Need Help with race schedule next year.

I have a similar type schedule.  I do 4-5 Sprint tri's and 1 Olympic tri with a few long runs thown in.  My 2011 tri schedule was:

- Galena sprint May 21 (1200 athletes) - generally an overnight stay coming in from Chicago

        - Lake in the Hills sprint June 12 (400) - convenient, well run

        - Twin Lakes sprint in Palatine June 26 (400) - great swim, well run

        - Lake Zurich Oly July 10 (500) - great swim and run but bumpy bike 

- Ran the Rock-n-Roll Chicago Half instead of the Naperville Tri (same day in 2011)

        - Chicago Tri August 28

Good luck!

I've done the Naperville Tri 2nd Sunday in August the last couple of years and it's great for a nice local race.

I will do it again next year.

I raced Oswego this year. It's a sprint, maybe 250 people. It was pretty fun. First week of August, I think.

If you change your mind about a hotel, or if you know someone in the Springfield area, there is the Stoneman (sprint) or the Iron Abe (Oly) and it's the last weekend of July. I had so much fun at that race. And it's a good price (although you have to spend the gas $ to get down there).

RAM puts on a bunch of triathlons in the Chicago area. I have a love/hate relationship with them bc I like the events, but they cost a lot! They put on races of various distances, all close to Chicago. http://ramracing.racebx.com/

Trishark (sprint) and evergreen (oly or sprint) are a little travel but they (in my oppinion) are the best two races in the area. Most triclubs in northern il are there and evergreen was a college confrence meet so it was cool seeing Michigan, Purdue, and other teems there. Trishark closes quick so you need to register right when it opens.  Those two are my difinate every year races. I did holidayman this year it was small (about 250) but a nice long sprint race with a couple killer hills. 

Good Luck 

I would not recommend Leon's triathlon. I did it this and it was not an enjoyable experience for a few reasons:

1. The bike was 4 miles too long

2. The bike loop itself is very monotonous. You end up going up and down the same interstate a number of times. You pass some kind of chemical factory (???) a number of times that just smelled awful.

3. There was confusion at the start as to which waves people should be heading out in and you couldn't really hear the announcer from where they were at.

4. They had obviously passed out a lot of timing chips to the wrong people. The last hour before the race they kept on announcing that racers should come up to the table to get their proper timing chip.