I’m thinking of moving to Albuquerque from Canada and would like to know about the tri training and racing in that area. Also, what area of town is best suited for training as it pertains to swimming and running. Are there any good tri clubs and training groups.
I live on the NE side near Tramway. There are fantastic trails for running, especially if you like running uphill. The cycling is pretty good as well, check out http://www.nmts.org/ for some great maps.
You can find out the local scene at these sites below; From what I gather training groups are pretty small but plenty, lots of local sprints if your willing to drive a few hours too.
http://www.trisportcoaching.com/page/page/1404212.htm
http://www.transitiontimes.com/localnews.cfm?local=newmexico
Most of the races are in the southern part of the state; they can be 2-4 hours from Albuquerque. A lot of the triathletes seem to be seen around UNM. There are some very serious (i.e. world class) runners who train in the city, maybe in the northwest. The city really isn’t that big; I’d certainly pick where I wanted to live based on other factors than triathlon. If you do any cimbing or kaying, I can point you to some groups of nice people.
Has a bit of altitude, sort of a poor mans Boulder. Not saying that in a bad way, but has the same features as Boulder, just not the high end realestate (yet). One of my friends is from there and liked the scene pretty well. I think it is one of the undiscovered up and coming mountain west towns.
Thanks for all the responses. My wife & I will be in Alb July 4th-11th to look at the area for possible relocation. I would like to swim/bike/run with a group, if possible while we are there. Not sure whether to bring my bike or just rent one for a few days. Cost to bring is around $150Cnd plus the hassle. May not be able to get a good quality bike to rent. Any suggestions? Will be staying at the Crossland on Ellison St NE, hope that’s not in a bad part of town.
There is a ton of great running and cycling in ABQ but there is a serious lack of bodies of water. As mentioned the tri scene is small but I met a lot of great people while living there (I was on the UNM tri team). I recommend riding on the bike trail allong the river and back in the mountains east of the city. As already mentioned the running in the foothills is awesome as is the running around the UNM campus and Albuquerque Academy.
As far as the bike goes I would check with the Sportz Outdoor and Albuquerque Bicycle Center.
Ellison isn’t a bad part of town I used to live very near where your staying if you have any other questios feel free to PM me.