Does any one know if there is a problem with this race? I remember reading something a few years back about the Canadian Geese were polluting the lake where the swim is held. I always wanted to do this race but I see there only 140 people registered presently. Maybe some one will let me know if it’s worth it.
Thanks.
Smitty
I grew-up there. It used to be a pretty big time triathlon, but over the years I think a lack of interest from the community has turned it to a pretty average race. Two years ago I was visiting my folks and I did the Anthracite Tri. It was small but a really cool venue. I would definately recommend it.
Hey thanks…It’s appreciated. I’ll check into it. Another different one I did with my brother was the “Senic Mountain Tri” in West Virgina. Now that was different. Driving into that town with NY plates was something. It was a real head turner.
Smitty
Anthracite is in a beautiful section of PA. Back in, as you might guess, coal mining country.
The year that I did it, the race was cancelled part way through as there was heavy, HEAVY rain and some guy tried to take a sharp left hand turn too fast and ended up cracking himself up pretty bad. I guess they were worried it might happen again, so they stopped us on the bike.
The bike course is PUNISHING. It climbs about 1900 vft in the 25 miles (by comparison Alcatraz is like 1100 vft in 18 miles). And there are some flat sections, so the hills are HILLS. Big climbs. Some very steep sections.
Run is mostly on trails. No comment on the run course as I only gave it a look the day before, didn’t run it.
Best part of the race, I think, is that you get a Duofold race shirt. Duofold’s factory is right nearby, and they are the primary sponsor. It’s a really nice shirt. I wear mine probably more than any other t-shirt I own. It’s as soft as cotton, but wicks. That t-shirt almost made up for the cancellation…
One cool thing was getting taken back to transition in this fire truck. I’d never ridden in a firetruck, but they got one out and transported us all back to transition (in waves). Small race. But a good one.
The race was today. Next year if I’m off I will try this race in Pa…
You are right the shirt was great. I was telling someone the other day that it was a better shirt than most of my IM finisher shirts.
About WB, I live a mile from Harvey’s Lake, the water is being tested frequently, and it is good to go as of last week. It is 83 or so, so wetsuits don’t look like an option right now. The race is run very well. The goose crap incident came on the heels of the Ironhorse problem in 98. There has been no issues since. The course is in great shape, and the field is generally never more than a few hundred (I think they impose a 400 limit). If there is a problem, it is the lack of support from some of the community. The race is great, I do recommend it, and not just because I am a homer. It is well organized, marked, volunteers are great. Hell, I swam in the Allegheny River this morning during the Pittsburg Tri, and some of you swam in the Schuykill last month during the Philly Tri, Harvey’s Lake is pristine in comparison.
JM …Thanks. I’m going to do it this year. Appeciate your input.
That could be it also for low turn out. Too many don’t like races where you don’t use the cheat suit.
“Too many don’t like races where you don’t use the cheat suit.”
Including me. Wiles Barre is a nice, low key race. Race organization is top notch, especially considering the logistics of two transition areas, transporting all of the athletes (and many spectators) from the school to the lake and getting all of the athletes’ swim gear back to the school before the race is finished. The swim has always seemed clean to me although there is usually some underwater vegetation near shore. The bike course is nice, it reminds me of a mini version of Lake Placid’s bike course. The run is tough, it can get hot and there is an extra mile compared to a standard Olympic Dist. course. Post race food is good. WB is a nice change of pace from the ‘2000 competitors, sign up 8 months in advance’ races.
Thanks for the info. I’ll be there next Sunday.
Smitty
I did Anthracite two weeks ago, and IMO it was the run course that was tough, not so much the bike. The bike is hilly, but the climbs are pretty short. The run starts on a fairly rough trail, for about 2miles, then it switches off to pavement. The third mile is a hairpin up a long uphill, the last 3 or so miles are undulating uphills. I thought the run was a tad long, my run time was at least 7min slower than usual. Heard a lot of people saying the mile between markers 3 and 4 took an extra long time. Could have been the hills. All in all, a good race, well organized.
Any more input on the Wilkes-Barre bike and run course? Is the W-B run flat or hilly?
I ran a search and came up with this detailed race report on Wilkes-Barre: Race Report:
At some point and time I got it stuck in my head that the Wilkes-Barre olympic distance triathlon was a classic of our sport, at least in the Mid-Atlantic. While I don’t know where I got that impression, I can tell you this: It is.
First, to answer the question that is burning in your mind: It’s pronounced Wilkes-“Bare” or “Bear” as in “If you see a BEAR on the course, let someone on the race staff know” (no joke).
