Malibu Triathlon. Takes place around the second weekend of September.
They have 2 distances, Olympic on Saturday and "Classic" (1/2mile, 18 miles, 4 miles) on Sunday. And it covers your three points (the bike course on the "classic" distance can get a little crowded).

Any particular part of the country you're thinking?

I'm willing to travel up to 5 hours by air from Portland, so most places are open. Perhaps Florida if the race was right.

Is Malibu the race where there are paparazzi? I don't know about that scene but I like the idea of Malibu.

Yes, Malibu has a celebrity wave, so lots of paparazzi.

Isn't there some good oly race in Austin? I'd like to visit there so I'd look into that. Or at least some place where there are some Womens, then you could race and meet some folks at the same time!

Throw your hat into the Escape from Alcatraz lottery.

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

Cathy, I think Alcatraz would be a big challenge to get ready for, and I don't think I'm that ambitious. But I do want to do it someday! I don't know about the Austin tri scene at all, let me know if you think of the name of the race. Lavaman Keahou has my interest after reading Bree Wee's blog about it.

There are paparazzis depending on what celebrities are doing it.
Last year were really annoying there were lots because of J-Lo. This year was not bad, I didn't even noticed them. Also, there are only on the "classic" race on Sunday. The Olympic one is paparazzi-free. Anyway, both races are great with good vibe and well supported.

Thanks for the insight, I will put the Saturday race on my list. I have a friend who wants to do this race too so it's a possibility.

Cheers!

This may be a bit far...but I have a couple races I like that are not too over crowded.

1--Mooseman Olympic in NH, very well run by Keith Jordan, nice location for a race, scenic, not overcrowded, great post race eats.
2--Blackbear Sprint in PA (Poconos), long sprint very beautiful area, well run, scenic and not overcrowded.

These places are good for an outdoorsy vacation.

Lavaman Triathlon in March on the Big Island. It's at a resort, the weather is great, the water is warm, the bike is pretty flat and fast and the run is a little tough, but beautiful (some trail, some sand). But the party after is a BLAST.

It's a HUGE TNT race, but not overly crowded course.

If you go, don't stay at the host hotel (Hilton). It's HUGE and a pain in a butt to get on a tram every time you want to leave the property. Stay at the marriot, closer to the actual race start/finish and a smaller property, but just a nice.

I think registration opens Oct 1.

There are now a few direct flights to the Big Island from the west coast. And if you're packing up your bike and taking it, you might as well go somewhere awesome.

Another vote for Lavaman. Never done it, but seriously... it's HAWAII! :)

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I know I'm promiscuous, but in a classy way

Wasa Lake Olympic near Kimberley BC. Beautiful setting, cool clear water, flat fast bike and great organization.

http://www.rmevents.com/WasaTriathlon.htm

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My original reply was about Lavaman Waikaloa in March, but Lavaman Keahou was a great race too. A tougher course and hotter weather. But the support is the same. The folks on the Big Island know how to put on a race and after party. Kona brew on tap at the finish party.

Keahou is a smaller race, that will probably grow over the next few years. But for a few years I expect a small crowd mostly locals (a lot of Oahu triathletes over there). The swim was nice, but could have some surf. The first few miles of the bike were up a good size hill, starts steeper then flattens, then steeper again. After that hill it was rolling. The run was hilly and hot and on a golf course (squishy soft grass) and along the coast and over a lava trail. Throw in 2 good hills on the run and it was tough.

The town of Keahou is much closer to Kona so it's a better place to stay, but there are still a couple resort hotels (much nicer hotels than in Kona), and a ton of rental condos. I'm not a fan of the isolated resorts like up in Waikaloa. Kona is still a sleepy town at this time of the year, but there were a few pro sightings and a number of compressions garmets seen running along Alii drive on Saturday and Sunday. But still no wait in the restaurants.

Either Lavaman would make a great destination race.

Perhaps Florida if the race was right

St. Anthony's in St. Pete, Fla

http://satriathlon.com/

Thanks for the heads up about TNT at Lavaman in March. That might put it out of contention, plus the early date of the race. Canada might be an option if it's in the west and drivable from Spokane.

There are a ton of great races in the Okanagan if you want to head to Western Canada. Great races and you can do a wine tour, hang out at the beach, search for the Ogopogo, hike, mountain bike etc. in your downtime.

The Oliver Wine Country oly/sprint is in late May/early June. It's put on by Outback Events who have a great rep for doing well organized races. I believe they give wine to AG winners.

At the Peach oly in Pentiction you start at the same beach as IMC, it has a beautiful rolling bike course and very challenging run. I did this race two years in a row and only missed it this year because a wedding on the same date. There are lots of threads on the main Forum about driving there from Spokane posted by folks going to IMC, you can get a good idea of the distance from those.

I know Peachland has a smaller race but not to much about it.

In Kelowna in August the Apple is held the weekend before Ironman Canada. It's quite a big event, some years there are close to 1,000 racers, and there is a sprint and oly option, possibly even a super sprint. The course isn't as pretty as Oliver or the Peach, and I'm not such a fan of Kelowna, but the race is very well organized and competitive (it's frequently Canadian Nationals) and you could hang out for a week after and watch IMC.

Check out the race calendar at TriBC.org to get an idea of what's going on. You can race pretty much every weekend just in BC from June through to mid-September.