Philly Tri Official Thread (Page 2)

Hi Karen. You can bike the course with the following caveats. You can't bike the major hill on Ford Rd./Chaminoux/Greenland Dr. because it's one way, and the course goes the opposite way of traffic on race day. You also don't want to try and cross Kelly Drive to get on the rap at Reservoir Drive. For that part your best bet is to do the course in reverse, up Lemon Hill across from Boathouse Row.

You will be fine on MLK drive on Friday if you stay right, but I'd avoid biking on Kelly. You can ride the MUP along Kelly if you want to get a feel for elevation, but it it very flat and nothing technical. The technical bits are the loop I mentioned above and the bit along the reservoir, especially coming on and off Kelly Drive, as well as the Sweet Briar loop. People will be hammering hard on the drives since it's flat and fast. Crashes usually happen as people turn onto Black Road, it gets wet and full of debris, and you have a sharp turn heading downhill.

There is no way to get into the river legally. Swimming in the Schuylkill is banned within city limits, with the exception of events like Philly Tri.

2nd year doing the OLY and will probably pop down on Saturday to cheer on the Sprinters. The point to point swim is with the current, and the 2-loop bike course has a couple technical hills. The run was moved last year to maximize shade, but it's still pretty sunny.

Overall it's a great race with lots of support. The beauty of horrible Schuylkill stories is that it's not as bad as you imagined once you get in. Let's all hope for no rain/storms next week!

Maps are online on the website. You can also look on mapyride.com and I know they are there too, so you can see elevation. Sprint and Oly are the same course except for the two hilly loops on the MLK Drive side. You still have to do Lemon Hill, which is not bad. 

I've heard the Oly swim is easier than the sprint swim, because it's entirely with the current. I did the sprint last year, it's a box shaped course.

I will be doing the Ockanickon OWS on Saturday, but would enjoy doing it very early on Sunday.

There's always something going on between April and September when the drive is closed, you just learn to deal with it. The Gary Papa run is at 8:30, so either get the first 1.5 miles of MLK drive done before 8, or after 10 it will all be over.

Now I'm considering the Parvin sprint triathlon on Saturday, so I'd want to bike the course Sunday but maybe not first thing

Yes, it's the premier event in the area, just look at the list of pros competing. It's expensive, but I bet a lot of that goes to race support and insurance because it's in a large city. Look how much the NYC triathlon or marathon costs.  There are a lot of athletes, which means a lot of overtime for EMS and police.  

The swim in the Schuylkill is actually pretty good. Water quality is better than most NJ lakes, plus for the Oly you swim with the current.  I like DQ events too, I'm doing Parvin on Saturday and did Hammonton two weeks ago. But it is definitely a different class of events. 

Hey Karen, I saw that you did Mooseman in NH, is your 70.3 in August Timberman?  I am doing that race again this year, good race!

I agree with the comments about it being expensive, but of course I've done either the sprint or the oly distance for the last 4 years... so what am I complaining about.  It is a pretty well run even and it is cool to see the Pros around.  You think for all that money they could make a course map that makes sense!

As for the sprint question, the sprint is two loops on the MLK side of the river and then up a hill,  so I guess there is decent uphills that you have to do twice.  The course starts off on the road you go about 3 miles on the flat MLK drive then do a 180 and start to head back when you make a slight right up a entrance ramp that is steep (depending on what you think is steep) but only goes for about 100 to 150 yards.  Then you go on flat for about 200 yards then it is up a hill again, this time a longer one.  After that, you go around some of the baseball fields on some fairly flat roads.  then down the hills and  back on flat MLK drive.  you go back to the start when you do another 180 and do it all over again. 

I am going to be doing the OWS in NJ this Saturday, I am planning on not wearing a wetsuit as the last two years I did Philly, it was to warm for a wetsuit, so I might as well get used to it, just in case.

If anyone is looking to do the Oly course on Sunday, let me know.  I have to go long on Sunday (60 miles) and start pretty early to get it all in before Father's day activities, but maybe I can meet up with some people along the way

I'll be at the lake too, then riding. I'm going to do the Oly course too, early Sunday before it gets busy out there. with the Gary Papa 5k.

I'm doing the REV3 Old Orchard Beach 70.3 August 26.  Ocean swim... in Maine. I was practicing in St John in Feb, so I'm all set... if the water temp is 80. 

I guess I will try to get a very, very early start on Friday morning to preview the bike course.  Maybe if I am out there at 6am, it will be okay. 

I'm sitting outside having a beer so it's entirely possible I won't be up at 6:30. But if I am, I'll be wearing a Drexel Med School jersey and shorts and on a red/black Cervelo R3. And going slowly

Didn't get out until 7:40. Seems like everyone had the same idea though, lots of tri bikes out today. I did the entire course as it is laid out. That hill up Ford to Chaminouix is a tough one. Also got to see some idiots in aero on the MUP, Kelly Drive side. Why someone would do that with MLK closed is beyond me.

haha....rookies!!!!!

Yeah looking forward to blowing past them next week

I ran afterwards, man my legs are totally fried.

multi-use path. Meaning any off-road pathway that allows biking, running, walking, etc.

So when I lived near DC I used the Rock Creek trail, for example.