I am getting ready to sign up for my first half IM and have decided between Augusta or Lake Stevens, I’d love input from others who have done these races. Thanks!
I can’t comment on Lake Stevens, but I can tell you the following about Augusta:
Pros:
The down-current swim helps you a lot if you’re a weak swimmer.The road conditions are very nice and the bike course is rolling and fairly fast…no massive climbs.The run course is flat and there’s a ton of spectator support throughout most of it.Cons:
The down-current swim doesn’t help you as much if you’re a strong swimmer.If you’re a decent cyclist with a late wave start you’ll be navigating through slower cyclists (who often ride 2-3 wide for no apparent reason) for the whole 56 miles. The logistics are a bit of a challenge. You park near the finish line, take a bus to transition, walk or take a bus 1.2 miles to the swim start, wait for your wave, race to the finish line which is a few miles from Transition, and then figure out how to retrieve your bike and get it to your car while runners are still on course and lots of roads are closed. This can be made easier if you have family/friends there to assist with all of this. If you’re there alone, just stay patient about all of it and it will be fine.
That’s about all I can think of. Overall, I really enjoyed this race and will do it again next year.
What criteria are you looking for? This might help in the feedback process. I don’t know anything about Lake Stevens, but in just looking at the race page, the venues couldn’t be more different it appears.
I am from Minnesota so I am trying to make a trip out of the race as well. Try and make the wife happy so I can race the IM 
I am looking for a race that isn’t terribly difficult since I have never done a 70.3 before, a race that has a lot of good scenery, good crowd support. Im not terribly concerned about the number of racers or anything like that.
Thanks everyone!
I am from Minnesota so I am trying to make a trip out of the race as well. Try and make the wife happy so I can race the IM
I am looking for a race that isn’t terribly difficult since I have never done a 70.3 before, a race that has a lot of good scenery, good crowd support. Im not terribly concerned about the number of racers or anything like that.
Thanks everyone!
Based on these 2 items alone I’d say pick Lake Stevens. There is nothing about Augusta that I’d take a trip with family for. It’s a fine city, but definitely not a destination location unless you are going to see the Masters. It’s a good/fun race with wonky logistics and there just isn’t that much to do there.
Lake stevens I would not call an ‘easy’ race. The swim is easy becaus of the underwater buoy rope so no sighting needed
However, for wife reasons, stay in Seattle, the weather is great that time of year… See the sights do some shopping etc
So I’d say suck it up and train for the race and make the wife happy
I can’t comment on Augusta, but I had a great experience at Lake Stevens. It is close to Seattle, but I would recommend staying in Everett (10-15min from the lake) the night before the race. Race day logistics are great and it is extremely easy for racers and spectators to get around, due to the single transition area. As mentioned the swim is nice due to the buoy line, the bike is certainly a bit hilly (no insane climbs, just constantly rolling), and the run is two figure 8 loops. You essentially pass the main spectator area 4 times on the run, which is pretty cool. The best thing about this race is probably the weather in the Northwest in August. It is pretty much guaranteed to be amazing. Like 55deg swim start, 75deg high with no humidity. Coupled with the fact that there is a million things to see/do in Seattle, I would highly recommend this race.
I too was planning on doing Augusta. But now seeing this thread, I am really going to consider Lake Stevens. Especially if people think it is that great of a race. Plus a huge pet peeve for me is crappy race logistics.
Bonus, coming from Colorado, Washington is an hour behind as opposed to 2 hours ahead like Augusta. That means more sleep!
Looking at the pictures the Lake Stevens race looks amazing, Augusta just seems a little easier. Being my first 70.3 I was leaning towards Augusta, but it also doesn’t seem like Lake Stevens seems overly difficult.
Can’t comment on Lake Stevens. Did Augusta once. Very well run, enjoy the spectators on the run and absolutely no issues with race logistics. You can either walk a mile or drive to T1. No big deal. Augusta is not a destination city and there is little for the family to do. Both my wife and I prefer Beach2Battleship because we love Wilmington, but not a WTC event.
Looking at the pictures the Lake Stevens race looks amazing, Augusta just seems a little easier. Being my first 70.3 I was leaning towards Augusta, but it also doesn’t seem like Lake Stevens seems overly difficult.
