I'm writing this review a few years after I did the race. It is a great location for a first time 70.3. The year I raced was a very hot year. This past year in 2016 the swim was canceled because of a dense fog that also delayed the start. Goes to show the importance of being mentally prepared and ready to adjust your plan if required.

Check in and expo: This was well organized with the check-in and packet pickup being located inside with the expo. There was a bit of a line however it moved quickly. The expo was of a decent size with lots of items on display and samples to try. The bike check in was located at T1 (Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park) which is a park along the lake. I recommend you carry your bike in and hang it on the rack checking for spurs before you let your tire touch the ground. I've never seen so many flat tires at one time and many were from people who talked about hearing that the sand spurs will pop tires and didn't believe that the weight of a bike with no rider would be enough.

This is a two transition race so all your gear needs to be packed in the correct bag and you need to be ready to bag and tie your gear up as part of your transition. If you don't you risk loosing your belonging. With a race this long the time is well spent and only a few seconds if your organized.

The morning of the race you will drop your run back off at T2. This will be tied to the rack where your bike will be placed later in the day. You then take a bus to T1 and the start of the race. Make sure you have all your swim gear, bike nutrition etc… and morning of bag before getting on the bus.

After you get your bike set and make sure you don't have any flat tires you will then be directed to check your morning of bag. If your in the later swim waves you don't need to get in your wetsuit just yet. For myself I started an hour after the pros. in one of the last swim waves. The lake is cold so a wetsuit is a must. At least it is for me.

After the swim there are wetsuit strippers. Once your suit is off roll it up as you run up the hill to put in in your bike gear bag and tie up with your cap and goggles. Again I recommend carrying your bike out to the road and having more than one spare tube for this race.

The bike course is hilly with only a few steep areas. Most of these have immediate long downhills to take advantage of.

The run course it a lot tougher than it looks on paper. When I did the race it was a cool morning that later became hot in the upper 90's. the run course goes from Luedecke Arena where the finish line and T2 is located and runs downhill along Decker Lake Rd. about halfway to Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park you climb a steady hill to the park where T1 and the race start was located. There isn't much shade so the sun will take it's toll. Make sure you have some sun screen in your bag and hit up the aid stations for cooling early.

The finish is located inside the Arena which is nice after running in the hot sun. At the finish you will get your medal, food, drinks, medical if needed etc…

For gear pickup all the gear left at T1 will have been picked up and moved to T2 and volunteers will be organizing it by race number so you can pick everything up at one location after the last runner starts on the course. This is why it's so important to get everything in your bag and tie it off with everything labeled just in case.