Mayo Lake Triathlon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Peng M.
Morrisville, NC

  (08-17-2009)

"While at the Triangle Triathlon I overheard one of the TrySports management discussing a triathlon he was trying to promote as an affordable event meant to interest newcomers to the sport. The event would be a sprint, would be very cheap yet fully supported, and it would be within easy driving distance of the RTP area. I believe this man was talking about the Mayo Lake Sprint Triathlon. At $20 for the registration fee it's cheap as Borscht and I was able to encourage a few people out along with me for the event.

Mayo Lake turned out to be a challenging sprint triathlon distance owing to the hilly 15 mile bike course followed by the hilly mixed pavement and trail 5K. The swim itself actually worried some of us surveying the course before the event, as the exit from the water towards T1 is a slippery mud slope leading up to an upward dirt path complete with stumps and rocks. The organizers had painted some of the larger stumps and rocks bright orange to mark them, but we could all imagine tripping on one of the unmarked hazards or landing a foot right on top of one and hurting ourselves badly. In addition right at the water's edge was a fallen tree complete with pointy branches submerged beneath the water surface. Fortunately I did not hear of any bad incidents. I think people were extra careful, and there were volunteers at the exit to help people onto land.

The swim was organized in four mass-start, in-water waves: men 39 and under, men 40 and over, women 39 and under, and women 40 and over. The course was one of the oddest 750 meters I had ever swum: straight out to the first buoy, a roughly hairpin turn right around to a second buoy, then a third buoy in a little finger of water resembling a large water drainage ditch. It wasn't a drainage ditch of course, but it was definitely not a traditional lake beach by any means. Overall swim was good though, with murky visibility but placid water.

The bike was a single 15 mile loop consisting of only right turns, over hilly terrain. Shade was minimal but at the time of the morning heat really wasn't a problem. For such a short ride no aid stations were present, but there was always someone at the intersections to help direct car and bike traffic. Road conditions were reasonably smooth except for a short rough downhill patch.

The run was on mixed pavement and trail, the most arduous of it being akin to the terrain on the hiking trails in William B. Umstead Park or the run course in Greensboro's Run at the Rock. If you have trail shoes, I would recommend them over regular running shoes for the extra support and sole protection."

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2009