By Kirsten McCay Smith
The Toughman Utah Half is a long course triathlon with distances of 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. It takes place in Utah State Park near Provo, UT and claims to be “the flattest and fastest half in the west”. Typically this race has been held in August, but this year it is held on July 16th.
I did this race in 2014 and did happen to have a PR on the course. The race was delayed because of a crazy early morning thunderstorm, but once the storm passed, the race was on. There were about 200 athletes, a great mixture of age groupers, pros, and relays.
This is a great low-key race for first-timers wanting to try a longer distance triathlon or for anyone wanting to test their speed on the bike and run, as it really is a super flat and fast course.
Provo is a great place for Coloradoans to go and race. It’s close enough so that you can just go for a weekend and being able to drive (about 8 hours from Denver) takes the stress out of travel and shipping your bike. And there is a Whole Foods a few miles from the race so picky eaters like me can get pre and post-race food!
The lake is very shallow, so the swim course is set so that we utilize only the center of the lake, so it’s a bit of a backwards ‘C’ shape and if you get off course, you may be walking a bit. Most areas in the lake are about 3 feet deep. The current lake temp is 77, wetsuits are allowed under 78 degrees. With a couple days to go until the race, the lake is currently shut down due to toxins, so it’s still up in the air whether we will be swimming at all this year!!
The transitions are very close to the lake and since the race is small, this makes for quick T1 and T2 times which help if you are working toward a PR.
The bike course is an out and back to West Mountain and very flat. When I did the race in 2014, it was by far my fastest 56 miles I had ever raced. The roads are in good condition and a combo of in town and out of town scenery. The turnaround is in the woods and is gorgeous!
The run course is new this year. They have made improvements that added more shade and an aid station at every mile…YAY! It’s a 2 loop course, mostly on the paved trail system in the area.
Temps this year are supposed to be low 60, high 90. When I did the race in 2014, it got hot later in the afternoon, but the clouds kept it cooler than predicted.
I love that the race is on a Saturday. I like having an extra “recovery” weekend day after racing. I plan on driving to Provo on Friday to pick up my packet, racing Saturday, and then driving back home to sleep in my own cozy bed!
Registration is still open!
Here are deets on the race… http://www.racetri.com/the-utah-half/
And here is their facebook page for updates about the lake… https://www.facebook.com/RaceTri
See you there!
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