So, I recently signed up for Austin 70.3 this October.
I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share their past race reports?
Thanks in advance- have a great Sunday night!
Do a search of Austin 70.3 and you can read all kinds of stuff which is mostly negative about the race. I think it’s an awful race. Worst of the 15 WTC IM or 70.3 races I have done.
So, I recently signed up for Austin 70.3 this October.
I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share their past race reports?
Thanks in advance- have a great Sunday night!
Here’s a poorly written blog post I did after my go at Longhorn in 2008. Apologies for the pathetic prose.
They all go like this:
- Nasty power plant lake
- Potholes on bike
- Poorly supported run
- Decker is not Austin
.
Austin and the people in Austin are great.
that being said …
The bike course hasHorrible road conditions, I’ve never see so many flats in a 70.3
The run course isn’t much better, 3 loops of sloppy roads in a park, not very scenic either.
Transition are has burrs, little prickly things that can puncture a tire, you’d be smart to carry your bike while in transition.
I did not think the support was bad.
Austin is a fun town with good people.
Sounds like you’ll get a lot of the bad side of things. I enjoyed my race there. It was in 2009, and it was my first 70.3, so my memory is a bit rough by now, but I do remember it being fun.
Swim was quick - never realized it was a “power plant lake” like somebody posted. Maybe it’s obvious to others, and I was a bit nervous for my first major race, but I just remember it being a fast easy swim.
Bike was tough. It was windy, and I saw a bunch of helicopters and 2-3x that ambulances for riders who were unprepared for the wind. The course is full of punchy hills - nothing major, but your derailleur gets a workout. Saw a guy snap his chain and a number of others with flat tires. The chip-seal//pothole combo was too much for some peoples’ race tires. I was slower than planned, but stayed within myself to be ready for the run. I can’t remember the neutral support on the bike. My wife was standing at transition watching helicopters fly by with other family members… it was a nervous day for all, and a very rough day for lots of people.
Run was tough. Hilly, and hot. They changed the course shortly before the race (flooding?) but it wasn’t the normal course. I thought it was a good course. It was reasonably well-supported, and had everything I needed. It was a 3-loop course, and I was pretty beat by the end. Hills were too much for me, even training in Denver (like I said - it was my first 70.3).
The next day, it poured. As in, it rained so much our luggage didn’t make it on our plane because it would have gotten too wet. I was very glad the race was dry, even if it was hot and windy - weather can play a big part in this race.
It wasn’t very spectator-friendly, according to my wife.
Actually, when I think about it, Austin 70.3 reminds me of a pretty shitty race course that is tough to execute well… which makes it raw and kinda extra challenging. One of the hardest halfs I’ve ever done is in Boerne, which was also ridiculously stupid. And I LOVED IT. I guess that means if you want an easy half, do Galveston. If you want a hard one with some real flavor, do Austin. If you have the right attitude, the nastiness is kinda old-school and fun.
Actually, when I think about it, Austin 70.3 reminds me of a pretty shitty race course that is tough to execute well… which makes it raw and kinda extra challenging. One of the hardest halfs I’ve ever done is in Boerne, which was also ridiculously stupid. And I LOVED IT. I guess that means if you want an easy half, do Galveston. If you want a hard one with some real flavor, do Austin. If you have the right attitude, the nastiness is kinda old-school and fun.
Haha love the attitude. I’m not much for being picky-I plan to enjoy it for what it’s worth.
I love to race, no matter the conditions.
Did the race last year.
I was underwhelmed with the race.
The first 15 miles of the bike were really crappy. Pot holes. Lousy pavement.
The thorny transition has already been mentioned…it was true. It blows my mind they would put the transition in an area that could puncture tires. Also, it was rainy last year and you had to run out through a mud hole. Because of the thorn issue, everyone was wearing their biking shoes and I saw a bunch of folks on the side of the road within the first 1/4 mile with sticks in their hands trying to dig out the mud so they could clip in.
It finished in an old worn down rodeo arena…It was less than scenic…
Oh yeah, I remember that. I was supporting my wife and ended up helping several racers clean mud out of their cleats at the beginning of the bike. Something to fix for sure.
Did Austin last year, here’s my high-level
It’s out in the hood at an old coliseum, there was a dog show going on the same weekend……just a little odd
The expo was nothing exciting……was really disappointing
T2 was good
T1 was shit, it’s on wild native Texas grass with stickers and all. Can’t have shoes clipped on bike….unless you’re a pro
Race day parking sucked….like all IM’s
Sucked having to get on a bus to get to T1……you’ll want to get there as early as you can
Lake was ok, no new body parts have started to pop up
Bike was rough, lots of folk with flats and water bottles everywhere, support was good
Run course was ok, some hills and no so great run paths here and there
All and all its an ok race, after also doing Galveston and Lubbock I’ve come not to expect a whole lot other than good course support at these type races
So like someone else mentioned if you want a easy race do Galveston, if you want a challenging race do Lubbock or Boerne and for something in the middle Austin works
Kerrville in September is also a great race.
I also did it in 2009 and enjoyed it. I guess when I think about it, there are some negative things I could say. Getting back and forth from downtown Austin to Decker Lake wasn’t great. You had to do it multiple times since registration was out there and you had to rack your bike the night before. It’s not the only race like that. Whatever.
