It's a race I enjoy doing yearly. They usually have between a lane and a lane and a half closed to traffic, all the way around the island. Traffic has never been a problem for me. I averaged 22ish there last year. A majority of the swim is down current, which is nice. Don't count on the run course to be exactly 10k. It always seems to be off. Over all I think 3D does a good job putting on a race.

I've done this race multiple times and volunteered last year.

The bike isn't terrible -- the island is 5.5 miles around so you still get a bit of variety. The odd thing to get used to is that since it's a one-way course with traffic on your right, you pass on the right. The road conditions are hit or miss. They are currently preparing for the Detroit Grand Prix race (I was actually riding there last night!) a few weeks before Motor City, so there might still be some race blockades and debris laying around. I remember a few complaints from last year about potholes and broken bottles. The island is very flat so get ready to go fast, although you might get some decent wind from one end of the island or the other.

I volunteered last year because they were desperate for volunteers, so interpret that however you want. They pride themselves on being a safe, well-run race, and I was witness to several race-morning problems being solved. Their staff seemed to be knowledgeable -- I had both good and bad interactions with them behind the scenes. There are aspects of their race management that I would do differently, but I'm not a race manager, either.

Honestly I don't know that I would drive 4 hours for this race unless you already visiting family here or something. Unlike the Freep Marathon, you don't actually cross over (or swim to, haha) Canada, and the river can be a rough swim. I see the Grand Rapids Tri is two weeks earlier if you are just looking for a June race.

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http://mediocremultisport.blogspot.com

I've done the race a couple of times. The bike is pretty wide open on laps 1 and 4 (in the middle, you'll get a mix of sprint athletes who start a bit later than the Olympic group). But the bike portion is coned off, and it's wide enough that if you're flying by those pushing 14-15 mph, you have plenty of space. And yes, pay attention you pass on the right. You'll feel weird and wrong, but that's the way they do it.

They had some serious issues last year. There's an indy car race on the island in early June, and last year it was the weekend before the race. They didn't have access to the area until right before the race, and it wasn't cleaned and ready for a triathlon. Frankly, it was a clusterfuck last year. But they moved the race weekend back a week.

The upside is they immediately sent emails apologizing and pledging to make things right. So they are aware enough to understand their flaws, which is a decent sign. In the off-season, they sent several notes about how they are focusing much more on customer service this year.

It's a flat, fast as shit course. As someone else mentioned, that's aided in the fact that the 10K isn't exactly a 10K and the bike is about 22 miles and not a full 40K. (As mentioned, you get a massive boost in the river, which is awesome.)

It's a unique venue because it's all on an island. If that interests you, come on over to Detroit.