The course has character. Read: it’s hard and spectacular. It’s what I call non-trivial … the swim, bike, and run are the types of things you’d do for training because they are scenic and challenging (and free of cars, I saw two the whole day). The bike and run are hilly and challenging, but not ridiculously so. This race has a point-to-point bike, so there are two transition areas.
And, before I get started, I have to say the best thing about this race was the big pool of cold water at the finishing area. They rigged some canvas into a 9’-square x 3’-deep “tub” and filled it with cold water. It was soooooooo nice to soak my hot and tired body in the tub while a gaggle of pro women triathletes sat and talked amongst themselves. That’s living.
The swim is long, narrow rectangle in Harvey Lake, the largest natural lake in Pennsylvania. There’s a distinctive mountain peak for sighting on the way out (as you swim into the sun), and an easily located flag pole for the return swim. It’s a neat little lake community with houses right on, even in (on stilts), the lake. Every house has a pier with a boat and a table for lakeside dining, and there’s a road that circles the lake, about 25 feet from the lakeside.
Both pro (4 men and 13 women, including Karen Smeyers; prize money went 7 deep with $1,500 for first) and age groupers had running starts for the swim–a first for me and really fun. Wetsuits were not permitted for anyone, and it was a good thing as the water temp was 80-degrees. I really enjoyed this swim, probably more so than any other swim I’ve done. When I saw the results Monday morning, I figured out why: I was 50th out of the water at 24:02; I can swim faster than that, and I have good balance in the water, so I don’t gain as much advantage from a wetsuit as others might. Regardless, I found and enjoyed good rhythm in my stroke and I’m happy with my swim. But it’s no secret what I need to focus my attention on this winter. Perhaps the full masters workout on Saturday morning wasn’t a good idea.
Given the gravelly, sandy transition area, I opted to put my cycling shoes on my feet and run to the mounting line in them rather than clipping the shoes into the pedals and running barefoot. It would have been too painful, and awfully sandy, if I’d ran thru T1 barefoot. Still, I had poor transition (1:08 even without a wetsuit to strip), trying to get into the damn shoes. I have to learn to calm down and move more methodically.
The bike course is fantastic, perfectly suited for me. The first 2 miles follow the lake and are perfectly flat, allowing me to catch my breath. Then some rollers for a few miles before a hair-pin turn into this reaaaaaaaaallllllllllly long hill. The first mile has a couple of steep sections, before it eases into a long, low-grade, (5 miles? 2-3 percent?). Things got crowded here, people riding 3 abreast, and I often pushed hard to get away from the groups. The low-grade was hard and slow, but I had driven the course Saturday and knew that it would go much slower than I would want to on race day.
The bike course is largely shaded and passes some old farms, complete with freshly-painted red barns. I’d bet some of these barns are 150 years old and still in daily use. This is a scenic bike ride from beginning to end. After that long hill there course was more rolling. It was really well marked, albeit in poor condition in a few spots; still, the potholes and cracks were clearly marked in orange or white paint, and there was even a water bottle exchange at mile 15.
The bike course finishes with a 1.5-mile uphill piece into the Penn State-WB campus, not too steep but tough nonetheless. I felt really strong on the bike all day, even after going very anaerobic on some of the earlier hills. I was surprised to see so few bikes in transition when I arrived; I didn’t get a good look, but it seemed like only a dozen … I was the next-to-last wave in the water. Turns out I had the third best time at 60:05 (24.8 mph), one minute out from the best bike of the day. I’m thrilled with that time, especially for that course. Even though the competition thinned out after the long up-hill, I always had someone to chase after since I was one of the last swim waves, and I think that helped.
FWIW, I my setup is 53/42 & 12-23 and I never wished for anything different, so it’s not that hilly. Lastly, I’ve noticed that (unlike swimming?) I tend to feel better on the bike if I do an easy ride the day before with two 3’-5’ hard pushes.
Transition 2 went marginally well. My racing flats fit snuggly, which means they are very narrow and hard to put on. More practice needed.
The run is scenic … it’s the kind of training run I would do every week if it were near by … and it is HILLY. The first 1.5 miles are an easy down hill, but then you hit some long up hills. Not much shade either. Very challenging run course, more so as it’s 11k, hot and sunny. Still, I felt pretty good on the run. I didn’t cramp (calves) off the bike, which is a major feat for me. I did sodium load starting Friday with some salt tablets during the day and some Gatorade at my side all day Saturday.
It wasn’t until mid-run that I was able to get my HR up to the point that I can maintain in a 10k triathlon run. Three or four guys passed me on the run, which was a good thing … boiling my competitive juices a bit. I definitely finished the run much stronger than I started it, but I didn’t have much left after crossing the line. The sun was brutal. I placed 13th in the run with 45:09 (6:39 min/mile). Not a great run for me, but not a bad run either.
