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2012-01-30 8:25 PM

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Subject: Vineman Full

Hey all, 

I'm looking at racing the full Vineman in 2013 as my first full, and was wondering what some of you could tell me about the course. Like how difficult is the bike and the run course? Lots of elevation or relatively flat...?



2012-01-31 11:42 AM
in reply to: #4019728

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Elite
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Subject: RE: Vineman Full
I'm doing Vineman this year, so I can't give you a comparison to any of the others yet, but check out the race reports from past years.
2012-01-31 11:55 AM
in reply to: #4019728

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Subject: RE: Vineman Full
There are a lot of race reports and past years threads which may end in confidence or fear.

Vineman was my first full and I think it is a great course. The bike is a bunch of rollers and really rough but the climbs are not too bad. The run course did seem really hilly and can be pretty congested but it is great because you see family multiple times.

Great race and wish I was doing it again this year.

2012-01-31 12:04 PM
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Subject: RE: Vineman Full

I also did Vineman as my first IM and it was a fantastic event.  The bike course was very scenic and I so much enjoyed riding through the countryside.  We were lucky in that the morning fog took until about noon to burn off and there was little to no wind so riding conditions were perfect.

The course is mosting small rolling hills with some stretches that are pretty flat and only two hills that I thought worth mentioning.  The first is at about mile 26, mile 83 (its two loops).  It is fairly long and gradual.  Not something you necessarily have to get out of the saddle for but a bit of grind.

The second and tougher is Chalk Hill at mile 44, mile 100.  It is shorter but has a steeper elevation.  I was out of the saddle for the steepest parts.  Depending on what you are used to in training it can be tough or not so tough.  There are quite a few hills around here so it was about five minutes of fairly hard exertion but was over pretty quick and there is a nice downhill to recover on.  Overall, I was about 20 minutes faster than my goal ride so I really loved it.

The run was the toughest I have done in a race.  It is three out and backs which was good for me mentally as I was able to break the race into segments and I saw my family a lot.  There are three hills on the run, one which is quite steep, so you are constantly going up and down.  It was very hard to get any kind of rythm.

2012-01-31 10:21 PM
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Subject: RE: Vineman Full

I did Vineman last year.  I like the constantly changing roads for the bike (the cracks and broken pavenment, notsomuch) and none of the climbs were particularly bad, but that's only true if you take it easy the first loop.  The run is much hillier than I expected. 

Crowd support and volunteers are incredible, and it's a great excuse to visit that part of the country if you haven't.

2012-02-01 11:47 AM
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Subject: RE: Vineman Full
I lived in Minnesota till 10 years ago and have done the Vineman 70.3(same bike route) and the course is very midwestern rollers. There is nothing at Vineman that you can't train for in MN. I would say its actually a great parallel. Do some rides out in western Wisconsin around Hudson and you'll be in good shape.


2012-02-04 11:46 AM
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Subject: RE: Vineman Full
McFuzz - 2012-01-31 11:21 PM

I did Vineman last year.  I like the constantly changing roads for the bike (the cracks and broken pavenment, notsomuch) and none of the climbs were particularly bad, but that's only true if you take it easy the first loop.  The run is much hillier than I expected. 

Crowd support and volunteers are incredible, and it's a great excuse to visit that part of the country if you haven't.

Agreed. It's a great race. My only complaints are the knuckle dragging on the swim and the sections of crappy pavement on the bike (this is a small portion of the course, maybe 15% or so), but neither of those is a big deal. Heat on the run is something to watch out for too; we got lucky last year with highs in the upper-70s.

Look at the elevation profiles on the race site, but I thought the bike course wasn't too tough, but I did a lot of hilly bike training. The run course was tough. You hit something like three substantial climbs near the far end of each lap, and both the ups and downs are tough after 130 miles.

Do it. It's a great race in a great location with great people. Not sure, but I think it's going to fill up pretty soon.

2012-02-04 6:50 PM
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Subject: RE: Vineman Full

I've done Vineman as an Aquabike and as a relay. I've also done Vineman 70.3 and trained on the course a few times.

Swim - this is the fastest course I've ever swum. I always swim faster here than I expect.

Bike - I really enjoy the bike course. For the 70.3 you only do one loop but for the full you swing back out and rejoin the course and do it again. It's not truly a 2-loop course as it's a point-to-point race. The main thing I'd say about the course is not to wear yourself out on the rollers that get you out of T1 and onto the main loop. Also, there is one big hill but it's only .5 a mile long. So just grit it out and you'll get up it. You can do anything for .5 mile. Finally, make sure you don't give it all up on the first loop. It's a lot easier to do that on this course than on other looped courses I've been on for some reason.

Run - haven't run the Full course. It's not 2 loops of the 70.3 course but 3 loops of a slightly different course. I have run part of it as I ran out to the half way point to spectate and then ran back. From what I experienced and my relay teammate said, it can really grind you down. It's not hilly but it's not flat either. It's pretty much constant rollers. So be conservative and you can always go all out on the last loop if you were too conservative for the first two.

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