Chicago Triathlon

Cons:
It's crowded, very crowded.
Transition is HUGE!
Lakeshore Drive sucks to ride on (because of the potholes and crowding)

Pros:
It's a huge race so it has great support.
Volunteers and spectators pretty much along the whole thing.
Beautiful venue right along (and in) Lake Michigan.

That said, I love doing the Chicago Tri. It's a warm, but flat course.

Thanks for your insight.  I wondered about the crowds.  Sounds like you both had good experiences there.

I loved it.  The year I did it Lake shore drive did not seem all that bad.  I was in second to last wave so I did not have the crowds I bet others did and racing with the pros passing you was really cool actually.  I would probably do it again someday but with my IM dreams I am putting it off.

I volunteered at the swim start of this years Chicago Triathlon. It was there that I decided that I need to do one myself! I think I'd like to try the sprint in 09.

I did the Chicago Tri this year as my first one.

I thought it was AWESOME.

Swim - very good, its in the harbor so waves were minimal.

The transition area was big but there was plenty of room and I didn't have any problem setting up or finding my bike.

LSD was not too bad but there were some bad spots. The ride is beautiful.

Run was nice and flat and tons of crowds.

The overall experience was top notch I thought.

It is a definite must do. They already have patched most of the problem areas on the northern part of LSD. Despite the immense size it is very well run and a blast to ride your bike down Lakeshore Dr.

OK, all of these positive reviews are getting me seriously psyched about this race.

I did the Triple Challenge this year at Accenture. I won't do this race again. LSD is dangerous unless they repave the north section. From all the cracks and pot holes, my aero pads were bent down at a 45 degree angle when done from the shock. One women was put in an ambulance (that I saw, maybe more), the road is littered with water bottles and co2 due to bumps. Tons of flats and even a couple of broken wheels.

The Sprint was fun, only because I was wave 1 and had only a hand ful of people on the road. By the time I started the Olympic the roads were packed.

I'll do the Super Sprint again at Foster Beach and then volunteer at the kids race - That was my fav of the three races oddly enough.