Did the race in '99. It was one of the last times they had Kona slots...Great race! Awsome venue. Would do again if not so far from where I live, I'm closer the the Mexico boarder than Canada. Very much liked the distance!!!

Loved the course.

From what I remember...

The swim is fantastic..no complaints..decent water temperature.

The bike has many hills but many of the hills are rollers where you can almost get to the top of the next one.

The run I can't remember to well, but I do remember it going through a golf course.

Beautiful course.

I bet Fleck could shed a lot of light on this race course.

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Adrian in Vancouver

I've done the race the last three years. The race is well run, and its a beautiful venue. Feedback on the course... lets see.

Swim: Most of the swim is out in a lake, so if its windy, it can get whipped up a bit, but its not too bad, relatively clean water for the area. The end of the swim goes up a channel against the flow, so expect your swim time to be a bit slower for the distance (I'm consistently 2-3 minutes faster over the same distance in Peterborough where there is less current).

Bike: Challenging (I like to say relentless) but beautiful. A few patches of bad road, some patches that are really nice, and the rest is what I'd call good to fair. Lots of hills, no real flats (they're all false flats as you learn grinding up the gradual incline on the way home). Most people suggest that the effort level is about equivalent to a flat HIM. The hills aren't mountains, so short, but relatively steep and definitely challenging, especially when the course dumps you out 1/3 of the way up a long hill right after a hard right turn.

Run: Relatively flat, fast. There are two nice hills right out of transition to beat your already beaten legs, followed by a long stretch that is rolling, with long flat stretches. Don't look for much shade on the run (i.e. none), so if its hot and sunny, its scorching. The finish is right downtown, and is down the second of those first two hills right out of transition, so be careful as you sprint like hell to the finish.

As for the times and the quality of the field, it is a tough race. It has those 100 IMNA slots, and attracts people from all over the Eastern Seaboard looking for a slot. I think the guy who won my age group last year came from Boston to nab a slot somewhere. If you want to see what times it might take to get a slot, go to the website (www.trisportcanada.com), and look on the results page for the list of qualifiers. Then get out there and train.

Andrew

I would echo Andrew's comments about the Muskoka race, and add that it's my favourite race of the year. I'm heading there this year to try to qualify for IMLP. The race is very well organized, and it always draws a quality field. The one thing I will say about the run is that the hills on the run are deceptive. It often feels flat, but there are a lot of false flats, with no shade, and as it is an out and back course, it can be a very hard, hot run.

Good luck!

mp

Muskoka is a great race. I've probably done it a half dozen times. The course description is spot on. The last few hills coming back into town on the run can be tough if your aren't feeling well. There are 2 turn arounds on the bike, so you can get a good idea where everybody is. There were some problems with drafting a few years ago, and I had one wheel sucker last year, but overall it's a very competitive race.

The weather can be hot, or it can be cold. Some years my feet didn't thaw out until a couple k's into the run, so be prepared.

Listen to Eric, he was top amateur at Muskoka last year.

I've done it a bunch of times (90, 91, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 02, 03, 04...yikes, that is 10 times...I guess I am dating myself). I wrote about last year's race here:

http://www.xtri.com/article.asp?id=1223

It is an excellent race. Certainly worth doing. I believe you can see the IMNA roll down spots on the trisport canada web site.

Dev

Yo Spindogg,

I've raced both Milton and Muskoka that past two years. The level of competition at Muskoka is considerably stiffer.

Eric - are you going to Muskoka again this year? Repeat of your top amateur performance?

Cheers,

Matt

Matt, I don't know about repeating this year. Last year was a great race for me, one of my best runs ever. I am looking to pick up an IM Moo slot though, so I won't be dogging it. ;-)