Hi,

I'm toying with the idea of doing this and was wondering if anyone has completed it in the past, would you mind giving me your thoughts on the course etc.

My main hesitation would be in doing this sort of race in what could be 30+ degrees...Not sure how anyone could do that...

Good fun. It was quite cool and windy which I guess isn't the norm. I found the swim very challenging compared to Port Macquarie, mainly due to the wind and the lake became quite choppy. The bike leg is 3 laps with a few hills. Again the wind made it tougher. Run was really nice around the lake.

I found it a lonelier course than Port Macquarie as there are no spectators along the road in either the ride or run.

NTR and I are probably going to do Canberra also. I have heard the swim and bike legs are challenging and the times from last year were a fair bit slower than those for GC or Port Mac. I'm hoping Forster LC prepares us for this!!

Click to view attachment

30 degrees+ ???

This is me spectating last year

kb

Now that's something I didn't expect. I would have thought it would have been sweltering in December. At least you had the CR visor to keep you warm.

Mouse
Forster LC is one of the shorter races around with 2/60/15. ocean swim - flat bike - nice run.
I think Canberra bike course is 93-94km too ...may explain longer times.

Read RatDog's race report from last year in his CR blog.
Cracking read for any potential HIM entrant, especially Canberra.

Last year the weather was so bad that Lake Burley Griffen was very choppy. I know of people who threw up in the swim.

And then there was the wind and the rain.....

It was also quite windy and wet in 2007.

Not that I would want to put you off

Im sure after reading my blog you might just think about changing to another course. As kandingo says Forster is an easier course to do before tackling the HIM distance.

I enjoyed my day out there battling the wind and choppy conditions and loved the experience too. yes the crowd was concentrated at the transition only but hey thats fine its about the mind game and Canberra knows how to play game with it with the hills and loneliness of the course.

Maybe after Forster LC you can come up to Port Macquarie and have some fun doing that with a few of us.

Best of luck and have fun.

Read the blog - great read. Can't believe you did that race on THAT amount of training. Good job. maybe Forster will be a better option.

If you're keen on blog-reading for research, you can trawl back to my report from December 05. I think the entries on either side have some more prep and wash-up talk about the course.

Slightly different bike course back then, and it was hillier. I think they'd even taken out 1 hill from the 04 course, and then flattened it out again for 06 and later years. But there were certainly hills in that course - Cotters, Coppin and Uriara were all there.

The year I raced the weather was great - warm to hot for the run (low 30's?), but not too punishing. It was the 1st or 2nd year that they introduced the water sachets, and pulling a couple of these out of an ice bucket at an aid station was brilliant.

The swim I had was a bit disrupted due to storms the week before which trashed the swim/bike transition, but the swim itself was great. Clear and calm, and the hot-air balloons came down and skimmed across the lake for us like you see in some of the promo material.

As others have mentioned, it's a lonely bike and run course compared to PM, but similar to GC in that respect. Wind could affect you on the bike course if it's present on the day.

I can confirm the bike course is 94-95. The ice bucket and water sachets sounds great Miners. Wasn't present last year as the weather kept everything nice and cool

Thanks Kandingo - I was talking about Port Mac and GC times vs Canberra, not Forster Forster is just to get our legs used to moving for that long before Canberra!!

Thanks for the heads up on the swim kb, choppy swims make me sick - literally. I'm usually not one to get sea sick, and it may have been the sausage sandwich just before the race, but even the 1km swim at Anna Bay made my stomach turn last year!!

Ratdog - your blog didn't make it sound all that bad, just really windy?

Just looked up the info for Forster long course. Looks like an amazing weekend where the whole family can be involved.

Went to Forster last year and the rest of the family did the enticer & various kids' races on the Saturday. It was great to see a finish chute in North Street again, and the weather and organisation were superb

*Bump*

Ok - I'm officially entered and currently keen as hell!

Preparations include Maitland LC in Oct and Forster LC in Nov. Hopefully those two will get me ready for the big one.

Anyone else confirmed for Canberra??

That is great Mouse - nice to hear your enthusiasm so early in the season.

I still can't decide whether to go to Foster or PortHIM.... decisions decisions...

AK

Do both.......... then Busso - then Canberra..........you said you like to race!

Train safe

I am toying with the idea of Canberra depending on how I do at Gold Coast.

kb

Woot!! See you there superstar!

Don't get too excited just yet Mouse. I am only thinking about Canberra as a definite maybe

very tempting B+ I will have to find the extra dollars to pay for it all

AK

I'm definitely maybe excited!!



Kids can always go without food for a while - that's our money saving strategy. Admittedly, it may not be the best strategy but it definitely a strategy

I have done this a couple of times, a few years ago. Most of memories are of high temperatures and flat swims. The bike course has probably the most hills that I have ever done in a triathlon. But the riding is on good roads. The run course is excellent as well.

Hi All
I'm faily new to this site and reading all these post's has brought back very bad memories of last year in Canberra for me. The cold the wind trying to battle through on my bike, but I think i might return just to prove to myself what I can do in the dreaded ACT.

