Can anyone tell me about this race? I read today where they have changed the course to a two lap ride. To what IM races would you compare the hills?
I’m signed up for June and not sure of the area.
Ride is fairly flat. Midwest rolling hills. I would compare to IM Wisconsin. Could be windy, the wind will probably help more than hurt though due to course layout.
Run is a little tougher, but not bad.
Marcel Vifian went 3:57 last year for example, so it’s not super tough.
Nice swim, nice venue, great race direction.
where did you read about a change to a 2 lap course?
I did it last year. The ride is mostly flat with some VERY short but kinda steep climbs pretty close to the transition area. Nothing too bad, and nothing you would have to get out of your bars for if you are a spinner.
Just wear appropriate shoes. The run is mostly unpaved and I made the mistake of wearing thin racing shoes. I felt every rock and sharp stick on the course. The run is hillier than the bike.
Beautiful lake and the race director is a top notch guy. Excellent organization. The whole staff and volunteers are just stellar.l
I received an e-mail from UltraMax Events indicated the new route would soon be available on the website.
I have done IMMOO, so thank you. It is pretty much the same as southwestern Indiana where I train.
Here’s Andrea Fisher’s race report from last year…
http://xtri.com/article.asp?id=%20%20%20%20%20%201220
Big crew from Austin going this year…
And don’t be confused by the race title. The race is actually about an hour outside of St. Louis.
I’ll be there, too. Mainly because the run is supposed to be a killer and I need some hill training for IMWIS (can’t get any of that in central IL!). I think it’ll be a good race, and the change to two-loops on the bike will be nice. I wonder if that is going to flatten the bike course? I hope not. Can anyone comment on how hard the run actually is?
-Colin
The run is harder than most other courses (IMWI included), but it is not that hard - sort of like a hill day run w/ continuous up/down w/o any real flat stretches. There is nothing too steep or too long, and the run course does have nice shade. I’d recommend some hill repeats on whatever you can find b/f you show up for the race.
BTW, if the bike goes back to 2 loops (like it was the 1st year) I’ve heard it is b/c a stretch of road was newly paved and they want to add that in - should be a plus.