Hi Everyone,
For a few years I have been going to Europe (Lanzarote) for a 1-2 weeks training camp in the spring.
Why do the trip all the way to Europe?
IME, the organization, the infrastructure, the coaches, accommodation, facilities etc are just top notch and all that at reasonable cost. I have not found anything that comes even close in the US. No hotels seem to cater to that clientele in the US. And training camps seem to be much shorter (many are only 4 days).
I had plans to go to Europe again in 2022 but with Omikron raging in Spain I decided to (again) not go and instead do my own camp somewhere in the US. But where do I go?
I am trying to decide on a location that best replicates the “European experience†here in North America. I would do a “self-organized†camp but again, where do I go? Where do I have warm weather with the right facilities, roads with limited traffic, pool accessible and close by?
Who can recommend an area that would be suitable?
I started to look at South Florida, Arizona, SoCal. What can you recommend that meets that list?
Stay can be hotel or AirBnB.
P.S. I am really surprised that there don’t seem to be a market for this in the US.
There’s probably a lot higher percentage of European triathletes serious enough to want to do a 1+ wk camp who also are able to use that much vacation to do it. Anyway, I think it’d be hard to beat Tucson for a self supported camp, but I’m not well versed on the options available in CA.
don’t have much to add except that i’m also suprised at the lack of ‘la santa’-style places in north america. i guess the point is well-taken that americans just don’t have any holiday time. but ‘training hotels’ are a great idea even for those pressed for time - you can pitch up at a place with nothing but some clothes and get a bike, coaching, massage, races, group workouts, whatever. seems perfect to me!
i’ve done a great week in mallorca some years back and may do la santa once the world settles down, my kids are a year or two older, and i’m planning an ironman push. meanwhile we might do a sport hotel in austria or something.
Have you looked at other locations in Europe? 9 years ago I went to Playitas on Fuerteventura to do my own trekking camp, and I’d highly recommend it. I’d love to do it again, even on my own.
I’m also surprised there’s not more facilities here. I guess it just goes to lifestyle choice, ease of travel etc within Europe.
You could also look at Las Vegas/Henderson. Tons of Airbnb type options, great pool in Henderson, Red Rock Canyon and Lake Mead etc.
The situation in Fuerte is the same as in Lanzarote. In fact you can technically travel right now but there is a risk that the lockdown will come back or I am sent to quarantine or whatever. E.g. Germany just put Spain on the “high risk†list. I just don’t want to go the risk.
But thanks for the LV / Henderson tip. Weather is good (warm)in February / March?
Mick
Have you looked at other locations in Europe? 9 years ago I went to Playitas on Fuerteventura to do my own trekking camp, and I’d highly recommend it. I’d love to do it again, even on my own.
I’m also surprised there’s not more facilities here. I guess it just goes to lifestyle choice, ease of travel etc within Europe.
You could also look at Las Vegas/Henderson. Tons of Airbnb type options, great pool in Henderson, Red Rock Canyon and Lake Mead etc.
I am a little unsure if you are looking for a camp in the US to sign up for or want to do your own, but do know 80/20 endurance is putting a few camps throughout the year.
Hi Everyone,
For a few years I have been going to Europe (Lanzarote) for a 1-2 weeks training camp in the spring.
Why do the trip all the way to Europe?
IME, the organization, the infrastructure, the coaches, accommodation, facilities etc are just top notch and all that at reasonable cost. I have not found anything that comes even close in the US. No hotels seem to cater to that clientele in the US. And training camps seem to be much shorter (many are only 4 days).
I had plans to go to Europe again in 2022 but with Omikron raging in Spain I decided to (again) not go and instead do my own camp somewhere in the US. But where do I go?
I am trying to decide on a location that best replicates the “European experience†here in North America. I would do a “self-organized†camp but again, where do I go? Where do I have warm weather with the right facilities, roads with limited traffic, pool accessible and close by?
Who can recommend an area that would be suitable?
I started to look at South Florida, Arizona, SoCal. What else can you recommend that meets that list?
Stay can be hotel or AirBnB.
P.S. I am really surprised that there don’t seem to be a market for this in the US.
Your input is appreciated.
Mick
I’d go to the National Triathlon Training Center (NTTC) in Clermont, FL. This is in central FL about 25 min from Orlando. They have a 50 m by 25 yd pool plus a large gym. There are lots of hills around this area for your cycling pleasure. Clermont is the home of “The Great Floridian”, an independent iron distance race.
