Littleton AppleMan Triathlon : Official Thread

I'll be there and I'm very pumped to say my Dad is doing it as well.  We actually went over there yesterday to check out the course.  We started out by driving the bike course.  First off, I am very happy to say that the bike course is fully paved (not the best pavement I've ever seen, but it is paved).  The reason I mention that is as you will see on Sunday, the rest of the street the race starts on is dug up (Goldsmith St.).  The bike course is quite hilly, so be prepared.  I raced the Old Colony International distance race in Middleboro, MA last weekend, which was a really flat course so maybe I just got spoiled a little with the flatness of that course, but I was a little bummed to see quite a few hills along the way.  I swam in the lake and its a nice lake.  However, be prepared for a lot of plants growing on the bottom.  As for the run course, I did not run the route yet.  However, when I was getting into the water, I bumped into a guy that told me I definitely should check out the run course because a good portion of it is in the woods and he said it is very "muchy."

I'm actually planning to head down to the course again tomorrow morning to probably do the whole course.  I will post some more details about the run course tomorrow.  If any one feels like joining me, let me know. 

Have fun. I'm from Littleton and have done that race twice. I'll be there as a volunteer this year! Goldsmith street has been under construction this year, but from what Hockeyhands says it looks like the bike portion that uses that road is ok now. I biked it way back in the spring and that part wasn't "bikeable" bike then. The rest of the course was in good shape, but it is hilly!

I also did the Middleboro triathlon. The course was flatter than Appleman, but the bike course at Appleman I feel is a little better.  A little more scenic with not as much traffic - kind of a classic Central Mass bike course with apple orchards and farms and more trees (and hills!)

The run course is interesting. You kind of cut down a real small street and sneak through an small opening in a fence (or trees - I forget now - but it is narrow) at one point to get back to a main road and then after that you cut off the main road (rt 2a/king street) into a field and then into the woods. At that point it is single file and rocky - watch your step!

I'll be at a water stop - so good luck to everyone doing it!

Went over and did the whole course this morning and it was tough!  The bike course is very hilly as I mentioned the other day.  As for the run, it is very interesting to say the least.  In the section you run through the woods, it starts off going trough a large grass field which isn't too bad (a deer crossed the field right when I got this section which was cool).  However, you then get into the mud section where you have to really watch your footing.  There are some rocks you can jump on, but I can only imagine how nasty this section is going to get towards the end of the race.  This section is followed by a very steep hill that I wasn't expecting.  The path in the woods is relatively narrow and weaves around a decent amount.  I actually took a wrong turn this morning and ended up in someone's back yard, but hopefully this won't be a problem for anyone on Sunday.  You do finish on the street, running around the lake which is a great view.

This is going to be a PR for me because its my first sprint distance race, but I wouldn't expect many people to be putting up record times.  Either way, Sunday should be a great day and I hope this helps some people prepare for the race.

The appleman will be my first tri (not to mention first road or bike race).  I picked this race because I live Littleton and was able to train right on the bike course.  As others have said the bike course has plenty of hills.  One aspect of the hills is that in many cases you don't see the hill coming because its around a curve and the course is mostly in a very wooded environment.  The most challenging part of the bike is just after mile 3 mark after you turn left by an apple orchard.  This is the beginning of a winding up and down hilly road.  The road ends on a very fast downhill sprint on newly paved road.  Once you turn right on hammond st; the rest of the course is more gradual inclines.  

I also ran the run course last Sunday morning for the first time.  As others said the trail should be pretty interesting. When I ran it the uphill part of the trail was covered with standing water and mud. The kind of mud where your shoe would sink down to your ankles in some spots.  I pretty much jumped from rock to rock at one point.  Hopefully we won't get too much rain Friday night.   If I get a chance to check out the trail tomorrow afternoon I'll report back with the conditions.    I also plan to be at the pre-reg. tomorrow night.  
Good luck everyone!

-Pete