I really only know NorCal so that's where I started my hunt based off your first reply.
I think Sac is an option and would provide for a single transition area. I believe it is Discovery Park that has a good entry point (there's definitely a sprint tri held there) and maybe head out of town on the bike north? Has any Ironman ever utilized a bike trail for the bike portion? Because those are fairly good routes out of town... They're also no strangers to endurance events, with CIM every year. Plus the airport options, capitol finish, etc.
The other thought I had was Redding, which is much much smaller, but has Whiskeytown National Recreation area to swim and lots of country roads and is in the shadows of Shasta. Redding also puts on a fairly decently sized marathon and they're very proud of their Sundial Bridge. I do think this would be back to a two-transition race though, and it's not nearly as easy to get to.
I could also see Ironman swooping in on Santa Barbara and taking over their successful races. But I won't elaborate on that because I don't want to give them too many ideas...
** Edit: Just for fun, I drew up a quick bike route for Sacramento. 112 miles to make a big single loop with 5k feet of climbing. Due north from downtown, head east over to Auburn, go around Folsom Lake (blink and you'll miss the Western States trail), and head back in to town along the river. None of these roads have been vetted for bike traffic :)
KJ
Swim and Triathlon Coach
AllTerrainEndurance.com
KJ@allterrainendurance.com
I think Sac is an option and would provide for a single transition area. I believe it is Discovery Park that has a good entry point (there's definitely a sprint tri held there) and maybe head out of town on the bike north? Has any Ironman ever utilized a bike trail for the bike portion? Because those are fairly good routes out of town... They're also no strangers to endurance events, with CIM every year. Plus the airport options, capitol finish, etc.
The other thought I had was Redding, which is much much smaller, but has Whiskeytown National Recreation area to swim and lots of country roads and is in the shadows of Shasta. Redding also puts on a fairly decently sized marathon and they're very proud of their Sundial Bridge. I do think this would be back to a two-transition race though, and it's not nearly as easy to get to.
I could also see Ironman swooping in on Santa Barbara and taking over their successful races. But I won't elaborate on that because I don't want to give them too many ideas...
** Edit: Just for fun, I drew up a quick bike route for Sacramento. 112 miles to make a big single loop with 5k feet of climbing. Due north from downtown, head east over to Auburn, go around Folsom Lake (blink and you'll miss the Western States trail), and head back in to town along the river. None of these roads have been vetted for bike traffic :)
KJ
Swim and Triathlon Coach
AllTerrainEndurance.com
KJ@allterrainendurance.com