Judie Wilcox's Staging Area

Don’t do this race if you want a nice easy day out but definitely do it for great atmosphere and a good challenge!
This was my second time doing Wildflower Long distance. My first time I panicked during the swim, barely finished the bike and got to the end as one of the last finishers. This year was going to be completely different.
The swim is great. Not too cold considering the time of year and an easy course to navigate. The age group waves meant that faster swimmers do overtake slower ones, but it wasn’t too aggressive.
The bike is really hard. You start with rolling hills, which in any other race would be tough hills. Then at around mile 41/42 is Nasty Grade. It is a long, steep, never-ending hill. Every time you think you can see the top, you go round a corner to be greeted with more hill. But that isn’t the worst of it. After Nasty Grade there are still 2 more big hills to climb plus a few rollers in case you were getting bored!
Then you get onto the run. Somehow it managed to feel all uphill apart from the very steep downhill at the end. But the camaraderie on the run was amazing. I met some really interesting people, the aid stations were joyful and welcoming and there were plenty of porta-potties.
Camping was also really great. Everyone seemed in a good mood, the festival was fun without being overwhelming and the food trucks were varied and extremely tasty.
A great event! I’m not sure I’m brave enough to tackle the long distance again (ok, I probably will once I’ve forgotten quite how hard it was) but I’ll definitely be back to do the Olympic distance and enjoy the atmosphere.