Santa Barbara Triathlon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Brett M.
San Francisco, CA

  (09-01-2010)

"This is one of the great races in California, from its amazing location, to a course that takes you along the beach, you can\'t ask for much more.

The swim can be a bit rough if winds are up in the morning like they were this year. Other years it has been calm as I\'m told, but for my race there was some chop in the water which tossed us around a bit.

The 34 mile bike course is great, but more challenging than I thought with some hills where I was expecting rollers and a large grinding hill that lets up just enought so you let your guard down, but then you make another turn and it gets really steep again. They marked the course with a ton of chalk arrows on the ground, but it would have been nice for a few more volunteers out there for directions. They had cops at every major intersection directing traffic, but there were cars on the course which caused a few confusing situations, but I never had to stop as the race director warns very harshly if you are directed to.

10 mile run course is an out and back with a gradual incline out, and a blazing fast gradual decline back to the finish. You can easily get distracted if you want to look at the surf or just the incredible landscape all around you.

If you want to read my full race report you can find it at http://clydesdaletriathlon.blogspot.com "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Jamie F.
San Francisco, CA

  (03-23-2010)

"This race is in a beautiful area. The swim is in the ocean and the run is along the water. This race would get alot higher marks if the bike course has been alot better organized.
The bike course follows lots of the bike paths that run through the UCSB campus- while these are not my favorite things to ride on- as they have lots of sharp turns and roots, they would have been fine IF they had been clearly marked. There were many 3 way intersections that had tiny arrows ( I couldn't tell if they were for this race or not) and no volunteers. I made a wrong turn as well as 3 of my teammates. In addition, half of the volunteers that were on the course were on their cell phones, and the other half gave you wrong directions, or wouldn't say anything. I had to yell every time I came up to an intersection and ask which way I was supposed to go.

I loved swimming thought the kelp forests, and the run was along the coastline and a lake. Really beautiful.

SO, I would do this race again as I think it has great potential, however they really need to work on marking the bike course and briefing the volunteers on what they are out there to do.
"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2010

Kevin H.
San Francisco, CA

  (06-08-2009)

"The course was so gorgeous- warm water, biking through vineyards, and run along cliffs. "

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2008

Damon K.
San Francisco, CA

  (05-05-2009)

"This race is a strange distance, between Olympic and 70.3 so I want into it without any training after IM Austria a month and 1/2 before. That was an OK plan, but the run was hot, and in hindsight I would have done a bit more of that.

The swim was really fun; mass beach start into the break. The water was a bit rough, and the water was cold by SoCal standards; just my conditions! I did find it to be a bit more mercenary early on given the venue but all harmless overall.

T1 was set-up really well and easy to maneuver. I was expecting an ocean bike (like I said, no prep), but it was a really great ride through flower fields an very zen-like fields. It was not as flat as I was expecting either, definitely classify this as rolling, and I needed the granny gear a surprising amount of time. It was also a pretty fast field; I felt pushed pretty often by the (drafting) groups that were blazing the course, That (drafting) was a bit frustrating but since I was not looking for any slots or podium I let it go to race for myself.

Run was also a fast field, and there were a lot of straights that let you see other competitors positions. This was good for motivation but also a bit demoralizing at times on the return trip. Some shade but overall pretty exposed; bring sunscreen. Although the run was only 10 miles, I found it to be a lot tougher that most 13 miles, probably because I was not really sure how to pace it at this distance.

Since this is a somewhat "locals" race, the vibe was really laid back, with a friendly competitive twist; really great!"

Reviewed by a: First Time Participant for 2007