or if you were looking to do it as a mini vacation where you got away from home with the family.

If you want an epic race, do Muskoka. If you want a fast and family fun, do Barrelman. They are both awesome races, I'd do both if I were you

Rod,

I like it.

As you know I am an advocate for people to race more! :)

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I hope these comments will help you with your decision and that we see you in September. http://niagarafallstriathlon.com/testimonials/

Hopefully today, during our Lionel Sanders and Richard Pady Q&A at the series awards, we will confirm that Lionel Sanders will be returning to defend his Barrelman title.

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John Salt, Founder - MultiSport Canada
Canada's Largest Triathlon Series and Barrelman Niagara Falls
http://www.multisportcanada.com / http://www.niagarafallstriathlon.com
"Discipline Is What You Do When No One Is Watching You"

I havent done Muskoka so I can't speak to its merits, but I can attest to the family fun, scenery and convenience of Barrelman.

My wife is usually bored to hell everytime I do a long race and she's not participating, but there were so many distractions in Niagara, she completely missed me at all points of the race and I didnt see her till after the race! :D

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Duathlete by choice?

I don't know if I can add anything that hasn't already been said, but I have done both races (Muskoka in 2013, Barrelman in 2014). I am a big wimp in cold water, and I didn't find the water to be very cold in either race. I will say, the run up to transition in Muskoka last year was painfully cold. I remember thinking I could be doing damage to my feet (running on pavement without shoes) but they were so numb I couldn't feel them. We were fortunate in that as the day went on it warmed up significantly, so the temperature wasn't much of a factor for the rest of the day. Barrelman has one of the most interesting swims in that spectators can line up on the bridge you swim under and can watch you the entire time. I thought it was also pretty cool to swim under the bridge in Welland.

The bike in Muskoka has something like 50 or 60 hills. I use power though and strive to hold a constant power output throughout, so didn't really find the bike course any more or less challenging than any other bike course. The variation in cadence I found to be quite enjoyable. Barrelman on the other hand is dead flat. It is very fast, but brings with it its own set of challenges. For instance, this year it was some of the strongest cross-wind I have ever biked in for about 30 kilometers. But, once we rounded the corner and it turned into a tailwind, we were flying the rest of the way. If you're looking to set a PB on the bike portion of the race, Barrelman is certainly your course. From a spectator standpoint, both Muskoka and Barrelman have very little opportunity to be seen, unless your family / friends drive up ahead in the car (both courses are open to traffic).

I would say the run in Muskoka and Barrelman are also very similar. Muskoka has more hills, but they are less challenging. Barrelman has less hills but they are more challenging. It was cool to run through downtown Huntsville during Muskoka 70.3 as there were a lot of locals out on the course. In Barrelman you run by Niagara Falls twice and get a serious misting and jolt of adrenaline. You also get a lot of cheering from locals / tourists as it goes right downtown Niagara Falls. From a spectating standpoint, Barrelman is the better run course.

Muskoka I would describe as a strongman's course, start to finish. Barrelman I would describe as favouring the solid / more experienced biker, at least if the conditions are the same as they were this year. You can give up / gain a lot of time on your competitors at Barrelman if you are light / inexperienced in strong wind.

All and all I would say these are my two favourite races in Ontario. If I were you, I would do them both. I'd do them both again this year myself, but unfortunately they do not fit with my race schedule. Whichever you choose, you will be satisfied with the experience.

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http://www.lsanderstri.com

Welcome to Slowtwitch Lionel! will be great to have you onboard!

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Jonathan Caron / Professional Coach / ironman champions / age group world champions
Jonnyo Coaching
Instargram

Thanks Lionel. Very nice summary. I would add though that the typical AGer will not be able to maintain a steady wattage at Muskoka unless they are using a mountain bike with a triple. If your W/kg is not >4 there will be numerous times when you will riding at greater than threshold, albeit for short periods.

Thanks Lionel for the honest opinion and positive comments!

Omatari, If you would like to get a sense of what the race is about and the run past the Falls we have a small video on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/...3cf5MduB06gELXbFviZg

You can also see the various videos answers to some interesting questions from Lionel's interview at our Series Awards day. They are on the same YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/user/MSCTriathlon

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John Salt, Founder - MultiSport Canada
Canada's Largest Triathlon Series and Barrelman Niagara Falls
http://www.multisportcanada.com / http://www.niagarafallstriathlon.com
"Discipline Is What You Do When No One Is Watching You"