Boathouse International Triathlon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Russell B.
Oklahoma City, OK

  (06-26-2009)

"It was pretty good for the first time this race was done. The river was a little gross but from what I understand none of the age group racers got sick."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009

Jamie M.
Wichita, KS

  (05-22-2009)

"The main draw for this race was the Pan American Championship, which takes place for the elites and junior elites on Saturday. If you can make it to the race site a day early, by all means go see the elite race! The excitement and drama of ITU racing are not to be missed!

Because it provides an opportunity to race on an ITU-style course, the crowd at this race seemed to be composed primarily of serious athletes. There were a handful of first-timers, but mountain bikes and hybrid cruisers were conspicuously absent. Be prepared to see (and, ahem, pass) a lot of expensive bikes, disc wheels, and tri-spokes. In spite of all that, the field was relatively small--under 250 for this first-time running of the event.

The race begins in the North Canadian River, near the Chesapeake Boathouse (hence the race's name). The age-group race is a deep-water start right next to the Lincoln Street Bridge. The course takes you west about 200 m, which takes you underneath a railroad trestle. Then you make a left turn around a buoy, swim about 50 meters perpendicular to shore, then it's a long, straight stretch east. You swim back under the railroad trestle and under the Lincoln Street Bridge before turning left around another buoy, swimming perpendicular to shore, and heading to the boat ramp for the swim out.

With the 7:30 start time, the sun made it difficult to sight for that long east-bound stretch. There were a few times where I stopped to tread water in order to re-orient myself. But if you can figure out which pair of pylons you want to swim between, you can aim pretty well for the bridge. The current was coming from the west, which meant the longest stretch of swimming was with the flow of water. Turning back into the current the second time, it was noticeable. The water is very murky and full of silt. All of us were sporting brownish-red beards, coming out of the water, and I washed lots of mud out of my ears after the race. However, the water didn't have that muddy smell/taste of truly dirty water. Water temperature was 70 degrees.

The race provided wetsuit strippers, which I'd never seen at an Olympic distance event before. After having your wetsuit stripped, you have a long run uphill and across a parking lot to get into transition (which is different from the elite transition zone used the previous day). Transition was relatively small, so it was a quick one.

The bike course takes you north on Lincoln, around the Capitol building, and then back south. It's a 4-loop course, so you have plenty of opportunity to get acquainted with the hills and sections of road. I was expecting a flatter, faster course, but there were a few (very) gradual uphills that caught me off-guard. I saw my speed drop to 13 MPH on one stretch. The bike course is also my one complaint with this race: Lincoln has a lot of rough patches. There's one stretch, coming into downtown OKC, that has a seam every 10 feet or so. You ride over that and feel your teeth rattle every couple seconds. It'd be annoying even if you only had to go over it once, but you have to hit that patch 4 times. There are U-turns at both ends of the bike course, so be prepared to corner hard and fast. Volunteers on the bike course were great, but no aid stations, so bring plenty of water and nutrition. Each intersection was manned with police and volunteers, but there was a little bit of cross traffic, which made me jumpy a couple times. Railroad crossings were covered with mats, which I thought was a nice touch, but were still pretty rough. Lincoln was under construction when the 2009 race was run, so the quality of the course might be better in future years.

The run course is probably the highlight of this race. You complete 4 loops, which makes the time absolutely fly by because each loop is so short. The course follows the Oklahoma City river trails, a pedestrian bike path complete with dotted yellow line down the middle. The quality of the pavement is very high, and the scenery is gorgeous (although if you're working as hard as you should be, you shouldn't be paying too much attention to that). There are a few short but significant hills, enough that you should get up on your toes a little bit, but not enough to slow your pace. Most of the loop is an out-and-back, which means you get a chance to see everyone ahead of you and everyone behind you. Of course, after a while it's hard to keep track of who might be ahead of you or behind but on different laps, so it's not a great race tool. There's ample aid--water and Powerade (sponsor beverage) at every turnaround, which on this 4-loop course adds up to a total of 8 aid stations. Volunteers were great, very helpful, and there were USAT officials standing guard at any point where the course might be confusing to help direct traffic. They had a couple volunteers dedicated to calling "watch that curb!" The run does go across a grassy patch, but it's only about 15 feet wide.

Finish chute is clearly marked, features bleacher seating for spectators, and your name comes up on the Jumbotron (which was still set up from the previous day) at the end! Timing is chip timing. There were 4 swim waves, although I'm sure there will be more as the event grows. Post-race food was the best spread I've ever seen: apples, bananas, oranges, bagels, peanut butter, packets of Oreos, cheese and peanut butter crackers, pretzels, cookies . . . and I'm sure I'm forgetting some other things. All this was set up under a tent, along with the complimentary massage tables. There were half a dozen masseuses, and folding chairs so you could sit down while you waited. There was also first aid in the athlete's finishing area.

This course is great for the family, because it's so spectator friendly. You can watch the swim course from above by walking up the Lincoln Street Bridge. You see your athlete a minimum of four times, no matter where you are on the bike course, and there's the opportunity to see them 8 times, if you're standing at the right place. Same thing with the run course--the course takes you on a loop around a grassy area, perfect for spectators to catch you coming right in front of them, then again right behind them. And of course there's the bleacher seating and Jumbotron at the finish line.

Race logistics were well-managed. Only two body-markers, but at a race this size, that wasn't too big a deal. One surprising thing was that you weren't allowed to un-rack your bike after you were set up in transition. So if you want a bike warm up, make sure that you do it *before* you're racked. Security was standard: only one way in and out of transition, with a volunteer checking to make sure that the number on your bike and the number on your body matched.

I really enjoyed this race. The race directors, volunteers, and officials (of which there were plenty, what with the elite race the day before) were helpful and supportive. Be sure to check out this gem of a race right in the middle of the country."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009