Awesome. I can't wait to do this race.

Good to hear your positive comments - I'm thinking of pulling the plug on the I dot races for a few years and this may be a great place to see my first sub 11!!

---

http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

Thanks for sharing! Where exactly is Grand Coullee and how do get there (by air)? What was the weather like?

Aside from Kona, none of the IMNA races appeal to me at all. I will go back to Placid some day to exact my revenge, but to be honest, there are a LOT of 140.6 mile races out there with some wicked courses. Roth sounds simply amazing. Silverman has a brutal bike and run, Grand Columbian looks extremely beautiful. Esprit in Montreal looks like a hoot. I mean the possibilities are endless. I just wish so many of them weren't at the end of the summer. I can only do one a year for now.

The closest major airport is Spokane. I flew from Madison WI to Spokane via Denver. Then Grand Coulee is about 90 minutes west from there. A very easy drive.

Grand Coulee is essentially a high desert. They say there are over 300 days of sunshine. The last 2 years have been sunny, highs in the mid 60's to mid 70's. The morning lows at the start were in the low 40's. Since it is a desert climate once the sun goes down the temp drops quickly so people had warm clothing in the special needs bad. Also, you get your special needs bag back, a real plus.

Hans

I (only) did the Half Iron at Grand Coulee this year, and loved it. It was my first time doing a HIM, so I was a bit nervous, but had some good training and such.

Anyway, here is my very honest opinion: The venue was spectacular. The scenery and topography make this one a stunner. The town itself is very small. In a way it is kind of like Utah ski resorts. It has the best of what you're there for, but the night-life is lacking. To me, this was a plus. I just wanted to get some sleep the night before, and the night after.

The water is the cleanest purest nicest water I've ever been in in any race, ever. Visibility had to be near 20 feet, which made the swim very pleasant compared to the regular fight against my childhood fears of shark attacks. (yeah, I know I watched Jaws one too many times as a kid.) Being able to spot a good swimmer 15 feet off to the left underwater also made it easier to spot easy draft targets. The redesigned swim course made sighting the bouys very easy, and the sun was only a factor on the last leg of the triangle, but the buildings and crowd were still more than visible.

The bike was wonderful. I did a dozen uber-hard hill climbs in training as preparation for "Almira Grade" and was nervous about the steeps in the first few miles, but was happy to find myself overprepared. (In true slowtwitch fashion I passed 151 people on the bike!) The hill wasn't half as bad as I expected (though I did see a few guys walking bikes.) I have to be honest and say that the first half of the Half-Iron course wasn't my ideal asphalt. It was a little rough, like you would expect on farming roads, but it was doable, and though my feet numbed up a bit, my hands and arms were fine. I didn't get to see any of the newly repaved sections that the ITU and Iron bikers saw.

The run was spectacular. My biggest issue was that after a few hours in the saddle, and an hour into the run, I came pretty close to runnning over and jumping into the Columbia River, it looked so pretty and blue and refreshing, etc. The gravel was forgiving, though I prefer running on a firmer surface, and surprisingly there wasn't tons of dust like I was expecting. There wasn't any dust at all, that I noticed.

The course support was great. I do have to gripe a bit and say that I was given a sealed Gatorade bottle. So I had to open it, peel the seal, and screw the lid back on. I think it might have been an oversight on my particular bottle, since they mentioned that only the pros would have sealed bottles. It spilled all over my hands however and it was lame to have my hands stuck to my bike for two hours. (but it did keep me in aero, so I can't complain.)

I'll agree that the mexican food was fantastic, and they also had lots of fresh fruit. I must have eaten 3 or 4 nectarines before I even touched my enchilada smothered in guacamole and sour cream.

The on course drink and Clif products were a'plenty. The organization was thorough. And the finishers medals are belt buckles, which means it might acutally get some use instead of going into the "triathlon box" in my closet.

Complaints: There was no mention in any of the web or distributed documentation regarding when and where body marking and timing chip distribution would be. This seems trivial, but I met a few other guys who also thought they had lost their chi out of their swag bag, and we didn't know we'd get them on race day. It wouldn't have calmed the nerves to know that was the plan.

