It will be interesting to see if they keep that run course if it does indeed grow.. lots of near single-track trails and two-way traffic + general public on the trails. Was a great race and I think it will take off.

that really is the limitting factor. I wonder if they could widen the trails in places. It is only brush and stuff.I dont think it would be possible theough to close the park to the general public.

otherwise I find the the run just zipps by on those trails...

I wonder why they felt it was necessary to make the run the right length but kept the bike 4k short.

regardless, I cannot imagine that this would not become a major destination race on the 70.3 circuit. Victoria is absolutely gorgeous. When I lived in Seattle it was one of my favorite places to visit.

I wondered that as well.

In the results they say the bike is 56 miles. But it is the same course as always which was 86 and change.....the run was easy to change the bike course more challenging I guess. Perhaps a litt lout and back somewhere would do it.

I've been racing Victoria for the past four years and really love the course.

Between Victoria and Oliver, we in BC have some very cool half iron distance venues.

Getting back to the "new" Victoria race, I really was happy with the level of volunteer support from the athlete check-in, to the body marking, to the bike aid stations, to the finish line - a really consistent event.

The quality of competition has certainly increased, now that it is an "official" 70.3 event, a sub five is no podium guarantee in the geezer division, maybe top ten !!

The addition of the out and back on the run course was well done, well-marked, and well-staffed. It provided a great opportunity to check out the competition, especially as it was fairly close to the finish line.

If any improvements could be made, I'd say giving us more room at the bike racks would be a do-able first thing.

If possible, a less "complex" bike route with smoother roads and less treks through residential neighbourhoods with speed bumps would be great, I don't know the local roads, so not sure if this is realistic. The hills on the bike really did separate the bikes so even though there were a lot of people out there, I did not see a lot of clumping.

Does anybody know if now, since it is a 70.3 it will be dropped from the Subaru Western Tri-Series (shawnigan/victoria/saskatoon/vanc./banff)? At just under 300 bucks for the series, that deal was too good too last, it would seem to me.

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

Nice job on the race Richard.. heard you come in.
I was in the Olympic distance race yesterday. It was a little tough for a few of us on the bike course as we had to ride through some of the half iron cyclists on some narrow roads. I got stuck a few times behind cars because I couldn't really pass. Not sure what they can do there as there is a sprint race as well so timing must be tough.
It was a great run course for sure as I love running on the trails and it is shaded so will never get too hot when they get good weather. I did feel a little strange running out there as there seemed to be no one else around but the people walking their dogs and going for their long runs. Not sure what it was like once most of the half iron racers got out there. I could see it getting congested? It's also deceptively tough with all those corners and some short but steep uphills
All all in I had a good time and enjoyed it as well

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Team Every Man Jack

Robert...I think you went wire to wire fir the victory in the Olympic.
I did ok in the half but not really at peak fitness right now....should have done Olympic as well.


I saw you on the bike I think.

Your right about the roads and the cars. ...the fast Olympics hit the halfs and the fast halfs hit the slow Olympics.

LOTS of participants this year, in all three events. Done this race for years, in all three lengths (sprint/oly/halfiron oops 70.3!)
My impressions of newly branded "event":
+swim waves kept it civlized and less congested in T1
+well marshalled bike course (even though I convinced myself I was lost at 40k and thought I should be done! Oh brother - forgot about the 5k more!)
+plenty of aid stations with very enthusiastic and efficient volunteers
+smoothly run check-in / body marking
+tons of porta-potties in and outside T1
+well marked and positioned T1 exit (newly paved section of road too!)
+well marked and positioned T2 exit
-really crowded bike racks in Oly event (but our rack reorganized to suit all our needs)
-poorly positioned finish chute (it was right next to swim entrance with green carpet - I was volunteering at that spot where there was a pavement dip and potention for ankle rolling which we marked with little red cones and LOTS of competitors were attempting to go back up the green carpet assuming it was the finish - cuz they had fried brain of course (I did the same thing :) )
-poorly positioned awards ceremony spot, right next to the finish line announcer. I couldn't hear the announcement for awards because of the cacophony of loudspeakers and had to sprint up to get my podium moment just in time (yah I know boo hoo hoo but I still love medals so there!)
-last road before turning left down to the finish line road was a GONG SHOW for Olympic riders. We had sprinters, 70.3 ers and one of the slowest drivers I've ever seen in history of mankind all on the narrow road at once, the driver was in a state of panic about what to do, so he just kept going 5 kph....on and on and on......some of us had to make some hard calls about what to do.
-no draw prizes??? come on, even a good old water bottle thrown into the crowd? :)

I'd give it a 9 out of 10 still, primarily because of the volunteers. Maybe I was lucky, but every single one was engaged, enthusiastic and laughed at my funny haha's as I passed them :)

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I'll see you in the run

was it a small red car?

