Downstream on the Willamette River. It's a ripper.

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MS: Exercise Science
Your speed matters a lot, sometimes you need to be very fast, where sometimes you need to breakdown your speed.

Yep. They even shut down the flow out of the dam upriver. Other than getting across the sandbar it was a float. I saw a bag of potato chips swim sub 30

I swam in a little over 25 minutes. Would shoot for ~37 in a normal setting. No complaints here. It was very fast.

**adds 70.3 Oregon to my 2022 calendar**

Same

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Giddy up, there's no reason to look behind you, you're not heading that way.

Username checks out?

My wife and I are still laughing at this one 10 minutes after reading it...epic!

That being said, I'm not a big fan of the idea of swimming in the Willamette...not really inclined to grow a third eye or a tail... :|

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- John
"Have courage, and be kind."

It was a really interesting swim. The numbers were really interesting - the men's race overall...3 under 20 minutes I think...1038 between 20-30 minutes. Only like 140 over? Slowest swim with the men, 51 minutes.

It was a fun swim - I would've been fine if it was 2 miles, it was actually pretty fun although into the sun. Just swim and let the water take you in the right direction. I'm not all about the swim time here - just a really interesting swim when a lot of swims are kind of bland...

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

Is Nobody going to talk about the ramp to the beach that you had to repell down to? I can’t believe almost 2000 people made it down that 45 degree ramp safely. Swim was epically fast and fun though despite the two at a time entry which caused huge backups at the start! Bike was a super fun out and back. Run was a lot more sun and gravel than I was expecting but was super super flat to finish

I went down the hill on Friday and that might have been safer haha but I didn't find the ramp too bad. In the things you can't account for, on the run - how about the cherries or whatever they were on the ground near the turn around that were like running thru gum? HAHA.

Not a bad first race - not perfect but legit hard and I would definitely race here again.

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DFRU - Detta Family Racing Unit...the kids like it and we all get out and after it...gotta keep the fam involved!

Oregon should be on more peoples list for 2022, especially if you are OWS adverse and don't like climbing on the bike.

I will admit that sighting on the swim was a bit of a challenge directly into the sun, but I am a "normal" 70.3 swim guy in the 32-34min range, I did 23mins at Oregon.

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Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do.

Went into this race with eyes wide open, half expected a shit show, and was pleasantly surprised. Swim was fast, water was nice, and almost too easy (with the exception of having to try and sight into the sun), bike was a great course (gentle rolls, small amounts of rough pavement downtown, quite a bit of shade), run was quite flat and scenic as well. With a few minor tweaks this one could go from a very good race to a great race. Minor tweaks: start the swim .1 mile further upstream so it is easier for average swimmers to stay left of the buoys and avoid the gravel bar, get the city to repave the first mile or two of the bike course, a little better control over cars on the bike course (saw two instances of knuckleheads driving onto the bike course out toward the turn abound which almost resulted in bike/truck head-on collisions), on the run get a better platform/mat over the train tracks and get some gravel raked next to the tracks, and lastly either provide more non-alcoholic beer in the food tent or allow people to bring their own (one guy walked a mile and brought back two cases of beer for everyone and put it in the ice bath but the volunteers removed it despite how thrilled people were to get their hands on the first few).

Wife and I just signed up to do this next year - really looking forward to it. Looks like a great course.
There was no pro field in this race - i assume because the swim is aided by current - but its interesting seeing how much less difference there is in the swim times from the top and bottom finishers. It is a fast swim for everyone and as a mid-pack swimmer that is fine to me.
For the run, what shoes did you choose, or wish you had chosen? Saw a few pics of soles of racing shoes like Hoka Carbon X and Nike Vaporfly that were destroyed by the gravel. I was think Clifton's. Is the gravel rough enough that it warrants a trail shoe?

I kind of like seeing the pros at races but none this year. I assumed it was because the race was announced so late that they had already selected their "A" races. We wore Hoka Carbon X and were fine. Having said that there was enough gravel that I'm thinking of running in my speed goats (probably more because I prefer to run in those).

Swim was fun. It was interesting seeing the first wave go out and everyone hitting the patch where they walked over.. then progressively folks caught on and after the first 5 buoys, sighting left so they hairpin around the rocky-island and shoot straight. At some point my goggles got water and i took them off.. looking at strava I was coasting and hitting :45s/100m. It was definitely one of the more interesting swims during a triathlon... and a PB I probably will never beat haha

I participated and would do it again. Much better organized than I anticipated and the athlete/bike check-in was a breeze. Walk to the swim was weird especially where they had us drop our morning clothes bags then we had to walk another 1/4 mile+ and wait 45 minutes...

Swim was fun but difficult to sight into the sun. I aimed straight across to start and it kept me to the left of the initial buoys. I heard part of the delay was because they moved the buoys after the starting wave was missing them and they didn't want to DQ everyone... nothing official though.

Some of the train tracks were rough on the bike - got a pinch flat... between that and the swim delay I started the run much later than anticipated and it got hot out on that gravel.

They're moving the race a little earlier in July next year, maybe the water level will be higher then. This is also a very dry year.