If you like your triathlons flat and windy (on the bike), hilly (on the run), scenic, sunny and HOT, then Ironman 70.3 San Juan is just up your alley. The inaugural race was held on Saturday, March 19 in conditions that were perfect for locals and those who had flown in from LA, but were challenging for the many racers who had commuted from points north. But whichever category you belonged to, the race itself was sure to be challenging. Whether it was also fun might depend upon how you feel about seeing (or being part of) carnage on a run course. Personally, I had a blast (when I wasn’t having a total emotional breakdown at mile 4 of the run).

Race Central is at the Caribe Hilton Hotel, which is a three minute walk from transition but a cab ride away from anything else in San Juan (other than a really excellent hamburger joint). If you’re familiar with the city, the hotel is located on the road from Condado to Old San Juan, and is about equidistant from the two. (If you don’t want to stay at the race hotel, Condado is probably a better option than Old San Juan, as the swim start is on the way to Condado and the road to Old San Juan from the hotel almost always has gridlock traffic. But just remember that the farther away you are from the Hilton, the longer your walk home post-race will be.) The race expo and packet pick-up is at the Hilton, and transition is at a stadium across the street. You can pick up your packet on either Thursday or Friday; mandatory bike check in is on Friday. The race expo was pretty much what you’d expect for a first-time race on a tropical island – which is to say, not very big or exciting. But if you left something essential at home or needed to get your bike looked at by a mechanic, it was more than adequate. And, as with every other aspect of the race, the workers and volunteers at both the expo and packet pick-up were incredibly friendly and helpful.

For those who didn’t want to deal with bike boxes and airline fees, TriBike Transport offered round trip bike shipping. All you had to do was remove your pedals and take your bike to the local bike shop TriBike partnered with, and then show up at transition on Thursday or Friday with a photo ID and your pedals (which they nicely put back on for you). Not only did using them avoid the hassles and stress involved with breaking your bike down and putting it back together before a race (they ship them fully assembled in trucks or freight airplanes, as needed), but the on-site staff were incredibly accommodating. I officially picked up my bike on Thursday so I could make sure it had arrived OK, but they let me leave it on their bike racks until Friday when I could move it into transition. Then, when I showed up on Friday to pick it up (again), I asked where I could leave a bag of stuff while I took a little warm-up spin on the bike, and they said I should leave it with them because they were “here to make everything easier for the racers.” If that was their goal – they surely succeeded. The cost (about $350) is even comparable to airline charges, and whatever extra I had to pay was well worth it. The only (slight) hassle came after the race, when there was a line to drop your bike back off (which is pretty hard to prevent). And if you don’t have a second bike at home, it might be a little bit annoying to be without your bike for 10 days to two weeks before or after a race. For me, it was fantastic.

As always with races you travel to, all those logistics and travel worries are a pain. But in this case, they’re well worth the payoff, which was an incredibly well-run and varied race, with incredible support along the course.

The Swim

The swim takes place in a protected lagoon, which meant that the water was flat and warm. It wasn’t wetsuit legal, but the water was plenty salty if you need buoyancy help – and it sure was nice not to have to deal with a wetsuit in T-1. The course was also very well marked, with fewer bottlenecks than most swim courses. It’s a point-to-point course, but the walk from transition to the swim start is short because the swim course goes about a quarter mile away from transition before it turns back around (look at the map if this is confusing; it’s hard to describe). You could also drop a bag off at a truck located at the swim start with your flip-flops and whatever else you didn’t want to bring with you on the swim, and then pick that bag back up after you finished. The bag drop-off was seamless – there was no line and the whole process took about 30 seconds – both before and after the race. All in all, it was a great swim. To put it in perspective – I came down with the stomach flu on Friday and nearly didn’t start, but once I got in the water, the swim was so great I just couldn’t DNF.

Who knew these waters could cure a stomach flu?

The biggest drag on the race course was T-1, which was very looooong. It was a quarter mile or more from the swim exit to transition, and there were no mats on the ground. They had clearly swept the road, which was mostly asphalt and concrete, but still – not fun. At least they had port-o-potties in transition.

