I was looking at that race also, depending on how Rockman goes. I have to race when I can since I work lots of weekends.
Don't know anything about that race but have done the Pewaukee race in the same series. It was ran without any problems that I was aware of.

---

Mike

Haven't done the High Cliff race, but did the Chisago, MN HIM race that they put on last year. As a first year event it went off without any major problems. On course support was good and there were plenty of enthusiastic volunteers. The only complaint was a crowded bike course in the first 10 miles where the sprint and half bike courses shared the same road.

---

Mike D

I've done the both the HIM and the Sprint at High Cliff. Overall, I like this race quite a bit. For comparison, I've done Lake Geneva and believe this one is definitely a cut above in terms of organization and safety.

Reportedly, there were swim course problems with the HIM the first year or two--IIRC they had to shorted the course one year because of rough water. But last year's swim course seemed fine to me--it was one loop of a giant rectangle that had to be pretty close to perfect length.

The bike route is very nice--mostly flat to gently rolling on country roads with 2 or 3 good climbs, including the one right out of T1. You do share the road with the sprinters for parts, but I don't recall it being too much of a problem.

Run course is about 1/2 on trails. You have to climb the same hill out of T2 as on the bike, but after that it you do 2 loops that are pretty flat and you finish running down the hill. It rained heavily the day before the race last year so there were some big mud puddles to navigate around.

The bike course had at least 1 bottle exchange and a smallish number of porta-johns. The run course had plenty of aid stations with water and gatorade.

There is a pasta meal post race for all HIM finishers. It was a nice touch.

Transition area was well-marked with individually-numbered spots.

It's a good race - plenty of support on the course.

As mentioned they've had short swim courses all 3 years of the race - each year has gotten better - last year was within 100 meters or so - maybe accurate, but likely just a touch short.

The run is a shaded trail run - completely flat for miles .5 to 12.5. 0-.5 is a huge hill and 12.5 to the finish is a huge downhill.

The bike course is a good meat grinder, one tough hill at the beginning for a mile or so - and after that pretty gentle hills that hurt, but don't kill you or even slow you down to much.

all of the info above is good info. I did the sprint in 05 the 1/2 in 06 and will be doing the 1/2 this year.

No comparison to Dobbs; much much better. I did LG 1/2 in '05 and will not be back......

As you can see from the website Gloria West & Co. put on a number of events in the area. Most of the races I have done have been Midwest events and I have yet to have a really bad experience.

I would recommend this event.

I agree with sentania and jammajin. I did the 1/2 last year. Very well run. Couple of notes, based on my experience last year:

1. If you are going to register, do it NOW. The waves fill pretty fast. I waited until the very last minute last year, which caused some headaches. They had to open Wave 9 for the half, into which I was placed. As a result, my number was missing, had to wait in line, etc. Very minor things, but, a hassle nonetheless.

2. If you have to spend the night, get a room NOW. Might be too late. I ended up staying in Appleton, which was close and not really a problem. Actually decided to stay at the Paper Valley Hotel in downtown Appleton and make a 3-day get-away out of it.

3. I actually found the bike course to be somewhat painful due to the long, flat stretches. With hills, you at least get some variety and use different muscles. There are a lot of long, flat hammers out there, which can be pretty tough. Also, the bike course is very, very open. The wind comes off the water (or the fields) and can be killer. Nothing to slow down the wind.

4. Most of the run is on wooded trails. I was not aware of this. It was actually pretty nice, but, just be prepared that you will not be on asphalt the entire time. The trails are very well-groomed.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the race and am looking forward to this year.

---

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

On the hotel rooms,

Last year at least, there was a big youth soccer tournament happening near Appleton and nearly every room in the area was booked for months in advance. However, closer to race day, there were cancellations as teams were eliminated from the tourney. I stayed at Radisson Paper Valley downtown too--it was about 15 minutes drive to the race. Nice place, albeit somewhat pricey for that part of the state.

Also, if you do drive into the race site, get there really early, as there is only 1 road open into the park and cars were backed up forever trying to get in.

There was also a big harley convention in the area to. busy weekend.

I believe the Hoyts are suppost to be at this event as well. They are going to be speaking at one of the local high schools on Saturday night.