Plenty of info, maybe too much, here. Skip to the the last 10 or so pages for feedback on last years race

 

I've not been to an event yet, which had split transitions, and worked well for athletes.

We did Dublin in 2015, as tourists like yourself, and it was no exception.

From an athlete perspective, she thought it didn't work, and from my spectators perspective (mind you I was dragging a small child around with me the entire weekend) it was quite the nightmare.

But the Guinness flows freely...so I'm not bitter ;)

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I had two WTC races last year in the US with dual-transitions - Vineman's 70.3 and St. George's 70.3. It kind of sucks but it's not the end of the world. In the case of St. George, T1 and T2 were VERY far apart - like 20+ miles!. T2 was near the finish. T1 was at the swim and bike start. In that situation, a rental car was required as there was no shuttle option to get your bike out to T2 for the day-prior's check-in. It was the same situation for Vineman 70.3 - though closer but still like 15 miles apart.

The morning of the race for St. George, it wasn't a big deal - they (WTC) provided shuttles from T1 (expo area) to the swim start/T2.

For Vineman, I don't think there were shuttles in the morning.... I remember parking near the swim start/T2 - and then had a shuttle post-race to get back and grab my car. That one was a total nightmare though because after all that, I had to drive back to T1 to get my gear...

I've been to Dublin, IE a number of times for work. The roads there are actually quite nice and a buddy of mine rented a car the last time we went. They do drive on the opposite side from us US folks and I would probably freak out, but it wasn't that crazy otherwise. I haven't seen details of that race, but given that it's a small city, one option to avoid a rental car might be biking out to the swim start/ T2 the day prior, racking your bike, and then getting a taxi back (via Uber's app). Gear left in T1 from the swim has always been brought back to T2 from what I've seen - so you wouldn't normally need to go back post-race unless you left your car there.

In a nutshell though, if I were on the fence between a single or dual transition 70.3, I'd always go single from the pure factor of less hassle/stress both pre and post-race. During the race it's not a big deal - as long as your remember to put the right gear in the right transition!

Hope that helps!

I did Dublin in 2015 and I'm doing it again this year. I also live about 4km from T2 and the finish line which is convenient!

As far as I remember, there was a shuttle bus provided in 2015 from the Phoenix Park (where T2, the entire run and the finish take place) to Dun Laoghaire (Start/T1) on the morning of the race for both athletes and spectators. T1 bags and transfer bags were brought to T2 so no need to return to the Dun Laoghaire after the race.
You should be able to get by without a rental car if you wish. If you're staying in Dublin city you could get a train to Dun Laoghaire with the bike for T1 drop-off. And Phoenix Park is only a few km from the city centre so you could get Taxi's fairly easily. Someone mentioned Uber - it's not that big in Ireland. Hailo is the local equivalent and got here first. It has a much bigger market share (I think they're changing their name to MyTaxi at the moment so may be known as that by the time the race comes around).

It's not a bad race IMO. The cycle route is rather flat and fast, but not the route I'd like to see. There is loads of great cycling available in the Wicklow mountains just south and south west of the city and it's a shame the race doesn't avail of that. The race route gets out of the city for most of the distance but it's mostly unremarkable flat roads rather than getting up some hills and showing some of the great scenery the area has to offer. If you're doing some cycling in the days before or after the race, head up the mountains (they're more like very big hills really!) I'd suggest a spin up Sally Gap and across to Wicklow Gap for example. Great scenery, a bit of climbing and one or two places you can stop for coffee. The Phoenix park is a good venue for the run. The atmosphere was great for the run in 2015, I don't know if it maintained that last year - I was away when it was on.

Last year T1 was in Dun Laoghaire, you had to rack your bike the day before (the Saturday), when you were racking the bike you left your run gear in the bag and it was transported to T2 for you, so you only needed to go to T1 before the race, no need to go to T2. There is a train (the DART) running between Dublin city and Dun Laoghaire so this is probably the best way to get out to Transition. All the bikes and bags were transported to the finish in the Phoenix park after the race and people made their own way home after this.

The most difficult part is getting from your hotel to the start of the race on the morning of the race. Unless your staying local (and if your staying local it will be a bit of a pain getting back after the race) around the race start it's a bit of a pain, trains aren't running that early in the morning and will probably mean a taxi, traffic has been a bit of a problem the last few years. I do think they ran a shuttle bus on the morning of the race from the Phoenix park (T2) to the start but not 100% sure.

Not 100% on how hard it is for spectators to get around but my advice would be to let them stay in bed in the morning and get to the park to watch. There isn't too many places on the bike to watch and they can see the end of the bike in the park as well as the run. It was 3 laps last year so plenty of places to see and there was a good atmosphere.

Renting a car might be a bit awkward, they close all the bridges over the river on the morning of the race until 11.30-12.00. It's a real roundabout journey to get from the race start to the Phoenix park when you can't cross them.

I done the race last year and watched the race the previous year, any questions I can help with let me know.