Mary K.  5/14/09

If the weather had cooperated, this would have been a great race. The course is extremely challenging, as the entire race is between 7000 and 7500 feet elevation. The bike ride varies between 2 and 5% grade. The run is also extremely hilly, but the scenery makes up for it.

The swim is in a pool, which is a necessity in this part of the world. The Falcon Groundspeed Triathlon is one of the first Olympic races in the mountain west, and when I tell you that the temperature when I got on the bike was 35 degrees and raining, you'll understand why. The year before the weather was beautiful (I hear).

The Olympic consists of two loops on the bike and run, while the sprint is one loop for each. The pool is very nice and cool (about 73 degrees), which is unusual since most indoor pools in Colorado and Wyoming are kept at 80-85 degrees.

The organization was top-notch, and there were a lot of volunteers considering there were only 53 competitors in the Olympic and 98 in the sprint. I'm guessing that there were probably more people signed up, but they bailed when they heard about the weather.

There was an aid station on the bike, and two on the run. Multiply by two for the Olympic.

The run ends in the stadium. Each person was announced as they entered the stadium, even if it was empty (who wants to sit around in freezing rain?).

You'll want to get to the campus early on race day as you'll have to go through security, including having your car searched.

The BBQ after the race was great - hamburgers and hotdogs. The medal is also very nice.