I like buffalo springs a lot. I might see you there.

Buffalo Springs is hot, windy, town sucks (fyi - went to school there), and a hard/boring course. Despite all the negatives, I've did it 4-5 times. If I hadn't retired from triathlon, I'd probably continue to go back - although the new run course design is less appealing to me. I really liked the old course with the "Texas Energy Lab" section.

No experience with Ohio.

If you want a hard race, in tough conditions.....Buffalo Springs is a good race. The area they have the race in is pretty neat.....like a sunken hole in the middle of the desert plains. This also means you get to climb straight out the canyon as soon as you hop on your bike. This race does not have the feel of some of the Ironman owned big 70.3's.....smaller field...and operated by a group that does an awesome job putting on the race. People complain about Lubbock....personally I don't choose races based on entertainment in nearby towns.

Agree, I enjoyed it the year I did it. Plus they had the most awesome little buffalo trophy’s for Ag awards. I really want one of those things now. Do they have those every year?

I really like Buffalo Springs as well. Small time feel to the race, but I liked the course. The big hill on the run is tough!

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I've never done Ohio, but have done BSLT 4 of the last 5 years. I just love that race. Tough but fair. As others have stated, wind and heat play the biggest factors. Bike is mostly flat, but you have to climb out of the canyon 8 times, and these climbs vary in length and grade. Wind is your enemy on the flat sections. The run features 2 climbs out of the canyon, a short but very steep hill maybe 0.2 miles long.

Logistically it's very easy. No Saturday bike check-in, and they keep athlete check-in open until 8pm that night.

Lubbock isn't that bad, go to the spoon after the race for the Sunday night jam and you'll have a good time. I agree 100% with your comments on the run course, I miss the old out and back. The race is still a ton of fun and different than every other Ironman brand 70.3 that I've done. I've done it 5 times and plan to go back in 2018.

They do give out the little buffaloes every year for the podium finishers. Those are by far my favorite awards (the only one's that I don't throw in a box in the closet).

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I've done both. Both are good races. I wouldn't call Buffalo springs super hard necessarily, but it has hard parts. It's hot, but it's in the desert, so it's dry heat. If you keep yourself soaked with water at the aid stations you'll be ok. The bike is windy and has some steep climbs, but they are segregated. So you'll be riding dead flat, then have a steep climb, then more dead flat, then a decent, then dead flat...etc. Just sit up and spin on the uphills and let everyone else burn themselves out. There is a lot of chip seal roads though, which drives me nuts. The run isn't bad except for one ridiculous climb you have to do twice. So like I said, not bad with a couple of really tough parts thrown in.

Ohio is flat fast and easy. It wasn't as hot as Buffalo springs, but it is more humid (or can be) which I think is worse. The main issue with Ohio is that there's only one small town near the race, so if you don't get a hotel room early, you'll be anywhere between 45 min to an hour plus from the start line.

Both are good races in my opinion.

Didn't realize that buffalo springs had so much respect on slowtwitch. I will for sure sign up then.

Oh yeah? Try living there for 3 years in your early 20's after having spent the previous 5 years in Austin.

Admittedly, it's been 20+ years since I've spent any significant time there. In fact, the only reason I've been back was for Buffalo Springs. I did drive through last month though on my way to a 50k in Palo Duro Canyon.

I grew up in Lubbock, started college at Tech and then transferred to UT Austin. Both are fun towns.....

I'm assuming, even with the climbs, people use their tri bikes due to the wind?
thanks

Tri bike all the way, the climbs are short, maybe account for 3 miles of the total bike leg if you add them all together.

Yes, tri bike all the way, for the reasons stated by the post above. 50+ miles of flat sections completely exposed to wind. 2 of the descents are twisty and one is just before T2, but the other 5 you can bomb in aero.

The 1st climb is about 50m into the course, so rack your bike in the small ring.

Good race, great race director, and the trophies are pretty neat!

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"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

Can't comment on Buffalo, but Ohio is one heck of an easy race. Flat and fast course for the bike, though the only problem is the roads aren't great, but not terrible either.

There are a few dozen hotels in under 30 minutes from the race, so don't go that far away.

