I am looking for a mid to late summer olympic triathlon that is within a day’s drive of Chicago. I am registered to do Pleasant Prairie already and think I would like to do something other than the Chicago Triathlon, if possible. I was going to do the Lake Geneva Triathlon last year but it got cancelled so I ended up doing the North Shore sprint triathlon. I don’t feel comfortable putting my eggs in that basket this time around if it is offered this year.
Bummer Geneva got canceled. Any reason given? That was a great race.
They said low registration numbers. It used to be an escape series triathlon so I am not sure if it was related to that series getting cancelled or not?
Was it an Escape Series tri? Are you sure you’re not thinking of Lake Geneva in September?
Same race, this year it wasn’t an escape race but it was, I believe, the same weekend.
Holiday Man Triathlon . Saumonauk IL not bad little race , July 30th I think. Life Time MN is good and The door county race is supposed to be well run too. All in late July/ August I believe
Lake Zurich Triathlon on Sunday July 14.
Give Leon’s triathlon a try. It was the ‘North Central Regional Championship’ in 2018 but I’m not sure of its status for 2019. I think they get TV coverage in Chicago as well. https://leonstriathlon.com/
Within a day’s drive? How about Tri Indy? Olympic distance with a couple hundred competitors. The swim is a great venue in the downtown canal. Spectators can walk with their athlete the whole swim. Race takes place in the city center and is a great experience. Race website has not been updated yet, but I am 100% sure it will happen again in 2019. http://www.tuxbro.com/entry-info/TRIINDY/TriIndy-Home.php
Finally, Why not Nationals? Cleveland is a day’s drive easily.
They said low registration numbers. It used to be an escape series triathlon so I am not sure if it was related to that series getting cancelled or not?
The same event management company that was organizing the 2018 race also organized the Escape Lake Geneva and the last couple years of TriRock Lake Geneva. A friend that works for Fontana said the management company had a bunch of unpaid bills from the year before and they wouldn’t issue them a permit. I have no way of verifying if that’s true, but him and I were both signed up for the race! 2 of my 3 races in IL/WI were canceled this year.
Check out Race Day Events in Madison area, as they do 7 or 8 tris throughout the summer around Wisconsin. They are all low key, no frills races but are pretty inexpensive and usually have good competition. Decent food after, and some pretty fun venues.
x2, LZ is a classic.
Lake Zurich is a good one. There’s also one in Wauconda in July that you could try. I haven’t done it but have friends that enjoyed it.
http://www.lakegenevanews.net/...d4-dc8620867ff8.html
Here is an article on the Williams Bay race in September. I was signed up this fall too. I was bummed because those are the roads I ride in the summer.
The Lake Geneva RAM Racing event in June is nice, hilly bike and trail run. The swim is nice because it hugs the shore. If you’re a weak swimmer you are never far from shallow water.
Thank you for that source.
We must not be too far apart from each other. I’m on the NE edge of Rockford and get up there occasionally.
Give Leon’s triathlon a try. It was the ‘North Central Regional Championship’ in 2018 but I’m not sure of its status for 2019. I think they get TV coverage in Chicago as well. https://leonstriathlon.com/
Within a day’s drive? How about Tri Indy? Olympic distance with a couple hundred competitors. The swim is a great venue in the downtown canal. Spectators can walk with their athlete the whole swim. Race takes place in the city center and is a great experience. Race website has not been updated yet, but I am 100% sure it will happen again in 2019. http://www.tuxbro.com/...NDY/TriIndy-Home.php
Finally, Why not Nationals? Cleveland is a day’s drive easily.
Tri Indy is pretty cool, I’d second that suggestion. Muncie has several oly. distance races over the summer but that’s a bit of a haul from Chicago.
Most of these races are a bit earlier than I was thinking (though I am considering doing Lake Zurich). Are there any good options middle of August to end of September that aren’t the Chicago Triathlon?
Thanks you for all of the responses.
Toronto is a one days drive from Chicago. Several great races in the area. Check out Multisport Canada or Trisport Canada. You’ll do well on the $$ exchange.
LZ is one of the later ones these days. BoilerMan down in Lafayette is Sep 20ish and decent.
Here’s an old file I had from someone who tried to lump them all for the same reason.
Wisconsin Triterium (Vernona, WI): https://www.wisconsintriterium.com/
Lots of nice, low key races on the other side of the Cheddar Curtain; https://www.trifind.com/wi.html?year=2019&month=0
.
Out of curiosity, why do you want to do something other than the Chicago Triathlon? I’ve done it the past two years and really enjoyed it.
The Door County tri gets rave reviews up in this area (I live in Madison).