Just woke up from an afternoon nap after running this race. What a great course! It was crystal clear all day and HOT, at least by Santa Barbara standards! Met my goal time of 3:55…beat it by about 30 seconds actually for 48th in the 40-44 AG. Some gnarly hills on the bike, but plenty of cruisy flats too. Winner finished in about 2:55 I believe. Organizers were saying times were a bit slower this year due to the heat. There was just no wind, so the run was challenging. Anyone else in this?
Bump.
Anyone else do this race?
Sounds cool, nice job. But what distance is this race? You don’t usually hear about races won in 2:55.
-Colin
Swim: 1 mile
Bike: 34 miles
Run: 10 miles
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I was there as was TriGirl. I think she went under 3:50. As I’ve done this race every year since almost every year since ‘92 I’m just a lil’ disappointed that I didn’t get my PW (personal worst) but I was close 
that bike course KICKED my butt today. The weather was perfect and one of the guys I train with, okay maybe I don’t ride with him…more like behind him, Dr. Moffitt went 3:07 and won your age group.
There were some smokin’ fast people out there and LA TriClub was in full force. TriBodyboarder I don’t know if you’ve done this before but you can’t really compare the times as the bike course was different this year due to the construction that is taking place on the east side of the 101 once you enter Montecito.
Yeah the run was challenging…I ran ok but nowhere near the 1:04 that the good doctor clicked off to win your AG.
Here’s the scoop on the course this year. The swim was long first of all. I would say about 3 to 4 minutes long… The bike was an accurate 34 miles, but there were more climbs than the usual course because of the detour. SO it will ride out slower than the normal course. The weather was hotter than it’s been in many years. You can almost always count on early morning fog or cloud cover in SB at this time of year. I was sweating at 6:30 am before the swim start. The rest of the day was hot with no wind, so that will account for a tough course. Normally the winning amateur will go just under 3 hours, this year it was 3:06. The winning pro will usually go between 2:45 and 2:50. This year he went 2:55. So for comparison purposes, you can figure about 4 to 8 minutes difference from the past years, depending how well you do in the heat. I went good until mile 7 of the run, and nursed a cramping hamstring in the last 3 miles. Was on pace for a 3:10, which is what I have done the past 2 years, so was having a really good race considering the conditions. Ended up with a 3:15 however, walking across the finish with leg in hand.
My friend known as the Seagull here on ST got second in her AG with a 3:28 in the 30-34, and 9 time Hawaii Ironman champion Paula Newby-Frasier won the elite division with a 3:20. The real stellar performance of the day came from Erika Akufi in the womens amateur division. She bombed the course record on a slow day and went 3:08, almost beating the top amateur men. This chick could race with any of the pro women out there today. Rumor has it she will turning pro after this years world championships in Hawaii. She swims with the best of them, and she runs 16 minutes for 5k. It will be fun to watch her mix it up next year with the big girls…
Wow. Thanks for the inside info Monty. This is my first year in the sport, so I really didn’t have anything to compare it to on a personal level, but yeah, sounds like this year was as hard as it gets with the hilly bike course and the heat. Next year, I’ll expect to beat my time!
hi i was there. ran the sprint course today! phew…were all the people wearing Tribe Jerseys, peaceful tribe, as in slowtwitch? if so there were about 4-5 of ya on saturday!
How’d you go Local Star? My race report is here:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=25556&posts=3
Nice report there!
i’ll write mine as soon as i get some food in my stomach so I can think straight… gimme 20 min
No problem, I always like to sort out a course after the fact so you can really evaulate your performance. Her’s the tough guy award as I saw it. The grand puba himself of the LA tri club, Ian Murray, took a giant header on the bike, raked his back with the asphalt cheese grater, and ended up with a couple softball size hemotomias on his legs. He got up and the bike was ok, so what does he do, he finishes the race. That’s what I call getting your monies worth…Good job Ian…
Ouch! Yeah, I saw one young guy at the finish line with bandages on his head and arm. Guess some folks did some serious battle out there on the bike course!
Wow, Monty’s post makes me feel better. I always think the swim is long but that’s because I’m a slow swimmer. My times have been 7 to 8 minutes slower for the past two years and maybe that could be because of the new bike route for those years. Next year we should be back to the old route. This year I did 3:12 and change for 3rd in 40-44 and 17th overall. I’d really like to go sub 3:00 but I think the clock is ticking!!
Jeez, 3:12! I’d be doing backflips if I finished in that time. Great stuff!
In response to Monty’s props for Ian Murray…Ian made sure he cleaned out his race wounds… with lots of ALCOHOL (the mexican kind) come dinner on Saturday night! 
In all seriousness, the guy is a stud and should be a threat at worlds this year.
Are they going to pos results with splits? I did not set my watch
all the people wearing Tribe Jerseys, peaceful tribe, as in slowtwitch?
It’s possible, but there are a number of tri clubs that go by the name “Tribe” so don’t know necessarily there’s any of that garb that you saw at the race specifically attached to Slowtwitch…
Hi,
I’m thinking about signing up for the SB Triathlon long-course race. In the bike course description on the race website it says the following:
“The middle section is somewhat technical and includes a few mandatory stops…”
Can someone explain how the mandatory stops work? Does everyone have to stop at the same locations for the same amount of time? Are the stops at busy intersections?
In general, how do people like this race? It seems like a pretty cool distance.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Matt
This race is the best!! I do not remember having to stop during the bike course!?!? The best part is it’s on a Saturday, so you can party down in SB Saturday night!!
The middle part has a few intersections that they sometimes stop riders to allow cars to pass through. It depends on if there are cars at the intersection at that time or not.
Last year’s course was VERY hilly in the middle, so train hills! It was really hot last year too, so have your hydration plan in place in case it’s the same this year. The way the summer’s been going (hot) it will probably be cool by then!