which races of half iron distance have the hardest bike course, as far as hills/and climbing-not taking wind/weather into account? ive decided i want to pick courses with tough bikes so i can race more competitively over the weak cyclists/strong runners. i have done california and baja and i am racing IMOO this year as well. so you can compare to cali and baja if that helps, thanks.
Little Smokies 1/2 has to be on this list. Even better, Triple T. If you’re a strong cyclist, I would think you would do well in TTT.
I hear the bike course in Ohio where the DeSoto Triple T is ridden is pretty tough. If you do not want to race the whole weekend, you can do the Little Smokies Half on Sunday. That course certainly kicked my ass.
TripleT
Silverman
St. Croix
IM Lanzarote
I think Silverman has a new 1/2 distance this year?
What rroof said. Except add:
Harriman HIM
American Zofingen ultra Du
Norseman
Savageman
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wildflower and aburn international must be in there somewhere.
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you realise most courses with a tough bike leg…
…often have an equally hard run
That’s what I was thinking too…lol
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I think the new Black Bear near Jim Thorpe PA is a contender the sprint was nasty enough I couldn’t imagine doing that loop twice plus whatever else they had planned
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World’s Toughest Half (Auburn Int’l) 6000 ft climbing (although they claim 5000 on the website) You’re either going up, or going down.
i am thinking about silverman for next year and IM lanzarote sounds great too who doesn’t want to go the spanish canary islands?
Yeah, Auburn was a lot of fun (about 6200ft of climbing according to my Polar and a friend’s Garmin). You gain about ~1000-1200ft more than you lose, so you can’t even pad your bike split. I know that I always have a higher avg speed on a course with some hills due to the fact that I pick up much more speed on the downhill than I lose on the uphill. This course really has no flat portions, a couple false flats but even they’re short. You will definitely not PR unless this is your first half. However, as a first half, Auburn is great mental preparation for other races. Oh, and it’s hot.
I know that I always have a higher avg speed on a course with some hills due to the fact that I pick up much more speed on the downhill than I lose on the uphill.
Do you also ride way harder on hilly courses than flat ones? Because that’s not normally how it works, because of physics, AFAIK.
You’re right, this really shouldn’t happen due to greater wind resistance at the high speeds of descents bleeding from the potential energy you gained by climbing. That’s why you hit a terminal velocity on descents and don’t keep accelerating. Flat course = fast, hilly course = slow.
Re: auburn - I got 5800 ft (Ergomo). Net climb was not fair. Didn’t seem hot this year except a couple of spots on the run (trails in canyons always seem to be at least 10 degrees warmer…) but at least the swim was flat (and short). Great course and you have to love Brad’s attitude. Has to be the toughest half out there.
Dave
Desert 1/2 IM in Osoyoos, BC. You go over Richter Pass (IMC course) turn around and come back over it. It is much tougher coming back. Also, the Pacific Crest 1/2 in Bend, OR and the Grand Columbian 1/2 are not exactly walks in the park either. All of these are much tougher than Wildflower or California.
Dean Wilson
www.anaerobiczone.com
I know that it shouldn’t be the case; that I perform better on hills, but it’s true, and it is a mental as well as physical thing. I can recover on descents so I can power up and over and then save a little on the downhill, and repeat. It is also mental, in that on flats I tend to lose some focus.
I forgot the 6200ft included a little detour during a pre-ride, before the course was marked. So It’s a little less.