All that added up to 9th overall (5th overall age grouper), first in my age group (by more than 5 minutes) and, barely, the last male to beat Karen Smeyers (40 seconds). At 40 she is just freakin’ amazing. For me it’s just one more tune-up race (NYC) before Nationals at the end of August.
I would highly recommend this race. It’s really well organized and the course is challenging but full of character. Given that it’s run in August, the heat will always be an issue, and I think it could be noticeably worse than what we experienced. I think the run course would be a little easier to deal with after having run it a few times, at least mentally. Definitely drive the course before doing the race.
Swim: 24:02; winner, 19:41; best, 19:41
T1: 1:08
Bike: 60:05; winner, 59:04, best, 59:04
T2: 0:47
Run: 45:09; winner, 42:03, best, 40:07
Time: 2:11:09 (winner 2:02:45 w/ 1:00 penalty)
9/366 OA, 1/46 M30-34
Wilkes-Bear…that’s right. The idea of driving the course the day before is a good one. If anything you can scout out the couple of areas with some rough roads. They have been patched and marked already. The water temp was 82 about 100 yards out from the beach. Ironically, the temp is about 78 for a 20 yard stretch off the beach in 1-2 feet of water due to a stream inlet right there. I had to go down about 6 feet once I was off shore to find the thermocline, so it is warmer than usual (normally it is only about 2 feet). What will happen about wetsuits depends on how far out the official goes to measure it. It doesn’t look like the weather is going to get cool enough to change things too much. It has been about 65-70 degrees at night around here lately.
The description by Mr. Smith is pretty good, nothing he left out. I think there has been significant debate about the run distance. I have heard 6.8, and several people have measured 7.2 (including myself). Sort of a mystery around here, I doubt even the race director knows for sure. A brief description as follows: 2 miles downhill to flat, the second mile is dirt, good condition. At mile 2.2 you turn right up a 15% hill, about 300m long. It levels to a false flat until mile 3. Short steep downhill at 3.2 to a 120 degree right turn. You go up for about a mile, you can say “hi” to Scott who lives at the house with the pond on the left. He will be out there drinking with a bunch of hot chicks (maybe a couple, but he does have beer). He is about 100 yards from the turn. At the top of the hill you are about 4 miles in, you have a little downhill and another hill up to mile 5. About mile 5.2 you will make a sharp right, returning to dirt roads. It undulates until mile 6 or so, when you return to the outward leg. This is a generally uphill and not very easy. You go through 2 90 degree turns and at the last one you have about 1/3 mile to go. This run is pretty damn hard.
See you on saturday or sunday!
Sounds like a hell of a race to test your base training from the winter months. Thanks for the description of the running course. It’s appreciated.
Smitty
JM, I wil be there as well on Sunday. Given the hills on the bike course, do you recommend a road bike or Tri Bike? My road bike has a triple, which it sounds like I might need (BOP-MOP’er).
Slower than U
I am riding my road bike with aerobars. You shouldn’t need a triple, but you will be climbing a bit. I think a 39/23-25 should be enough. The bike course, ironically, has a net elevation change of about 10 feet between transitions, but in between you go down alot, and go back up. There are 2 sections about 5-7 miles long from the start and 3-4 miles long at mile 15 where you go down a slight hill and can cruise along quite nicely, unfortunately to get the net change of 10 feet, you have to climb back up. The bike course is hard, but has some fast sections. Do you climb well enough on the tri bike to take it along for the fast sections where it would be of greater benefit? That was my dilemma, and I went with the road setup. Hope this helps. See you sunday.
JM - Thansk for the info. Have you done the Morris Center YMCA Tri in Morris county NJ? How would you compare WB to those hills if you have? I am leaning toward the road bike to have something for the run, whcih I see is also hilly.
Slower than U
I haven’t done that particular tri, but I grew up in Cranford, and used to ride in that area. I guess it is a pretty good comparison. I would liken the terrain around here to the stuff you would see in the western part of Morris County or Sussex. If you go out to Chester and Hackettstown maybe (is that still Morris?) If you regularly train on your tri bike in terrain like that, and feel comfortable about it, you should be okay here. Actually the course avoids some of the really bad climbs this area has to offer, but you will still climb enough for it to be a factor. A pro triathlete said this course was 25 miles of “power climbs.” That was Jimmy Riccotello. The run is what makes the race difficult, so saving for it may be the best approach.
You called it…Wilkes-Barre is one hell of a great race. Great race management with everything else you said. Thanks.
Smitty