Check-in protocol/tips for 70.3 StGeorge?

Triathlon Forum
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70.3 St George in 7 days (as of this post), going to be my first time there.

If anyone’s done the race before, any advice on the CHECK-IN process? I’ve done Indian Wells 70.3 with the different T1 and T2 locations, and it was important on that race to have your wetsuit with your bike for the wetsuit decontamination, or else you’d have to drive all the way back and get it. Haven’t heard that mentioned for this race.

I guess my outstanding questions are:

  • Any things easy to forget at the T1 and T2 checkin points? (Like above bike+wetsuit at the same place)
  • Do you have access to your T1 bag at the start of the race? I have a small e-pump I could use to pump my latex tires on race morning if so, I’d just leave it with my T1 stuff.
  • Do you get a chance to do a test swim at the T1 checkin point? I saw on youtube someone doing it 3 years ago, but don’t know if they were near or at actual T1.
  • Any time of day least busy? I was surprised at Indian Wells it was quite busy (long lines) when I arrived early, but my friend arrive in the afternoon for the bike checkin and he said it was not crowded at all.

Thx

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You don’t need to bring your wetsuit at nine and gear check in T1. I don’t think we have access to the T1 bags race morning. Yes you can swim near T1. Drop off isn’t super busy.

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I wrote about this when I did this race for the first time a couple years ago, hopefully it’s helpful: Race Report: 2023 Ironman 70.3 St. George · Given to Tri: A Triathlon Training & Racing Blog

Any things easy to forget at the T1 and T2 checkin points? (Like above bike+wetsuit at the same place)

Not sure what you mean, but you don’t need to bring your wetsuit for bike checkin. Everything else is more or less like a full-distance Ironman: Bring your bike with the stickers and all your bike gear including shoes and helmet in the bike gear bag, rack your bike, leave your bag, collect your timing chip on the way out (unlike a full-distance Ironman, though, you just tie the bike gear bag to your bike, not check it in a separate location).

Do you have access to your T1 bag at the start of the race? I have a small e-pump I could use to pump my latex tires on race morning if so, I’d just leave it with my T1 stuff.

Yes, you do, and you get a morning clothes bag that you hand to a volunteer before heading to the swim, but you won’t be allowed to hand over anything that doesn’t fit in the morning clothes bag. Also, there’s plenty of pumps in transition, I wouldn’t bother bringing my own.

Do you get a chance to do a test swim at the T1 checkin point? I saw on youtube someone doing it 3 years ago, but don’t know if they were near or at actual T1.

There are beaches in Sand Hollow where you can swim in the days before the race, but they’re not that close to the swim start. There’s no warmup swim on race morning.

Any time of day least busy? I was surprised at Indian Wells it was quite busy (long lines) when I arrived early, but my friend arrive in the afternoon for the bike checkin and he said it was not crowded at all.

Can’t say what time of day is least busy, but make sure you leave enough time to drive to Sand Hollow for bike check-in; don’t leave it to the last minute. It’s at least a 30-minute drive from downtown St. George, and it takes longer than the Google Maps or Apple Maps directions say because you don’t go through the normal entrance to Sand Hollow (when you get there, you’ll see signs and arrows that lead you around the reservoir to a back entrance, which adds like 10 minutes to the drive).

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Thanks for that awesome response - it’s EXACTLY what I was looking for!

Going to read your entire race report as well, thanks again!

(I may still bring my pump; there were pumps at Indian Wells but I was completely unable to use one because the lines were too long!)

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As long as I’m plugging my stuff, here’s last year’s race report too:

Probably relevant as well; looks like this year is going to be hotter than 2023 (I was hoping for a repeat of the cool weather, alas), and the course this year looks similar to last year’s (although the bike course is ever so slightly different).

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Are you racing it this year? You’d get to cap off a 3-peat before the race disappears for awhile!

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Sure am! It’s my favorite race, I’m so bummed out it’s going away.

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Thought of another question as I was reading your excellent blog recap - I know you have to drive down to T1 to get your chip and bike, but does that mean you have to drive back to T2 near the finish line to setup your run gear? Or can you just setup your run gear when you pick up your packet, and then just drive to the bike dropoff?

(I’m not even sure why I’m asking as I"m staying at the BW Coral Gables you recommended that’s steps from the finish line…but what the heh!)

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Yeah, I think you can do it in that order. I think that’d be convenient because you can bring your run bag to the athlete village, listen to the briefing, drop the bag at T2 afterwards, and then go back to the hotel to take care of the bike stuff.

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Awesome thanks again for the excellent tips. If StG was not disappearing =(, I’d recommend it to be a sticky for anyone doing the race.

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Are you planning to test the water at T2 before race day? I’ve got OWS where I live, but I do wonder if it would be helpful to just get a feel for the water temp the day before unless it’s annoying to do so.

I did see from gesteves that you probably can’t swim practice right at the T1 bike dropoff, as per above.

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Yeah, I could be wrong, but I never saw anyone swimming exactly at T1, the access to the water was always fenced off. There are a couple of beaches on the south side of the reservoir where I did see people swimming, though, you’ll see them as you’re driving in.

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No but I’ve done this race 6 times, it’s cold. :slight_smile:

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Bummer I wont be there to meet you. I moved my race plans to go do Victoria70.3 instead (orginally planned to do St. George the third time).

In terms of swimming at the race venue, I went there to swim the Thursday before the race. No issues at all from the boat ramp that we enter/exit from. In terms of dropping off gear, I went to drop off “right at the very end of the day” on Friday before the race and it worked out well. I bit of a detour to get to T1/swim start looping around the reservoir, so keep time for that. If I recall correctly bike gear is in a transition bag, but you can put your shoes and sunglasses minimally on your bike on race morning when you pump up tires and install your electronics. I don’t recall if you can leave helmet on bike because if you can, then there is nothing in your T1 bag other than a bag to shove your wetsuit and goggle into after the swim on race day!!!

On race morning I left my rental car two blocks from the shuttle bus pickup but west of 200th St. closer to Bluff Blvd. You don’t want to park too close to Diagonal and get trapped in after the race (I can’t recall where the road closures started close to Diagonal where the run is going on). After parking I was able to walk to the buses and take one of the last shuttles for athletes and make it over with plenty of time for the rolling start and after the race, I was able to drive out, pack my bike and come back in time for the rolldown (I think the awards+rolldown started at 4 pm)

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I figure I might as well piggy back on this thread.

Since we’re only a week out now, any ideas on roughly how cold the water temp is currently? I wouldn’t say I’m exactly comfortable in 60* water, but I can tolerate that in my shorty suit. I find my shorty much easier to get off in T1.

And as for dropping off gear, should I plan on dropping off at T1 or T2 first?

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The website for Sand Hollow State Park has a live conditions section that you can check:

(63° as of today.)

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Thanks! That is " brisk" but I can do that.

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Last year I dropped T1 gear off first and then came back and did T2, but there was no logic to my program other than I was leaving things late and I wanted to make sure I got things done at T1 because worst case I could probably go to T2 and hand my bag to a volunteer to leave at my bike rack location as the bags were at your bike rack spot with your race number, not on a hook in a numbered row.

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OK, thanks. I’m expecting to arrive around 11 Friday morning. Hopefully that will be plenty of time to stage at both transitions and still do the briefing and wander the athlete village.

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There is typically swimming from the small beach just to the south of the T1 access. It has been accessible via the main parking lot.