I was wondering the same thing. We are there with another family, and the two dads will be trying to follow two moms racing while observing 3 children incrementally meltdown as the day progresses.

Is there a park or school playground on the route? How hard is it to drop or park at the start? How early do we need to be there in order to not get stuck in a back up if there is one?

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Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour

Great questions, I hope someone has some insights. We're staying in Sidney. I seem to recall reading something about it being impossible to get into transition in the morning due to a complete traffic jam. We'll be rousing my five year old and infant into the car at 4:30 to take me to the race, so I hope it's not a total cluster. Want to get them back to the condo and I to bed as quickly as possible.

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Any run that doesn't include pooping in someone's front yard is a win.

My wife did Victoria 70.3 last year, and I was her race doula. (Race Doula is more culturally appropriate than Sherpa. It implies an encourager: "Push, push." And, if the term catches on, I claim credit!)

I had a chance to go up a few weeks early and ride the course with her. It's a beautiful place, to be sure. Fair amount of climbing, but nothing too steep, until that big hill they put in near the end, as an out and back (Willis Point Road).

But, I'm afraid it's not so great for spectators.

There is little parking near Ironman Village. If you want to be there for the swim start, you will have to get up early. We were there early enough to find a spot, on Hamsterley Road just east of the park! Otherwise, I think we would have parked on the east side of Hwy 17, along the shoulder of Sayward Road. You know how race morning nerves are; we like to be in charge of our circumstances, rather than depend upon the shuttle buses. I think we were there at 4:30, when transition opens.

The bike course is a loop of the upper island. Because it's hard to get to the park where transition happens, it's tough to get out on the course to spectate. I guess, if you don't want to be at transition for the start, you could hang out in Sidney in a coffee shop or along the straight heading into town, waiting for you cyclist. You could then, cut across to the west and find a corner to wait on for the cyclist's second half. And, then make it to park to be there for the finish.

The run is around the lake on a wooded trail, mostly packed gravel, and you really can't get to it without hiking in.

We just spent the day at Ironman Village, so I was able to see her come in and out of transition, but not on the course.

The transition area is set up at a small park, and there was no food there for purchase! There is a gas station a 1/4 mile away, for candy bars and soda! There was one coffee cart at the vendor village, where we waited an hour for a hot chocolate. Bring a blanket to hang out on the grass, and a lunch!

Victoria is a beautiful city! Have a great race weekend.

I live in Brentwood Bay right on the bike course.

On race morning, if you have a car I'd suggest - if you are race sherpa - just dropping them off at the gas station on the highway at Sayward. It is a 5 minute walk from that gas station to Hamsterly for the race start. There is a lighted intersection there so you can easily get turned around and head back to where you want to go.

The race goes around the perimeter of the Saanich Peninsula. It is mainly rural with the exception of Sidney - which is a beautiful little seaside town with many coffee shops, book shops, little gift shops etc.. to check out. I'd probably suggest going in to Sidney, grabbing a coffee or some breakfast and then waiting until they start coming through on the bike. The lead cyclist should be there around 1.5 hours after race start. You can watch right on Lochside drive . There is a skate park near Tulista Park, as well as beach access, basketball courts etc.. it should be a nice place to watch the race. Right along the water with views of the mountains on sunny days. The bike course is not closed to traffic and it will be fairly easy to get around the Peninsula. So they could hit you at multiple spots rather easily. They could drive over to Brentwood Bay Village from Sidney to watch you come through there as well and then try to head over the race site. It's not going to be easy to get into the race site itself unless you have a bike or are prepared to park somewhere else and walk in. It's a beautiful trail to run or walk on.

As for the bike course itself. It starts out with some pretty rolling hills as you come along Old West Saanich road. Some fairly steep spots in there and the road surface isn't great. It's mostly flat, with a few shorter hills as you go around Mt. Douglas and then becomes dead flat as you go through Sidney. You'll likely positive split the bike course as it is faster in the first half of the race. Coming through Sidney it can be windy, but you might get a tailwind through that section. The back half of the course is where you get the majority of any elevation gain. There are a couple of out and backs in Deep Cove and then the Willis Point road climb at around Km 75-80. As I said, it's mainly rural so some of the road surfaces aren't the best and it is not closed to traffic. In some sections there are no bike lanes to ride in.

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Team Every Man Jack