Colorado Triathlon – 303 Insiders’ Report

Nicole Odell
Last Saturday I raced the Colorado Triathlon. It’s in its second year but put on by a very experienced local race production company, Without Limits. I had a blast.
We got lucky with weather – finally a warm day. The Boulder Reservoir is slowly warming up so the water actually felt amazingly comfortable with my sleeveless wetsuit. It was a perfect weekend for my first race of the season.
I do love racing in Boulder. It’s a great course, and it’s a familiar course, which means it’s a awesome benchmark. It’s also like hanging out with my extended family.
Everything from my point of view went smoothly. I had paid for the race morning packet pickup as it wasn’t convenient for me to get north during the week. This was a very quick process. And with only a bike number and bib number for my race belt, the prep was easy. The volunteers in transition were very friendly and made sure we knew where to get body marked, and also when transition closed. Logistically this was an easy race to navigate.
I did the Olympic distance, and all the females in this distance race were in the same wave. We did have to sight into the sun, which caused some zig-zag confusion for some, myself included, but it was a good swim. I encountered some traffic when the sprint race merged onto the course, but nothing crazy. Spectators were lined up on the beach cheering for us all.
Out on the bike, well, it was the Boulder bike course. Roads were clean and the views were amazing – the greenery was extra bright from the recent rain. Volunteers were at the turns, and police support at some of the intersections to help keep us safe. While the sprint distance and Olympic overlapped for sections, the course was never crowded. It was also great to see so many different experience levels out there. From the elites to the new triathletes on hybrid bikes, we were all out on the same course enjoying the day.
More friendly volunteers and a lot of cones guided us into transition. And this transition was easy, we had plenty of room with the 4-bike racks spaced apart, and I chose a location that was a little less crowded. Maybe not ideal for time, but there were only 2 bikes on my rack. While I don’t need much space, it’s nice to not feel cramped and worry about knocking over other bikes like in some races.
The run course was well supported with aid stations about every mile, cheerful volunteers of all ages giving us drinks and squirts with water guns. The out-and-back means you see your friends along the way. I pushed my way through to the finish and dove into the big slip-n-slide, which felt amazing as the temperature was creeping up. However, my sliding skills need a bit of work… something to definitely practice for next year!
(P.S. The post-race pancakes from Flippin Flapjacks were amazing!)
Bill Plock
I had never participated in a triathlon where a sprint distance was combined with an Olympic distance, but the past Saturday, Without Limits Productions pulled it off beautifully at Boulder Reservoir.
In an event that has doubled in size in just one year, I found it enjoyable to race with so many athletes of varying abilities and agendas in a low key and fun environment. For some it was the start of the season and time to see what holes were forgotten to be patched in wetsuits and to test out open water for the first time this season. For others, many others, it was their first triathlon and they had their own wave and it seemed to be a calming environment comparatively.
I raced the Olympic distance and enjoyed seeing both courses at once. As I passed the buoy for the turn for the sprint, I thought, “cool, I’m halfway” and I felt the same passing Neva road heading for Nelson road on highway 36 and also as I dodged the turn around on the run and kept running to the 3 mile mark. For some reason mentally I liked it.
The waves were set up so sprint racers were finishing just ahead of the Olympic racers–for the most part. It never felt crowded, and in some ways was more inspiring. My only thought is it would’ve been nice to have either an “O” or an “S” written on our legs.
Clearly in its second year the Colorado Triathlon is taking root as a great opening race to test oneself, get used to a little longer distance and is perfect for first-timers—and the pancakes at the end are wonderful!