Lake Stevens is a VERY challenging bike course. 3400-3700’ of elevation change and VERY LITTLE flat over the 56 miles. If you aren’t climbing, you are flying down a hill and then right back to climbing. That being said it is a nice race that isn’t over crowded.
I, my wife, brother-in-law, and brother all did it last year. Loved it. As others have mentioned, sight rope during the swim, wave swim start, transition areas in the same spot, figure 8s on the run (great crowd support!), and the scenery is awesome.
True, it is a hilly course, but nothing a 12-28 or 50-34 (or triple) couldn’t overcome. My 28 year old wife used her mom’s triple, having ridden ONCE for training (lost interest as she is solely a runner), and didn’t have a problem with the hills. The run course really isn’t that hilly either, so the combination of the two shouldn’t hurt too bad.
We stayed off the freeway in Everett. Would definitely do it the same way again. (We also live in Spokane, so we are extremely familiar with Seattle - I would not recommend staying down there. Vacation? Absolutely. Not for a race up near Everett though).
Lake Stevens was a great 70.3 experience for me and my wife this past summer. Like other posters, we stayed in Everett - a close 20 minute drive to the race (on race morning!) and close enough to Seattle as well.
I am getting ready to sign up for my first half IM and have decided between Augusta or Lake Stevens, I’d love input from others who have done these races. Thanks!
I actually have done both of these races. If you are looking for easy, then Augusta is the hands down choice. The cable at Lake Stevens is no match for the downstream, current-assisted swim at Augusta…and I confess it took me about 600 yards before I found that cable – then I actually started running into buoys because you never had to look up once you had it in sight. Still, Augusta is much, much faster. You could practically float on your back to a faster time than you will get at Lake Stevens.
The bike at Lake Stevens is much more scenic than Augusta, but is vastly more difficult, especially the last 20 miles. I used an 11-28 with a compact crank and was glad I had it. What I didn’t like about the hills at Lake Stevens is there are several that come to a T intersection so you had to bleed off a lot of speed unless you wanted to fly off the road (as some folks do). Augusta’s bike leg starts out flat, then hits some rollers, but nothing remotely as hilly as Lake Stevens.
The run at Lake Stevens has some minor hills, but compared to Augusta it might as well be in the Alps. Augusta’s run is flatter than flat. And since it runs back and forth on just a few streets, spectators downtown can watch you pass on one street, walk one block over, watch you pass again…wait for you to come back the other side of the median…see you again; then walk another block over and see you again. At Lake Stevens there is a hot corner where the two run loops (you do each twice…one is an actual loop and the other is an out and back on the same road) intersect and folks can see you several times but not nearly as spectator friendly as Augusta.
I really enjoyed Lake Stevens but it is dinky community with a Subway, a Grocery Store, and a small cafe…and that’s about it. While you are biking during the race there really isn’t much for your wife to do. Augusta has Lake Stevens beat for day of race spectators. But Seattle has Augusta beat for things to do before or after the race if you are making a vacation of it.
So there ya go. Good reasons to do both.
I live in Atlanta and have raced Augusta 2x and as far as a great place to take your wife, this is not it. Augusta itself is not that thrilling and not much to explore. I have done many 70.3s as vacations and always tried to have my wife enjoy it while I suffer. Raleigh was a great city for a family race, we had a great time in Boise, Cancun was fun but alas no more, Chattanooga is a great destination for a race, even Austin was fun but roads stunk. Augusta would not be tops on my list. She came this year with my 4 year old and they had fun, but you can do better for your wife.
I live in the Seattle area and relatives near Augusta. I have done both Augusta 1x Lake Stevens 3x. Huffnpuff summed up the courses pretty well. Lakes stevens bike is not easy, but in Augusta I had Brutal temps / humidity you will not find out here. I too know the importance of keeping the misses happy and can say without a doubt if thats the major factor come to Seatown. Stay in Everett the night before the race though. I am curious as to why you narrowed it to these two. THere are many others closer that seem like they would be good, fun races with stuff for the misses to do as well. Mount T. for example. Haven’t done it but would love to.
Are you selecting these two races based on late summer schedule? If you are open to alts and want to make a vacation trip out of it then consider Hawaii 70.3 or Victoria 70.3. Hawaii is non-wetsuit and the wind and heat can make it more difficult than the course stats appear to be. Great vacation spot! Victoria is also a great place to visit and the course Is fast.