Best Triathlon by state

Triathlon Forum
1

Noticed the post about Timberman as best race. I concur, although I better hurry up and sign up now before the notoriety makes it sell out faster. I though it would be interesting to develop a list of the best race in every state. My criteria:

Size: Should be one of the larger races, but being the biggest does not mean best. Overgrown races like Chicago and St. Anthony’s lose some lustre due to logistics of so many people.

Quality of field: Should get the best racers in the area.

Course: Obviously, safe and scenic help.

Enough with the criteria. A great race is like obscenity, I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it. I am getting this started with my knack of the woods, the Northeast. Please add to the list or challenge my findings.

Maine: Lobsterman. No contest. A great race by any standard. Challenging course, tough competition, a lobsterbake afterwards and only $60, a real bargain these days. Probably the best race I did last year.

New Hampshire: Timberman. Voted best race in USA, 'nuff said.

Vermont: Great Fairlee. Just short of Olympic. Great “natural course”, the run is one lap around the lake, the bike has a great climb (Thetford hill). BBQ after. Price performer, was $55 (up to $65 this year, it will sell out)

New York: Tupper Lake Tinman. 20 years and still rolling. Sorry NYC tri, but $125 for an Olympic is too much, and swimming in the Hudson (which I would not even do upstate) doesn’t appeal to me.

Massachusetts: Hyannis Sprint I. The season opener, always a sellout (850 entries). Usually competitive at the front, but less so last few years. I doesn’t feel right voting for a Sprint, but MA. does not have any standout races IMO. Monster, is too expensive for a Sprint ($100), swimming in Boston Harbor? and until last year required like $500 in fundraising to enter, so not really a true race.

2

Colorado: Boulder Peak. Almost oly (the bike is 42K), large field (about 15-1600), very well organized, large pro field (Deboom, Stoltz, Bowden, Lessing, etc.), tough hill on the bike. Great race!

Don

3

California: Should probably break up the state by SoCa vs. NoCa - but WildFlower has got to be the best in the Golden State.

WildFlower is just… nutty. 4 hour drive from most civilized areas; Over-crowded camping; cold showers; overflowing port-a-potties; Fri nite naked men run; mile 4 naked girls; insane bike ride followed by a truly insane run.

Best time anywhere!

4

i was also going to say boulder peak…very challenging race. lessing broke the record this last august…if i remember right he was only the second person to ever break an hour on the bike…there is a killer climb, short but brutal. very strong field in all age groups. fun to see alot of the big pro’s too.

luke

5

Minnesota: Timberman. Beautiful course, nice resort (Sugar Lake Lodge, just south of Grand Rapids), clean water, no cars, gravel road run. Sure, Lifetime Fitness draws the best in the world, but the water is gross, the air sucks, its short, and, regardless of its park swim-start, the setting is still the middle of an urban area.

Iowa: Pigman Half. Warm (too warm) water, rolling hills on the bike, and a sauna of a run course. A great all around race.

Wisconsin: NOT the Dairyland. Swimming in Lake Michigan was fun, but the rest of the race was poorly organized. It was a first year race last year; maybe it’ll get better.

6

In MA check out the Greenfield Tri in Greenfield, MA. Great little local race on a challenging track. Well rn and great family post rce buffet and park location!

7

New York: the SOS, I don’t know how many years and still going. Still one of the last unique races; 1 bike, 3 swims, 4 runs, the last run up the stone steps!

8

gonna second lobsterman for maine. good location(five miles from my house…), too. on the smaller scale, the me. state tri was run really well. i think i view every maine race aside from west kennebunk favorably…

darrell

9

Iowa: Pigman Half. Warm (too warm) water, rolling hills on the bike, and a sauna of a run course. A great all around race.

Amen, this race was great, if a little warm, last year. BTW, the water is probably warm because it gets run through the nuclear power plant down the road. :slight_smile:

10

Great topic. This deserves a bump to the top. Keep going people. what about WI or IN? Others?