I've done this race a few times - in 2004 and 2005 I think - plus the Long Course world champs on basically the same course in 2006. I'm hoping to get back there this year, because it's a course I really enjoy. My thoughts:

• it's the toughest H.I. course in Australia - although not as tough as it used to be since they changed the bike course in 2006
• for this reason, it's a good one to do as your first half - because you can guarantee you'll beat your time on your second half!
• if you want a time to boast about, this is not the race for it (go do Busso or Shepparton for that - boring)
• lake swim means that it can be choppy, but will never be rough
• deep water start is good if you like them (I do)
• swim course has plenty of room, so not too much biffo
• no possibility of sharks
• lake tastes like duck poo. Definitely avoid swallowing the water!
• pretty much guaranteed to be a wet suit swim at that time of year (the lake does not heat up until Xmas)
• air temperature could be anything - seriously. Could be 40+ degrees or snowing! Adds to the fun ;-)

It is an indication of how sanitised and homogenised triathlon has become in this country when "the toughest H.I. course in Australia " has a flat water swim, a cycle course without most of the significant hills of previous years, and a pancake-flat run.

How good were the days when a season of triathlon tested and developed a spectrum of skills. Some races were considered "cyclists' courses", others "runners' courses", some required surf swimming skills. At times, competence on the bike in climbing, descending or cornering was rewarded, as was being a strong hill or trail runner.

These days you can race all season without catching a wave into shore, riding a hill that gets you out of the saddle for more than a few hundred metres, or running anything that is not "flat and fast" (aka boring).

When race directors set a course that is remotely challenging, too many wannabes whinge about the difficulty until any variation that gives the the course its distinctive character is expunged in the following years.

Moral to the story: Do Canberra Half Ironman before the course profile is indistinguishable from pretty much every other HIM in Australia.

Further to that, RD Nick Munting puts on a damn good race in Canberra (as he does at Yeppoon, Club Champs, etc).

hear hear

Hi

I've just read the posts today. I've signed up to do Canberra HIM and was a bit worried about the bike course as it was described as hilly. Can anyone tell me if it is has a hill as steep as Port Mac? I'm not from Canberra so can't picture the course but went up in October last year to do the Sri Chinmoy Olympic Distance as prep for Geelong HIM.

Thanks

Cheryl, the most significant climb on the course is out of Coppins Crossing. You would have cycled the Coppins hill (as well as all the other Half Ironman hills) when you raced the Sri Chinmoy Olympic Distance Tri.

The courses are quite similar, with the major difference being the Half (3 x 31km) omits the flat out-and-back section along Tuggeranong Parkway on the western end of Lake Burley Griffen.

Didn't feel flat last year. What's the definition of a choppy swim then?

I think what PE was trying to say was that there is no swell like there is on the ocean or from a beach swim.

Can anyone attest to the water temperature and quality of Lake Burley Griffin?

Phoeonix, hundreds of people do this race every year without any problems. It is a lake swim in December. You worry way too much.

Check out RD Nick Munting's posts (#26 and #38) re the swim conditions on this Transitions thread.

http://forums.transitions.org.au/index.php...25&start=25

Yes, some wind chop. Hardly what you call a rough water swim. No surf, no swell. No tide or current either.

I was just trying to get a feel for swim definitions. Handy if I am going to race in an unknown area and they call the swim leg as choppy. Last year's race was a hard swim for me and I would have guess that to be ranked at "choppy". But at least I know that it isn't and won't wrongly compare it to another race before entering. thanks Paul and ratty.

Choppy or not, I can't wait for this one

Thanks for that Paul - much appreciated.

I do worry - but then I have seen myself swim....

I'm in

kb
(from Fraser Island)

Now the big question. Is it possible to complete (just finish inunder cuttoff) a half iron man with just nine weeks of training? I'm putting a training plan together and plan to start on monday.

It starts after the fitzroy falls marathon this weekend.

Pheonix, I just did GCHIM off 13 weeks training and smashed it in in 5:33. I reckon you can do it. Good luck

most def you can.

i did the nepean tri on 1 swim, and 1 ride, then the Canberra HIM on 3 swims and 3 rides. With nine weeks of training and a marathon under your belt, your gunna kick arse.

Sign up for Nepean NOW.

Woot!!!! Awesome news kb - can't wait to smash it with you

And of course, I can't wait to line up next to you in March next year

Fantastic news kb. You and mouse will smash Canberra!

I guess I'll out myself now as well.
Registered last night which gave me the motivation to get my lazy arse out of bed for a ride this morning

Just looked at the entry price for this - quite pricey isn't it? Didn't expect that anything would cost more than the Sydney marathon...But, thinking about it i guss there's a lot more organisation involved with transition areas, multiple sports etc..

On instructions from the coach I will not be doing Canberra HIM.

I am frying some bigger fish.

kb

I think I need to hear more about these fish....

Nice big tasty fish Mousey. I am happy to share the fish with you

Perhaps we will be sharing the same big, tasty fish next year?

Well I'll be there!

Not as a competitor, but we move to Canberra on 12/12/09, so my first day there is now sorted. First box to unpack... CR cheering gear.