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For those that have done both, what are your thoughts on one course versus the other?
I have done Utah a couple of times and really enjoyed the experience. But coming from 11 feet above sea level, I pretty much lived up to my low expectations, especially on the bike. The altitude was tough. But I had a great time and loved every minute of both trips there.
This will be my first time in Maui. I have heard the course also has a lot of climbing but I am hoping it will be more manageable without the thin air. The heat and humidity will actually be a plus as it has still been in the 90s here in Houston.
Any other thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks.
Definitely got and humid. Great race with an awesome atmosphere. I haven't raced Utah yet, but Maui has a lot of climbing on the bike and run. Bike is not real technical either. Enjoy!
I did both last year and also live at sea level.
I consider myself a good swimmer, but almost drowned in Maui when a wave crashed over me coming in. I'm comfortable swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, but when the age groupers swam last year, the waves were nuts...
The bike is less technical than Utah (which is not technical enough IMO). Lots of really steep climbing. They had us riding a while in freshly cut sugar can fields...it wasn't packed trail, we were riding on downed stalks which increased rolling resistance a lot. I used Racing Ralphs and had no issues.
The run sucked. I'm a mid-pack runner and usually ave 7:30-8min/mi on an olympic XTERRA run and my average in Maui was 10min/mi +. It was just a whole lot steeper than anything I had been running on. And slick...it had rained a few days before and was very slick in spots.
The heat didn't bother me, but I live in the southeast.
I thought it was a great World Championship course! Easily the hardest/most scenic/most fulfilling race i've ever done. Very cool to try to make conversation with other athletes pre-riding and find out where they were from, IF they spoke English.
I've done both and would say that in many ways they are equally tough, but each is tough for different reasons. Utah, tough relentless climb on the bike, and high elevation techy run. Maui, non wet suited rough water swim, tough hilly bike, but broken up in to three main climbs as opposed to one. Run at Maui is also very tough due to hot humid conditions and brutal first 2 miles out of transition. I think I suffered equally in both. Maui is more thrilling given it's World Champs status and the Fleming beach run at the end is a classic Xterra experience. Maui has a nasty little grunt of a climb (after a soft sand beach run) at the very end up to the finish as opposed to cart wheeling quad smashing downhill at the end in Utah.
Thanks for the replies. About what I had been hoping to hear.
Glad I have been focusing on climbing on the bike running in hills this summer. Hopefully the waves won't be too rough on the swim. And bring on the heat and humidity.
Packing up the bike tonight. Can't wait to get out there.
Looking forward to it too, although not sure about the heat and humidity. At least here in central Victoria (Bendigo, Aus) it's been getting into the low to mid-30C just not humid. Had some fun getting the 29er into the bike box! Talk about a squeeze!
Even better, I get to see my better half again after just over 2 months!
Trust me I’m a doctor!
Well, I have a PhD :-)