Jenny Burden's Staging Area

The swim course is the best IM swim course I’ve seen- a big one-loop square that allows lots of room to spread out.

The bike is challenging, but the downhills outweigh the uphills and you can get serious speed.

The run is mostly shaded and has some hills, but the course is overall really nice and spectator friendly.

Don’t underestimate the altitude. I came from Texas and although I normally perform really well at even higher altitudes, I was forced to DNF at mile 101 on the bike because of respiratory issues. Listen to your body and be prepared for it to do unexpected things. This race is great and I’m mad my body didn’t cooperate, but I was having an awesome time before that point!

This was my first XTERRA event and still my favorite! The swim gets a little tight because of boundary lines in the water, but visibility is great. The bike is excellent- some REALLY challenging climbs mixed with a lot of fast downhill and even some pump track. The run is shaded and both up and downhill, with some fun single-track sections. I definitely want to race again!

I attended this race with a group of girlfriends for my bachelorette party. I wanted to do a camping trip and we’re all runners, so we traveled from Texas to Yosemite NP and made a girl’s weekend of it!

While the race is not IN Yosemite NP (they are VERY clear about that on the website, so if you don’t read, it’s your fault) the location is still beautiful and the distance from campgrounds is drive-able. Packet pickup was easy, and there were knowledgeable people around to give us tips on where to park and what time to arrive the next morning.

I really like the shirts, and it was cool that there were so many color options. I needed to size up and they wouldn’t let me until after the race, which was only a minor hassle because I had to go get it out of the car and then they were out of the color I really liked, but I still ended up with a pretty one which was great because I wear it as an every-day shirt, not just for working out.

The shuttle bus system from the finish line parking areas to the start was easy, but it’s a long ride, so be prepared (and take a nap if you want!) The start line had PLENTY of porta-potties. Walk down to the end- everyone piles up at the first few, I guarantee there’s no line down there.

The race course the year I did it had 4,000ft of elevation drop in the first 10 miles. That made for a FAST course. I typically run a 10min/mile and I was running 8:30 with no trouble- pretty fun for someone who is typically slow! The water stops were super easy with plenty of fluids and snacks and the scenery as we ran down the mountains was beautiful.

The last three miles were not hard at all, it just felt that way since the first 10 were so easy. Even so, I PRed by 15 minutes thanks to the course! I really loved the finish line snack boxes. They were pre-packaged healthy snacks so that even if you weren’t hungry then, you could take them for hiking snacks later! There were lots of places to sit, a great crowd at the finish, and we ate and drank plenty before we headed back to camp.

The people who run these races are also really nice and helpful. We volunteered for finish line cleanup and enjoyed meeting everyone. I love that this company gets people to enjoy our amazing national parks and to expand beyond just running to exploring the world around us. I plan on doing one a year until I run them all, just as an excuse to see all the parks! The medals are huge and high quality, too- worth collecting.

The swag for this race is pretty decent- great shirt that I like a lot and a nice medal. The after-party is great with lots of food and drinks and music. The course is also cool, because it’s right through the heart of downtown Austin, places where you don’t get to really ride all-out typically. The run is relatively flat and so is the bike. I didn’t like the bike because it’s four loops- that’s a lot of times to go around and around and it got very congested as sprint racers piled in. The swim is in Lady Bird Lake sooooo, don’t swallow a lot of water!

Overall a fun race, but I don’t know if I’ll do it again- it’s a very early morning on a holiday to go in a lot of circles. It was a good, competitive field with great crowd though!

If you’ve never done a trail race, this is a great place to start. The course has some fun features like creeks and embankments, but isn’t super rocky or hilly. Just beware the tree roots! I tripped several times, especially as I got tired. The race swag was an awesome long sleeve tech shirt that I wear all the time (runs large, as it’s unisex!) and the after-party was small, but had great BBQ and beers. The price to race is perfect, and it’s a smallish event, so parking is easy. HUGE medals, too, even if you don’t do the full 50miler.