The asphalt wasn't perfect (though that's not to be expected). But if Jonathan can somehow get them to repave the Almira Grade, this will become the best race that has ever existed in the history of man. Maybe someday.

It would have been nice if there had been a few more porta-potties at T2. There were two about 100m down the street, away from the change tents, and I had to wait for a minute to get into one so I could pee, trying to respect the other raceers and the crowd. But they could have easily had one closer to the change tent, and further from the waiting masses.

Knowing Jonathan, the RD, he will make these and a hundred other changes and next years race will be ten times better than this year's!

---

For those of you who do the race next year, there is a hot pay shower in the campground at T1. The shower is 50c, and it saved me from a long stinky 6 hour drive back to Portland. FYI.

About the timing chips: the guy that was in the RV by the finish line was doing the timing. Apparently, three of his helpers (i.e., his entire friggin' crew!) were turned around at the Canadian border crossing, so he was timing the entire race solo. I'm sure the reason we didn't have timing chips in our bags were because they weren't out of Canada yet!

I would agree with all of the descriptions of the race. I've now done three non-Mdots and four Mdots. Jon Hoskins has a put together a combination of an incredible venue, excellent community support and, what appears to be solid athlete support. So far, the other non-Mdots (Cascade Lakes Triathlon and True Texan) weren't even in the same ball park as Grand Columbian...which is probably why they are no longer in existence. I'll be back next year to race one of the distances. Congratulations, to Jon and his wife.

brother ben, we need to work on your swim and run splits. i climb like a gazelle and didn't pass nearly that many people on the bike.

as a side note, chips have always been handed out day of race with bodymarking at grand columbian. the only way that you would have known otherwise was to go to the ironman pre-race meeting, which you did not need to go to because you were not racing that distance.

Last year I did the HIM; this year the ITU distance. By far my favorite race in the Northwest. :-)

Pros:

Beautiful Venue
Clean water
Forgiving run
Great chip timing stats - they even give you your T1 and T2 ranks, plus a split for half way through the run
Well organized
Delicious post-race mexican buffet
Enthusiastic volunteers
Well-stocked aid stations
Even a slow guy like me qualified for the ITU World Champs in Australia!

Cons:

Mean head wind on the bike course heading West out of Almira.

The last 25-30 miles of the ITU bike course were stunningly beautiful along the Coumbia river gorge, with a slight downhill grade, and a tailwind. But, all this was spoiled by the cracks in the pavement every 15 yards. After my teeth started to hurt riding on my elbows, I had to sit up on the base bars to absorb the shock -- until my hands went numb. :-(

And finally... Doh! I slipped and broke my toe just before the swim! The cold water actually helped keep the swelling under control, but it took the edge off my bike split, and made the run particularly...ummm...memorable.

---

---

"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

I have to agree with Mike, I did the Iron and the cousre was unbearable for me. I was up to 4th on the bike and hurt my back at mile 35 (no areobars from there on out and stand up the hills and coasted all the downhills, suck) on some of the potholes and ginormic cracks earleier in the race. The last fifteen were impossible for me. My legs are slightly different lenghts so my hips are slightly off and that may have added to it but I felt gipped by the whole thing. I had so much energy the whole race but my back became slaghtered. I had to stop on the bike multiple times and then felt alright to start the run but was mistaken and looking back should have quit. Anyway, if you dont mind rough roads this is the race for you (plently of people didnt mind it) a few of us found it an infertility inducing pavement suitibale for a mountain bike. Jonathan is a good guy and te race was pretty sweet minus my own misfortune. Enough so to say so long to the sport of triathlon.

my first post here -

i wholeheartedly agree with Hans. the GC is one hell of a bang for the buck. where else can you get personalized race bibs, get your special needs bags returned and have the announcer at the finish line research your previous races?

i also agree that the highway along banks lake is a taint jarring nightmare. but then - we're in this for the pain, aren't we?

the climbs weren't bad at all from my perspective, but then i'm from the SF Bay Area, where you can't find a decent 50m ride without doing 5000' elevation.

the roads are WAY better than the ones of the Vineman. (except for those 20 miles on anti-fertility highway)

the one thing that irks me is that i did an extra 4 miles on the bike, because of the mixup between 1/2 and full IM courses. i was told to go on at the aid station when i asked if this was the IM turnaround. (i overshot) nobody to blame but myself.

an outstanding event, altogether. if you're in the Northwest and are considering an IM do keep the GC in mind!

