I know some folks are doing the Ultramax 50 (new format 1 M swim, 39 M bike, 10 M run) in Kansas so I thought I would give an update from a recon trip this morning.
First, it should probably be called the Ultramax 53.5 unless the swim and runs are shortened. No big deal the 50 probably works better from a marketing standpoint. The start / finish is located at the swimming beach at Hillsdale lake and is isolated on a peninsula similar to KS 70.3, so getting friends and family to the event to spectate may be an issue unless they get there before the start (like my family hates to do). One road in and out and that road will be used for the bike course. The bike course will be open to traffic and I can say that I didn’t encounter much this morning at 8am…of course it was a Tuesday. Roads were is much better condition than I anticipated. I’ve ridden some of these in the past and the worst spots have new pavement. There are a few sections with some loose gravel, but it’s obvious and you can see well before you’re on top of it. It rolls pretty steady with some flat patches and only really a couple hills that get your attention. None of which are steep really, but they do extend for a ways. Wind was calm for Kansas today, but it was the traditional SSW direction which actually sets up well for this loop. I think the fast rider will tear it up. I had 43.28 miles on my Garmin and 43.38 miles on my bike computer…so it’s a tad longer than 39. I’m no stud on the bike and I went relatively easy today (bit harder on the 2nd lap) to avg 20 mph for the ride. So in race gear, I think we should see some 24 mph times…maybe even better.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/9980942 You can view my Garmin file here.
There might be a slight challenge on the run course. We had some pretty good rains last night and I did not factor that in before I drove to the course today. The run is on a gravel path (very small stones, no big pieces at all) and it was very SOGGY today. Like running on wet sand and NOT the real hard packed kind. There were several rain ruts where the sand has been washed away exposing the clay and mud underneath. One brand spanking new pair of Asics Speedstars were baptized in the mud today. If it rains the night before this race, bring some crappy shoes. The mud isn’t so bad, but the clay sticks to the bottom (adds and instant 2 pounds of weight) and pretty much has to be scraped off. Some of the areas had tall grass. Hopefully they will mow or bush-hog those parts. If it is bone dry, it should be fast. There are NO hills at all and the surface would be great to run on…if wet, another story all together. If the conditions are moist, a pair of XC spikes wouldn’t be bad at all…although I have never run 10 miles in spikes. Again, if it’s dry you could wear race flats with no worries about stone bruises or poor footing.
All in all it’s a great layout. Parking and spectator management might be iffy, but maybe they have a solution for that. I was very pleased with what I saw and think (providing the KC weather doesn’t effect another race) it will be a great 1st annual. The folks who are directing the race are top notch and know very well how to put on a first rate race. Hope this helps…
Did you happen to notice if there was any camping close by?