No way it is harder than the old one.
Race is located 30 minutes ish out of Calgary .

Swim flat two lap in a warm lake but wetsuit.
Bike is new and not as hard as the old one but compare to pre Covid we’re the bike was fast and 7 km short is will be rolling hills and can get windy.

Run is actually hard no rhythm up down and back up 2 loop.

Did it 2021 , 2022. I find the high altitude always has me breathing like I am doing a sprint tri but I manage.

High altitude living will help you here.

Do it.

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Technique will always last longer then energy production. Improve biomechanics, improve performance.
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This bike course is amazing. I pre-road it, 2 weeks before it got yanked and replaced by the old course, 2 years ago. You will ride through some of the most expensive real estate and wealth in the country. In fact, I was surprised the race organization was able to get it permitted. The pavement quality is fantastic, and the 2 loops will make for a very enjoyable ride. It can be windy, it can snow, unlikely to rain at that time of year. Be careful of the local drivers. They will not like the fact that their roads are being taken over that morning for a triathlon, and possibly be inconvenienced by it. When riding towards the west take a few seconds to observe the mountains. If it is a clear day, the scenery will be some of the most beautiful you will ever see. The bike course is definitely the highlight of the race. Swim and run are good too.

You’re saying the pavement is fantastic?! I had heard it was awful. This is starting to tip the needle to me wanting to do the race

There are parts that are great, there are parts that are just ok, but overall the pavement in this year's course is better than the course from the last few years.

It's a fun race, like others have mentioned, the run course is deceptively hard, twist and turns, hard to get in a rhythm, and it can get hot by then, with 0 shade. And the bike isn't overly fast either, lots of 90 degree turns and a few 180 turn arounds.

As an aside I live in Calgary and ride these roads all the time but actually just rode Banff to Lake Louise and back for the first time yesterday. If you come from out of town you need to get yourself up there to do that, it's an amazing ride.

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Strava

This ^ Springbank has been like this for a long time...

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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
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Looking at the new course this year the awful sections from 2021/2022 are avoided.

That being said I will say a word of "caution" that I was rather unimpressed with some aspects of the race organization from last year. Nothing horrendus that ruined my day as it was still a lot of fun but there were a lot of little things that weren't great. The first lap all the bottle hand-offs were super janky (the only race I've ever done where I couldnt get a bottle and I missed 3 of them), no intermediate timing splits (even though on the run you over the start mat like 5 times you only got one split) which made it hard for family that travelled for the race to spectate, it was a good thing I pre-rode the course because they weren't directing one of the turns when I was there (left lap 1, right lap 2) when I got there and no signs for the 2nd lap, and I also handed my flat kit (full box) to a moto that had stopped to help fix someones flat who didn't have a long enough valve stem, I had asked to moto to bring it back to the lost and found after the race and they nodded before I continued riding and I never got it back. Maybe it was just me and others have had great experiences. If this all happened at a local tri that was half the price and I didnt fly to it I wouldn't be making a post. But it was all definetly enough for me to not come back this year, if I want a small local weekend tri experience Im just going to do a small local tri.

I just signed up. I did the race in 2019 on the old course in Auburn Bay when I was out visiting my daughter. Interestingly enough, I moved to Auburn Bay 9 months ago so this will be my first ever "local" 70.3 (but not as local if they still used the 2019 course!). I drove out to Harmony yesterday and it looks interesting. You definitely won't go off course in the swim since that lake is really small. I plan on do a pre-ride of the bike course sometime over the next few weeks. Any locals want to join me?

In 2021 and 2022 the pavement was awful, and the rollers were pretty steep... for 2023 should be better, assuming all the corners get swiped...

That been said, a lot of turns and the roads should be busier this year.

1000% agree, i'm doing it because i get to sleep in my own bed.

Isn’t this the same course as 2022?

nope, in 2022 the bike course was West of Harmony. This year it's all East of Harmony.

But otherwise, everything else look the same as last year

If you haven't done this race before or for anyone thinking about as a first timer, in the past this has't been the same as other IM branded 70.3 races. It's felt like a local race with an IM price tag without the grassroots feel. It does have great volunteers. Little or no swag even for a 70.3 and poor expo. I'd still recommend the race but I hope people don't have false expectations about the experience.

I am going to pre-ride the bike course Sunday morning at 8am if anyone wants to join me.

How was the race?

Any one else race here today?

I was just their watching.. looked like it all went pretty smoothly. Everyone liked the bike course a lot more. Definitely got hot by midday.. that run course in the heat is no fun.

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Strava

I was looking at the results.

Are there really no splits on the bike or run?
Just start and end times.

I haven't looked at the course, but seems to make it ripe for course cutting?

 
Honestly, the bike course was better than what I was expecting. Look like someone made a genuine effort to clean-up corners.

There was volunteers at every intersection, so I don't think more timing mats will have made a difference for course cutting.

That been said, there was definitely few newbie that were following the second lapper when they should have been doing for the second lap (probably didn't understood the instructions). Not sure what happen with them, but probably not a big deal for anyone interest into a podium.


Run course is a different story, people could have cut just about anywhere...

I appreciate that it's a small race with limited budget, but few more timing mats will have made for a much better expedience for spectators. (and post race analysis)

Yeah that was strange. In the past years the timing mats have been sparse, but there were a couple on the run and bike on the turn arounds. I did see some on the ground on the run course, so it did look like there was more, but maybe not?.. but no idea why it wasn't on the tracking and results.

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Strava