Looking to possibly do one last long race before IMWA, has anyone done any of these races?
http://www.racecenter.com/blackdiamond/halftridu/index.htm
Thx.
Hi there,
I have ridden the course a couple times as I plan to do the half in September. I have done the Olympic distance before and it is very well organized: great support, great volunteers, etc. The thing about the half is that it is 61 miles. The run is great though around the lake and mostly flat.
I think I saw you at Troika at the beginning of the month. Were you number 8?
What is the bike course like? Hilly? Rolling? Flat? (ha!)
I was at Troika but I wasn’t #8, I was right behind her… #8 was another chick fron Vancouver 
All the PNW late year hal IMs (Black Diamond, Grand Columbian, Pac-Crest) are all pretty hilly. All of them are very well run races and great venues. The BD half is rolling with one big hilly (Mud Mountain Road - 2 mile climb), the Oly is flat. You can read the bike course description here:
Glad to hear it’s well organized since I’m planning to do the Oly this year. Thanks
Excellent, thanks.
AP
I’ve done the Black Diamond half and the Grand Columbian. Both are good races but if I had to choose I think I would go for the Grand Columbian. The GC is far more scenic and is only one lap for the bike. At BD you do a 25 mile or so section of the bike twice and it gets a little boring. Both are tough rides no doubt.
The swim at GC is a bit better as well. The water seems cleaner and the course isn’t as tight. The lake for the BD is pretty small and I think it is a 2 lap swim as well.
Never made it to the run at BD as I had a major bike mechanical failure at mile 55, so I don’t know about that run. The GC run is real nice along the Columbia river on a wide path, nice and flat except for one hill at the end.
AndyPants, are you going to do all my favorite races this year!?! You’re not helping me deal with this bulging disc! Anyway, I did the 1/2 IM in 2003 and the bike course was slightly long but not overly difficult. The hill is not a big deal. I didn’t have my best run there, so maybe the bike course was more difficult than I perceived? Not sure now.
When I did it, it was quite brisk in the morning with a heavy layer of fog so I freaked out and put on arm warmers in T1. After the fog burned off, it was pretty hot so that was a waste of time! The swim is in a small lake (smaller than medical lake) and I recall the water being pretty clear but slightly cold.
The run ends on a trail around the lake, my favorite part! I like this race because it’s near Mt Rainier and if you have any legs left, a hike on the mtn is wonderful!
Did you get your FoodSluts hats? You can wear pre-race!
Hope to see you there!