Curious from those of you that have done the Longhorn Austin 70.3 is this a good course to do my first 70.3. Give me some details of the course if you don’t mind sharing your thoughts.
I’m glad you asked this question. I considered doing it last year, but I am really doing it this year.
I can’t help with any advice regarding the venue or race, but the people I do know who raced last year really think Austin is a great race site.
Hopefully you get some good responses that I can catch up on.
I did it this past October as my first 70.3 and had a great time. The race is very well organized and support was great. Keith and crew did a great job. I was told one of the buoys drifted and cut the swim course a little short, but I still believe that i just blazed the swim and cut 5 minutes of my PR. The bike course could have been better; the roads were pretty rough. There were several cracks in the blacktop that were 1"-2" wide. The race officials did their best to mark them, but it was still pretty dangerous if you weren’t paying attention. There were also a couple of big pot holes or speedbump type obstacles at some of the low water crossings. I saw several lost water bottles and people on the side there that i presume hit the so hard they either crashed or had an equipment failure. One of them was at least kind enough to warn me as i was coming up on it. Then there’s the run course… I am by my own admission a pretty bad runner, but that run course did me no favors either. There are several little rolling hills that took their toll on me and then there’s “Quadzilla”…
The course has it’s problems, but then what course doesnt. I’ll definitely be back this year.
If heat doesn’t bother you… it should be OK. The bike is gentle rolling hills, mostly country roads; the run can be considered pretty tough…some of it is off road (which I like), there is a significant hill on the off road portion (which you do twice), the road part of the run- has no shade and a gentle (but noticeable!) hill. The organizers do a GREAT job with cooling stations (misters on the run, cold water at aid stations). Swim was wetsuit (barely!!!) but don’t count on that every year. Lots of spectators and cheering on the run.
I live in Austin.
Missy Ruthven
There are several little rolling hills that took their toll on me and then there’s “Quadzilla”…
Somehow I decided to race a 1/2 in Maryland called SavageMan instead, and now I’m looking forward to Quadzilla. SavageMan is not a race, it’s an experience.
I prefer racing the “younger” Ironman events like New Orleans and Augusta - and the mean two year old Austin.
I did it this past October as my first 70.3 and had a great time. The race is very well organized and support was great. Keith and crew did a great job. I was told one of the buoys drifted and cut the swim course a little short, but I still believe that i just blazed the swim and cut 5 minutes of my PR. The bike course could have been better; the roads were pretty rough. There were several cracks in the blacktop that were 1"-2" wide. The race officials did their best to mark them, but it was still pretty dangerous if you weren’t paying attention. There were also a couple of big pot holes or speedbump type obstacles at some of the low water crossings. I saw several lost water bottles and people on the side there that i presume hit the so hard they either crashed or had an equipment failure. One of them was at least kind enough to warn me as i was coming up on it. Then there’s the run course… I am by my own admission a pretty bad runner, but that run course did me no favors either. There are several little rolling hills that took their toll on me and then there’s “Quadzilla”…
The course has it’s problems, but then what course doesnt. I’ll definitely be back this year.
I loved this race, and have already signed up for it again this year. Swim was fun and the bike was challenging, but not too hard, and the run is awesome as there were bands almost every mile playing and lots of spectators. Great set-up once you cross the finish line, super family friendly. The roads were somewhat messy in places, but it was due to extreme heat that had caused the roads to crack. It was nothing major though. There was also a great after-party with a Texas BBQ. I suspect this years race will be even better as Keith is one hell of a Race Director and will do whatever he can to improve.
Just watch out for guys chasing you down the hill.
Hiya!!! 
I wanted to do this one as my first half last year, but scheduling forced me to pick a different one. From what i looked into it seemed like a great race for your first one (based on support and spectators).
From our perspective, the biggest challenges were caused by the extreme drought we’re in. The roads, which were beautiful in July, cracked in spots due to the drought. It even caused problems on the dirt portions of the run course, with deep fissures. We bought 4 truckloads of dirt and filled them in by hand. Hopefully, the unique weather circumstances won’t be an issue this year. For the first year of the event, there weren’t any cracks, and the transition area was actually grass:)
I’ve already been in contact with TX D.O.T. about fixing the roads, and it looks good. We’re also contemplating using 290 this year, for the beginning portion of the bike. That eliminates the worst parts of Blake Manor.
The race is Oct 25th this year, which should help considerably with the heat:)
In the end, mother nature always wins. You just deal with what she dishes out:)
We’ve got a bunch of improvements for 2009. Busing and Parking will be better, and we’ve added a Friday Night Dinner at Hill’s Cafe, a PowerBar Recovery Zone, more bands, Athlete Tracking, webcams, and more…
Definitely plan to hit this one up this year since it’s just down the road.
I can only imagine what the bike course would be like if on the west side. Maybe try to incorporate some of Tour das Hugel.
It is encouraging to hear these things about this race. I have signed up for it and it will be my first half IM.
i am signed up for boise right now, but i think life is going to get in the way. if i end up living in austin i will be doing this race for sure.
LOVED IT and am considering doing it again this year!!!
Swim…windy, but good…it was about 200 yds short last year I think though b/c the wind blew the buoy’s around
Bike… rollers with a monster climb at the end, but it is kind of one of those hey, I did it at the end kinda deals…you look at it and ya wanna cry but then it isn’t so bad…just find your gear and go…
Run… part pavement, part xc course. Rolling, but not too bad. XC course is dirt and has “Quadzilla” on it…you do the figure 8 2x.
Transition: grass & dirt so bring a towel.
Only thing I didn’t like was the burritos as post race food… can’t really chew after an effort like that…
I did 5:18 last year and was kinda miffed b/c I didn’t notice I was finishing the run course so soon and had a lot left in the tank… so, possible return to not do that this year!!
Does this race fill up? and by when?
I don’t know, I registered in July I think last year…
KJ can confirm but it definitley fills up before race day.
Thinking it was about 4 weeks out when it sold out last year.
I did the race this year and would give it mixed reviews. Well run and good atmosphere but some significant negatives.
Too much distance between host hotel, race site, and post race party site.
Terrible roads. My first flat in a race.
There were some bugs for sure than can be fixed, including traffic issues on arrival and misleading information regarding the water temperature.
The one thing that can’t be fixed is the extremely limited access to the race site and the distant parking. After you finish the race, it’s quite a hike along the race course to the parking - maybe 1 or 2 miles. Carrying a bunch of crap and pushing your bike or trying to ride thru the throngs of walkers.
If it were me, I would pick a more established race for my first.
heh
the prospect of being annoyed by a 2 mile hike to your car after a half ironman is amusing =)
ARE YOU A HTFU DREAM CRUSHING ATHLETE OR A CHILD?
I’m just teasing.
we’re working on solutions for the trek back to your car after the race. there will be some parking at the park, as we can fence in the run course to avoid cars leaving the park interfering with runners.
We’ll also have a bike drop outside the gates, so you can drop your bike in a secured pen, take the bus to the parking, and then drive and pick up your bike. Working on box trucks to move your bike back to the parking area as well. We do this at Timberman, and it works really well.
If you choose to park at the Expo Center, it’s a little less than a mile to the parking area after the race. But, we’ll have solutions to help with this for the coming year.
Hotels are 10 mins to the park…The Parking plan at the expo center will certainly be fine this year.
Race filled in early July last year.