Hey everyone, I signed up for the 5430 longcourse last month and I am getting pretty excited. I live in Denver, and I am looking for some feedback from past participants about the quality, and difficulty, of the course. Any thoughts? Also, is there a place in Boulder that will rent wetsuits?
Thanks,
Chris
A great race, solid venue and Barry and crew do a fantastic job. You’ll like it. Bike is rolling, flat and some nice fast downhill sections. Bike course won’t leave your legs trashed. Run is around The Rez and is rolling on packed dirt roads that are well-maintained. Prepare yourself for a HOT, HOT run. It will likely be in the 90s. Get some of your long runs in during mid-day when you can practice in the heat and get used to it. A good lineup of Pros will do the race as a “training event” and it is cool to see them out there.
If you’re in Denver, Bikesource will rent you a wetsuit - might be easier to try one on in Denver/Littleton versus driving to Boulder. You can also likely demo the suit in Denver from Bikesource - hit Bear Creek or Chatfield to try it out in open water. Bike course is pretty flat - one little hill, really, but you can power up it. You do the loop twice. Run is two loops around the Boulder Rez…pretty easy except a little hill at like mile 2ish (and 8ish) but the back half of the loop is flat. Just a LOT of sun, literally no shade, so finish early!!! If you blow your nutrition, the heat really sucks. Else, lots of water/aid (like every 1.5 - 2 miles at most).
Race overall quality is excellent.
Wetsuit rentals are, indeed, available from Bike Source in Denver, as well as Bicycle Village in Aurora (alos, Fleet Feet in Boulder, and Adrenaline Tri Sport in Niwot). The desciptions of the race are right on - nice one loop swim, prett y fast rolling hills 2-loop bike, and HOT, exposed 2-loop run with a few small rollers, and probably 70% on gravel and dirt road or trail. Glad you’ll be joining us (and feel free to email me offline with any other questions).
Thanks for the comments everyone! I’ll definitely check out bike source for the wetsuit rental, and I’m gonna try and make it up to Boulder sometime soon and ride the course. See you guys there.
Chris