It’s generally very well organized and very competitive. I skipped the last three years because I had no interest in going to Omaha but I’ve always had a good experience at Nationals in the past.

I raced in 2015 when it was in Milwaukee and won the 20-24. The course was fast and fun and it's always a good time to test yourself against some of the best AG'ers around. Nothing like good competition to make you bring your A game!

It is my backyard, so I am going this time.

The swim will be pretty warm, probably not a wetsuit legal race, if I had to guess.

Part of the ride will be near the waterfront and nice. Part will be through downtown CLE. Part will be in a not glamous part of town. Part will be in the beautiful University Circle area. Mostly pretty flat and fast course.

The run will all be in the park/beach area near the swim.

All occurs a stone throw from downtown CLE waterfront/Entertainment district. Lots of brewery, restaurant, and hotel options.

I hope it is well attended and people enjoy the race. The organizers are experienced and dedicated to good events.

I would highly recommend going to Nationals. I went to Omaha last year for the Olympic, and had an absolute blast. Well organized and very competitive race.

I did the Olympic distance race last year. I didn't expect to be competitive, but looked at it as an opportunity to go to a new place and race a first-class race. It met expectations - very well organized, fast field, and I was smoked by my age group field. If I qualify again, and it's in a place I've not been before (ruling out Cleveland), I'd definitely do it again. Great experience.

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Attacking this day with enthusiasm unknown to mankind.

I barely qualified a few years ago in my first Olympic distance race. Since it was my second year in the sport I was happy about it.

I raced the 2016 Age group nats in Omaha. I had never been to Nebraska so it was a good excuse to go. Overall it was a good experience. I was in one of the later waves and they ran out of ice and gatorade at some of the aid stations on the run by the time I came through. Other than that it was a well run race.

Qualified the past 3 years.

I raced in Omaha last year since I'm a 3 hour drive away. Drove in day before, checked in, raced, drove home race day. Great experience for the convenience of location.

Now Ohio is 11 hours of driving one way. I'd like to go, but that's a lot of driving for couple hours of racing.

There are some awesome triathletes at the event and a LOT tougher competition, and you could do the sprint the next day as well to make it a double header.

I'm still thinking about it.

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Ryan
http://www.SetThePaceTriathlon.com
http://www.TriathlonTrainingDaddy.com
I got plans - https://www.trainingpeaks.com/...dotcom#trainingplans

It will be my first time this year and excited to see where I stack up. Hoping for top 50.

USAT Nationals is consistently the most competitive, best organized, best value,
and fairest race in the USA.
It is usually a lot of fun as well.

(Kona is more competitive and is also well organized. But has lots of drafting and is NOT a great value. The same could be said for 70.3 worlds).

Gonna not-backdoor-brag and say I've qualified for it the last 3 years but have never raced it!

Seems like a ton of fun though - if I didn't have a wife and kid in to worry about, I'd do it in a heartbeat even though I'm 100% certain I'd get my tail kicked BIG time there by most of the field.

Ironically, it's probably the only 'qualifying' event I've ever achieved in sports (I' was a terrible natural athlete growing up) and also ironically, I never targeted it specifically. Helps to race some local races with super-soft fields to accidentally qualify!

Qualifying for nationals isn’t that big of a deal compared to qualifying for Kona or 70.3 is because it isn’t. Those are at the worlds level nationals isn’t. But placing well at any of those events is definitely a big accomplishment, qualifying for worlds can also be stupidly hard now looking at the times.

Nationals is fun but I’m not sure if you really want a reason to go to Cleveland. If it fits in your schedule and you can afford it go for it. I don’t consider it really a must do race, at least this location. If you’re not looking to do worlds or are going to try to place well, I’m sure you can find better races closer for how much it will cost to travel there.

Well worth it.

It's fun to race against a fast Oly field

You should do it. Like others have said, it's a great experience. BUT....I'm not sure if this is still the case, in past years they keep transition closed until the very last person finishes. So if you finish in a relatively decent time, you are going to be hanging out twiddling your thumbs for a while. Unfortunately, I had an Airbnb pretty far from transition so I was kinda stuck.

I did it in 2016 in Omaha and this wasn't the case. I got my bike out of transition not too long after i finished.

I'm going, so should you.

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That's good to know. This happened in Milwaukee and I wonder if people complained.

It is the most competitive Olympic Distance race in the world.
It consistently draws the fastest AG's in the US.
It is well run.
It's Cleveland.

What more could you ask for.

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"Good genes are not a requirement, just the obsession to beat ones brains out daily"...the Griz

What makes you think it's not going to be wetsuit legal? Isn't the swim in Lake Erie?

Yes. Lake Erie. Usually pretty warm that time of year. Erie isn’t like Lake Michigan where it never warms. Erie is shallow and gets quite warm in the summer

 I'm potentially going back this year, but in 2016 I found it kind of underwhelming. Collegiate nationals was much more competitive and well run. Not that it's a bad race, but i think you're overstating it a bit.

I've done the event several times....Burlington, Milwaukee, Omaha. Always very well organized and very competitive. You get a great opportunity to meet fellow triathletes from around the country and see where you stand competitively. The off site pre-race meetings, expo, post race awards, are all part of the experience. Anyone who is at least half serious about the sport and qualifies should benefit from the experience. And unlike Omaha, Cleveland generally has decent temps that time of year. Highly recommend.

Did Milwaukee twice and loved it - lots of fun, good racing, enjoyed the pageantry.

Stopped by the park where the race will be in Cleveland while driving on spring break. Looks like a nice location, and Cleveland will be fun.

It is only 3.5 hours from Lansing, so I’m biased, but at this point I plan on going the next 3 years. Easy call.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

I remember meeting you at that race - good times! Didn’t realize you won your AG. Not surprising to me as you win just about everything...

Looking forward to seeing what you do in Cleveland! I assume you and Todd “The One And Only” Buckingham will be duking it out.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

eh, it might not be too warm for wetsuits. I live in Buffalo on the other side of the lake and our summer Erie races are almost always wetsuit legal. Not sure if the Cleveland side would be different.

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Human Person