BSLT gets lots of loyal support from Texas Tri Clubs. Plenty of talented AG athletes looking for a buffalo trophy. Great atmosphere, always well organized with attention to detail. The imfamous “Airport Hill,” “The Horseshoe Bend,” “Tree Tunnel,” and “Spiral Staircase,” will test your climbing (and descending) skills. Each takes you out of and back into Yellow House Canyon, and are separated by miles of wind, chip seal, and cotton fields that will challenge your mental game.

So you left town as soon as you had a chance...

BSLT is also the race where people go to qualify for 70.3 WC that haven't/couldn't at other races as roll downs are generous due to it being one of the last qualifying races, and the race has 1/3 to 1/2 the participants of other IM 70.3 races but the same number of slots. Galveston had about 2000 more registered athletes and the same number of slots.

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How fast will buffalo springs sell out, if it even sells out?

How about Ohio?

Thanks, excellent advice.

Is the host hotel ok? Or is there a better choice?
thanks
Nancy

BSLT doesn't sell out. They get about 800 racers. I don't know about Ohio.

It used to be a dump but it changed last year, and check-in and awards were moved to a convention center. There are quite a few decent hotels around there, all reasonably priced. You'll be about 20-25 minutes from the race site, which is east of town at the lake.

OK, so you're too cool for Lubbock, don't go there then. I happen to like the place.

Any hotel in Lubbock will work. You have to drive out to the race no matter where you stay and it's not very far from any of the hotels in town.

The race won't sell out. The website says it always sells out and the email updates will make it sound like they are getting close to capacity, but in reality they get 700-800 people and could probably handle twice that if they had to (I think they did have 2X that many in the past when they had Kona slots).

Thanks to you and T3_beer for you helpful replies. It's appreciated.
See you in June.

Nancy

I'm a cyclist and live right near the Ohio course. I ride many of the same roads. As others have mentioned, relatively flat- most rides are around 2500-3500 ft per 100 miles.

Not sure exactly where it starts, but there are plenty of hotels and plenty of things to do in Columbus, roughly 30-45 minutes south.

Weather that time of year can be a chilly morning with a high anywhere between 75 and 95.

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-Physiojoe
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I raced last year and stayed at the holiday inn express (6506 I-27, Lubbock, TX 79412) and thought it was a nice hotel and a decent location. close enough to the highway to make a short drive race morning and close enough to some bars and restaurants

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

perfect!! exactly what I needed to know, thanks.
Nancy

After reading all of the posts, concerning Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3 we are very thankful to those who have done the event(some more than once, and thank you again) and expressed very positive kind words. 2018 will be the 29th year since the event started as an Olympic distance race and 24th year as a licensed race of WTC and now Ironman. The course itself is located in the Yellowhouse Canyons sitting on the Llano Estacado plains and offers just about every challenge you could ask for. Since I am the guy who had a vision that this lake, and surrounding canyons would make a perfect triathlon venue. Turns out it did and every year it offers a different but fair challenge for the athletes. It is always our goal to offer new and different ideas and to listen to the athletes on what they want and enjoy. The Buffalo awards were mentioned as neat and cool, and we agree. We have to go to El Paso to get those custom made little animals. Legendary Bill Bell, now in his nineties, always loves to brag about his herd of Buffalo Springs Lake buffalo awards. We also like to show pride in our town(population 250,000 with the most less crowded freeways in the Southwest and an abundance of new hotels)! While the event has always been at Buffalo Springs Lake and the surrounding canyons, it has had some modifications with the idea of making it better for the athlete in safety and challenge. There was a time early on that the bike course had an 11 mile loop done two times within the 56 mile course. This only lasted one year and then was changed to the current course. One of the most recent changes was the 13.1 mile run course with the infamous energy Lab Road II segment being replaced with an inside the park two loop course with one steep hill done twice. Many diehards have said bring it back, but for now we will stick with the double loop course that the volunteers and spectators love. Maybe an every 5 years offering of energy Lake Road II would be a possibility.

Again, many thanks from Marti and I for all the positive feed back and trust me, if some negative statement pops up we work very hard on turning that to a positive. Also, we return calls to answer questions, so please feel free to give us a buzz and we will return the call asap.

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Mike Greer

Mike, thanks for the work you do to make this event happen every year.

