Syracuse - Best 70.3?

Triathlon Forum
1

Syracuse 70.3 was an awesome race today. Water temps were perfect. The bike course is fabulous - a great mix of rolling hills, steep climbs, fast descents and flats. The run course is also great, although the evil hill that you have to repeat twice is not much fun. But overall, of the 18 half IM races that I’ve done, I’d have to put today’s Syracuse 70.3 race as the best ever. Helped that the weather was perfect with mostly sunny skies, not too hot temps and light winds.

Very little drafting going on, likely due to the rolling hills.

Anyone else agree that Syracuse 70.3 could the be the best one out there?

2

After doing Mont Tremblant for the first time today, I’d say that that MT is a far more desirable race. Just my opinion…

3

If you think Syracuse is good check out Pumkinman in Maine. Not WTC 70.3, but my favorite half for sure.

4

Absolutely loved it. The only place the bike bunched up was at the no-pass zone, so that isn’t surprising

The run was brutal, but the downhills were nice. Set a PR by 18 minutes…so it is a co-favorite of mine along with musselman.

I can’t wait to do SYR again

5

Tremblant
.

6

Absolutely loved it. The only place the bike bunched up was at the no-pass zone, so that isn’t surprising

Yes, that’s what I noticed too. The least amount of drafting I’ve ever seen in a race. The rolling hills seemed to break that up. And they will have to figure out a way to get rid of that no-pass zone - a group of us got stuck behind someone struggling up the hill and that was a nuisance.

7

I did not do Syracuse this year but last year. Worst race out of all the 70.3’s I have done. Water really smelled like gasoline and was full of weeds, there was no atmosphere on the bike course (though the course itself was nice), in last year’s hot weather the aid stations were too far apart upon exiting the park (almost 2 miles), leaving when that thunderstorm came was impossible, … Syracuse is convenient for me to race (it’s within driving distance and a good time of the year) so I’d love this to work, but I don’t see me coming back until some of those issues have improved. Which may already be next year, who knows.

8

Absolutely loved it. The only place the bike bunched up was at the no-pass zone, so that isn’t surprising

Yes, that’s what I noticed too. The least amount of drafting I’ve ever seen in a race. The rolling hills seemed to break that up. And they will have to figure out a way to get rid of that no-pass zone - a group of us got stuck behind someone struggling up the hill and that was a nuisance.

Not sure what they’re doing with the no-passing zone. The no-passing zone wasn’t there in 2010, 2011 and 2013. It was there in 2012 and 2014. It’s puzzling.

9

Yes, last year’s heat wave made it less enjoyable. This year the water was much better, aid stations were fine, and they solved the parking exit problem. Not sure what you’re looking for in atmosphere on the bike, but it had a great variety of hills and flats with beautiful scenery and generally great road conditions with almost no traffic. I wish I lived closer as it’s a great place to bike.

10

It’s a great race, no doubt about it. Tom Z does an amazing job. I did it in 2010 and it’s not the same race. It has improved dramatically.

The swim is nice, probably on par with Tremblant. Maybe slightly weedier.
The profile and scenery on the bike is better than Tremblant but the road surface is not even close. I was 6min slower at Syracuse on the same number of watts.

There was little drafting and I saw at least 3 motorcycles. I saw maybe 3 groups of guys, 3 or 4 per group, maybe 2 bike distance between them. But Mch less drafting than most races, including Tremblant

The run is much tougher. Much, much tougher. If Tom is reading this, please update the course profile, there is no way that is representative of the run course.

From a course perspective very nice. From a hotel/surroundings perspective, I was not all that impressed. Hotels are further away and nice parts of town for dinner seemed harder to find. Tremblant it’s “just there”. Maybe I should have done more research before going.

The park is really nice. Lots of families, kids, dogs, princes of bahrain…BTW, their entourage were really chill, smiling, chatting with people, no over the top security. Very cool. Kind of strange seeing them with their Challenge Jerseys. But they did blend in really well. I suspect they are going to do an amazing job at Challenge Bahrain.

This race has improved dramatically from 2010. Tom Z has done an amazing job.

I would have to rank Tremblant #1 and Syracuse on par with Muskoka.

Tremblant is the easiest of the 3, by far.

I would do Syracuse again.

11

So far for me that honor would have to go to Rev3 Maine at Old Orchard Beach.

