What purposed changes to the course have you heard?

Wetsuit legal lake swim, one of the slowest/hilly IM bike courses along the freeway, fairly flat run.
It has a great city atmosphere and can be fairly hot.

Train on hills and it won't be slow! ;)

 The community LOVES the race and the athletes and is very welcoming and supportive. Lot’s of excellent restaurants and brew pups, coffee shops, etc. Great play areas for kids


Venue- one of the best venues in Triathlon, huge, shaded, soft grass park for transitions and expo

Swim- CDA is a huge lake, with clean, soft, water. Start is from a sandy beach. Swim has traditionally been 2 loops, with longest legs running south or north, and short legs east and west (sun can be brutal for the short east legs). There is a short beach run between each loop. Water temp typically 62- 65. Wind can be a factor, ranging from glassy smooth to small white caps.
Bike- It is NOT a slow bike course, unless you are climbaphobic! It is a 2 loop course, with each loop consisting of 2 out and backs. The first out and back is a total of 16 miles, mostly flat and very fast, with 1 short hill of about 5-6% grade that you go up and down, then turn around and repeat. The second out and back is on a section of the Hiway that is fully closed for the race. It is a total of 40 miles. The 20 miles out are almost straight due south, with a series of climbs, mainly 3-5%, with a couple of very short 8 ish % sections. While you are gaining altitude the entire “out”, it is rolling, so you get a few recovery downhills between the uphills. After the turn around it is exactly the opposite :-) Wind can definitely be a factor, as it often can get head or tail winds from 5-10 mph.
Run- this part of the course has had the most changes over the years, but it will be a double out and back, essentially following the first out and back of the bike course, except the beginning and ending section is through a really fun park, and a slightly different route through town, and it only goes up the outer hill, then turns around at the top. Lots of shade, lots of community support.
Accommodations- Unfortunately, the community suffers from the typical Ironman price gouging syndrome. Rates are 20-50% higher for the weeks before and after :-)
If possible- stick around for the 4th of July celebration- the community goes all in!!

to add to the conversation, I have raced CDA 10 times in all it configurations. I like the hew bike course, hilly but fair. The issues are the weather, CDA can have a late winter meaning it doesn't warm up tell June so the water can be chilly. Second the heat and wind, if it warms up it will be hot and possibly strong winds on the highway. Like the others have said train for hills and heat, check the weather often the week before and be prepared for any weather condition.

I raced IMCDA 2015 and IMFRA 2016 so I'll share my opinion based on those 2 races.

IMCDA swim was an easier swim (lake) than IMFRA
IMCDA had rolling hills on the bike and was pretty boring (2 loops) but great if you train mostly indoor, compared to IMFRA which had a lot of turns and steeper hills (mountains) and was pretty technical

Now for the run. I read people saying the run of IMCDA is 'fairly flat'. So I guess the course has changed because my experience with the run in 2015 was an out and back loop twice and I remember the back portion being super hilly and hard. And it was also 110 degres. But that was my first IM and I cant say I was uber fit so I might be completely wrong!!

Either way I'd love to race CDA again next year. Great people, great race, great location, and overall super easy logistics. The community really made me feel I was racing in the olympics.

Spot on write up.

It’s probably not a PR bike course for most, but with the long straight sections and mostly modest inclines it makes it easy to stay aero for the 99% of the bike. While it pulls down your average speed, I like the cougar gulch climb (1.5 mile long with ~500 foot gain) as you first head out of town. It breaks people up making it a good spot to pass and keeping people from trying to draft off you.

---

Matt

I really like this race, great community & beautiful. Race the old course & the new bike course. Raced '09, '10 & '12, KQ'd all 3x so saw a mix of courses & competition as well as weather. The swim was ALWAYS cold to me. My fav year was it was raining & cold. One year is was crazy hot, one year it was just *okay* and neither. Great places to eat. As far as things to do--before you may not want to do much, just rest. I stayed in Post Falls 1 block from the BUCK KNIVES factory. It was inexpensive, right next to a multi-use bike/run path & less than 15 min drive to CDA. Best choice due to being out of the riff-raff chaos an Ironman brings to a town.

Ate at a place called "Capone's" nearby & as crazy as it sounds, I was talking with the bartender & he turned out to be Dave Scott's nephew of all people (I guess blood related to Anna/Dave's ex-wife). Odd spin on things. Best burger? HUDSON'S is hands down---and there is a line (love burgers & this was on Triple D so had to try it).

Swim: It seems wavy all 3x.

Bike: Current course I will say I do recall a few longer climbs but not anything super overly difficult, although I certainly remember seeing a Team Powerbar guy & another guy from Michigan who I would remember his name if I heard it...caught up in a drafting pack & quite blatant about it up the road... There is a "no pass zone" on a bridge that really was irritating due to lapping a gal who was seemingly not in any hurry going about 12 mph. One thing to keep in mind is to chill out on the first out & back as it is flat & fast...you'll need to save it for later on in the race or the hills will catch up with you.

Run: A few rollers but the bike path along the lake seems on a slant & I found myself running in the "dirt strip" next to the path because it was more even. There is always a chance of turning an ankle that way a bit more, but not there wasn't time to see where foot placement was to be running at slow speeds at the end of any Ironman. Support was great at the race. For parking, I'd park on some side streets & just walk race morning. It can be congested trying to find a place up close--I always look for the free spots than the pay-for lots.

I'm excited to go watch it next year, great little town, a bit pricey, but it'll be odd watching & not racing it. I could, but I'm sorta over the "Ironman" thing for the last 4 or 5 years...no excitement to return to it any time soon.

Thank you everyone for some really detailed, specific, and great feedback.

We all need something to look forward to and it looks like CDA will be it for me.

Thank you again!

If anyone can weigh in on actual hotels to stay at, that could be great to.

In 2017 (the last year it was ran) there were only 2 racers to go sub 5hrs on the bike....I was one of them ;)
I do agree that the no passing zone is a nightmare. Its on a descent and on the second loop if you get stuck behind a lapped rider you will be riding your brakes the way down.