Saw the other post so thought might be time to post.
Who doing it this year on ST ? I am.
Who did it before and what is the course like?
My first time doing Philly. Think I am going to do the run next week and week after.
Anyone going to Gino’s or Pat’s for a cheesesteak and cheese fries after? LOL
I am doing it, First time also
.
I’m doing it again this year. The swim is with the slow current from the Drexel (I think) boathouse to transition. You end up taking a bus from transition to the swim start, which I guess is kinda cool. The two loop bike course is decent, in my opinion. Others may tend to disagree, but I kinda liked it due to it being completely closed off to traffic. Some random hills tossed in here and there, but nothing to be all that concerned about. The run is very basic, as it is just up and down MLK (West River). The expo is AWESOME - best expo I have ever been to. The race pulls a lot of sponsors as well as spectators for the course, so get excited for that. Overall, I think it is a pretty cool event. If you are doing the olympic and are free on Saturday, sign up to volunteer at the sprint and get an idea as to the atmosphere.
I did it a few years ago.
Don’t think about what’s in the river, just swim. And for the love of God, don’t swallow any of that water. The bike course is hilly and twisty through the park but fast and flat on MLK. The run course is pretty flat.
The swim is great. The river’s not *that *dirty. Wetsuit legal and fast. It’s a good race.
Don’t bother driving in for the run course. it is basically flat. Find a river and run next to it.
If you want to bike the course make sure that you get there really early in the morning to avoid (auto) traffic and note that some parts of the course are one way in the wrong direction. Additionally there are a few gates across the road that will be closed so be careful.
Maybe I will bring bike instead that is if I can ride course . Not a option in NYC for that course. Where can I park to do course? Not worried about swim , swam in the hudson w/jellyfish, petrol, condoms and who knows what else. Can I just ride around gates or are they connected to fence sections. Like to do bike always nice to be prepared.
MLK drive is closed on weekends (at least when you want to ride).
could park at belmont plateau near memorial hall (that is where you will park for the expo and the race) and walk around the gate at the top of Black rd. Black which you ride 2x on the course road takes you right down the transition area. This is what I would recommend so you don’t get lost on race morning. (you don’t want to wind up in West Philthy).
Other option is to park at lloyd hall or art museum (both are along the course).
You can get around all of the gates, some w/o dismounting, others have curbs.
Cool thanks!!!
I’ll be there! First time doing the Tri but I’ve lived here for a year. I’ll also be renting out some wheels from Echappe, www.racewheelrental.com , if anyone wants in on that it’s pretty easy pick up at the race expo and drop off post race.
This is a bragging rights race for people here in philly so hopefully I can kick ass and take names.
Shanks
I am doing it…Olympic on Sunday. Have done it the past 2 years. Pray it doesn’t rain in the days before the race, otherwise it’ll turn into a duathlon.
Just to correct JCN…the swim start is from St. Joe’s boathouse. Parking isn’t a problem, but be sure to get there early, setup your spot, warm up, get your swim stuff and get on the bus. Last year, I was about 10 mins from missing the start of my wave. I had an ‘oh shit’ moment when I walked into the transition area to see the bus line snake the entire length of it.
I don’t think the swim is bad. It’s murky. There’s no dead bodies. The section of the Schuylkill that attracts a negative image is mainly downstream. It’s pretty much a straight shot downstream with the bridge being a nice milestone. Then around a buoy and over to the small beach.
If you’re in a late wave, then more than likely both of your laps on the bike course for the Olympic distance will be congested. If you’re in an earlier wave, then you should have 1 lap of really good open road in front of you and the second lap definintely more congested.
The turns at the bottom of Greenland Dr. and Black Rd. can be a bit hair raising since you can carry A LOT of speed bombing down them. Look out for the volunteer standing in the middle of the road at the bottom of Black Rd. diverting people onto their second lap and into transition. To me, the congestion seems to be the worst going up Lemon Hill, but that was probably just my experience…almost 5 wide!!! Regardless, I really like the bike course, because I think you can really go fast on it.
The run is shaded for about the first 3 miles, or thereabouts. Then it’s completely unshaded until you get back closer to the fnish line. It’s as flat as a pancake.
I’ve never had a problem with there being no post race food, but others might have. It’s the standard grub.
Plenty of parking. Plenty of toilets. Good competition. Lots of shade for spectators and relaxing afterwards.
Don’t go to Pat’s or Geno’s. Plenty of other places…including Jim’s and Tony Luke’s. I may head to the Dark Horse for some pints and proper fry up.
Good luck.
Well if you can : swim faster then 22 minutes bike less then 1 hour 16 minutes and run under 50 minutes you got me beat.LOL
.
Last year the swim was great since it hadn’t rained for the previous week. JerseyQuaker had a good point about getting on the buses early. Going along with that, hit the port o potties in the transition area BEFORE you get on the bus to go to the St. Joe’s boathouse. The lines at the boathouse potties were ~15 minutes long.
The swim start is in water in front of the boathouse.
Bike course is really congested. Be very careful of people who are not aware that you may be passing them fast, especially on the longer downhills.
The turn at the bottom of Black Rock Rd is cool since you’re really moving and you shoot past a huge crowd of spectators.
I’m in for the OLY again… I like the bike course also given the variety of terrain and nice scenery, but one thing to keep in mind is that the traffic on the second loop tends to get a little hairy - esp. on the fast decents… lots of clueless folks riding slowly on the left side of the road blocking or just plain getting in the way. The river water hasn’t been as bad as I had once feared. If there hasn’t been a storm prior to race day - like the last 2 yrs - its surprising how the river is fairly clean and the current doesn’t seem to give a noticeable ‘push’. You don’t see insanely fast swim times like with NYC.
Might not be fast but at least there wont be condoms and jelly fish in there with us.
flying in from athens ga to get my first oly in. bit nervous about the bike travel, but if all works out, master clydes bragging rights are going back with me to athens!
Well if you can : swim faster then 22 minutes bike less then 1 hour 16 minutes and run under 50 minutes you got me beat.LOL
ahh probably not on the swim but I’ll give you a run for your money on the bike and run… please don’t be in the 25-29AG haha
I’ll be there.
I’m just hoping that the stupid officials don’t move my bike/shoes/transition stuff down 2 rows and throw it into a pile like they did last year…thinking that I ‘incorrectly’ racked my bike. What a bunch of idiots.
Hey guys,
this is slightly off topic, but i’m moving to Philly in the fall to go to wharton. Are there any good tri-clubs in the area? I’ll be living in Center city.
-Raf
jeez, what’s a “good tri-club” anyway?
locally, off the top of my head there is T3 (i used to be a member), Philadelphia Triathlon Club, Guys Multisport and High Roads. All good clubs. All have some “elite” members, some “FOP” members, lots of MOP and quite a few BOP members.
personally, i find the idea of a tri-club a little bit of a red herring. unless you are lucky enough to find precisely the right people to train with, you’ll be training alone most of the time anyway. in terms of information - yeah, club members can fill you in on some stuff but then so can ST. socially, it can be good especially if you’re new to the area, but precisely when do you expect to meet people (given that you will likely still be working out alone)?. my impression is that tri-clubs are most useful for people new to the sport (not to an area) and for whom training is not so structured that it actually matters a lot whether you average 18, 20 or 22 mph. but your mileage may vary (hah!). you may end up really like and benefit from cycling or running with some members of one of the above clubs, and if so, then that’s great.