I liked the bike course. I guess it was a little bumpy but it’s not like I was expecting to ride in a velodrome. You can see potholes coming if you are paying attention to the road and you can steer around them or bunny-hop them. It had enough rollers to keep it from being boring but I don’t recall any actual climbs. One thing that stuck out was a peloton of riders all wearing white jerseys with the Mexican flag who barreled by me at about Mile 30. I doubt they got caught but it was some serious cheating. Regarding the stickers in the grass at T1, I remember noticing them on race morning so I carried my bike to the mount line. It couldn’t have been more than 50-75 meters.
I recall the run course being 2 laps instead of 3 but I may be mistaken. It had a few hills and was challenging but it was alright. Would it have been way cooler if the run was through downtown? Absolutely. But then again, I knew the course before I signed up.
The race support was good. I had a great dinner of BBQ after the race. Austin is a cool town. I probably wouldn’t go back but that’s only because there are other races I want to do. The only races I’ve repeated are Oceanside when it fits into my schedule (I live 40-ish miles from it) and Honu which I do every three years because it’s my favorite.
If you go there planning to enjoy it, you probably will.
Did Austin last year, here’s my high-level
It’s out in the hood at an old coliseum, there was a dog show going on the same weekend……just a little odd
The expo was nothing exciting……was really disappointing
T2 was good
T1 was shit, it’s on wild native Texas grass with stickers and all. Can’t have shoes clipped on bike….unless you’re a pro
Race day parking sucked….like all IM’s
Sucked having to get on a bus to get to T1……you’ll want to get there as early as you can
Lake was ok, no new body parts have started to pop up
Bike was rough, lots of folk with flats and water bottles everywhere, support was good
Run course was ok, some hills and no so great run paths here and there
This. My cleats caked up with mud in T1. Right cleat would not even clip in. I was told as I mounted “they have someone with a water hose around the corner”. Three miles later I find said water hose guy. Got me cleaned up and finally going. Be ready to climb a decent incline starting from no speed at mile five - hard corner, then straight up. I wasn’t prepared, dropped a chain switching front rings, and went down. Rolled an ankle on one of the pot holes on the run. Needless to say it was not a good day for me. This was my third HIM, and I probably wont’ be going back to Austin.
It was my first HIM, and I’ve got a review of the race in my blog which can be found in my signature.
I did the race last year, and my only complaint was the excessive mud in T1. Like others have said, my cleats filled up with mud and I had to get off my bike to get them clear - once that was done, it was a great ride. The road conditions were not great, but it was easy enough to avoid any major pot holes etc. There is a tight turn around mile 45, almost 90 degrees. Course support did a good job of letting us know it was coming though.
The burrs in T1 are pretty bad, I listened to ST advice and did carry my bike through transition to be safe. No flats for me, and I was pleased with a 2:36 for my first 70.3 bike leg.
The run is boring, 3 loops, but it was relatively fast. Nice long steady downhill section, with a steady climb about 2/3 into each loop. Nothing terrible. The only thing I really didn’t like about the 3 loop course was that each loop would pick up more and more of the slower runners, which just made running fast a little bit more challenging.
My only major negative was the coordination of race traffic the morning of the race. We sat in traffic for well over an hour, and they had a stop light that was on a “T” that held everyone up. Lesson learned for me - leave EARLIER than you think, or than you normally would, especially if commuting from downtown Austin like we were.
Austin is awesome, I really enjoyed the trip. The actual site for the 70.3 is not Austin, like others have said, but I enjoyed the race and trip for sure.
You’ll rock it - enjoy!
Thanks man!
I live in Austin. Love the town. Haven’t raced the 70.3, but spectated/ sherpa’d my girlfriend at it last year. That said…
It’s a shitty course. It really is. The pavement is in terrible shape. Not that it’s just chipseal (though there’s a lot of that), it’s also scarred and potholed and roughly-patched. It goes out past some small farms with unleashed dogs who chase you. There are a lot of turns. I rode it several times with my girlfriend while she was training for it and I hated it. And yeah, food options for spectators are very limited. IMTX was great for that, and I’m looking forward to Tremblant the same way. Nothing like having a choice of coffee shops and lunch places while you’re spectating instead of overpriced hot dogs and bottled water.
I’ve swum in the lake; it doesn’t really bother me, honestly. Mostly I hear about it being full of goose shit.
I raced this in 2012 and will race it again this year. It is not the most scenic race around, but I find a lot of the complaints exaggerated. The roads really are not that bad - not super smooth, but you’re not going to rattle your teeth out or anything. There are no steep hills. Turns keep things fun. The lake is not clear - but this is not Tahoe, it is a lake in Texas. None of them are clear! There was plenty of support on the run, the trail-like part at the turnaround for each loop is on rough ground but I actually found the change-up enjoyable. Kept things fresh rather than just running on the same asphalt the whole time. There are some moderate hills but nothing to be scared of. Support was perfectly fine. And within seconds of finishing the race I downed 2 coconut waters, a coke, and 2 pulled pork sandwiches and potato salad so I had no complaints about the food! If you are looking for a solid 70.3 and that time of year and part of the world fits your needs, it’s totally fine. I’ve raced on 4 70.3 courses - Austin, Florida, Norway, Timberman. I’d say it is very comparable to Florida. Timberman only stands out above it because of the beautiful swim. Norway is fantastic on all counts - go there if you can!