I was at that corner finishing the half and three bikes came upon the car. Two went to the left and I stayed on the right and yelled at the volunteer block the car then I cut in front of it and went onto brookleigh....I hope no one was penalized for crossing the centre line on that.

Small world :) Not sure if it was your specific situation, but mine also involved 2L1R. I talked to three other guys and they each had a story about a little car on that road turtling along...and what they did to deal with it.

Let's just say there were lines involved...

No, noone was penalized that I talked to. I have a good hunch the officials heard our "vocalizations" and had a clear view of the scenario.

Sure got the adrenaline going for the run, however.

Reminds me of how much I love my Cyclops.

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I'll see you in the run

The volunteer at the out-and-back turnaround was possibly the most energetic, positive person I've ever seen - she was still cheering people on like crazy when my slow ass shuffled past on the second loop.

Quality event and outstanding volunteers!

yeah...I remember her too. dark hair and glasses if it is the same lady I am thinking about. standing about half way up to the turn around.

Not in peak fitness... I call bullshit.

Very nice races both Richard and Robert!

Ok your on to me!....missed you there. Next year?

Yeah, if I can stay healthy (both injury and all the virii the little one brings home) and put in the hours I'll be there next year.

I said I'd never do it... but I'm actually quite motivated to run the Victoria Marathon this year, it'll probably be my only race for the rest of the year. Now to not to injure myself.

Thanks Owen. Was looking for you around there. Hopefully see you soon

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Team Every Man Jack

The Goods:
-the out n back lady was the BEST. She was right at the turn around cone screaming her lungs out for hours. Just amazing.
-The volunteers worked hard and put in long days.
-TriBC officials were understanding of conditions at times, like the lady who kept leap frogging me then slowing right down. Or the car going parade speed in front of people.


The Bads:
-That out n back. Who's idea was that? It was drawn up on a google earth printout with a sharpie and posted 18 hours before the start. All the way leading up to the event the course maps showed two laps the old way. If you are that OCD about creating a 21.1k run course, then make the bike course 90k too. Don't mess with a good thing, which Victoria had. The out n back was up a sharp incline then more gradual. People have been doing the Elk Lake tri for 15(?) years and its always nice to compare apples to apples. Too bad.
-Check in on Saturday was all centered on a high volume pathway between bike lot/race meeting/waiver forms/bib pickup.
-Since Ironman took over the Subaru Series, we all have to fill out forms again with our detailed information that we took the time doing online weeks/months ago.
-Finish line food, old Dads cookies, a few slices of fruit. Nothing special.
-No draw prizes at all
-New record of unleashed dogs on the lake trail. Most locals though were considerate enough to reign them in. With higher number runners could be an issue.
-One solitary security guard to watch over the entire bike lot through the night. Ironman could afford a second to watch the other far dark corner I'm sure.
-Bike Rack was more congested than other races. Taller bikes all fell over onto the rest.

Bike rack congestion was definitely an issue.. I usually rack my bike by the bars anyway but in this case it would have been impossible for me to get out otherwise.
Olympic/Sprint awards sucked.. but that's always the case so I don't really stay for awards in this series anymore. The awards in the half looked nice though.
Would be cool if they made the Olympic into a 5150 race in the future or turned one of the other races in the series (Vancouver perhaps?) into a 5150

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Team Every Man Jack

Good points about the racking. Forgot about that. I had room for my stuff but the bar was too low and with weight of the other bikes I had trouble getting it out. I need help from another racer at T1.

With the 70.3 being the big thing I was wondering if the sprint and Olympic would feel like the poor cousins.

Officials kindly let me rack bike on aerobars - I'm tall and have seatpost at max height - I showed him that my bike would be a domino knocker-over bike floating in mid-air and he agreed:) About the Sprint / Oly...speaking personally it's awesome to have a variety of races available depending on your training cycle or injury rehab. Doing the 70.3 would have taken me back to physio for sure. I thought the level of competition in Sprint/Oly was super high, too, which makes it all worth it. It DID seem, though, that the focus of the "rebranding" was on the 70.3. At registration we had a teensy weensy line and you halfers were the waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy long line. Still, all said, I think the Oly had well over 300 participants, which is as big as some of the other Oly-only races on Vancouver Island.

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I'll see you in the run

Registration is open for 2015 but no word on WC slots... Also as expected it seems that the Vancouver half is shut down. Thanks WTC for buying out an entire race series at the west coast and concentrating it into one event...

Wasn't Banff Tri part of that series?

Yup, also gone. Was never a half distance though. But still... Maybe a 70.3 Banff in the making? No idea. Unlikely with Calgary 70.3 being around the corner.

Banff's Olympic course was legendary, and the town really got behind it with much support. I sure hope this triathlon isn't gone forever.