Anyone done this? Tips?
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Re: 70.3 Muncie [Pmswanepoel]
[ In reply to ]
I did it this year.
It was friggin hot, and the run is a fairly challenging course, lots of rollers.
Wasn’t wetsuit legal. Visibility in the reservoir is terrible. I couldn’t see my hand in front of me. You’ll be swimming directly into the sun on the last part of the swim, choose your goggles accordingly.
Bike was fine, guy a little crowded when I started the second loop, so lost the group I was riding with (legally). Probably a good thing, since I started cramping the last 10 miles of the bike and that continued for the first 5 miles of the walk (I mean run)
There isn’t much in accommodations near the race site. Parking is plentiful. Take some cash for the post race bbq.
Swimming Workout of the Day:
Favourite Swim Sets:
2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
It was friggin hot, and the run is a fairly challenging course, lots of rollers.
Wasn’t wetsuit legal. Visibility in the reservoir is terrible. I couldn’t see my hand in front of me. You’ll be swimming directly into the sun on the last part of the swim, choose your goggles accordingly.
Bike was fine, guy a little crowded when I started the second loop, so lost the group I was riding with (legally). Probably a good thing, since I started cramping the last 10 miles of the bike and that continued for the first 5 miles of the walk (I mean run)
There isn’t much in accommodations near the race site. Parking is plentiful. Take some cash for the post race bbq.
Swimming Workout of the Day:
Favourite Swim Sets:
2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
Re: 70.3 Muncie [Pmswanepoel]
[ In reply to ]
I've done this one twice.
The swim is always borderline wetsuit legal and you probably have a 50-50% chance of it being wetsuit legal. It is in a protected reservoir, so there's no rollers or surf, but the surface can have quite a bit of chop if it's particularly windy. It is a fairly shallow reservoir so the water temp can change quickly, so I'd bring both a wetsuit and a speedskin as there is no guarantee either way with the temp. The return leg of the swim is right into the rising sun, so bring tinted goggles.
T1 and T2 are in the same place in a large grassy field at the park. I don't remember there being any stickers in the grass.
The bike is mostly flat. There are 2 small "hills" right by the reservoir but once you get past the small rough roads heading out to the highway, the course is flat, flat, flat. The highway is very smooth with no potholes, but the backroads leading out to the highway and back again have some bottle launching holes. They try to patch these every year, but it's always a problem. The good news is that this rough patch is very short. The bike course is entirely closed to traffic which is the best feature in my opinion.
The run is deceiving. It's advertised as flat, but there are small rollers throughout the entire run. It is an out and back course so it's not very spectator friendly (for family and friends), but the locals set up their chairs and radios in their driveways on the course and cheer all day long. The run can get quite hot and several years ago (one year that I was not participating) had the race cut short due to extreme heat conditions.
The volunteers are AMAZING at this race!!
The post race party is just ok. The post race food is just ok. The people (both volunteers and locals) are fantastic! This is a well put together event.
Some down sides are the location. While the reservoir and the bike course are great...the location makes logistics a bit difficult. There are no hotels within 25-30 min drive of the reservoir. You can either stay in Muncie or Anderson and drive in. Some people camp out at the reservoir (which I would do if I had a camper). There is a church that usually offers their place for racers to stay...and even had a dinner the night before for those staying there.
There is not much to do at the reservoir itself for family and friends while you are out racing (both on the bike course as well as the run course since they are both out and back style and not loops). The bike course is an out, 2 loops on the highway and back to the reservoir so spectating the bike course is difficult. There is a back road that you can take to walk or bike from the reservoir to the highway and some family and friends do that to see part of the bike course. The run is an out and back. My family was only able to see me at the start, T1, T2 and the finish as they were not able to walk out to the bike course.
I would still highly recommend this 70.3 as a racer. I love the fast and flat course. Just prepare for the heat and you'll be fine.
The swim is always borderline wetsuit legal and you probably have a 50-50% chance of it being wetsuit legal. It is in a protected reservoir, so there's no rollers or surf, but the surface can have quite a bit of chop if it's particularly windy. It is a fairly shallow reservoir so the water temp can change quickly, so I'd bring both a wetsuit and a speedskin as there is no guarantee either way with the temp. The return leg of the swim is right into the rising sun, so bring tinted goggles.
T1 and T2 are in the same place in a large grassy field at the park. I don't remember there being any stickers in the grass.
The bike is mostly flat. There are 2 small "hills" right by the reservoir but once you get past the small rough roads heading out to the highway, the course is flat, flat, flat. The highway is very smooth with no potholes, but the backroads leading out to the highway and back again have some bottle launching holes. They try to patch these every year, but it's always a problem. The good news is that this rough patch is very short. The bike course is entirely closed to traffic which is the best feature in my opinion.
The run is deceiving. It's advertised as flat, but there are small rollers throughout the entire run. It is an out and back course so it's not very spectator friendly (for family and friends), but the locals set up their chairs and radios in their driveways on the course and cheer all day long. The run can get quite hot and several years ago (one year that I was not participating) had the race cut short due to extreme heat conditions.
The volunteers are AMAZING at this race!!
The post race party is just ok. The post race food is just ok. The people (both volunteers and locals) are fantastic! This is a well put together event.
Some down sides are the location. While the reservoir and the bike course are great...the location makes logistics a bit difficult. There are no hotels within 25-30 min drive of the reservoir. You can either stay in Muncie or Anderson and drive in. Some people camp out at the reservoir (which I would do if I had a camper). There is a church that usually offers their place for racers to stay...and even had a dinner the night before for those staying there.
There is not much to do at the reservoir itself for family and friends while you are out racing (both on the bike course as well as the run course since they are both out and back style and not loops). The bike course is an out, 2 loops on the highway and back to the reservoir so spectating the bike course is difficult. There is a back road that you can take to walk or bike from the reservoir to the highway and some family and friends do that to see part of the bike course. The run is an out and back. My family was only able to see me at the start, T1, T2 and the finish as they were not able to walk out to the bike course.
I would still highly recommend this 70.3 as a racer. I love the fast and flat course. Just prepare for the heat and you'll be fine.
I’ve done it the last 3 years. Hotels are about 20 miles away. Not a huge deal. Leave a bit early race day morning.Ample parking and for a fee you can park across the street in neighborhood yards.
Swim- 2nd half all into the sun. Last year was 1st year of self seeding. Seemed to go well.
Bike- All new pavement. Super fast flat course.
Run- constant rollers and HOT, every year.
This race has been in Muncie for many years. Ironman just acquired it a few years ago. The community involvement is great! I’ll try to go every year I can. Greta overall venue.
Swim- 2nd half all into the sun. Last year was 1st year of self seeding. Seemed to go well.
Bike- All new pavement. Super fast flat course.
Run- constant rollers and HOT, every year.
This race has been in Muncie for many years. Ironman just acquired it a few years ago. The community involvement is great! I’ll try to go every year I can. Greta overall venue.