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70.3 Maple Valley, WA
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Any info on this race? IM says inaugural. Did they create it or engulf an existing? Is Lake Wilderness a scenic place? Trying to decide between it (I have family in Tacoma) and 70.3 Blue Ridge (I live in Southeast) to try out one of the new races. Don't care about course elevation or water temp factors, I'm more interested in the view.
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Re: 70.3 Maple Valley, WA [DV8R] [ In reply to ]
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Yes... lots of info out there now including a bike route map floating around (and a few people have mapped it out on Mapmyride, etc.) Basically it is the Lake Wilderness oly course + Black diamond long course + Mt. Rainier Du course (skipping mud mountain which is sad... that would have been fun!) all stitched together to come up with 56 miles. mostly rollers, a few flat sections, no major "climbs". Run is 100% on urban trails built in old railroad corridors (hard packed trails, there is a grade but it is consistent (no hills.)

edit: and is it scenic? I guess that depends on your perspective but yes, most people would call it scenic especially in the early fall. You can look up the races I mentioned above and look as some of the photos to give you some idea of the area and course.

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Last edited by: gregtay: Mar 5, 20 10:24
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Re: 70.3 Maple Valley, WA [gregtay] [ In reply to ]
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Unverified course maps (this was based on a map IM showed around

Bike (the course is correct but I believe the direction on this is likely backwards... I think for safety they would need to run it counterclockwise, leaving the park to the south
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32013346

Run
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/32013456

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Last edited by: gregtay: Mar 5, 20 10:29
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Re: 70.3 Maple Valley, WA [DV8R] [ In reply to ]
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They posted a Q & A video with the race director a few weeks ago and said that you can see Mount Rainier from the swim. I'm not sure about the rest of the course but at least the swim and transition area will have some cool background scenery.
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Re: 70.3 Maple Valley, WA [gregtay] [ In reply to ]
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That would be pretty nice if the course is an amalgamation of all those events. I've done them all and the Lake Wilderness Oly. is probably my favorite. The bike course is pretty fast, but indeed in not exactly flat. It's a good "keep your momentum" bike leg. So the ironman should be pretty good. The lake is really clean from all the times i've been in it and the trails they use for the Oly course are really well taken care of.
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Re: 70.3 Maple Valley, WA [DV8R] [ In reply to ]
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I grew up out there, just over a quarter mile from that bike course.

Not sure what you consider "climb" vs. "hill", but that bike course is not flat. No extended climbs, but a lot of rises that can break up your rhythm. There are a couple intersections that I'm thinking "I can't believe they're crossing THAT," but I'm sure there will be expensive traffic control. Yeah, it would definitely make things interesting if they included Mud Mountain Rd. One of my favorite climbs (and basically the finish of RAMROD).

Lake Wilderness is fairly clean. I think the park will be overwhelmed with an IM-level event though. Not much in the way of close-by accommodations.

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Re: 70.3 Maple Valley, WA [DV8R] [ In reply to ]
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I guess that is hard to say without knowing where you live. GregTay and I live here, and that can mean you don't always know how good you have it! These are the roads I ride pretty much every time I ride outside, I would say there will be parts on the bike that will be very scenic depending on the weather. (if it is clear vs cloudy) I know the first time I saw MT Rainier from Enumclaw I was kind of in disbelief. It is kind of like the start to a Paramount movie, but in real life.
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Re: 70.3 Maple Valley, WA [Eroc43] [ In reply to ]
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Just saw that this might go over Green River Gorge, that is pretty darn scenic if you ask me.
https://www.google.com/...g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
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Re: 70.3 Maple Valley, WA [brider] [ In reply to ]
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brider wrote:


Not sure what you consider "climb" vs. "hill", but that bike course is not flat. No extended climbs, but a lot of rises that can break up your rhythm.

Lake Wilderness is fairly clean. I think the park will be overwhelmed with an IM-level event though. .


I agree on the climb/hill bit. This is NOT flat (except for the section that section on 284th that goes out and comes back about 1/2 through the course.) This course will have you constantly shift as the road goes up and down and I am guessing a lot of people will cook themselves on the bike. The good news is that drafting won't be much of an issue as the hills will break things up.

I originally thought the same about the park being overwhelmed but I have changed my tune on that... turns out Lake Wilderness park is actually quite big. If they could pull off a 70.3 at the launch ramp at Lake Stevens then I think Lake Wilderness will feel quite roomy. (the lake itself is just barely big enough to fit in 1.2 miles in a loop... we will be basically following the shoreline. The red circle is where transition is for the Oly... and they have a ton more space in that area for a much bigger transition plus other areas for an expo, etc. So that park should be able to manage the race. Parking race morning is likely the biggest issue and I am just not sure what is around there where people could part and get shuttled in.



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Last edited by: gregtay: Mar 5, 20 14:28
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Re: 70.3 Maple Valley, WA [gregtay] [ In reply to ]
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Also on that flat section, I can almost promise some wind. Depends on the time of day, but I have ridden down that road at 35MPH, and I have been down that road at 14 MPH. I agree, I think a lot of people are going to overdue the bike. A lot of the climbs are short but steeper than they look.
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Re: 70.3 Maple Valley, WA [DV8R] [ In reply to ]
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To the OP, I got an email yesterday morning saying race was 85% sold out. If you are going to go in that direction you'd better register sooner rather than later.
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