An Outdoor Mecca Iconic Flatirons. Beautiful Boulder. The outdoor playground for endurance athletes. Boulder caters to the outdoor enthusiast and not only provides epic trails and outdoor activities but also world-class dining, shopping, events and craft beer and spirits. Boulder gives you a taste of everything Colorado. Boulder, Colorado. An …
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An Outdoor Mecca
Iconic Flatirons. Beautiful Boulder. The outdoor playground for endurance athletes. Boulder caters to the outdoor enthusiast and not only provides epic trails and outdoor activities but also world-class dining, shopping, events and craft beer and spirits. Boulder gives you a taste of everything Colorado.
Boulder, Colorado. An Outdoor Mecca.
Swim
The one-loop swim takes place in the Boulder Reservoir. The water temperature of Boulder Reservoir is generally between 65-70 degrees F in June.
Bike
The one-loop bike course through North Boulder County takes in the rural roads of the Boulder area, first heading East on Reservoir Rd., then turning onto HWY 119. It has under 2,000 feet of elevation gain.
Run
The two loop run course is very fast and only has 340 feet of gain. The 13.1-mile route will run you along the Boulder Reservoir, up 51st Street to Monarch, back down 63rd Street and along the Dam Road. Most of the course is on dirt roads.
Swim: RESERVOIR
Bike: FLAT
Run: FLAT
Avg Air Temp: 86° F / 30° C
Avg Water Temp: 66° F / 19° C
Airport: DEN
LESS
LOVE Boulder.
Packet Pickup: Went smooth. Swag was awesome - the shirt was super cute! One complaint - the guy doing the pre-race meeting said "we didn't get wet suit strippers because … MORE
Packet Pickup: Went smooth. Swag was awesome – the shirt was super cute! One complaint – the guy doing the pre-race meeting said “we didn’t get wet suit strippers because we were *only* doing a half ironman”. I found that to be incredibly rude as a half ironman is still a pretty freaking big accomplishment! (And that said there WERE wetsuit strippers on race day Mr. Rude Man!)
Pre-race: Parking was kind of a mess and you end up having to park pretty far away. The highway looked super backed up but I took the back way in and got into the reservoir pretty quickly!
Swim: As a lowlander this was the most difficult part for me. That said, the reservoir is a beautiful place to swim and once I got used to the altitude it went really well – huge swim PR for me! Race was very borderline wetsuit legal so keep that in mind if you for sure want a wetsuit legal race!
Bike: Absolutely beautiful sights on pristine roads! Coming from Iowa I was absolutely amazed at the condition of the roads!!! Plus the mountain views were so great I wished several times I could stop and take pictures. A very flat course which allowed me a 45 minute PR from my previous 70.3. The only part I hated was the part on the side of the highway with cars zooming by at 60mph. It felt super unsafe and I was too scared to pass anyone during that portion.
Run: HOT HOT HOT!!!! I did all my training at the hottest part of the day so I didn’t feel the heat as much as others did. The aid stations were life savers! They did everything they could to try to keep the liquids cool in the heat and sun. Cups of ice were aplenty! There were a few short hills but for the most part a flat run. But there is literally NO shade whatsoever so don’t be me and get sunscreen reapplied before the run!! I was burnt to a crisp the next day!
Post race: I am always disappointed in the food Ironman provides post race. I’ve had better post race food at tiny 5k’s I paid $25 for. As a vegan I did appreciate that they offered veggie burgers though! The other bummer was they had torn down the swag store by the time I had finished (and I am not a back of the pack athlete) and I know some people don’t want to buy race swag until they actually finish.
All in all, I absolutely want to participate in this race again! The area can’t be beat for activities and stellar views! I PR’d my half ironman time by an hour on this course!!
Boulder rocks...literally!
Take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I did all of my training for this event in New Jersey (sea level), with the exception of a couple of warmups … MORE
Take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I did all of my training for this event in New Jersey (sea level), with the exception of a couple of warmups in Boulder before the race. It was likely more difficult than necessary for me because I hadn’t had any exposure to high altitudes prior to the race.
Anyway…
The good:
-Race swag was phenomenal. We got a really cool waterproof bag, and the shirt was really nice (much better design than the Muncie 70.3 shirt I have from 2016).
-Scenery. Watching the mountains on the bike course made 56 miles a lot more interesting than it could’ve been.
-Hydration stops on the run course had a ton of options (oranges, pretzels, cookies, chips, coke, gels, etc.), and were placed frequently throughout the course (at least one per mile).
-Swim start was self-seeded, and the other racers did a great job of placing themselves. Very little congestion throughout the swim, and the flow of swimmers getting into the water was very smooth.
-Post-race photo ops were great – lots of IM-branded backgrounds.
What could be better:
-The finish line crowd support was lacking. I had to try to hype up the crowd when I was running down the red carpet.
-The run course is 100% unshaded and mostly on gravel. Not the end of the world, but tough to transition from road running.
-Bike course nutrition was minimal (and very slim – I think the first station wasn’t until mile 15-20).
-Swimming at altitude is a lot harder. It feels like someone is sitting on your chest. Be prepared for that if you’re coming from sea level, and chill your pace, at least until you are comfortable enough to get into a rhythm.
-It would’ve been nice to have water handed out at the athlete briefing. Make sure to bring water with you to stay hydrated during all of the walking/exploring IM Village.
-Post-race food was pretty minimal (hot dogs, chips, cookies, salad). I was totally fine with the spread (because I could’ve eaten my left hand by the time I finished), but some racers felt underwhelmed.
Overall, I’d absolutely recommend this race. It’ll challenge you (especially if you’re coming from sea level), but the scenery and excellent organization make it worth pushing through the added level of difficulty. Plus, you feel more accomplished with the extra barrier! 🙂
Great race with a few logistical issues
I competed in this race as part of relay team and did the biking portion. In 2016 I did the full Boulder Ironman which was held at the same place … MORE
I competed in this race as part of relay team and did the biking portion. In 2016 I did the full Boulder Ironman which was held at the same place at this time of year. They switched the times for the Full Ironman and this half so that competitors could have more favorable weather conditions as it is usually pretty hot in early August (the full Ironman was held in the beginning of June). As it turned out this year it was hotter in early June than it was on August 5th when this race was held.
Overall this race was very good, very nice swim setup, good bike course however the run had some rough road/trail conditions in certain spots. The t-shirt and medal were both very good (nice light gray t-shirt that fit right and had a nice design). The only issue was logistics on race day. We drove up from south of Denver the day of the race and there was a traffic jam 2 miles from the venue that we were stuck in for over an hour even though we were very early. They delayed the start of the event due to the traffic issue. As it turned out they did not have police directing traffic off the nearby highway early enough and they only had one entrance to the Boulder Reservoir open. Once they opened up both entrances we were able to get in and get ready. There were a lot of nervous athletes who decided to hike from where they were stopped on the highway to try and get there in time. They have held this event enough times now that logistic issues like this shouldn’t happen but overall it all worked out and it was a very good race.