Beautiful course. Great town and venue overall. I had a small group together (3 athletes, 2 spectators) and rented out an Airbnb a few blocks from the lake for a week. I would go back in a heartbeat. Wish the full was still offered here.

Beautiful town and course. There was some chatter about the lake being cold in the weeks leading up to the race but I thought it was comfortable- low to mid 60s, I think? Nice beach start, not much chop on the day of, and the course was oriented North-South (or South-North?) so there wasn't much swimming into the sun- just the short leg between the turn buoys. Bike was nice- lots of climbing but the climbs seemed to be long rather than steep, and you get to come back down every climb that you make so that helps. Run is 2 loops through neighborhoods- lots of spectators, and people with sprinklers and hoses. That was nice as I think I remember it being in the low 90s when I finished. There was only one good sized hill that I remember but after the hills on the bike course it didn't seem all that bad. Overall course support is great- water, Gatorade Endurance, Clif gels (? Some kind of gel that I'm not used to so I didn't grab any) and tons of ice. I'd do it again in a heartbeat but I'm at a place where I can travel for races and want to take advantage of that by doing as many different courses as I can before I get even older & slower.

Thanks for the replies. I'm really excited.

I did CdA 70.3 for the first time in June. Beautiful scenery, well-run event, easy-to-get-around location, and the community seemed pretty supportive of the event.

Looks like you are in the cluster of hotels just off the interstate. I stayed at the Hampton Inn, which is in same area. The Hampton even opened for breakfast on race day at around 4:00 a.m., and had a shuttle to/from the city park that was race central.

Swim - Nice, clear lake. Water temp had been in mid-50s up until close to race day, but warmed up just fine. Very little risk that it would not be a wetsuit-legal swim. I was told the winds can create some chop in the lake, and I saw that directly during my practice swims the couple days before; however, water ended up being calm on race day -- except for a bit of chop out at the end of the course rectangle (between "out" and "back" portions of the swim course). Sand beach to come out on, and only a short run to T1. All in all, a pleasant swim course.

Bike - Course consists of two out-n-back segments. First one goes east through town, and then about 7 miles along the lake to first turn-around. relatively flat in that section, and good opportunity to get settled in, take in some early nutrition, and get into good rhythm. Only really one hill on that segment. Back through town and then out on the highway.

Three main hills on the highway segment, which is about 20 miles each way. Somewhat different from hills out here in Seattle area, which tend to be short and steep. The hills on CdA course are long, but not that bad if you stay patient. One side of the highway is closed, so there's plenty of room on the course, and the road quality is fine. I was told that there are sometimes cross winds while on the highway segment, but we didn't really have any this year.

Run - Two loop course. A good portion of the loop is through town streets. Lots of folks out in their front yards encouraging the athletes. A number had water hoses should you choose to get sprayed. Decent amount of shade along the way. Lots of volunteers at the aide stations on each mile. There's one sort of hilly section at the far end of the out-n-back, and it can get a little warm out there. Nothing too bad, though. End of second loop eventually turns onto a main downtown street, with a pretty clear view of finish line down the way. Gives a pretty nice end to the event.

All in all, CdA 70.3 is a pretty fun way to spend a Sunday!

I have done many of the CDA races since it’s inception in 2003. I have raced on 12 different IM courses, and over 20 different 70.3 courses. As noted CDA is one of the best. What I will add to the comments is the community support. It is overall the best I have seen, anywhere. The community really loves this race and the athlete’s that do it. I highly recommend skipping the hotel, and taking advantage of one of the many VRBO or AirBnB opportunity, to really get the full community experience.
I will be there as well. PM me if you want more details on the course or community :-)

Thanks for that info on the Hampton Inn. That's worth a lot, as the biggest difficulty is getting shuttled to the start when the 2 little kids are sleeping....

The first year I did it we stayed at the same Days Inn. We had out dog and it was fine...what you'd expect from a Days Inn. No dog this year, so we "splurged" and stayed at the Hampton Inn. Even though they're basically across the street, the Hampton Inn was so much better. Like the earlier post said, very convenient for athletes with the shuttle and early breakfast. You can walk to a lot of restaurants, shops and a park with a playground and the river is right behind the hotel. There's also a bike path that's part of a larger trail system that goes right along the hotel, which was perfect for bike and run shakeouts leading up to the race. We said we'd always stay there when/if we did the race again. It's a little more spendy than the Days Inn, but so worth it. I would think if you're bringing kids it would be the better place.
Love that race!