I sprained an ankle 3 years ago and actually 'crashed" on some uneven beat up pavement on a totally flat section of the Musselman run course .4 miles into the run… Shizz can happen anywhere…
the Triquest bike course is one where you WILL look at the scenery and be like WOW! (once you get passed the big climb early in the ride)
We were very limited on where to do the run, so it is what it is… when people get to this view, I think they will love the course, i also think some of it may remind me them of the horrible parts of the American Zofingen…
In 2020 when everything was shut down, we did a ton of trail and mountain running in our area in VT. It was awesome. Some really knarly trails but I never once fell or hurt myself. But last year I was running on a smooth pristine flat rail trail near my house and not paying attention while I was opening up a gel and bam! Twisted my ankle so badly it was like a red grapefruit and took a couple weeks before I could run. Amazing I could even run after 2 weeks. It was really stupid. First time ever spraining my ankle! And it happened 4 weeks before Jones Beach 70.3 last year. Thankfully I could still do the race. But yeah I get your point. I’m sure the run will be great. And looks beautiful.
Having just participated in the Top Notch Tri, which has a finish line at the summit of Cannon Mountain in NH, I definitely encourage you to shoot for the summit finish. We hiked up the service road, under the tram (which was full of cheering spectators on their way to the finish line). Finishing at the top was awesome!
I just drove through this area earlier today and was thinking there was an early season triathlon at Cannon Mtn. How is the bike course for the Top Notch Tri? Do you need a mtn bike or can you ride a good gravel bike up the mtn? How technical is it? Just curious I’m not terribly far from the area.
topnotch is an amazing race that is completely unique. This is what a Tri should be, in that the course is defined by the terrain and a goal. Start in town, get to the top of the mountain. No silly out and back bike courses or a highway no sane cyclist would ever ride on, or running a maze of twists and turns just to make an arbitrary distance. Specifically you start in town and ride 3 miles of draft legal tarmac. the 3rd mile climbs steeply and then turns into scarface trail. then its easy 3 mile mtb, so a gravel bike is totally fine. total elevation about 1000ft climbed. then you get to the lake and you must drop your bike and swim across. put on a wetsuit or don’t, they dont care. after that you are at the base of the ski area and you go essentially straight up the mountain. about 2 miles and 2000 ft to climb to the top. the last bit is quite a grind under the tram line. take the tram down and go to a party at the brewery with free beer and free food trucks . (this year was different because scar trail was closed, whole bike was on the road)
scarface trail is the offroad section of the bike leg. the first 3 miles are on pavement. first 2 flat, then 3rd mile steep hill. then the next 2.5 miles are off-road on scarface trail. mostly doubletrack and functions as XC ski trail in the winter, regular roots and rocks but nothing technical. almost all uphill. last 1/2 mile is paved bike path to get to echo lake.
bumping this topic up as we are 2 1/2 weeks away from TriQuest Vermont on Sept 6. We have over 80 entries and would love to get to 100 athletes. We are open to relay and aquabike options. Check out the event at www.triquest.co
are you planning a mass start swim? asking because drafting is a major factor in gravel racing and multiple waves would mean some people may be able to access a faster pack and some won’t
It would be great to see in MN/WI, especially with a Lake Superior swim, with the loss of Superior Man. Not exactly sure how you’d combine that with a gravel bike though, with some possible exceptions along the north shore of MN, and maybe some limited places in northern WI.
yes, mass start, issue is there a turning buoy not that far off the beach… think we can pull it off though, the “monster” climb at mile 7+ should also sort people out a bit.
not sure if you are signed up, we sent out info on a zoom meeting/ course review on 8/27
For anyone interested, Triquest’s year two event is open for registration. Our event had 101 athletes last year and we are of course hoping to build on that. We are offering individual Tri, Relay (2 or 3 person teams) and Aquabike. We are considering adding a duathlon as well.
info at www.triquest.co
register at TriQuest Triathlon 2026 | Movemint
