We did this race as a family. It was my 8 year old's longest run to date and it was a great experience for all of us.

The check in is efficient and the expo is sized well in proportion to the race with a few vendors and essentials.

Race day parking was managed by the cruise terminal garages and was not efficient. While the parking itself was ample, we faced severe congestion getting into the garage. We arrived over an hour before our race was scheduled to start and it took most of that time to gain entry to one of the two garages. The problem seemed to be an inefficient ticketing procedure, but it could have easily led to a late start for those who didn't arrive as early.

The start setup is laid out well with clearly defined corrals. The announcer was hard to hear for the start and I was only 50 feet away.

The race it self was great, running along the waterfront with the sea breeze filling your lungs. When you do the turn around you can see where you started and really appreciate the distance you've run. The aid stations were well managed with plenty of nuun, water and snacks. The organizers also placed potties in areas along the course for the runners.

My only recommendations would be for more aid stations since this race is held in such a warm location. Even though it's winter it was still in the upper 80's.

The race jacket is top quality and very comfortable and the hot chocolate mug and snacks at the end are also very good. Even in the heat.

It was a great experience for us and we look forward to this event and other Hot Chocolate runs in the future.

Packet pickup was held in the main lobby of the YMCA each day the week of the race. There is no Expo but there is a silent Auction with some great options to bid on. The race is well organized with the kids 1 mile race, 5k and 10 k all starting along the same street at different times. The spacing from the kids fun run to the other two events allows parents to run with their little ones and have time to then line up for the main events.

The 2 courses are flat and fast and well marked with a measured total elevation gain of 33 ft for the 10k. It's usually a cool morning for the race making for great running conditions and the after party is very family friendly with everything from food to games for the kids. The awards ceremony is also held promptly after the main events finish.

The race as always was very well managed with over 3,800 finishers between the 5k and 10k combined.

Oilman 70.3 was a great race. It's the first 70.3 that I've done that wasn't an IRONMAN event and I thought it was well supported with very good organization.

The packet pickup can be done one of two ways. You can pick up in west Houston the Wednesday before at Bicycle World or you can pickup the Saturday before the race at La Torretta Del Lago Resort.

In the packet you get your swim cap, race numbers and a number of fliers from sponsors. For swag you receive a cotton race shirt and a trucker hat. Timing chip is picked up the morning of the race.

Race morning. Transition opened at 5:30 am. Most racked there bike and then went and picked up the timing chip. The racks had plenty of space between them so there was no concern with running down the isle and tripping on anyone's gear during the race.

Swim: The swim start is located by the La Torretta tower (hotel) on the beach area next to the resort water park. It's a beach start with multiple age groups together. For example I'm in the 30-34 age group but the swim wave was for 30-39.
The swim course is will marked with orange buoys on the way out, 2 large red turn buoys and yellow buoys on the way back in until your back in the cove with more orange buoys. The swim has one right hand turn to leave the cove and 2 left hand turns before coming straight back into short. The swim exit is at a wall and you climb up ladders that are down into the water. This was a new one for me but easy enough with volunteers to help pull you up. Once you were up they had wetsuit strippers to help you before entering T1.

Bike: The bike leg of the race is 56 miles mostly on country roads. On the way out there are hills but they don't feel like much until after mile 30 when you start to get the long steady climbs. This is also when your legs are worn out and for 2016 there was a headwind on top of it. Overall the course intersections are well managed with local police an the turns are clearly marked with volunteers directing you to make sure no one gets lost or misses the turn.
There are two railroad crossings on the course. The first one was very typical and smooth. The second one located around mile 42 was rough but well marked to slow down with rubber mats laid across to help with wheel transitions. The total elevation change was 190 ft which equated to 2,000 ft of climbs and downhills throughout the race distance. Just a heads up for those who train in flat locations.

Run: The run course was a mix of grass, golf cart path and road. The road sections were nice for running. The cart path was a mix with sections at steep horizontal inclines as well as the ups and downs of the golf course. Some of the path was also uneven or damaged. The race organizers did a good job of marking these areas with paint, take and cones but it was a challenge to hold a pace while running these sections and through the grass areas near transition with the ground being a little uneven as well. It can be done but be prepared to pay attention to your footing.

After party: This like the rest of the race was well organized with Pizza, Water, Juice, Beer at the race hospitality tent. Some of the sponsors also had tents set up for example the Cryo Spa had Normatec Pulse recovery sleeves hooked up for the athletes. I even heard there was a cold dunk but that’s not usually for me.

Spectating:
The arrangement of the race makes for a cool swim start to watch and see for the first 100 yards and the finish as the swimmers get out of the water into T1. There is also plenty of road to see the bike start and finish. The run depending on how much your willing to move around can have multiple cheer locations but many hang out at around mile 6/12 because you can see your runner 4 times in total just from this spot as they run by two times between mile 6 and 6.5 to start the second lap and then mike 12.4 or so as they are entering the final mile and the finish.

The Towne Lake Triathlon is an Olympic and Sprint distance race. This review is for the Olympic however the race course was the same with the swim cutting through the middle, only one bike look and one run loop.

The packet pickup is held a True Tri Sports in Cypress which is nice because they have just about everything you might need if there is any gear your missing for race day. When I picked up my packet I didn't get the included visor. All it took was a quick e-mail to the contact listed on the website and they had one waiting for me the morning of the race.
As part of the packet pickup you get Tri Tats for race numbers, the visor, race shirt, timing chip and other info on local discounts or offerings.

Race morning the Transition opens at 5:30 am. There was plenty of parking and it was a short walk across the Lone Star College campus. The transition is located in a grass field and can get muddy especially in the bike in and out location due to the traffic from everyone checking in through that location. The racks have plenty of space to setup. The only downside I saw was for spectators with strollers who could not get a clear path to the swim start without putting themselves across the race course with kids. There may have been limited access on the run course side but you would still be on the race course which could be an issue if your racer is one of the last waves to start.

The swim has a beach mass start and then curves to the right. The water isn't clear but felt clean and you will touch bottom if your within 15-20 ft of the shore.

The bike course is a 2 loop race on the main roads located in the area. It's all concrete road and mostly flat making for a very fast bike course. The most technical part is right after the start and the turns are well protected with large road barriers keeping cars away.

The run is a 2 loop run around the neighborhood lakes. It's mostly flat with a short uphill as you go along the side of an overpass after mile 1 and 4. It has a lot of windy turns that help to keep your pace in check and the finish branches off down the center of one of the colleges main parking lots giving plenty of space for spectators to line up and cheer.

This is historically a very hot race so the after party had some ice baths along with pizza and other food for the racers. There was a rock wall and bounce house for the kids as well.

I was very happy with the way this race was organized and recommend it to others as a great late season race.