Thanks for the heads up. My comments for whatever they're worth:

1. Swim start: seems like the whole swim route is a bit farther east in the water. I wonder if that's just for illustration purposes or if they're going to get a row of boats to move out of the harbor.
2. Bike course: why complicate things? Why would they do this? Two loops on Lake Shore Drive is simple, safe, and enjoyable. Now they're going to close down two additional streets... I just don't see the benefit. Maybe a tad spectator friendly? Maybe? Gosh, they should've just kept the old bike course.
3. Run: nothing to see here, carry on.
4. Start sequence: they're starting the elites first which is good but they claim the single loop bike course "spaces things out". Truth is, with the old course, the elites wouldn't hit any congestion on LSD until their second loop and if things were well planned these would be quicker guys in the younger age brackets so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.
5. Transition: hopefully this is well executed but it seems like this is a bad idea.

This will be my first time doing this race... I think the changes seem sane from a knowing the city POV, no loops makes it harder for newbs like me to mess it up!

The swim looks about the same place as last year? Does anyone know how deep it gets? I.e. can I touch the bottom for a) None b) Some or c) All of it?

It is not all the deep, but you for sure do not want to touch the bottom all that much, as it is mostly rock and whatever else fell off the boats docked there or what was thrown in from the walkway...ha

Helps my anti drown panic to touch if I need to :)

I'm guessing 6'-7'. Like the poster above me said, you DO NOT want to touch the bottom.

I think you are increasing my fear of OWS

Wow, seriously, the busway? Lol, and I thought I'd never get to go through there. How stinking hot is that going to be?

That looks like quite a few 180* turnarounds on the bike.

I know :/

That's not a reason to be afraid of OWS. Seriously. You're in Lake Michigan 20' from shore... you'll probably be wearing a wetsuit... this is about as safe as an OWS can get. You're not half a mile out in the ocean, there are no sharks... hell, I'd be surprised if anything survived that winter... it might get a touch choppy but no waves. Don't sweat it. It's a blast.

I live 100' from lake Michigan. Wetsuit in mail. Going to put a lot of time in OWS.

Pool -> Triathlon there was no translation, my first tri I totally went panic and died.

Will see if OWS alone -> Triathlon OWS there is more translation.

hard to simulate being kicked part, but at least I can swim in the same lake and have the waves on me...

Find a local water polo league and join, it is a great sport and as a bonus any contact during a triathlon will seem minor.

This is a great idea.

I think they are changing the 2nd half of the bike course so that they can open up LSD an hour or two earlier. There's generally light traffic on Sunday morning on LSD that builds significantly through out the morning. Opening LSD an hour earlier doesnt sound like a big deal, but it will have a huge impact on preventing car traffic.

Granted, I don't spend alot of time in the loop, but last I checked there was no road b/t Michigan & Columbus...

What the hell is this 'lowest level' b/t Randolph & 31st??

Just thinking out loud here, but between Lifetime Chicago, the Chicago Marathon, and various other races held throughout the year... and let's be honest, Chicago is a great venue... the city might be well served by widening and improving the lakefront trail such that a race like this could be safely held on the trail.

The other issue is with the timing they are now using for the Triple Challenge.

Previously they had the sprint first then the international second, this year they have switch this.

So what you have now is In the water just after 6am - lets say for arguments sake 3.5 hours (for middle of the pack) of racing then back in the water just after 10am for the sprint - that leaves 30 minutes to recover, walk all the way back to transition, and get back to the start line again for the sprint swim.

Monroe, Jackson, and Balboa cut through Columbus between Michigan and LSD.

The trail is too narrow in a lot of spots. Road to trail to lake with no gaps. Would need to fill in the lake or knock down buildings.

That is the busway. It connects bus and VIP traffic from the loop to McCormick Place. Not open to the public. When I first looked at the map I was confused as well. I used to walk by the entrance everyday when I was parking in the Millenium garage and would cut through Millenium station into the pedway. If you ever are in the train station, you go all the way back past the south shore lines and through the revolving doors. You'll see a security booth and a gate and a dark tunnel behind it.

http://www.suntimes.com/21413936-761/magic-road-eases-pols-way.html#.U5EOynJdXg8

Yes that's the busway - that road from Michigan to the the busway at the lowest level is really dark, and the only spectators wil be the homeless.

Swim will not be as good for spectators.... or beginners. In previous years, the swim was against the wall so spectators could walk along as an athlete swam. And for weak swimmers there was a rope running along most of the wall.

The lower Wacker section is going to be bad. There is an excess of CO from all the exhaust down there and I've always found a noticeable difference with ease of breathing when I run the Shamrock Shuffle and even on some days when I am just walking home from Grant Park on Columbus. There's also going to be "hills" in the new section of Wacker which combined with the curvature might create bottlenecks.

It seems like there will be a bunch of up and down transitioning from different levels to get down to the busway and then back up... otherwise, is this course super flat??

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LAPT Cycling - - - - TriWI Tri Team

It's about as flat as you'll find anywhere. Just ball-parking ~300' climbing for the 40k.