Auburn Triathlon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Marlene S.
Redwood City, CA

  (05-26-2010)

"Read complete blog posting with pictures and video here:

http://www.accentfitness.net/accent-fitness/2 010/05/1st-place-in-age-group-2010-auburn-triathlon.html

Great last minute decision to head out to the Auburn Triathlon in Auburn, California, which is a few miles west of Sacramento. I didn't have this race on my calendar or even on my radar screen until I saw it their group page on Facebook. So I looked up the event and saw there was a new sprint distance race for this year. I thought, what the heck.. let's race again this Sunday.

After master swim on Saturday AM, we headed out to the Larkspur Landing Roseville Hotel. We got an executive suite with two rooms (a must with a toddler). After checking it, we headed out to packet pickup. This race was a two transition zone race. There was a 10 page MS word document which I had printed out describing all of the directions and setup for the race. We would be starting on the bike out of T1 after the swim in Folsom Lake and then racking the bike and running out of T2 and then returning there for the finish line.

We were almost to the packet pickup location when I realized I bought my backup shoes with me, with the intent of dropping off my running shoes on Saturday night so that I wouldn't have to return to T2 on race morning. So we had to make a u-turn back 20 miles to the hotel and then back to packet pickup. We arrived just in time for the pre-race meeting. I heard some overview information and logistic stuff which was helpful. From T1, the race folks transport all of your gear via truck to the finish zone so you had to contain it in a garbage bag or all within your backpack. I opted to put my backpack in the garbage bag and then placed my wetsuit on top of it when I exited T1. It ended up working great.

After packet pickup, we went to T1 and I used another garbage bag to hang my running shoes, socks and race belt with number. It was forecasted to rain that night so the bag was a good option to keep them dry.

Considering all of the race logistics and our distance from the venue, it was an early AM rising at 4AM. We packed up all of our stuff (which was insane for 2 adults and 1 toddler for one night visit). We arrived at T1 super early... probably one of the first 10 racers. I always wondered who those people were that got to Transition hella early so I guess I know now!

It's was pretty cold.. in the upper 40s. I was fine tho with my hat, gloves and warm-up gear. Being one of the earliest arrivals, I got my choice of racks and chose a spot on the end near the swim in. I had ample time for a warm-up run and some dynamic stretching and drills. It also served to warm me up. The water temperature was reported around 64 degree and it felt pretty warm compared to the air. It was a nice lake and I enjoyed swimming around the short course of 1K.

The bike course was another story. I didn't enjoy it at all. First, it was freezing. The first several miles were uphill and winding. I had no clue where I was going...it was decently marked but it is still very challenging to race when you are so in the dark regarding what lies around the next corner. There was little or no need for a tri-bike in this race.. I could barely spend any time in the aero position. There was no real opportunity to gain speed on a flat grade. All in all, I was not very pleased with the bike course nor my performance on it. 2010 Auburn Sprint Triathlon Bike Race

As I entered T2, I had forgotten the exact rack which I had stringed my run shoes on. I went to the wrong rack at first but then quickly found the correct one. I was then off on the run course. The first mile was on a scenic dirt trail which was very nice, except for when it crossed into a road and I had no clue where to do. There were no sign or directions. I had to stop briefly and yelled down to a volunteer down the road for guidance. He told me to continue on the trail. I swear at some points when no one was around that I was just off somewhere and out of the race. But after that trail part, the rest of the course was marked better. I actually enjoyed the race course more than the bike, now that's a change! 2010 Auburn Sprint Triathlon Run Race

Overall, it was a great race. I finished 1st in Age Group with a time of 2:04!"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Brett M.
San Francisco, CA

  (05-24-2010)

"While the race lives up to its billing, I can't fathom what the course was like before they changed the run course to make it a little easier.

This was a very challenging race, and takes some mental fortitude to conquer all the climbing on the bike. It was a unseasonably cold day in Auburn for 2010, and even though I was following the organizers on Facebook and Twitter and they said to dress warm for the morning, I thought it would be just 50\'s, but when I got out of the car, 43 degrees! In restrospect, heed the race directors warnings.

Its a two transition race so definitely read about what is going on and give yourself enough time to ride to T1 from T2. The 7 miles is downhill, and doesn\'t take much time, but it can cause you to hurry getting out on the road and forget things. The race recommends where to park in the AM, but we just parked on the street a few blocks from the finish.

The town comes out to support the race in the populated areas. I recommend driving the second half of the bike course as there are some dangerous downhills to take account for. People were overbraking, for good reason, but that can be as dangerous as going to fast at times too.