(no, Jonathan doesn't pay me for this)

Harry Walther

The ITU Long Course race did not disappoint either. The swim was awesome - cool, clear and comfortable water (upper 60s?). The bike course was stunning - beautiful rolling hills through farmland and then along the water with incredible views. The run course was out & back twice along the impressive Columbia river on a gravel trail. Awesome Brooks technical shirts, hats and belt buckle finisher medals. Weather was PERFECT after a few questionable days of chilly wet weather. Great volunteers, pre-race spaghetti dinner, post race Mexican feast (recommend the Mexican Chicken soup) and terrific pancake breakfast the day after the race.

Downsides?

-CHILLY at the start (but that hill at the beginning of the bike course warmed us up quickly!)

-20 miles into a headwind on route 2 (with some tractor trailors flying by) and then turning for the final 27 miles expecting to get relief from the wind only to be hit by MORE wind (maybe a cross-wind but it was killrefor a few miles!). The road back to town had cracks every 10 feet or so - BUMPY - glad I had my carbon fiber Kuota K-Factor to help absorb the shock!

-no gels at the aid station just out of T2

-having to pay for the AWESOME post-race massages (but they were worth it - I got TWO 15 min massages)

-my body giving out on the run - quad cramps starting at 4k into the run made for a TOUGH finish!

HIGHLY recommend this race!

-leh

about the winds - i used to windsurf a lot farther down the river around The Dalles and Hood River.

you don't know how luck we were with those measly 10 mph head winds. it could well have been a 30 mph headwind. it's not uncommon at all.

PS - congratulations Hans - great race! i'm sorry i had to leave at 6AM sunday to make it back to work.

[reply][font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 2][font "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica"][black][size 2]Last year I did the HIM; this year the ITU distance. By far my favorite race in the Northwest. :-)

Pros:

Beautiful Venue
Clean water
Forgiving run
Great chip timing stats - they even give you your T1 and T2 ranks, plus a split for half way through the run
Well organized
Delicious post-race mexican buffet
Enthusiastic volunteers
Well-stocked aid stations
Even a slow guy like me qualified for the ITU World Champs in Australia!

Cons:

Mean head wind on the bike course heading West out of Almira.

The last 25-30 miles of the ITU bike course were stunningly beautiful along the Coumbia river gorge, with a slight downhill grade, and a tailwind. But, all this was spoiled by the cracks in the pavement every 15 yards. After my teeth started to hurt riding on my elbows, I had to sit up on the base bars to absorb the shock -- until my hands went numb. :-( [/size][/black][/font][/size][/black][/font]

And finally... Doh! I slipped and broke my toe just before the swim! The cold water actually helped keep the swelling under control, but it took the edge off my bike split, and made the run particularly...ummm...memorable.

[IMG]http://i10.tinypic.com/2exca54.jpg[/IMG][/reply]

at least all of your toenails are still there. keep on truckin' !

The race gets a big thumbs up from me as well.

My wife and I flew over from the UK, I did the full and my wife the ITU. A great course and a real friendly crowd.

[reply]The race gets a big thumbs up from me as well.

My wife and I flew over from the UK, I did the full and my wife the ITU. A great course and a real friendly crowd.[/reply]

well i'll be...

if not for you i'd have earned a ribbon - dash it all.

great race, man. congratulations.

It was a great race. Loved the Mexican sopa.