Weather is pretty mild in Feb/March, but honestly Florida is going to be better. I forgot about the training center there. Of course, no hills or casinos
If you want to come to Tucson I can help you set it all up.
I’ve run camps for my athletes and for some other teams/coaches over the past few years. Can help with as much or as little as you want. Some want the full on help some coaches want only behind the scenes help.
I think the lack of this market in the US versus Europe has to do with the relative amounts of vacation time and typical working hours. I’m in the US, and in my early 40’s, and I’ve never had more than 4 weeks of time off available per year. When I was younger (and no kids/wife/family commitments!) I only had 2-3 weeks of vacation, and I money would have probably been too tight. Friends that have moved to Europe or the middle east all had 5-6 weeks of vacation to start. If I had 5+ weeks, I’d be much more likely to consider investing a week or two into a training camp. I think I’m a pretty typical American example. To support a robust training camp market, you probably need a significant number of people with both the time and the money to take up such a service.
Brian,
Thanks a lot for your offer.
I ended up finding a monthly rental on the east Coast of Florida at a decent price (whole house for <$3,000).
Tucson AirBnB tend to run a lot higher.
Now I have several pools around, the closest <1 mile away.
A1A and other routes for cycling and a lively running community.
Will take off from work for 10 days where I can completely focus on training and will do remote work for the rest of the time.
The way the setup is I wouldn’t need a car as everything is in walking / cycling distance. As I live on the East Coast however I will drive down (14 hrs+ eww) bit that way I have the plus of not having to skimp on what I am taking as I will also need to take a computer / remote office setup.
I still hope I will make it out to Tucson at some point, probably post pandemic when one can not only get a rental car but when also the prices have come down / have normalized.
Thanks to the others making some interesting proposals.
Still an interesting discussion about the non-existence of any training facilities like they are so common in Europe and mainly on the Balears and Canary Islands. Maybe I should make it into another thread to discuss it further. But certainly the limited vacation times that Americans have compared to Europeans with their 6 weeks+ pto (paid time off) play a big role in this. But maybe it also is a market that is still untapped in the US. After all there are plenty of Americans making the long trip to Fuerteventura , Lanzarote, Mallorca, etc for Tri or cycling camps every year. And I have also noticed that the 50 meter hotel pools are very popular with swim teams from all over Europe coming down for their winter/spring training. Teams from Norway, Sweden including national teams.
Cheers, Mick
If you want to come to Tucson I can help you set it all up.
I’ve run camps for my athletes and for some other teams/coaches over the past few years. Can help with as much or as little as you want. Some want the full on help some coaches want only behind the scenes help.
Two additional thoughts I had after looking at some of the Spanish island camps.
Until recently, it seemed like it was fairly easy to find flights from the US → Spain where you could bring your bike for free but most intra US flights could easily tack on an extra $100-400 per person in luggage fees for bringing your bike.
The costs, all in, are pretty similar it seems (I haven’t done a ton of research on the US camps, but they generally seem more expensive than the Spain ones) even counting airfare (point #1 helped there) and training in Mallorca sounds way more exotic than Malibu even if they’re more comparable than not. Plus there’s the benefit of tacking on some additional Europe travel if you want. Can be useful if you have a partner that doesn’t cycle but wants to join the trip.
I lived in Europe five years, was fortunate to get a few trips to Playitas in, and then disappointing not to have anything similar when I moved back to the US. I’ve always had my eye club med, but never pulled the trigger. When I do get vacation, I tend to want to use that time for more cycling. I do have a weekend planned at Hotel Domestic this spring, so looking forward to checking that out. https://hoteldomestique.com
Heard about it. Would just need a 50 m pool and he could find more triathletes to book.
BUT compared to the Playitas or many of the Mallorca hotels the prices are reallly high.
I lived in Europe five years, was fortunate to get a few trips to Playitas in, and then disappointing not to have anything similar when I moved back to the US. I’ve always had my eye club med, but never pulled the trigger. When I do get vacation, I tend to want to use that time for more cycling. I do have a weekend planned at Hotel Domestic this spring, so looking forward to checking that out. https://hoteldomestique.com
Hey thanks for the link to 8020 endurance.
I was looking for something longer than the four days that I could find US camps tending to offer. 4 days is not really a training camp in my eyes. So I had kind of given up on finding a camp in the US and focused on finding a Playitas style hotel that would cater to triathletes but would do my own training without coach.
The subject line should probably be changed to better reflect what I was looking for.
I am a little unsure if you are looking for a camp in the US to sign up for or want to do your own, but do know 80/20 endurance is putting a few camps throughout the year.
