Hello everyone!
I’m thinking of doing IM Maine 70.3 in 2023 and wanted to know if anyone had a review or any information on how the 2022 race was since it was in Augusta, ME for the first time this year?
I thought it was a success. Very easy to get to the site and park next door on race day. Others can comment on ease of finding affordable lodging.
The swim was a down river swim. Race started early to catch high tide. You wouldn’t know the river is tidal from the taste and decent visibility. Current probably made it 90% of a normal swim.
Bike course was very good. A lot of rolling ups and down. Nothing too tough. A good ride for getting down in the bars and hammering. Roads were in fine condition.
Run course is a T-shaped course where you do the top of the T twice. That mostly follows a river trail. Not much up and down, but a little. It gets a little congested, but that’s typical with these IM courses. Nice finish in front of state capital.
Post race was perfectly fine with food, Athletic brews, etc.
I liked the old OOB race better, but this was a nice alternative and I recommend it.
My only criticism was the run random ups an down that could have been avoided - surface changes grass, cement, potholed dirt and that hair pin turn downhill on grass. THis made it a bit of a disaster zone for you ankles
ive been to every OOB as the old venue.
Augusta is better. People are still stoked on the event and the bike course is a legit, fair 70.3 bike course.
Come on out.
Thanks for the insight into the course. I will definitely have to come up next year for it!
Biggest concern was the bike course. I wasn’t sure if it was hilly enough that I would benefit from training and riding on the roadie vs the tri-bike.
Also how are the winds throughout the course? Anything to worry about?
Thanks!
My Strava ride from the course had 3,450 of elevation gain, it was hillier than I anticipated and I struggled on them but my training was lacking going into the race battling a few injuries. The wind wasn’t much of a factor this year, not sure how that will vary from year to year though. The swim is super fast downriver, it was wetsuit optional this year which caught a lot of people off guard.
race day this year was very calm and good temps
100% aero TT bike - have a proper gear range and you will be fine.
As others have noted, the swim was down-river and very fast. It was wetsuit-optional but I think the water temp was unusually warm so I wouldn’t expect that every year. There was a mad rush to buy swimskins at the expo as nobody anticipated the water temps being so warm.
Wind was a non-issue this year. Bike course was on the hilly side of “rolling” with some technical spots like big descents into turns and a couple railroad crossings. Definitely a TT bike course though.
Personally I didn’t like the run course. Lots of weird little ups & downs, running through parking lots, varied surfaces, etc. and it got very congested on the second lap. I think with a couple tweaks they could improve it significantly. I heard the layout was due in part to a lack of volunteers so maybe as the race gains traction that will improve.
Overall I enjoyed the race and I thought the city did a great job hosting. Logistics were easy and the village setup was good. All the Augusta hotels sold out so I ended up staying 25 minutes north in Waterville. Not ideal but I didn’t end up being a big deal. I liked the OOB course a bit more but I think if they can tweak the run course a little it will be an awesome race going forward.
Largely agree with what others said. I’d label it all around as an “okay” race.
The swim was good.
Bike was okay–definitely on the hilly side of rolling, but not hard–it seemed like you were always on some sort of grade though (very few flat sections). I did like that it was 1 loop.
I really disliked the run. Yes, most of it was flat, but the few parts that weren’t flat were basically jagged hills and off road sections which torched my rhythm.
Not a race for a PR.
Augusta as a whole was pretty unimpressive IMO, so not much of a destination race (if you care). That did not stop the hotels from their fair share of price gouging–so book asap!
I appreciate all of the feedback!
General consensus is its literally just an ok race. I would look for better venues if it wasn’t for having family nearby but I will give it a shot next year regardless. I hope that the race directors take note from some of the feedback that is given from participants this year to make the course even better for next year (the run course mainly has the most complaints from what I gather).
Does anyone have any suggestions for any other 1/2 IM venues in the North-East (New England area) that I should look into?
Does anyone have any suggestions for any other 1/2 IM venues in the North-East (New England area) that I should look into?
Timberman 70.3 in New Hampshire
Patriot Half is a popular independent race in southeastern MA
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