11

Florida:

There are a lot of tris in Florida, and one couldn’t possibly do justice to them by picking one as the best, but for my money, the best sprint distance race in Florida is the Santa Rosa Island Tri on Pensacola Beach.

Size: Should be one of the larger races, but being the biggest does not mean best. Overgrown races like Chicago and St. Anthony’s lose some lustre due to logistics of so many people. (SRI is starting to get a little too large–1,200 last year compared to 600 my first year.)

Quality of field: Should get the best racers in the area. (Great age group participation from LA, MS, AL, FL, TN, & GA, but some also from all over the rest of the U.S… Last year, I improved my time by 6:00 over two years ago, but went from 12th to 15th in my age group. Occasional big name pros (Michellie Jones) but usually "entry-level pros only.)

Course: Obviously, safe and scenic help. (Fast, flat, out & back bike course on closed beach road. Good lifeguard/rescue support on the swim. As far as scenic, go to www.sritri.org and check out the photo gallery. If you like white sand, aqua-green water, and blue sky, you’ll like this race.)

Other pros: Cheap, great pre- and post-race events, good transition area security and race control, ususally good weather, alternate swim course in sheltered water.

Cons: Can be windy, can have problems due to hurricanes, seeding of age groups.

12

Bri, are you doing Abitaman #2 in early April? Last year, it turned out to be a smaller version or SRI run from the Navarre Beach end of the island. Very well run and lots of fun even if the water was a bit chilly.

I just wish someone would get an Oly distance tri going in the area again, and that stretch of road through the national seashore would be a perfect bike course.

13

Texas: Buffalo Springs Lake Half Ironman - Lubbock, Tx

What a hell-hole of a race. Warm, murky water. Hills and more hills on the bike. Hills, hills, and more hills on the run. Scenery? Well, I liken it to a nuclear wasteland. There is an “Energy Lab II” (got it’s name because it passes a huge power plant) on the run. Lots of wind. Did I mention the HEAT? It’s going to be pusing 100F on the run, almost every year (hey, it’s a dry heat). The field is normally very strong.

Take your best half IM time and add 30 minutes.

Like I said. It’s a hell-hole of a race.

That’s why it’s awesome!

-TxDude

14

California: Should probably break up the state by SoCa vs. NoCa - but WildFlower has got to be the best in the Golden State.<<

No way! I’d cast my vote from Half Vineman. Though I do agree–need to split NorCal and SoCal.

clm

15

great topic…

NoCal and SoCal split applied forthwith…and we can leave Wildflower out, since it’s Dead Central nowhere and widely known/loved.

My SoCal votes are Ralph’s 1/2IM (Oceanside) and City of Los Angeles (Oly), which are both spectacular settings/races…but I’ve never done Santa Barbara, which every one says is great.

16

Missouri:

Sprint-Race for sight

1/4 ironman: UltraMax 1/4

1/2 Ironman : Ultra Max 1/2

Full IM : UltraMax
.

17

Kansas-

I’ll let you know this Summer. We have a brand new event called the Midwest meltdown. It’s a sprint or half in which part of the bike and run course take place on the track at the new Kansas speedway NASCAR track. The transition area for the bike to run is in the pit area.

18

Yes–I didn’t do it last year because I didn’t have a wetsuit. I wish they would start it a little later, though. 7:00 a.m. is still a little dark to be getting in the water. See you there and good luck!

Brian

19

TEXAS is too big to just have one listed:

Buffalo is great but the Woolman Olympic is a great race. Unique swim venue, fast bike course, and a run on the “dirt road from hell”. All during a hot Texas August summer.

20

Texas: Y100 Boerne Triathlon…great swim, point to point run, followed by a nice bike through the hill country. Switching the bike and run keeps it interesting, and the post race party is a good one. Put on by Roger Soler Sports.

Louisiana: River Cities Triathlon…great course, awesome packet, great post race party. Put on by Matt Brown at Sportspectrum.