Has anyone done this race? Comments? Thanks
Eric
Did it last year. It was cold and raining. Nice course. Challenging bike. Flat(ish) run.
I signed up today for '06
http://www.chicagotriclub.com/members/stories/Bagley-Ralphs-05.html
Two shorter steep hills, 1 long climb you may not even realize you’re climbing in the middle on the bike.
Did it last year and just signed up for 06 last week.
Wear your best cushioned shoes on the run as it is almost entirely on concrete. My feet were still sore for days following the race.
Dean Wilson
www.anaerobiczone.com
I’d say Ralph’s supermarkets is getting their money’s worth out of sponsoring that one! It’s now the Ford Ironman 70.3, but everyone still calls it “Ralph’s”.
See you guys at the race!
Great race. Highly recommended. The right mix of challenging bike and nearly-flat run.
Real nice venue w/ the harbor swim and bike into Pendleton. Run is along beachfront housing and pretty non-descript. Weather was a challenge last year but was still fun and cannot get worse, IMO. It was my first HIM and I really enjoyed it and will probably go back. What they really need in So Cal is an IM.
I think that it is still Ralph’s. If you look at the ironmannorthamerica.com website, it shows it being called Ralph’s and Canada is Subaru. Everything else is Ford. Maybe they will have supermarket deli meats on the run course for Ralph’s…
Didn’t realize that. I guess it IS still the Ralph’s! If the course was extended another couple miles into San Clemente, there is a Ralph’s supermarket right along El Camino Real. We could swing in there at the 1/2 way point and grab a snack!
I know last year weather conditions were bad. What are typical weather conditions like?
Has anyone done Ralphs as well as Napa? Napa was my 1st 1/2 a few weeks ago and I’d be curious how the difficulty of the bike courses compares. I believe someone posted that Napa has 3100’ of climbing.
Well, as everyone knows, winter '05 was NOT typical here in SoCal as we had probably double our normal rainfall. “Typical” weather in March would involve a 90% chance of a sunny day with temps in the low 50’s in the morning, warming to high 60’s/low 70’s by afternoon. A typical scenario here in clouds in the morning, sun by midday, but March is still our rainy season, so there is that 10% chance that a storm could roll through and make it soggy.
I did both this year and felt that Ralph’s has steep, intense climbs while the Vineman is more rolling in nature with little flat. Actually, the bike courses are probably more similar that different. My time was a bit slower (5 mins) @ Ralph’s but that could also be due to fitness levels later in the year. The run courses are very different as Vineman was surprisingly hilly compared to a few short spurts @ Ralph’s. Vineman was hot and Ralph’s will be a cooler venue, even on asunny March day.
Oops I should have mentioned that it was Napa Valley Vintage I did and not Vineman. Thanks for the info though as I am considering Vineman for next year. Glad to hear Ralphs has a flat run, Napa was a 3 looper with a 200’ or so hill each time.
I’ve done Ralph’s the past 2 years and love the venue. Last year was cold and wet but the year before was low 70s and sunny. A great day for a race.
Like others have posted, the bike is fast with 2 short steep climbs starting at mile 30 and one long climb that you don’t really notice. The last 10-15 miles are usually into a head wind.
The marine corps volunteers on base are awesome and always turn out in groves. There’s also a ton of people on the boardwalk for the run to help with motivation. I highly recommend this race and I’ll be signing up again shortly. See you there.
-Shep
<< Typical" weather in March would involve a 90% chance of a sunny day with temps in the low 50’s in the morning, warming to high 60’s/low 70’s by afternoon.
typical for March? That is typical for January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.
i heard a rumor tha Plumb has offered his house for the post race drink fest!
Ha, ha. Standard SoCal weather in summer:
Morning clouds burning off to hazy afternoon sunshine with high of 70’s at the beaches to 90’s in the valleys.
You can basically just cut and paste the same forecast from May-September!
if I am still in the same place in March, no problem, I have a great backyard for a large gathering. With any luck I will be buying a house sometime in the new year, already looking. THe new place will be a little further south in Carlsbad, but still not too far away from the course.