2014 Ironman 70.3 Muskoka

Triathlon Forum
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Alrighty now!

Who is geared up and excited for this years Muskoka 70.3? Winter is here, but training still happens no matter where you are.

If you are new to our event, or don’t know what TriMuskoka is, here is the low down.
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WE SHARE YOUR PASSION
TriMuskoka is a volunteer not for profit organization that is passionate about endurance sport training and racing in Muskoka. Our slogan “Naturally Tough” says it all. Training on our challenging terrain will make you a tougher athlete, and prepare you to take on any race course in the world. Just ask M
irinda Carfrae and Craig Alexander who uses Muskoka 70.3 as their tune up race before Kona. Every year they competed at and won the 70.3, they went on to win Kona.

WE ARE TRIATHLON COUNTRY
The pristine lakes, fabulous terrain, stunning landscapes and our unparalleled endurance sports history brings professional triathletes and age groupers from around the world to train and race in Muskoka.

 TriMuskoka is committed to athlete development and support for both local and visiting athletes. Every weekend during race season can be filled with something to do. TriMuskoka wants to help you in every way to make your visit as enjoyable and effortless as possible.

WE ARE A TRIATHLON CLUB
Our club members (from beginner to advanced) enjoy sport specific education and leading edge training. We host OAT sanctioned workouts, seminars, training camps and social events. Our club is there for you every stroke, pedal and step of the way! We welcome athletes that are visiting Muskoka to join in our group workouts and educational sessions or even to join the club as a member.

WE ARE YOUR HOST
TriMuskoka is your trip advisor and is your ear to the ground for what you need to know to make your trip up here seamless. We can’t control the weather or the hills around Muskoka, but we can help you make your stay as great as it can be. Visiting athletes, coaches, clubs, and race directors use our site to make their training and vacation preparations smooth and effortless. TriMuskoka also works closely with the business community, local sports clubs, volunteer groups and residents, to successfully host races and make your visit here feel like it is as much relaxing as it is athletically challenging.

Here is some things to think about over the winter:
When you are training indoors or outdoors, make sure you get your strength training and hill training in. There are a couple of hills here in MuskokaConsider a late spring “I don’t have to leave Canada for a great training weekend with some pretty cool people” get-away by attending our Muskoka TriSummit featuring Matt Fitzgerald along with a whole host of professional athletes and coaches. www.muskokatrisummit.com for all the details. $199 for the weekend…one heck of a deal!
Contact us if you have questions, or want to know something about the course, or want help with where to stay/eat , or what the family can do while you are here training or racing. A lot of that info is on our “Relax” page of our website, which is at www.trimuskoka.comConsider some of our great partners, including:

canfitpro,
Genuine Health (makers of ActivFuel and ActivRecovery),
Energy Bits (get 15% off with our coupon code “trimuskoka”)

Questions? Post them here and make sure that you reply to this email so that I make sure I get notified that you are posting a question…

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Hi Rich
I’m booked on. Not coming from far, Ottawa.
Excited for the race.

Phil

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Hi Rich
I’m booked on. Not coming from far, Ottawa.
Excited for the race.

Phil: Glad to have you coming! Grab some buddies and make a weekend of it! Are you part of a larger tri club there?

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I am signed up.

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Muskoka 70.3 was a great experience last year and I’m looking forward to racing again in 2014.

To anyone considering racing Muskoka for the first time, I highly recommend planning a recon trip in advance. I scoped out the course a few weeks in advance last year and it really helped. The 2013 winner, Lionel Sanders, did a full week-long training camp in the area the month before.

The bike course is very challenging. There’s scarcely a flat section to be found. If you have a smart pacing plan for the three significant climbs before kilometer 30, you will pass a lot of people later on. A higher variability index than usual is inevitable on this course, so practicing on this type of “sawtooth” terrain is important.

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Way to go Flanny. First time coming to do our Muskoka 70.3?
R

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Hi there Cody,
Your comments are true to the point. The course, albeit challenging, is beautiful and follows the lake the entire way around on the bike, and on the run. The run course changed this past year, which leads more towards the downtown, and was well received by both professional and age group athletes on the course.

Lionel had an amazing race and set the standard for pros to live up to! Amazing.

Are you coming up to do the race this year?
R

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Lionel had an amazing race and set the standard for pros to live up to! Amazing.

Are you coming up to do the race this year?

Yep, I’ll be back this year and racing as a pro this time :slight_smile:

I’m not sure how many people fully appreciated Lionel’s 2013 performance. A 2:20/1:10 bike/run combo on that course is unreal, never mind as a pro debut! Expect big things from him in 2014. I think he has set his sights on Tremblant 70.3 WC that day. I can’t say I’m disappointed about that :wink:

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Lionel had an amazing race and set the standard for pros to live up to! Amazing.

Are you coming up to do the race this year?

Yep, I’ll be back this year and racing as a pro this time :slight_smile:

I’m not sure how many people fully appreciated Lionel’s 2013 performance. A 2:20/1:10 bike/run combo on that course is unreal, never mind as a pro debut! Expect big things from him in 2014. I think he has set his sights on Tremblant 70.3 WC that day. I can’t say I’m disappointed about that :wink:

And Lionel’s personal story is quite remarkable as well.

