To give people an idea of the scenery around us, here's the swim site

Word on the street now is that the hotels have been blocked off until the registration portal is up and running through Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge.

That would make sense as to why all the Hilton Properties are booked. But I got a good deal from Fairfield Inns and Suites

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Wow. That is stunning.

Did point to point at Lubbock and it really wasn't an issue. I think this is just one of those things that is dependent on the exact course

I'm all for a new race, but I'm kinda wondering why W'burg was lost. That seems like a really good venue to host races, but maybe the whole IM/city politics killed it off....just as it did w/ Raleigh 70.3.

I just have to kinda shake my head that it seems race venues/cities are now turning into this big business...but yes this is mostly an IM specific issue.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

While it wouldn't deter me from doing it, and I'm actually pretty excited about Roanoke, Raleigh was a pain. The swim was really far from T2 and it was a long drive out there the day before to rack your back and parking was super tight once there. My 8 month pregnant (she's a saint) wife rode the bus out there but then almost missed me getting into T2 (and I wasn't near the front of the pack) because there was some racer in T1 that had a flat or some mechanical that took forever to fix and they wouldn't let any vehicles leave until that person cleared the area.

Beautiful! Just the way I remember Virginia.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

That's the first thing I thought too. Eagleman is listed as TBD on the IM site right now.

https://www.ironman.com/...n-70.3/eagleman.aspx

I can't imagine this doesn't cut into Eagleman registration.

That said, Blue Ridge 70.3 looks very nice. I went to VT and haven't been down that way in many years.

Ditto.

Did you ever run the Blue Ridge Marathon or half? I am slightly bummed the run doesn't go up Mill Mountain, haha.

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Level II USAT Coach | Level 3 USAC Coach | NASM-CPT
Team Zoot | Tailwind Trailblazer
I can tell you why you're sick, I just can't write you an Rx

I’ve done the full BRM the last two years. Would have been awesome to have a hard bike course and then use that same difficult run course. But then I doubt they’d hit numbers since everyone has to PR every race.

No, the only endurance activities I took part in during college were case races on the sidelines of rugby scrimmages. It's why my VO2 max is in the single digits.

The course nets downhill sure, but 300ft down is one small hill in roanoke.

Just climbing out of the carvins boat dock will be considered a serious climb and a "technical" descent compared to most triathlon courses.

If its going to botetourt co, it will likely stay on the flatter areas of Roanoke. That said, I'd expect at least 3,000' of climbing (and even that could be hard to attain). Rides here, even the flat ones, can go over 75ft/mi very easily. It's pretty hard to get less than 50'/mi, and if you try, you can get well over 200'/mi!

I'm guessing they'll keep this away from the mountains and try to use some of the busier streets in the valleys. Maybe they figured out a way to use the parkway, which would be incredible, scenic, and super hilly.

All in all, expect a very rolling bike course that gets progressively easier the closer you get to rivers edge park, and a mostly flat run. They'll probably have to throw in a hill somewhere to get full run miles, unless they do a multi pass run on the greenway (one way first, other way next, then back to T2 for the finish).

If you do this race, stay for a few days after and do some rides. It's some of the best road/gravel/mtbing on the east coast.

Actually here's my guess for the run. If i was designing it, this is what i'd do

https://www.strava.com/routes/20734861

My thoughts too. Why have back to back races in roughly the same region. I'd like to do more 70.3s without traveling cross country

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IG - @ryanppax
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Use code ST5 for $5 off your order

They are week apart. Ironman website updated Eagleman to June 14th.

my hesitation with an all greenway route would be its relative narrowness and the number of people racing, seems like it would be a bit too crowded. though i guess it depends on what kinds of gaps form on the bike and how spread out people end up. i vote for a "death march" up to the star and around ha

and it's a little long, but how about this for a bike (where's the devil emoji)? even includes a short hike to get to parkway https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30734070

this may be a little more reasonable https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30734194

How many people would do this 70.3? I can imagine the greenway definitely feeling pretty tight if its a steady stream of people on both sides.

As for the bike, mountain pass would be so fun, and doing the garden city loop would be amazing, but yea that hike... i bet triathletes wouldn't like that! perfect bike race route though.

I bet your second bike route is pretty darn close.

Any thoughts or guesses to this race selling out? Looking at the swim/T1 site on a map, I can't imagine they'll take a huge number of registrants though...

Don't you think that they'll bus people to swim start? They do that for the Chattanooga 70.3 among others. I think the bigger traffic issue will be the day before the race when everyone is dropping off bikes.

Here's a Google Map of the swim start area, which PlayRoanoke.com refers to as the Boat Parking Lot.

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Janyne

I thought I heard 2500 somewhere, but I’m not certain. They will have to bus to the start, parking is limited at the reservoir

I can't wait to see how they get 2500 bikes in that little parking lot?? Plus there's got to be some parking for people taking bikes the day before, right?

Well Tier 1 sold out

I signed up. 400+ dollars to suffer. *Shake my head*

Anyone hear any chatter about how this race is impacting Eagleman registration, for those of you in the immediate traveling vicinity?

Not that this means anything, but......

Eagleman has been named the "Tri Club East" championship and registered members of tri clubs were given a 24 hour priority registration window earlier this week.

Generally, these registration "gimmicks" are used to boost registrations for races that are under performing.

Sort of like how, if you register for IM Florida 2019, you get priority entry to IM Tulsa 2020??????

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.