My full race report - http://aliciaparr.com/blog/?p=122

---

__________________________
http://www.aliciaparr.com/blog
http://www.performentor.com

Yes, I too am on Facebook. And LinkedIn. And Twitter. Which begs the question - do I exist in the physical world? Do I?

Nice report. You may now state on your resume that you are the 2006 ITU Pan American Long Distance Age Group Champion! Hope you go to Australia for the worlds.

"2006 ITU Pan American Long Distance Age Group Champion"

That's quite a mouthful!

---

__________________________
http://www.aliciaparr.com/blog
http://www.performentor.com

Yes, I too am on Facebook. And LinkedIn. And Twitter. Which begs the question - do I exist in the physical world? Do I?

The Grand Columbian Half is by far my favorite race event. Saturday's race was my third year enjoying this course which has exactly the right combination of wind, hills, a terrific community, excellent organization and a stunningly spectacular run course.

Saturday arrived with a brisk 7 AM Iron swim start with the air temp at 41 degrees F. and the water at 66. The swim course direction was changed to counter clockwise, eliminating the swim-into-the-rising-sun-glare which occured in years 1 & 2. The Half Iron start was much warmer at 10:15 and offered a rare experience to cheer both the Irons and the ITUs at their respective starts and through T1 before the Half race start.

Almira Grade is my favorite section and offers a blistering warm up right at the start. The climb takes you up through to the top of the ice age flood zone and right into the untouched wind deposited fertile farm hills above the Grand Coulee. When the last flood arrived here 12,000 years ago, it was estimated to be moving at 65 MPH with 500 cubic miles of water behind it. A lot of real estate was altered in a hurry and that is the beauty of this region.

The run course is in the belly of the canyon with crickets making a racket, the quiet Columbia off to the side and the friendliest volunteers spending their day helping make this remarkable place welcome to the swarm of runners. The Half Iron run is out and back on gravel without a single interaction with cars, intersections etc. Only the beginning and end have some elevation change over this otherwise flat course.

The hub of activity is well suited to handle the various phases of the event from the pre race dinner, the finish line buzz of race day where every finisher was welcomed in by Steve King making each athlete's accomplishment special, to the amazing Mexican post race dinner and breakfast the next day.

The food this year, as it has been in the past, was excellent. Athletes and spectators come and go over the food serving periods creating a nice place to meet folks, chat with the warm community volunteers and look up and around at the Coulee and Dam.

My compliments to the RD for his organization and outreach to bring such diverse community and agency groups together, making this event about as unigue as can be imagined.

Having finished IMCDA and IMC, the GC is a very different experience where you can have room on the course to measure your self in a spectacular venue. The roads and wind add to the texture of the course which I overheard several folks describe as "challanging." Isn't that what its about?

-CE

Nice report. I really liked the historical description of how everything was formed. You got me ready to sign up again. First I've got to get a hernia fixed, let my saddle sores heal, and spend some time with my wife and daughter then I'll drop the news on them..... "honey guess what I'm doing next September"

Cheers,

Hans

Yeah. That's for sure. I've always been a lousy swimmer, and I only swam 5 times in the two months leading up to the race (Wife had a baby!) And I bonked on the run, unfortunately. I held 8min/miles for the first 6, and then lost it.

Anyway, I wanted to add one more thing. I was pretty dissapointed in the race photos taken at the race. This has nothing to do with Jonathan (the RD), as the race was great. But there was so much amazing scenery to be had over such a long course! Instead the photographer ended up taking pictures closeup with no surroundings. They could pass for pictures from any race I've done this year. Anyway, my wife is a total stud, and found a nice spot to get a good picture of me. I thought I'd post it just so you could see what the scenery there in Grand Coulee looks like, and so you could get a look at the Almira grade.

Wow! Beautiful photo. You're right. Much better than the race photos.

But....What was it Jonathan said about blocking again? ;-)

---

---

"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

Dude... the full iron is one tough course!

I think I may make my return to this venue next year. We can go head to head! The chica has expressed interest in racing it if IMC doesn't happen.