The Bike

The bike course takes you along some highway for about 10 miles, when you turn onto another highway-like road that runs along the coast. Once on the coast road, you do two out-and-backs, and then retrace the initial 10-mile route. According to a girl I met before the swim, at the official race meeting the powers that be described the shape of the bike course as being lollipop-shaped. I’m not sure that makes sense since riding out on one side of the road and back on the other isn’t really a circle, but I guess it sort of applies. The really important things to know about the course is that the two out-and-backs that make up the middle portion of the course are flat but windy; be ready to spend all your time in aero. For me, the wind was a help on the way out and in my face on the way back, but that had started to shift a bit on my second return trip, and people in later waves may have had different experiences. The out-and back was also beautiful, with tropical ocean views on one side and the scenic interior on the other. The 10 miles to and from transition were less pretty (though by no means horrible) and contained a fair number of highway hills, which are steeper than you think. A lot of people made the mistake of pushing it up the hills on the way back to transition. They probably thought the run would be as flat as the bike. I know I did. Boy, were we all in for a shock.

The Run

The run was by far the most scenic part of the course. Of course, it takes you a while to notice that since the first thing you see coming out of transition is the very steep hill you have to climb almost immediately. Once you’re over that, you run through a park down a road lined with cheering spectators and onto the road toward Old San Juan. You pass the hamburger place (mmm, hamburgers; unless you have a stomach flu) and some pretty buildings and eventually run up (and I don’t use the word “up” lightly) into Old San Juan proper. Then you run down to the ocean and along the fort wall for a mile or so, turn around and go back the way you came. It’s a two-loop run course, so after you finish it the first time, you have to do it again. The run is, in a word, brutal. It’s the middle of the day in the tropics and there is practically no shade, most of the competitors have been training in winter conditions and the only thing worse than the hill you’re on is the hill that’s coming up next. I have never seen so many people looking so defeated on a race course in my life. There are two particularly steep hills – one into/out of old San Juan and one down to/up out of the fort. I would say 9 out or 10 people walked them. And then – as a final f/u – at mile 12.9 or so, there is a final hill leading to the finish chute. It’s not big, but it’s steep, and it’s just so mean that it’s there at all. Most people walked that too (I ran it, of course, but then I knew I’d be writing this review). The volunteers at the finish line were as fantastic as they were everywhere else, taking timing chips and giving out water, t-shirts and medals quickly, efficiently and with smiles.

Yup, this really is the run course. Sorry we couldn't snap a few race action photos...we were too busy melting.

Overall: I just can’t say enough of about how well organized the race was. Everything from packet pick-up to bike check-in to the aid stations on the bike and the run were well run, well stocked and a real pleasure to use. There were more bike aid stations than I needed, all of them stocked with water, Gatorade, gels, bananas and anything else you might need. On the run they had sponges, ice, water, food, gels and cheering fans aplenty. The volunteers literally took jugs of water and poured them over people’s heads – and were continuing to do so well after most people had already finished. The course itself was both beautiful and challenging – just what you want in a half ironman. If I had any complaint, it would be that the web site, especially the course maps and descriptions, did not adequately prepare athletes for what was to come. I read everything, but still had no clue what to expect.

Course: A  San Juan is beautiful, and the course takes full advantage of that. Plus the run kicked everyone’s a**.

Organization: A-  On race day and for check-in everything worked like clockwork, but communication leading up to the race was less than ideal.

Atmosphere: A  It’s one big Puerto Rican party everywhere you go – even way out on the bike course.

Logistics: B  You’re traveling to an island with a bike and all your gear – by definition it’s a pain. If you stay at the race hotel, you’re close to transition but not to a grocery or any restaurant at which you want to eat (not counting the hamburger shack). If you stay in Condado (like I did) you have a mile-plus walk (including a walk along what I was privately calling the Bridge of Misery) to get to the race venue. There’s no good solution. You have to spend a lot more time than you want to doing annoying things.

Overall: A  It’s beautiful, fun and challenging – all the things you want in a race. Plus, when you finish, you’re in Puerto Rico. Rum punch, anyone?

-Lauren

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