I qualified for 70.3 in vegas while doing boise this year. I understand that it is very similar to the Silverman course. Anybody that lives out there or has raced out there can you give me an idea of what to expect. (weather, wind, hills, water conditions) Also maybe some ideas for wheels wouldnt hurt
Thank you very much and happy training/racing
Congrats on qualifying. I live here in Henderson. Silverman is a great course. Here is what to expect. Heat, heat and more heat, but it is a dry heat 
Luckily the race will be early, and you should avoid the hottest part of the day. It is a hilly bike course but not as hilly as Silverman. The majority of your climbs are in the first half of the bike out towards Calville Bay on SR 146. They took the 3 sisters out coming back to town and have you going down Lake Mead and Warm Springs Rd instead, which is a false flat but much easier than coming back via old Silverman route. The run is hilly. I don’t think there is much flat on it at all since it loops 4 times, which is great for spectators. You are either going up or down. It will be a nice change from Clearwater that is for sure. The wind should not be an issue that time of year, but you should expect some breeze. Meanwhile train in some heat, get your hydration figured out, and run hills to acclimate for what you are going to have on September 11th. Should be a great race. I will be working the Information Booth/Kiosk so come on by and say hi.
Here is the website for all the details. http://ironmanllv.com/
Thanks for the info. I looked at the website and the course description is generic at best.
My plan is to train in heat and more heat. (I live at the beach in NC) I have heard some people say that it can be windy at times. How true is that?
I will absolutely stop by and say hi! And thanks for the response
It can be windy but usually that is in our spring from late February to the End of April. This year we have had much more wind later than usual. September is usually a pretty calm but hot month for us.
Good update on removing the 3 Sisters. Have been looking at the course map on the www.ironmanlv.com site and couldn’t reconcile it with the Silverman course. Does that mean the whole bike course is on roads (i.e. no bike paths)? Wondering if you could weigh in on the following:
Sorry to be a pest but am coming from Australia and will only have one chance to dial things in.
BTW - coming from the Aussie winter - acclimation is my biggest concern!
All input appreciated - thanks!
You can bike most of the course with little traffic. Alot of it is within the Lake Mead Natl Recreation Area so it’s wide open for you to access. I believe Lake Las Vegas is not open for swimming except for race day. My wife and I have gone there for vacation multiple times and will be going back to watch the race and we have never seen anyone swimming in the lake. The run is all residential within the communitity of Henderson (also a great town) A very nice resort/casino is literally across the street from T2 (Green Valley Ranch Hotel and Casino)
I have biked along the course and be prepared to be challenged. Lots of good climbs but from what I remember the roads are of good quality. I hope you race well and I’m sure you’ll enjoy this venue. It’s awesome. Any more questions feel free to ask. See you there.
Charlie
One more thing. Not sure about wetsuits. I’m not sure about how cold Lake Las Vegas gets during the month of September but 2 months later they did have the Silverman Race at Lake Mead and it was always wetsuit legal.
Charlie
Does that mean the whole bike course is on roads (i.e. no bike paths)?
Yes, it is all on roads.
*- Is the bike course technical? Esp regarding the descents? *
Not particularly. I ride this route often and don’t find it technical, but you will have some climbs and a few fast descents. The roads are great. There is one hill on the way out to the turn-around that has a pretty large “bump” in the road to the left and right side where the pavement meets the wash concrete. Just be cautious going down these hills where you see a wash. Other than that, it is smooth sailing. I have hit these bumps a few times and nothing happened other than loosing a chapstick or light off my bike.
*- Do you expect it to be a wetsuit swim or not? *
I doubt it will be wetsuit legal. September is still our hot month, it does not cool down too much so expect the water to be warm.
*- We will be staying at the Siena Suites in Henderson and am hoping to ride part of the course when we arrive - any parts of the course to avoid (e.g. traffic)? *
We are very fortunate here in Henderson. We have many bike lanes on our roads that will allow you to easily access main streets that lead out to Lake Mead. From where you are staying, you can go south on Boulder Highway towards Warm Springs Rd. The bike lane starts about a mile south of where you are staying, but there should be good shoulder to ride on. Turn left on Warm Springs and follow this around until it meets up with Lake Mead Dr. Turn Left and you will be heading East towards Lake Mead National Park. This is a nice new wide road with generous bike lane. This will take you past Lake Las Vegas and into the National Park. There is a charge to access the park with a bike, once you get past the toll booth, turn left and head towards Calville Bay and bike until you have had your fill, just remember you have to climb all those hills on the way out There is no access to drinking water out there so stay hydrated. You will return the same way in race day, climb out of park onto Lake Mead Dr. then to Warm Springs.
