PedalNowNapL8r wrote:
Many thanks for this. I'm racing 70.3 AZ for the first time this year and was hoping for some actual analysis rather than just blanket "it's a cluster" statements. Anyone else with actionable insights? I realize there are some older threads on the 70.3 version, but they're fairly sparse
Sorry for the blanket cluster statement. Let me explain. The course has something like 70 turns...in 56 miles. And it's crowded. I didn't think it was dangerous per se, I just thought it was a bit, uh, cramped. It's unfortunate that the bike course couldn't be spread out a bit more, but I think logistics and cost (apparently its pretty expensive for the full course to cross through the reservation to get out to the BeeLine). Still I wish they'd spread it out a bit. There is some absolutely amazing cycling out here and I wish the Ironman would showcase that a bit better. Everything else about this race is on par with other 70.3 races or better. Flat run with a LOT of crowd support. Wetsuit swim at Tempe Town Lake Park, which just adds up to fun.
The run from the swim out to T1 was long last year. But I don't think that's a big deal because everyone has the same run into T1. Incidentally, last year it was also lengthened for the Full IM. I know this because I was there volunteering as a wetsuit stripper.