12

The course profiles listen on IM.com always seem to be about half of what they actually are (measured by GPS). I got over 800 ft of elevation gain on run and 3000’ + on bike.

13

I’ve enjoyed the non-WTC races I’ve done FAR more. Head another hour west and check out Musselman. Top notch race.

In New England, both Pumpkinman and Patriot are fantastic also.

14

Syracuse 70.3 was an awesome race today. Water temps were perfect. The bike course is fabulous - a great mix of rolling hills, steep climbs, fast descents and flats. The run course is also great, although the evil hill that you have to repeat twice is not much fun. But overall, of the 18 half IM races that I’ve done, I’d have to put today’s Syracuse 70.3 race as the best ever. Helped that the weather was perfect with mostly sunny skies, not too hot temps and light winds.

Very little drafting going on, likely due to the rolling hills.

Anyone else agree that Syracuse 70.3 could the be the best one out there?

I loved it, but the water was too dingy for me. Everything else was awesome besides the flat front tire I came into T1 to right from the swim. Ha!

15

Agreed. I did this race in 2012, and there were all kinds of things to complain about…but mainly parking and hills. They did manage to nicely solve the parking problem, but I think they did that by making the run even harder than last year, which is hard to do. I’ve done Tremblant and Syracuse. Tremblant is definitely a better venue with better roads, but the Syracuse race is pretty good. Very spread out and quite family friendly with the beach. The water this year was perfect and so was the weather, but a cloud or two after the race would have been nice!!

Overall, a BIG improvement at the Syracuse race in 2014 compared to 2013 at least. I’m glad I made the return trip, as I was pretty sure I would not have after last year, but I needed to try and get a Tremblant spot, so Syracuse was the easiest option for me!

Well done Tom and the rest of the Syracuse organizers!!

16

Yes, last year’s heat wave made it less enjoyable. This year the water was much better, aid stations were fine, and they solved the parking exit problem. Not sure what you’re looking for in atmosphere on the bike, but it had a great variety of hills and flats with beautiful scenery and generally great road conditions with almost no traffic. I wish I lived closer as it’s a great place to bike.Atmosphere in general is really about crowd presence and anything to make the race extra fun. The problem here with IM 70.3 Syracuse is that it’s not in Syracuse, it’s somewhere in the middle of nowhere (Jamesville?). So it’s remote, hence nobody even knows there’s a race except for the local pizza guy. Compare vs races that run through parts of a city, which therefore always have a much more exciting vibe.

THere are indeed no places to stay local but many hotels further away. I think I stayed at Sprinhill Suites somewhere on the east side of Syracuse which worked well but at the same time wasn’t anywhere nice. That also makes it less of a family friendly environment, you have to drive to the race site early morning but family can’t sleep in and come later (since I took the car!). I know last year they would not allow anyone into the park once the race had started, so for a family with young kid(s) it is definitely not easy to get there so i would not call it family friendly.

But if that parking situation got resolved maybe that problem is resolved also? It sounds like there are definitely improvements made which is great. As far as the difficulty of the course I don’t see any need for improvements, I like tough courses.

17

I hadn’t heard anything good from anyone who did this race last year, but a lot of their issues seemed to revolve around the weather. I really enjoyed the race and loved the bike course (minus the no pass zone for the final few kilometers). It wasn’t nearly as difficult leaving the race as I had figured it would be either.

With that said Tremblant has a great vibe, and all the accommodations are are short walk from transition, so that race is tough to beat.

18

One of the best I’ve done. Timing might not work, but I am going to suggest it as a future WC destination. The course certainly fits the bill.

I consider it equivalent - course-wise - to Wildflower (bike is not quite as hilly, but it’s close to as challenging. Run course is harder, IMO, mostly because WF has dirt.

19

One of the best I’ve done. Timing might not work, but I am going to suggest it as a future WC destination. The course certainly fits the bill.

I agree the course is good enough, bar the no-overtaking section. But surely there are not enough hotels or a major airport close enough to allow it to even come close to a WC destination.

I was stunned by some of the times being posted there this year. Clearly some very strong AG athletes came to play, but to think that in all of the mens’ age groups from 25-50 years old, all of the top 25 in each category went under 5:00 hours, and the top 5 women in 40-44 as well, is pretty amazing given that run course.

20

Not a WTC but how does this race compare to Quassy?