Anybody have any good insight to this race. What the course is like etc.
The swim will be wetsuit in a spring fed lake(RD knows where the springs are)
Bike modified out and back with 8 significant climbs the first right out of t1
They are 1/4 to 1.2mi long and different incline% the shortest is the steepest
and the longest the shallowest. The %grade on the website I think are a little low on some.
stations approx 10mi apart
The run is out and back with 3climbs (not the same as on the bike)stations every mi with the usual
endu gatorade water gels etc
The weather is hot with low humidity so hydration is extremely important
Last year was an exception cool and rainy
Very well run race
Mike
A few observations:
the good:
-race very well run
-has kona slots
-bc of point 2 above, has a SURPRISINGLY strong field of top AG’ers
the bad:
-lubbock is a PIT. A complete PIT. Even teh locals say this. was described to me (by a local) as “lubbock has no good season”
-course is VERY odd- its a pretty canyone, surrounded by cotton fields. For about 1% of the bike you are in the canyone (pretty) for hte rest you are in the cotton fields (very not pretty)
-very windy
-hills are a bit unusual- you go down before you come up (rather than the normal, up then down) becaues you go from the plain, into the canyon, and then back out the plain again
-that part of texas has its own style. im not a fighter or a shouter, but i got into screaming fights wtih about 7 people during registration. if you arent ready for it, texans can be very confrontational and aggressive, over nothing (like having your wife join you in registration line, etc). it made me exhuasted.
net net- i would never go back. The pit that is lubbock does nothing to overcome the course, which is ok.
Clyde_s_dale,
Sorry you had such a bad experience with the folks in Lubbock. While the town tends to be a pit, the folks tend to be quite friendly. I hate to guess, but there is a good chance the folks yelling were not from Lubbock.
This will be my first year to do the 70.3. I’m very excited. I suppose there are more exciting places to take a family to watch a triathlon (Disney World), but this one is in my own backyard.
As far as the course, I always laugh when someone says Lubbock is flat. While it certainly is, the canyons provide for some decent climbs.
If you have any other questions about accommodations or bike shops, I’d be happy to provide any info.
P.S. the worst part about Lubbock is that we are dry. Not just in a drought sense. Must drive out of city limits to buy beer. Hopefully all that will change with the upcoming vote.
x2.
No order in Lubbock… Wild, Wild West.
For instance, no yield sign on roads.
Lot’s of rednex who own “that” particular strip of highway that you are currently riding with your “gay-ass bike”.
You can find many threads about Buffalo Springs. Look under BSLT too. Everyone has a different opinion, but here is mine. Be ready for anything. 100 degree temps and high humidity to 70 degrees and rain. Most of the time, its in the upper range. However, if its going to be a hot year, its gets worse at the day goes on,so try to get off the course quick:)
The race directors, Mike and Marti Greer, put an excellent race year after year,and the talent pool shows it. You don’t show up for the scenery, you show up to race.
There are a block of hotels that are right on the loop and they are all relatively new and you can find them pretty cheap. Just keep checking their sites and hotels.com, etc… if you want to save some coin.
Finally, and this is the most important. Lubbock is dry. Lubbock is dry. No, not the weather, but the alcohol sales. If you want a post race beverage after you leave the finish area( they will have some there), stop on the way back to town or you will have to drive to the strip with sore legs and hobble around the drive through beer barns.
My experience was exactly the opposite. The people were very friendly, and registration was a breeze. We had the added benefit of having probably the coolest race on record for BSLT. The bike was perfect, and I actually enjoyed the scenery quite a bit. We had a good time the day or so before the race, as well as after. I’d go back in a minute, but I doubt I’d get the ideal weather conditions we got in 2007. It’s usually quite warm, and I seem to recall that in 2003 or 2004 it was in the upper 90s. Ooof! That said, it’s a terrific race. I highly recommend it.
As someone who both lived in Texas for seven years and raced Buffalo Springs, I would concur with most of clydesdale’s points about the race itself. I am not a personal fan of Lubbock, but I think the comments about Texans are off base. I’ve never witnessed any screaming matches at a race in Texas and haven’t found the people to be any more “aggressive” than any other place in the country. Pretty broad brush you painted.
The race is very well organized and while I felt the race director (Mike Greer) unnecessarily makes a point of making the race about himself, the volunteers were very friendly and helpful. The swim will be a bit like tepid bathwater, the bike has a few nice climbs (especially right out of transition - be prepared!) and rolling hills but is otherwise nothing too terribly challenging. The run is one of the tougher half ironman runs I’ve done. It’s hot, there is limited/no shade (especially in the five or six mile stretch they call their version of “Energy Lab”) and a couple of the hills are doozies.
I wouldn’t recommend it as a destination half like Vineman or California, but it was a challenging course and a well run race.
+1, what Steve said is right on. BSLT is a tough race…difficult course, challenging weather, and deep AG fields. Marti and Mike put on a great event that is well organized, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
The one piece of advice I’ll give you…pre-ride/drive the bike course!!
My first HIM was BSLT in 2006. Weather was quite good, but warmed up a bit for anyone late on run, dry 80’s i believe.
Bike - 2 steep lil climbs right out of T1, only 1 other near turn around was too steep.
Wind can be a factor given its pancake flat and no tree for most of ride and west texas.
Run - the run hills were long enough to do damage to quads on return. Energy lab section can be a whip when hot.
Great race production, 1st time to see Pro’s in action like Badmann.