Besides freezing the first half of the bike, this was a great race."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Dennis M.
San Francisco, CA

  (08-04-2009)

"Overall I thought Auburn was a great race. It's tough, for sure, but after doing the Silverman Half I didn't think Auburn was that bad. Organization was good, traffic control was mostly good and the run was a blast! Definitely the highlight of the race. Ok, now memories of how tough it was are coming back to me (amazing how easy it is to forget pain).

"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Ben S.
San Francisco, CA

  (06-03-2009)

"This was one of the most enjoyable triathlons I've done. The course was a bit harder than the average half ironman, so don't expect to PR, but it also featured beautiful and fun terrain. I'd rather do this triathlon again, tough as it was, than suffer again through the flat-as-a-pancake boredom of Ironman Arizona.

The swim was in Folsom Lake, which is freshwater and was as warm as a swimming pool. It was wetsuit legal, but a wetsuit wasn't really necessary except for buoyancy. The lake was completely calm and extremely clear. There was a mass start for individual men at 6:30 a.m. (actually, 6:38 by my watch; things were running a little late), followed five minutes later by women and relays. All in all, this was one of the easiest half ironman swims I've done. So this triathlon definitely doesn't earn its sobriquet as "world's toughest" by virtue of its swim leg.

The bike course was considerably harder. There is quite a bit of climbing, mostly in the first half of the course. Because the second half is a lot more downhill, it is pretty easy to negative split the bike. There are a few "weird" twists and turns in the bike course. At one point early on, we cut through what appeared to be a semi-paved parking lot. There are a few very steep climbs and steep descents. At the halfway point, the ride descends sharply to Bear River and then climbs back up again. BE CAREFUL! Even though we were warned to watch our speed on the descent, I saw two riders lose control and crash at the bottom. Fortunately, neither were seriously hurt. I strongly recommend touring the bike course ahead of the race. I visited Auburn a few weeks before the race to practice the ride. There were ample volunteers on the course, and the course was well-marked, so getting lost wouldn't have been likely, but pacing this difficult, somewhat technical course could be hard if you didn't know what was coming. There were plenty of aid stations, giving out bottles of water and Cytomax, and Hammer gel packets. At one aid station near the end of my ride, they had run out of water bottles and only had Cytomax. Which I would have taken anyway... I have a sensitive stomach so I prefer liquid nutrition as much as possible on race day. The volunteers were very friendly. The ride was very low traffic, and was quite scenic for much of the distance. At the same time, quite a bit of it paralleled I-80, so it didn't really feel rustic either.

A number of veterans told me that the run course used to be much harder when this race started seven years ago. I can't compare, since this was my first year doing this race, but I didn't think the run was as bad as I had imagined it would be. It was a two-loop course, with a .9 mile extension on the second loop. The first loop doubles as the 10k run for the international triathlon on the same day, so the course was a bit more crowded on my first loop than my second. It is a mixture of trails and asphalt. Again, plenty of aid stations with water, cytomax, hammer gel, and fruit.

The high temperature was 85 degrees, and with the early morning start, it wasn't that hot by the time I finished.

Only a couple of hundred people did the half iron distance. Including the other events (international, sprint, relays, duathlon), there were maybe six hundred total participants who showed up. As usual, I found the other participants to be extremely friendly and courteous throughout the race. Especially for a small, grass-roots event, it was extremely well-run. My only complaint would be that registration on Saturday, the day before, was from 4pm to 7pm, which was kind of late in the day. They also have registration on Sunday morning before the race.

My friend and I stayed at the Super 8 in Auburn, which was cheap but clean and perfectly sufficient. We ate dinner the night before the race at Original Pete's Pizza Pasta Grill, which is in the shopping center directly across the highway from the Super 8. The marinara pasta there was nothing spectacular, but was exactly what we needed for a pre-race meal. We had dinner at 5pm on Saturday and there was virtually no wait. There is a Smoothy King a couple of doors down that makes 100% fruit juice smoothies. There is also a Raley's supermarket there, where after dinner we picked up bagels for breakfast.

This race is point-to-point, so unless you have someone to drive you around, you either have to park near the starting line and then ride your bike back to your car at the end, or park near the finish line and ride your bike down to the start. It's about 7 miles from the finish line to the start line, mostly downhill. My friend and I decided to park at the finish line and ride down to the start as an easy warm-up early in the morning. We were glad to have the car right there at the end! The post-race banquet was great... lots of fruit, and barbequed chicken, and free Jamba Juice. There was chili too, I think, but I didn't have any."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009