looking for some insights into the austin 70.3 in october. i’ll be driving down from minnesota and am wondering about what kind of temps i’ll encounter for the race. i would appreciate any “inside” info from anyone who has raced it in the past. thanks.
It could be just about anything. Very hot and humid kind of like last year. Or it could be nice weather with a cool front. Probably will not be cold at all though, especially with the way things have been this year.
yeah, like he said, its probably hot. last year seemed slightly better than the year before, but its still been unpleasant on the run the three years I’ve been there. Water has been borderline wetsuit legal, but always legal.
Biggest challenge you have will be the temps. It is not super hot, but if you are training in Minnesota, it makes a difference. I was training in Boston, and 80s are not bad, but the heat and sun did a number on me because I had adjusted to the September 60s and cooler. Sponges on the run saved me, but the open area on the bike and the sun were killer. Also depends on luck… I was the 2nd to last wave out, so hit everything with the sun ablazing
thanks for the info. anything to know specifically about the bike course or run?
I found the bike course enjoyable - one loop of rolling hills with not much congestion due to the wave starts. The race site is a fair distance from downtown Austin - on the bad side, that meant no hotels near the start but the positive was very limited traffic on the bike course.
They have tinkered with the run course but I enjoyed the loop format as it meant more support and fans at the aid stations. They had a few bands, cheerleading squads, etc. at various mile markers - expect a hill or two on each loop. The finish is inside an air -conditioned coliseum which was nice for post-race.
Practice cross country/trail running.
Very nice bike course, although last year there was some road construction and traffic the last few miles on the leg back to T2. If I recall, the first few miles are hilly and then it flattens out, but can be windy out there. The run is well supported with local college students providing entertainment at the aid stations. There are a couple of hills (for Texas) that can be thigh burners and much of it is grass\packed gravel. There is very little shade, and if our current weather patterns persist (100-105 deg), its going to be a hot day, so be prepared with electrolyte replacement. Food at the aid stations (i.e. powerbars) will likely be melted. One aspect I found irritating was the shuttle service to T1 and the swim start from the parking lot. There weren’t sufficient buses available, and people were scrambling at the end to get to the swim start. I recommend getting there early, its about 20 minutes outside of Austin proper. Also, bring a flashlight, as T1 is dark with minimal lighting, with sunrise likely to be around 7:15 am.
Good luck, its a great race.
Get to the T2/finish/shuttle bus site early. Last year it took a very long time to get into the grounds and park before you could board a shuttle to the swim start.
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thanks for all the great info…i think i’ll be training in full-length clothes until then to get ready for the temps!
The feedback I have…
I HATED the bike… Maybe it is because I am from the North East and used to macadam pavement, but the back half of the bike course just wore on me because of the vibrations. If you are traveling with your bike, be sure to really TIGHTEN all your bolts because of this. I had my profile design cage on the back flip down because the vibrations loosened the adjustment bolt. Some hills, nothing majorly steep steep, but more some rollers or slight grades
Watch your air pressure in the morning. Heading out of the course I saw a lot of flat in the first few miles.
I expect this year to be very hot. Last year was a little humid and sunny with clear skies, but was more in the mid to upper 80s… not crazy hot, but enough when you had adjusted to the fall cooler temps in New England.
Run is about half road / half trail unless they have changed it. Not a lot of cover, but a lot of it you are running over some mulch kind of sections. I found the big hill on the Quassy Olympic more daunting than “Quadzilla” but you will do it twice.
If you have issues with heat… SPONGES… These saved my run, and every aid station that had them I was putting fresh ones down the back of my suit.
Shuttle service is not bad. I was there fairly early, so had no problems. It was nothing near the cluster or wait that there was at Timberman. It is also a much shorter ride from the Arena to Lake Decker… Pretty much almost a straight shot versus some of the winding back roads from Gunstock to Ellacoya.
SUNSCREEN. There is not a lot of cover, and depending on your wave, you can really start out there late. Mine was the 2nd to last wave and seemed like by the time I started to bike the heat and sun had really started.
Roads are fairly well marked. Last year there were a couple of bad seam/rut sections, but they did a good job of painting them to point them out. Pay attention or if you get dazed, these can do some damage.
Swim exit to T1 is a bit of a long run up hill, so just be ready for a bit of a jog/uphill climb coming out of the water.
Water in Lake Decker was so-so. Was warm as piss last year and some how they were able to get it under the wetsuit cut off and I think most years it has been wetsuit legal, but again it will be at the upper limit, so if you over heat, think sleeveless might do you better.
All and all it is not a bad race. I would have liked the bike if the pavement was smoother, but for me at least, and maybe some of it was the heat, but it just became annoying with the vibrations over the back half. The arena finish is fairly cool, and nice to be out of the sun. Not a big fan of indoors, but in this case it was something I was looking forward too.
I am not a big trail runner, but was nice to get off the pavement, but you need to watch your footing, especially on the out portion of the loops when you go passed Lake Decker and you have a slight downhill grade. Tended to be “truck ruts” down the side with lots of stuff to land on if you are not paying attention.
Does anyone have an idea when this will sell out? Like will it maybe be open after IM Wisconsin?
Thanks