I signed up for the Longhorn 70.3 in Oct, and despite having technically lived in South TX now for a year, I have only actually been in the country for about 3.5 months of that. So in that time, I have yet to make the trip from Corpus up to Austin. Does anyone have any insight on the best place to stay, things to do, status of the course, etc for the race weekend? I have a lot of underway time this summer on my ship, and I have the feeling the race is going to be painful, so I might as well have fun the rest of the time. 
How about a few details on what you are looking to do, how long will your stay be (just the weekend?), do you care how close you are to the course, etc.? Plenty of great places to do and things to see in Austin…
sorry to hijack…but quick question about Longhorn. What are the odds that the water is too warm to be wet-suit legal? do you think this race will fill up?
Austin is a fun town and Longhorn is a great race! I stayed downtown, so lots of fun bars & great restaurants in that area. Also, check out the huge swarm of bats as they make their flight every evening. Plus there’s Lance’s bike shop, the State Capital, and lots more.
And about the water Temp… Last year it was of course too warm to wear a wetsuit. Apparently they had big heat wave the few weeks leading up to the race and the water was warmer for Longhorn than it was for the dog days of summer. Sounds like chances are pretty good that it will be a non-wetsuit swim… but you never know.
Will it sell out? I’d say the chances of that are highly likely.
things to do
Off the top of my head I would say… Eat lots of delicious mexican food. Eat lots of delicious bbq. Eat at the crepe stand. Go to the Alamo Drafthouse for “Master Pancake Theater”. Swim at barton springs. Go to the LBJ presidential library. Go to one or many of the 100 bars on sixth street. Also, I hear that on occasion there is some live music to check out.
sorry to hijack…but quick question about Longhorn. What are the odds that the water is too warm to be wet-suit legal? do you think this race will fill up?
I can almost guaranty it will **NOT **be wet-suit legal. The water temperature was in the low to mid 80’s last year.
The expo/athletes village is going to be right downtown, at the Sheraton Austin. I’d recommend staying there. We’ll have a Champions of Triathlon dinner friday evening, and a bunch of great activities throughout the weekend. We’re close to announcing a bunch of major additions.
Bike course may actually IMPROVE over last year. Just got tentative approval to eliminate the first 8 miles on 290, and use a rural, beautiful road, instead. Just repaved too:)
Working on a pancake breakfast sat am for everyone, right downtown too.
There are more than 1200 registered right now, so I’m sure it’ll sell out.
As for wetsuits, I’d say 30/70 they’ll be allowed. I think it’s 70/30 the water will be under the 82 degree mark that allows for wetsuits if you’re not eligible for awards. All depends on what September brings for weather.
Last year, the week of the race was mid to upper 90’s. The water temp actually went up from 79 to 82 race week…
Keith:
What will be the entry limit for Longhorn?
BTW: met John Lewis (cabin mate) this past week at Texas Iron Camp in Kerville.
Said he did all the signs for you. Didn’t realize he was a sponsor until I looked at Tech Shirt from Lone Star.
fal7 in Kingwood.
2200 is the limit.
John Lewis is a great guy! He’s doing all the new signage for Lone Star right now:)