I have only done sprints in the lake.
it is murky but it does not taste as bad as it looks.
I have been told lots of turns on the bike course
not sure about the run.
but overall October is a great time to be in Arizona and Tempe is pretty much in the center of everything.
You can stay in Chandler or Scottsdale and be 15 min away from the course.
lots of places to watch from if your bringing family.
hope this helps some.
p.s. if you need the info on the best restaurants pm me.

Pretty much this. Swim is at temple town "lake". More of a drainage ditch that is damned up. Some guy intentionally endo'd his car into it with his kids strapped in car seats the back the night before the race in 2015. Race went on as the search party was trying to recover bodies.

Bike course is about 25 90's and 180's per lap x 3 laps. Early swim waves will get out for a open course for 1 lap then it's a draft fest.

Run is two laps down one side and back on the other of the "lake". 2015 added 1/4 mile each lap to divert the rescue op.

But it's in Tempe in October so there's plenty of stuff to do and eye candy running around.

Appreciate it. I'm planning on staying with a friend who lives in the area. The bike course looks pretty interesting with all of the turns but I'm curious if people really feel like it slows them down. Murky water doesn't bother me. I just prefer the help of a wetsuit

X2 on the eye candy.

I've raced a ton of races on most/all/parts at one time or another of the 70.3 course. If you are a good bike handler you can destroy those who are not on this course.
Not uncommon for me to take 20-50m or more out of people going through some of the turns. They brake, I don't.

An example of this is I've raced a friend who I've only out split on the bike on this course often by 2-5 min (depnding if it was an oly to half). Usually I lose the lower end of that in a sprint to my friend.

Not uncommon on some of those turns to take 20-60m out of someone who can not corner well uses their brakes too much or just aren't comfy passing while in the gutter 3 wide on parts of that course.

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Bike course is a disaster. Lots of bumps through the intersections. Too many people on the third lap although I heard they cut down on the number of entries to deal with that. Could be a great venue but bike course needs changed. I did it in 2015. I'd go back if the bike loop was enlarged.

This is true. If you can handle a bike you can pick up a lot of time on the field passing around corners and accelerating out of them. It's like a crit on a TT bike!

You're VI metric is shot all to hell with all the surging to get back up to speed and I think the longest straight section that stayed in aerobars was maybe 1.5 - 2 miles long.

Did this last year, was my first 70.3. I had a lot of reservations about the bike course going into it, but I thought the course was great! I'm from the northeast where we have a lot of windy and hilly roads with frost heaves so my opinion may be a bit skewed.

Run and bike courses are great for spectators because they are looped and there are multiple areas to spectate from.

I did it in 2016 and enjoyed it:

Swim: murky. Barely and I mean barely wetsuit legal last year. We didn't know until the morning of the race so be prepared both ways. The worst part was the rising sun right on the layline for the swim. You go a little ways, then dog leg so that you are staring at the sun for the next 10 minutes (seemed like it). I was basically using the shore to sight and hoped I was going straight.

Bike: as I scouted the day before, I knew I would either love or hate the bike course. I drove it a couple of times to scout the road conditions and where to avoid as there are some trouble spots in the asphalt. The day of the race was good on the first lap and I was actually surprised it didn't get too crowded as that was my concern. Just like most races, the problem was the riders that don't move over and seem to think they own the road. No different than any other race. If you know how to corner and are good at bike handling, you can rip the course. The only thing I would do differently is watch the accelerations as they take a toll after 80+ turns. I would back off a little next time but still tackle the course with the same gusto.

Run: hot. As it is an October race, train for heat... Something I couldn't do where I live. It was 90+ on the run with maybe 4 feet of shade on the 2 lap run. It's flat, all on the concrete/asphalt trail that goes around the 'Lake'. Be prepared for a couple of really hot zones where the reflection comes off of the mirrored high rises and scorches you in the exact place where there is no wind at all. Good aid stations, ice, drink, etc

Overall, it was good and I'm happy to have done it. I usually do a race twice and move onto the next one but think I'm one and done with this one. People there were very nice, great volunteers and decent venue. Definitely a different 70.3 from the rest and that isn't a knock on it, it was a good race overall. Enjoy it!

Interesting about the bike course. I like to think I'm a good bike handler. Is it enough turning to consider going for a road bike instead of a TT?

No, there are plenty of long stretches where you will want to be aero. I've done the event 3 times over the years, previously as SOMA Half and last years rebranded 70.3. I'm always convinced the bike is going to be a cluster but somehow it's actually pretty ok. Someone said bumpy but the road is in great shape except a few spots. 2 lap run is nice too.

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

Like the previous poster said - no you still want to use your tri bike.

Are you in the M45-49? If so yes you should use a road bike. No clip ons either.

Otherwise use a TT bike

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

Haha no M25-29. Understood, TT bike it is

Sorry to revive this thread - am looking for a late season race this year in the Southwest.

Done the full in Tempe x2 so I know what to expect from the elevation profile.

Is the swim generally wetsuit legal? Looks like the water in Tempe lake would be at least 70 degrees... so prepare for a possible non-wetsuit swim? Or plan on swimming in a sleeveless?

Is the bike course really crit like? So many turns - which I don't mind, but still...

Does the run truly get hot? The historical data suggests the average of 72-73 (link here), so it can't be that bad?

Appreciate the feedback.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Yes. It has been wetsuit legal but who knows as the weather is so odd. I would bet yes

I think there are 66 turns per loop. 3 loops. Yes it gets dicey.

Hot there is very little shade and I feel like most years it was high 70s -80s. I think one year when it was still SOMA it was 90+ on the run.

Hope this helps.

2015 no wetsuits.
Also very hot on the run that year. Don't know the exact temp, but I know what hot is (I've been racing in hot weather for a lot of years).
So I guess it just depends on the day.....