That bike time equates to around 2:15 for 90k - even more impressive! Heading out on the run last year I was fully expecting to see Mr. Raelert in 1st place, but got quite a shock to see someone I’d never heard of before. Running a 1:10 on that course is plan sick!

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I know.

I was out on the course biking back to Deerhurst when I came upon Lionel just shy of half way and he was motoring, but looked focused, calm, and relaxed.

Way to go Cody on taking the leap to the pro field. I wish you all the best with your training for this coming year with all of it hopefully culminating at the 70.3!

R

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Muskoka 70.3 was a great experience last year and I’m looking forward to racing again in 2014.

To anyone considering racing Muskoka for the first time, I highly recommend planning a recon trip in advance. I scoped out the course a few weeks in advance last year and it really helped. The 2013 winner, Lionel Sanders, did a full week-long training camp in the area the month before.

The bike course is very challenging. There’s scarcely a flat section to be found. If you have a smart pacing plan for the three significant climbs before kilometer 30, you will pass a lot of people later on. A higher variability index than usual is inevitable on this course, so practicing on this type of “sawtooth” terrain is important.

This is an awesome race. One of the best courses around. Bummer I missed it this year, but I was at Vegas on the same day thanks to Muskoka a year before. This year, I will do Esprit on Saturday and work at Tremblant WC on Sunday as a volunteer or race at Tremblant if I can shed some pounds and go fast enough this spring. Too bad Muskoka overlaps with Tremblant this year!

Dev

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I have relatives with a cottage in the area. I intend to make two trips up for some training time and to preride the course.
I have a question someone may be able to answer… is there a YMCA or someplace with lane swimming in Huntsville? I will be spending some time in the lake, but hope there is a pool up there as well.

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Love this race, and if you have a family staying at Deerhurst simplifies logistics tremendously. I have done it four times now and will likely register for this years race unless I qualify for 70.3 Worlds.

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I know Dev,
I don’t know why the two races are scheduled in close proximity, but kudos to MT for hosting this world class event. Nonetheless, those that want to qualify for the 2015 70.3 WC can come and try their hand at Muskoka while all of this years qualifiers are in MT.
R

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Hey Flanny,
There is a 6 lane pool up here. Open all year other than a month in August (don’t know exact dates) for maintenance. If you are ever up in the area, by all means look us up and join our club in one of our group open water swims if you want to…

Rich

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Another option if you want to come scope out the course, and get some great education early early on, consider coming to this years Muskoka TriSummit. We have Matt Fitzgerald coming as our keynote, and have Brooke Brown, Sean Bechtel, Ryan Grant, Ryan Cain, Mark Fellner (Swim Canada Level 5 Coach and Olympic National Team Former Coach), Scott Judges, Craig Taylor (RTC Guelph Head Coach) and a whole bunch more speaking and running hands on clinics.

The TriSummit is April 11-13, 2014.

All the details including the TriSummit program and topic descriptions are at muskokatrisummit.com, and is $199 for the whole weekend. There is also a preconference on “Coaching the Endurance Athlete” that is canfitpro accredited if you are a canfitpro member for $99 ($49 for canfitpro members).

Interested?

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All registered and ready to go. Well, not so much ready… ready to start training.

My buddy and I are looking to rent a cottage for that weekend. Any good hidden gems in the area?

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For March break the family and I went there to do some xc skiing in the area. It was awesome!

We stayed at Oxtongue Lake Cottages ( http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g1370216-d2225653-Reviews-Oxtongue_Lake_Cottages-Dwight_Muskoka_District_Ontario.html ) and found it to be pretty decent. We weren’t interested in anything fancy or expensive since we viewed it as a place to have dinner and sleep and that’s it. The rest of our time was spent outside.

The only complaint was that our cottage had a faint smell as if someone had been smoking in it at some point. Other cottages didn’t smell the same (we looked at a few as we’re thinking about doing a family thing up there this summer and needed a bigger place) so your mileage may vary. We didn’t change since it wasn’t too bad at all, and by the time we got home we were beat anyways.

They’re right on the lake so you don’t have to cross a road to get to the water.

Whatever you do, avoid this place based on the Tripadvisor reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g1370216-d2486105-Reviews-Key_To_Algonquin-Dwight_Muskoka_District_Ontario.html . Scary stuff!

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Hey there,
There are a lot of cottages to rent in our area. Consider renting on Vernon, Fairy or Peninsula Lakes as they are close to town and hence the race site. Give the folks at Cottage Vacations a call. They are one of the best resources for cottage rental in our area. The owners are avid triathletes as well. Speak with Kimmi if you can but everyone that works there is very helpful. www.cottagevacations.com. Make sure you let them know that you are coming to do the 70.3.

Check out the “RELAX” tab on our site for different options, as there is a lot of things to do in town when you are not training or racing.

Are you coming up by yourself or with others?

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Thanks for the quick response. I will definitely check those links out.

So far it would just be for my friend and I to come up from Ottawa for the weekend for the actual event, though we may have friends/family visit for the race.