You guys do a great job with this race. I really appreciate how grass roots/local it feels even though it's an IM branded event. Can't say I could find a single thing to complain about, other than my performance which is certainly not your fault!

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

kind of like the eagles from Eagleman

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Mike,

While I dread the long drive from Austin each June, I love the race and how great of a job you and Marti do. As long as I am in TX, I will aim to make that drive!

Jack

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Mike G is the man. A hardened west Texan and a true asset to Lubbock and triathlon. I went to Tech and have met Mike on a few occasions. Hands down it's my favorite 70.3 as the course is difficult but fair. If you show up ready to rock and roll you can have a great race. If you show up unprepared? Prepare to be humbled. Triathlon isn't suppository be easy, and BSLT doesn't disappoint.

I've yet to get one of those damn buffalo, but I will someday. I try to get out to this race every year as it's a fantastic mid-season test and I hope we have 29 more years of the race.

One thing that I love is they have sprint/Oly options on the Saturday before for a nice trip festival feel. Finally talked my wife into giving the Oly a go this year.

Keep it up Mike and Marti!

So now I'm super obsessed with this trophy!!! Hopefully I'll do well enough this year to get my own.

"One of the most recent changes was the 13.1 mile run course with the infamous energy Lab Road II segment being replaced with an inside the park two loop course with one steep hill done twice. Many diehards have said bring it back, but for now we will stick with the double loop course that the volunteers and spectators love. Maybe an every 5 years offering of energy Lake Road II would be a possibility."

2019? Perfect year for a return to the "best run course outside of Kona." I'll be lookin' for Buffalo ;-)

Many thanks again to all who have supported BSLT in the past, and for the continued support, without you we would not be able to continue on! Our goal has always been to utilize the natural venue to the utmost, and make sure that the athlete has no support worries on the course, so they can spend their time just racing.

See you in June on the Llano Estacado!

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Mike Greer

The double loop has some nice breeze off the lake, and plenty of rollers. We all like it just fine ;-) Thanks for all you do, Mike.

Of the Texas 70.3 lineup I've raced Galveston, Austin (x2), Kerrville, and Buffalo Springs (x2). Buffalo Springs is far and away my favorite race every year. Thanks for all you do Mike! Add me to the list of those who would love to take a shot at the "Texas Energy Lab" run course!

While I missed the boat on BSLT (but am now intrigued to race it in future years!), I am registered for Ohio 70.3. I don't know much about it - signed up to visit a good friend who lives nearby - except that I presume it's much different than the courses I've raced out west...

It looks like swim was non-wetsuit last two years...is that correct? And maybe measured a tad long? Any insights into water temps would be great! Not scared of non-wetsuit but want to do final practice swims in appropriate gear and pack the right stuff!

Any heads up on run or bike would also be helpful!

Got 'em!!!!

Wetsuit legal last year, but it was definitely around 120 meters long if swam perfectly along the buoy line - the last few years the course was a triangle with buoys on the left and a wave start - this year it is supposed to be a rolling start going the opposite way with buoys on the right to avoid swimming directly into the sun (they were supposed to change that last year too, though). Bike course is simple north, short turn east, then south - not the greatest of road conditions, but it's pretty flat. Run is two loops and rolling with an overall gradual incline that has a pretty steep decent each loop.

EDIT: It was definitely a wait and see deal until race morning for wetsuits. It hovered right around legal all week and I think it was 75.9.

Thanks for the IV tent. The 103F heat busted me up on the run. I wish all 70.3 & 140.6 races allowed you to forego the t-shirt/hat for an IV at the finish line.

This year was my first time to do BSLT. My first HIM, in fact, and I was woefully under-trained, but since it was just up the road, we couldn't pass on doing it. There was lots of self inflicted suffering on the course, but it very much sticks out in my mind that the support was amazing. Especially during the run, those manning the aid stations were awesome!

If you haven't been there much in the last 20 years, it would be well worth another trip through. I don't think you will recognize anything north or east of campus. The crime-ridden North Overton neighborhood is gone and a lot of shops and housing have taken its place. The city has also expanded far to the south. When I graduated, felt like 96th street was getting near the south edge of town. Now it's well within the city bounds.