I have done Pleasant Prairie and from what I recall it was a well run event. Haven’t done Bigfoot

I've done bigfoot twice. Swim usually smooth and quick. On the way back you're swimming along the shore and water is pretty shallow. I remember seeing BOP swimmers just walking that portion.
Bike course is actually 38k, so a little bit shy of true OLY distance. I don't remember much about it.
The trail run can be tricky in some spots. Hills are short and there are 1-2 very steep ones. There's one downhill that I would go down full sprint and my legs can barely keep up. I'm on the edge of tripping over myself. There's some exposed tree roots so you need to be somewhat vigilant.
Overall, it's a great race and one of my favorites.

I've done both and think they are both very good events... also very different.

PP will feel bigger, more intense as it's a bigger race. Its very well run. The swim is in a small quarry so it wont be wavy. very clean water. Bike BF and PP bikes are flat. BF you will encounter elevation out of transition but nothing to fret about. I like BF bike course better, both will be fast.

The grass run in BF is cool but if its wet and muddy, its tough. PP run course is flat and fast with acouple turn arounds. The run at PP is totally exposed so it could get warm while BF is pretty shaded.

Both races are good, just depends on what you're looking for.

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And 100% Lake Geneva is a cool town and this race is very close to the downtown area. PP area is a congested nightmare. +1 for Big Foot in location.

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I’ve done both multiple times. Bigfoot is OK. Swim is straitforward down and back along the shore but, and this is something that bugs me personally, shallow enough in spots that it’s walkable for just enough yards to make it not quite a full “swim”, followed by a longish run to transition. Bike actually does have a few Lake Geneva rollers, but is a fairly fast and decent course. The run has a lot of trail to it and, as someone has stated, can be a slippery, muddy track with just enough slight elevation to make it tricky. Competition is usually ok. A decent event.

Pleasant Prairie is, with a few caveats, the better event. There is a little more “big race” feel to the morning. The swim is my favorite of any WI race. Once your past the scrum of the first 50 meters you have space and good site lines. Good water quality and it’s a “real” swim, in roughly a triangular shape for both the sprint and Olympic. Transition is almost right out of the water, though it is fairly large as the field can be pretty big and competitive for a “local” race, as it draws both IL and WI athletes. The bike rolls you through some winding industrial area both at the start and finish and there is a slight climb on the way out and then again on the loop back. It is very well marked and traffic has been well controlled in the half dozen times I’ve competed. The run is flat and fast, on a paved path, essentially circling the lake. It IS wide open to the sun and I’ve had some hot runs there. A really nice event, but a couple of those caveats... Get there early. There is enough parking, first on the street next to the RecPlex and then their slightly more remote lots, but the earlier you are there the closer and less stressful the morning will be. Then, especially if you are doing the sprint race, be ready to wait. The Olympic waves go off first and they separate those waves pretty well by age group. It can be a little while between the closing of transition and the final sprint waves. All in all, a very well run solid race.

All this is probably more than what you wanted to know! And while I prefer PP, I have to say that the area IS lucky to have the choice of both.

Did PP last year as my first Oly and am doing it again this year. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that the run is partially on a gravel trail so don't wear racing flats.

No flats?! It’s crushed gravel which makes for perfect running surface. Have worn my racing flats (hyperspeeds/hypertris/type a6) every time I’ve done that race. Curious What don’t you like about wearing flats in the gravel? Not good enough road feel?

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Hmm, that was what my friend was complaining about so I figured I would pass it on. I wore my launches and didn't have an issue.

Ahh ok. Would be interested to hear what the issue they had with flats are.

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PP was my first Olympic race and was very enjoyable. Went up the day before to pick up packet(from South Chicago) but this could have been done day of. Race expo was small nothing too crazy. On the morning of the race traffic was beginning to back up and parking can be a pain, I just rode my bike in from about 1/2mile. Swim - be prepared for that morning sun after the last buoy turn! Bike - roads were decent, mix of industrial and residential. Run - starts off next to park and lake but then takes you out on to a gravel path next to some corn fields, it got hot and humid but there was a water station at the turn around.
Overall I thought it was a well run event with some fast competitor!

It could have just been an excuse now that you doubt its validity. He had a bad race and was coming up with others.

Ha well let’s let him have that one then! We all need our excuses for bad races.

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