Ironman Kansas 70.3 : Official Thread

I signed up this morning, looking to beat the price increase. Looking forward to this race and getting an organized training plan going again! Less than a month away until the 20-week plan gets going.

Lisa, I would dress up with you, but a lion/scarecrow/tin man costume sounds like it would be too hot for me. However, you pull off Glinda nicely.

I'm in too, for the second time, great race and venue. Looking forward to it and a nice race prep for IMMO ,again....hope everyone's training goes well for them...see you in June..

Planning on signing up for Kansas as well. Will be doing LoneStar 70.3 in Galveston before then, and in preparation for my first IM, Florida in November.
Good luck to you all, be safe in your training and have a Happy New Year!

As far as I know, this race did not sell out last year as you would've been able to sign up for the race in the last few weeks leading up to the event. With that said, this race was well attended last year and has been growing in size each year, so I would not be surprised to see this race eventually sell out in 2011.

Thanks Mike,

I should be signing up later this month, the numbers are still being crunched but it looks like I might have some bonus $$ coming.

I signed up on December 31st and this will be my first HIM.  I will be shooting for a 6-6.5 hour.

I am looking forward to the experience, but have to admit I am a little intimidated by the size of the field.

I would appreciate any advice on preparing for an race of this size.  I haven't participated in a race bigger than a few hundred so far.

Hey Gmax-with-numbers!
I would say the best prep for a larger race (in addition to the obvious training) is going to be mental prep.

Know that the swim will be congested. They have a bunch of swim waves, but no matter where you start you'll be bumped around and passed by the fast fishies in the wave behind you. So just be prepared... maybe start towards the back if you think you might panic. It is a treading-water start, so beware of floating into a position you don't want to be in while you're waiting for the gun to go off. I did that accidentally last year.

The bike is usually crowded at the start. Since they put the younger males in the last swim waves, they will all be itching to pass everyone at the beginning -and they will. Just race your race and have fun on the hills. It's a beautiful course.

The run has amazing crowd support as it runs through the campgrounds and you get to do 2 loops. Since it's 2 loops, there are a lot of people out there overlapping at one time, but nothing to be concerned about.

If you get a chance, I always recommend road-tripping it to the course and checking it out - especially the bike course. The race organizers usually put on a practice training day in the May time frame so be looking for that if you are interested.

Thanks for the response lisac957.  You really reinforced what I thought.  It is the mental prep.  I like to mentally walk through the race.

Is this race typically wetsuit legal?  Doesn't really matter to me either, just curious what the water temps are like mid-June.

Do they assign transition areas based on race number?

Looks like a great course and I had read many positive reviews of past races.  I am excited.

The race is wetsuit legal. Although, last year it was just barely. I suspect race officials had to fish around to find a wetsuit legal temperature as the water was too warm on Saturday but was just cold enough by .1 degree the morning of.

It's probably worth noting that water temperature limits have been lowered since last year's race from 78 degrees to 76.1 degrees (for those who still wish to be eligible for awards, etc.).

Transition areas have been assigned based on bib numbers in the past, which have been based on your age group.

I still  think they dropped the thermometer to the bottom of  the lake at 3 a.m., fished around a bit, and then misread the temperature in the moonlight.  It was hot.

It was also a little "fishy"(heh) that they announced at the Expo the day before that the water temp was reading at what, 80 or 81 degrees? And in turn, I heard all of the speed suits sold out at the Expo. Then magically it was 77.5 on race morning.

Where do you all recommend for lodging?  I won't be able to get in until Saturday morning and plan on staying until Monday.
I'm not sure about camping, since I won't get in until Saturday.  From the threads I have read, lodging fills up pretty quick.

What time to you expect to arrive Saturday? I didn't get there last year till around noon and was fine to set up camp, do packet pick-up, shop the expo, practice bike ride, and bike drop-off all before dinner time. And it was 95 degrees out that day, ooof!

Just so you know - if you stay in Lawrence (most logical?), it is still a 15-20 minute drive to Clinton Lake without traffic.
If everything is sold out in Lawrence, another option would be Topeka - maybe a 30 minute drive.


Edited by lisac957 2011-01-07 10:54 AM

Hi everyone...long time lurker, first time poster. I am doing the Kansas 70.3 as well and looking into camping. I will probably get a room on Friday and then head in on Saturday morning to the campground. Do you all know when we can reserve a spot. I've heard the sites go quick. Any info would help. Thanks. Debbie

Hey Debbie - welcome!
I just sent an email asking when camping information would be available. I'm thinking pretty soon!
I don't necessarily remember the campsite being packed to the brim - there were definitely open sites the past few years. But always good to get in early.

Will let ya'll know if I hear anything back.

Thank you so much. I plan on being on this site a lot in the months leading up to Kansas so any information posted is helpful. I did send an email (twice) to someone about camping but she said the park hadn't released the information yet. That was about a month before Christmas. Please let me know what they say when you get some feedback. Thanks.

Debbie, I have reserved a camping spot the last two years, info on reserving spots won't come out for another month at least (if they follow same timeline as past years). 

Thanks for the info. I will keep checking the website.

Hi Everyone,

Quick question......

Kansas will be my first Half Ironman and I was just curious to see what type of training everyone uses. I have found two plans out there on the internet that seem to work for me...an 18 week one on TriNewbie and a 20 week one on BeginnerTriathlete. Has anyone ever used these? Just wondering what you all have used in the past. Thanks so much.

Hey Debbie-
I've used a few plans here from BT before... both the free HIM one and I think the bronze or silver one? I really liked both, and felt they prepared me VERY well for my 1st, 2nd, 3rd and I think 4th HIMs. In fact, I might go back to the free one for Kansas this year.

I've heard some people comment they think the bike is a little weak, meaning more longer rides could be beneficial. You'll have to gauge how you feel about that and adjust if you think you'll need a few longer rides than the plan calls for. If I remember, the plan goes by time (vs. distance). So if you are a slower rider like me, you might feel better with getting in XX miles instead of X hours for the long rides. Probably more mental than anything, but that's they way I prefer it.