*- Have heard one cannot swim in Lake Las Vegas prior and therefore need to go to Lake Mead? If so, is Boulder Beach the place to swim? *
This is correct. It is a private community. However you can drive into Lake Mead Park about 10 miles from the toll booth on Lake Mead Dr. and you will see Boulder Beach Special Events Beach. Drive down to the water and enjoy. It is a beautiful time of year to swim our lake and you will not be dissapointed. The buoys out there are roughly 110 yards apart. Lake mead is a far better swim than Lake Las Vegas, much clearer.
I will be at the information booth/kiosk for the 70.3 championship from Thurs - Mon. Come by and ask any questions, we are happy to help and glad you are coming to visit.
-BTW - coming from the Aussie winter - acclimation is my biggest concern!
Yes it is still hot here in September so a few days should help. However the race is early so you should avoid the worst heat which is late afternoon. Plus, it is a dry heat!
Have fun and good luck. See you out there
Thanks - REALLY appreciate you making time to respond.
Thanks Charlie!
No 3 sisters? They took out the best part! I hope Silverman returns…hands down, my favorite iron distance race!
They are bringing the 3 sisters and bike path to solar plant back for the ITU World championships in November. Yes I hope Frank can bring Silverman back next year.
I actually chose the ITU World Championships over the 70.3 Worlds for this exact reason. No 3 sisters is like no Hawi in Kona, a defining characteristic for sure!!
I hope frank brings back silverman too! Ironman sanctioned are great for obvious reasons, but I don’t think i ever got beat up as much on a half distance as I did at silverman. Lets keep our fingers crossed…
Anyways, I read today that the average water is 78-82 degrees? Don’t own a skinswim, was wondering if they are worth it (broke college student…) and what everyone else is doing.
Hi all,
Can I add two questions re Vegas 70.3 champs;
Could anyone hazard a guesstimate as to difference in times you could expect from the Clearwater course to the Vegas course, particularly 25-29F for my g/f?
Can anyone suggest / recommend bunch rides for me to join in during the week prior?
Hope the training (and supporting) is coming along well - and hope too many aren’t dealing with the minus 8c degree mornings we are here at the moment.
Cheers
Adrian
Hey Adrian, am also heading there from Oz (Perth). Have done Clearwater the last 2 years and my bike splits were 2:12 and 2:15 - Macca did a version of what will be this year’s bike course in something like 2:30, so I think one can safely say bike times could be heading towards 30 - 60 mins slower than Clearwater, depending on how you go with hills.
Hi, yhanks everyone for the insights. I too am travelling to the middle of the Mojave desert from Perth and pretty much had all the same questions as Mark re: wetsuits, bike course, weather, strip joints…oops sorry you didn’t ask about that! Unlike youthful Mark I am 63 so need all the help I can get so thanks again. I’ll keep an eye on this thread. Oh…one question…anyone any idea of the salinity of the water? I hate sinking in lovely zero t.d.s. water.
What type of gearing would you recommend for my bike? I’m planning on riding 404’s. I’ve got an SRM so putting a compact is probably not happening for the race…is an 11-28 good enough?
Thoughts?
Reply to Mark and others. I’m going off descriptions and the amount of elevation and typically I have been 25-30 min slower than Clearwater on courses with equivalent elevation like Mooseman or Wildflower. I’m not a bad climber at ~4W per kilo. I would imagine that you should plan on the Vegas run course being 5-10 min slower in the heat…also the swim being no wetsuit add 2-3 minutes…so now you’re looking at ~ 40 min slower than Clearwater. We can put aside all the discussion about CW packs as the entire reason for Vegas is to move on from that crap and have a fair championship course.
Really bummed that I won’t be able race on account of still recovering from crashing badly at IM Switzerland, but I am making the trip to Vegas and will be out there watching you guys. I’ll probably go ride the bike course on Friday before the race and provide some feeback for racers. It will be fun to watch the pro race shake out as an advanced 4 week prelude to the hit out in Kona in Oct!
Hey There! I was just in Las Vegas/Henderson for a few days to train on the course.
I did a write up of the bike/run recon here…
http://californiatraining.blogspot.com/2011/08/ironman-vegas-703-world-championships.html
hope this is helpful!
Overall, I loved the course and the entire area. The bike/run will be challenging, but it was not nearly as steep or technical as I had imagined. I think the wind on the day will be the deciding factor on how tough it really is. Rode one day and it was cake. Rode 2 days later and the winds were gnarly!
See you out there!
Beth W.