The BCS marathon really is an awesome marathon, especially considering how much smaller College Station is than other major Texas cities. The expo is awesome, you get two shirts, HUGE medals, and a special prize each year (foam rollers, socks, medal hangers, etc)
The course is pretty flat with a few inclines and winds in and around College Station. The aid stations are super awesome with lots of amazing goodies to eat and drink to keep you going. There’s great crowd support, too. The ONLY problem I had was, being injured at the time and therefore slow, by the time I finished, half of the finish line vendors were gone and there wasn’t any food left and the only drinks were watered down margaritas. That was kind of a buzz-kill! I think race production made note of it though, so hopefully that didn’t happen again. They really care for their runners and their race’s reputation!

I did this as my first sprint ever, two weeks before my first Ironman at IMTX (I like longer distances, apparently)

The swim is nice and easy, a quick triangle in the lake. You have to run uphill from the lake to T1, which kind of sucks, and there’s stickers in the grass, so be prepared to pull thorns from your toes. The bike is hilly, but quick. BE PREPARED on each downhill to go back up and shift accordingly! The run is off-road, so bring trail shoes if you have them, but it’s not incredibly hilly. The finish line festival is great, and the shirts were really cute the year I did it. Worth it and would do again.

I really had fun with this race. It starts and finishes in a really gorgeous part of downtown San Antonio and takes advantage of their great running trails and the riverwalk. The course is not difficult and was easy to follow. The finish line had chocolate chip pancakes- SO GOOD! Plenty of hotels within walking distance of the race, so race morning was super easy. I liked it a lot and would do it again.

Who knew Waco was in the mountains?! The swim is in the Brazos, so murky but OK and no strong currents. The bike is pretty fast and flat, so not too bad. The run? Oh man, the run. There were HUGE hills once you hit Cameron Park that I was not emotionally prepared for. Oh wow! Be prepared if you do the Oly, it’s not an easy run. It is pretty, though, so there’s that! The swag is great- we got one of my all-time favorite race shirts, awesome medals, pint glasses, and good snacks. They had a fun finish line across a bridge with a free photo booth, good food, and hotels are right across the street. I definitely liked the race, but when I go back, I’ll be better prepared!

I did this as my first ever 70.3, but have since also volunteered as a kayaker for the swim, so I’ve seen it in action twice. I will agree with most reviews that it isn’t the most beautiful or interesting part of Austin for a race. The expo center is ancient and Del Valle isn’t the greatest place to ride thanks to droughts in recent years cracking the roads. However, it’s still a good race worth doing, especially if you want to visit Austin- just stay downtown for fun things to do! The bike course is hilly, but not insane. The run course is also pretty dang hilly, and you do three loops, so you do those hills a few times. There’s not much shade on it, so stay on top of your hydration. The finish line through the arena is pretty cool- lots of crowd support. I’m over paying Ironman prices for races, so I probably won’t do it again, but if you want that full IM experience, there’s no reason not to do it here.

This race is produced by a smaller company, so my expectations were adjusted accordingly, but a few things stuck with me. The swim is fine- it’s in the river, so you get a nice helpful current one way and fight it the other. The bike is for sure hilly, but not extremely terrible, and the course is easy to follow. The run is nothing super memorable- not completely flat, but not hard, and nice shady patches to get some relief. The things that bothered me the year I did it was that the awards were done WELL before normal- I was second in my class (athena at the time) and completely missed the awards, so I assumed i didn’t place and went home. Thankfully, the nice race director mailed me my medal, because there was no finisher medal. That’s not a huge deal, but since most races DO have them, it would have been nice to know ahead of time. This was my first tri at the time (I’ve now done over 15) and it was a pretty big bummer. Also, the finish line party was pretty disorganized. It’s been a few years, so I’d wager these things have gotten better since then, but I haven’t been back to see.

The race ends in Fair Park and there’s Fletchers Corny dogs for sale there. What else do you need to know?

The race is really well organized with a great expo and starting line procedure. The course is pretty flat and well-shaded. I ran this as my first ever half marathon, and definitely enjoyed it. There’s TONS of crowd support and a great atmosphere around it, and you get a great medal when you’re done. I’m thinking of making a return some day to crush the time I did the first time!