My buddy Tom is doing the Lake Geneva Half this weekend. How hilly is it? Anything he needs to know about this race?
Quite hilly, very poorly marked as well. Some roads will have very heavy traffic on them as well towards Fontana. The run has some nasty hills too…
Hmmm. That doesn’t sound too cool…
One especially nasty downhill 3/4 way through the bike. Can get up to 50 mph, then a deadend turn left on a narrow 2 lane road. Not much room for error. Also some very rough railroad crossings. The worst hill on the run is the third one, a tough, winding left uphill that seems to end, but curves and gets steeper towards the end, but much tougher when you try and run down it at top speed. As previous poster says, very poor course management as well, so ride with a bit of extra caution. A gorgeous course, but unfortunately the RD doesn’t seem to take safety too seriously.
I think there are even hills in the water.
Swim: Beatiful waters of lake geneva. Distance is always off. I think they eyeball the buoys.
Bike: The bike course starts with a long, gradual climb. The 1/2 IM participants veer to the right for the only truly steep hill on the course. Short, but steep. Then small/moderate rollers the rest of the way. I think wind can be the most challenging part of this course, as it’s often in your face. Coming back into Lake Geneva, you’ll find some nice rollers with one semi steep downhill with a 90 degree turn at the bottom (SLOW DOWN!!!)
Run: Frank’s killer hill at the start, then flattens out a bit. And then some more hills at the end. I feel it’s the hardest run course in the area (at least I’ve never done one harder).
I wouldn’t rely on the race organizers for food/drinks too much. They’ve been known to run out. Also, make sure he knows the course and makes that first right hand turn that splits the olympic/sprint bike course from the 1/2 IM course. Volunteer support can by spotty.
That is a dangerous turn. The road you turn left on is narrower than you anticipate since there is no shoulder. I came within an inch or so last year of wiping out on that turn. I am waiting to see what the weather is predicted for Saturday before I sign up Friday night. I rode that course in the rain once and I don’t want to do that again.
I’m screwed.
I feel like the guy who’s gonna fight Rocky at the end of the movie … there’s no way I’m coming outta this on my feet.
I posted a map of the Lake Geneva bike and there seem to be A LOT of turns … and , I guess, hills.
I may hang back in the swim to avoid the heavy bike traffic … yeah, yeah, that’s it. I’ll INTENTIONALLY swim slow to avoid the bike traffic. Now that I think about it, I should intentionallt bike slow to avoid the run traffic.
Honestly … I don’t know if you’ll find a long course even in the Midwest w/o rolling hills.
I feel it’s the hardest run course in the area (at least I’ve never done one harder).
Cuss words.
That is a dangerous turn. The road you turn left on is narrower than you anticipate since there is no shoulder. I came within an inch or so last year of wiping out on that turn. I am waiting to see what the weather is predicted for Saturday before I sign up Friday night. I rode that course in the rain once and I don’t want to do that again.
You’re so right on this turn. My cottage is just past the turn, so I know the area very well. Also it’s just tar, so will be slick, rain or shine. Some of the course has new pavement, so the west bound south of Lakeshore will be better than in the past. As others have said, lots of rollers otherwise. But that said, just be patient, and don’t overextend early and it will go well. It’s a great area, and you’ll be very proud of finishing strong. One of my favorite training areas. Just don’t expect much from the organizers and appreciate the course.
Just don’t expect much from the organizers
What does that mean? PM, if you prefer.
Your comment has me thinking of precautions/supplies I might need to take ahead of time or have in reserve. Can you please elaborate? Again, PM me if you prefer (or e-mail … bemont@verizon.net)
Just don’t expect much from the organizers
What does that mean? PM, if you prefer.
Your comment has me thinking of precautions/supplies I might need to take ahead of time or have in reserve. Can you please elaborate? )
I meant that the race director never has enough support and traffic control on course. Some of the intersections may not be policed, and it is a vacation spot, so there usually are inpatient drivers that may interfere. Also, at times water, gatorade, may be out at aid stations. He jokes about the pig stuff on the course, etc, but really doesn’t get serious with traffic control. Thank God the ironman length race they used to do is no more, as sometimes participants families had to run to the store to make sure aid stations had supplies. Just watch the intersections as much as you can while racing, and it will be ok. As I said, the course is beautiful, tough, and if they ever got a race director who took care of the details and promoted, I think it could be one of the best races in the country. Hope this helps, and keep asking questions if you need any more info. I’ll probably go up there this week, and could see about roads etc. Have a great race!
P.S. Watch your speed on the way to the race site in the am, as the limit changes fast, and I’ve seen the police stopping cars at 5 am!
I just got back from racing at the European champs out in Switzerland. It’s fair to say when dealing with a glacier lake you have to go up major climbs however you want to leave it’s edge - make sure he has a reserve gear in case the legs go. Not sure about the course but it’s a beautiful cosmopolitan country and swimming in Lake Geneva is awesome. He’ll enjoy this one…
I don’t have any comments to add, just want to echo that it is a beautiful, challenging course, but my 16 month old nephew could run a better race.
And all of his races are like that.
I know the forum rules about bashing people working in the Tri industry. If it were not for these rules…
Just be prepared to do the whole course with no aid and no volunteers to help at any intersections. It happened to me last year.
Tom, if the triathlon is anything like the marathon the course will be wicked (major, major hills,turns) and not well marked and you should not be surprised at the lack of racer support. We had cars turning in front of us on the busier parts of the course (no police or traffic control), abandonded water stations, etc.
I’d advise to be as self sufficient as possible.
Tom,
I did the Oly last year, so I guess that I was done before most of the policing and aid station problems. However, on the Oly course there we a number of railroad tracks and two places of road construction. The first was a 3 inch ditch (3 feet wide) that they decided to dig. To the RD’s credit, they spent a lot of time the day before the race building a wooden plank that we could ride over. The other was a case of the DOT laying down a 1/4 mile stretch of gravel on the course.
The other problem that I found was the swim course is a straight line of buoys (i.e. out and back swim) which goes directly into the rising sun. There were lots of people who would drift over into oncomming swimers. Also, the 1/2 racers go out first, so they have to deal with the Oly and Sprint racers turning into their path on the return trip.
It was a fun race, but you have to pay attention the whole way.
Jeromy
I have done the Olympic once and the 1/2 IM once. The race never starts on time.
The bike isn’t nearly as hilly as the IM course for Wisconsin. It’s not very well marked or marshalled–true.
The run is a killer two loop course. There are 2 big hills on each loop that can bring your race to a halt. There aren’t any mile markers either–or any that should be trusted.
I think we should get a little more for the $140 1/2IM fees. $80 would be a fair price for that race.
Having said that, I’ll be there Saturday morning for the chaos.
“I’ll be there Saturday morning for the chaos”
Yeah, me too, but just for the sprint race. I did the first Lake Geneva race in 1989 and thought it would eventually become a really big thing…great course, nice venue. Did it a few times in the 90’s, then swore it off for some of the above mentioned reasons. Decided to give it another shot two years ago…and will give the guy another shot on Saturday.
We’ll see…
I did the race in 2003 and all I remember about the bike is that it rained the entire ride. I thought the run course was pretty hard - some pretty tough hills.
If I recall correctly, the layout of transition area kind of sucks. It was long and skinny and had the entrance from the swim in such a way that if you position yourself on the wrong end you can add quite a bit of distance to cover - tell your buddy to get there early.