Category: Race Previews

To Bevo or Not to Bevo - Previewing the 2019 Bevoman Triathlon

11/26/2018

Austin Triathlon Club is a proud supporter of the 2019 Bevoman Triathlon, an olympic distance race brought to you by the students of the Texas Triathlon team. Bevoman will take place on March 3, 2019 at Pace Bend Park, just 45 minutes from downtown Austin. Bevoman will feature a wetsuit swim and relay options. All club members receive 20% off race registration. Here is a race preview, courtesy of Tomas, the race director.

What is it?
Bevoman is an Olympic distance triathlon that will take place March 3rd in the Blue Bonnet decorated Pace Bend Park. This race is natural, grass fed, local, and completely organized by the students of the Texas Triathlon team at the University of Texas at Austin. It will be the 4th annual Bevoman and the 5th race hosted by the Texas Triathlon team. Originally, Bevoman was created to serve as the Southern Midwest collegiate conference championship race. In doing so, it has hosted some of the fastest collegiate athletes in the nation. Today, it’s still a championship race but you don’t need to be a collegiate athlete to participate. Our race is open to any and all triathletes. We want to encourage anyone who is interested to come check it out by offering four divisions; a collegiate division, a junior division, an open division, and a relay division. For the open and junior divisions, awards based on gender and age will be given out for the top three finishers of each. Awards for the fastest swim, bike, and run splits will also be given out. Most importantly, since triathletes love nothing more than food after a race, you can count on there being a banquet with something for everyone at the finish line.

How does Bevoman work?
It gets the people going. Bevoman is also something of a social event. We will have the improved campgrounds of Pace Bend reserved for participants and volunteers to campout the day/night before the race. Every year the campground becomes alive with triathletes preparing for the next day as well as enjoying the great outdoors. If camping isn’t your thing, there will be dedicated parking on race day and your park entry fee will be free, complimentary of the team. During the race, participants can rest assured knowing we have dedicated race support surveying the course as well as volunteers all along the course to help you get to that finish line. We also have returning sponsors from last year, so you can look forward to some High Brew coffee before and after the race as well as Nuun on the run course!

But what about the course?
The race is Olympic distance, so it will be a 1500m swim, a 40k bike, and a 10k run. The swim will be one rectangular loop in Lake Travis, followed by a four-loop bike course along FM2322 and Grisham Trail (the main roads of the park), and you will finish with an out and back run that features a brief running trail. The water will be a little cold, so this race will be wetsuit legal and wetsuit encouraged. On the bike course, treat yourself to some nice rolling hills on roads flanked by bluebonnets, volunteers, and supporters.

Volunteers
If you’re not interested in racing but want to be involved or know anyone who would be able to help make the race possible, become a volunteer! This is a student organized event, so no one is being paid. Everything is done out of our own free time and resources are limited. Putting together this race is a great reward itself but it requires a lot of effort. Most of the team will be racing Bevoman, so we must rely on outside volunteers out on the course ensuring everything (and everyone) is running properly. If you or someone you know is interested, you can sign up here.

That’s Bevoman in a nutshell. It’s a unique race and we hopefully have something special in store for anyone who comes out to race this year. I’m Tomas, the race director, and if you have any questions, comments, or concerns feel free to shoot me an email at bevoman@texastriathlon.org. I hope to see you there!

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Austin Triathlon Club is a non-profit social and training club that promotes triathlon across the Austin area. Our members include triathletes of all abilities, from beginners to experienced Ironman athletes. We are a welcoming and inclusive club, meaning that you can be a member of Austin Tri Club, and still be a part of another team or train with a personal coach. The Club is an all-volunteer, member-run community. For more information and to join, please check out our membership page.

Ironman 70.3 Austin Race Preview

10/15/2017

Fog at 2016 Ironman Austin

The Ironman 70.3 Austin race is coming up on October 29th! Here’s our race preview –

Summary: The race course is the same as last year. The main changes for 2017 are both weather related: (1) no fog this year and (2) much cooler temperatures.

10/26/2017 WEATHER UPDATE - A cold front is coming in Friday into Saturday. This means that overnight lows Saturday night will be in the low 40s. Expect an air temperature for the swim on Sunday morning in the 40s, with the temps rising into the 50s on the bike and 60s on the run.

Pre-race: Race starts at 7:30 AM. Transition opens at 5:30 and closes at 7:15. Because there is a shuttle from the Expo Center parking lot to the swim start, it's best to arrive by 6:00. There is only one entrance to the parking lot, so expect significant delays if you arrive later than 6:00. Last year, we cut it a bit close, and I had to hop out of the car and run to the shuttle. We also found the shuttle organization not as orderly as some other races, so it’s best to arrive early. Also, I don’t remember the parking lot being particularly well lit, so bring a headlamp or other light.

Swim: Swimstart is rolling and self-seeded. This means that you line up in accordance with your expected swim time. This is my favorite kind of start. It means you aren’t having to swim around slow swimmers, and if you’re a slow swimmer like me, you aren’t getting swam over. The swim is a clockwise triangle, with two turns. The swim is in a lake, so conditions are typically good, unless it is windy or stormy. I think the swim will probably be wetsuit eligible. Despite warm temps leading up to the race last year, the swim was wetsuit eligible (but canceled because of fog). The extended forecast calls for cooler temperatures here in Austin over the next two weeks. (10/26/2017 UPDATE - that forecast is right -- the race will definitely be wetsuit eligible)

Bike: As noted above, the course is the same as last year. The bike is mostly rolling with a listed net elevation gain of 1,555 feet (however, total climbing may be closer to 2,200 feet - thanks Derek Smith from Fort Worth) . The net elevation is not too bad, but most of the bigger hills are in the second half of the race, so you’ll need to keep plenty in the tank. The first serious hill isn’t until about mile 21, and then you have more hills to tackle at 26, 32, 37, 45-46, 50 and 53. Most of those hills are ~ 100-125 foot inclines. They’re not terribly long, but they can be tough if you went too hard the first half of the bike. Also, if you’ve done this race before, you know that the road surface is not spectacular, so be prepared for that.

Run: The run is a three-loop course without a lot of shade. Last year, the sun and temps in the upper 80s made for a tough run. Fortunately, there was plenty of race support. Right now, the long-term forecast calls for highs in the 70s, let’s hope it stays that way. The three loops mean that you have the same incline each loop. The inclines are miles 3-4, 7.5-9, and 11 to the finish. The hills and the corresponding declines mean that you shouldn’t overuse your quads on the bike. You’ll need them on the run. The finish is inside the arena.

Transitions: The race has two different transitions. T1 is by the lake, and T2 is by the arena. No real impact from this, other than you’ll need to make sure your T2 bag gets to where it’s supposed to be.

Spectators: The swim and the run are your best options to support your racers. Bring a book for the bike. If it gets hot like last year, you can hide in the arena and tell your racer that you saw them on the run, but there were so many people that your racer didn’t see you. :)

More information and the race athlete guide available through the Ironman website.

Have a great race everyone!

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Austin Triathlon Club was launched on October 8, 2017. Austin Triathlon Club is an all-volunteer, member-run community welcoming triathletes of all abilities. We encourage you to learn more about the Club by checking out our Mission and Values, the Club Leadership, and how you can get involved.

We would also love to see you at our Kick-Off happy hour on November 6th at the Ginger Man in downtown Austin. For more details and to RSVP, see our facebook event page.

To Bevo or Not to Bevo - Previewing the 2019 Bevoman Triathlon

Ironman 70.3 Austin Race Preview

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