Where HOT?

OK, I was going to talk about the race course and format today, but the location would determine a good part of this, so I’ll do this next week.

One of the main concerns I had with building this event was where to hold it? I mean, what permitting bodies will allow night swimming? Early inquiries yielded disappointing results, in fact as the County Sheriff’s department said, the county commissioner might come back with “maybe”, “no” or “hell no” on our permit request.

I wanted a location close to home (Boulder, CO that is) and with a nice quiet body of water, safe roads, good views of the mountains and with ready access to transport, stores, accommodation, ... not too much to ask?

My short list of locations near Boulder included Lake Dillon, Chatfield Reservoir, Aurora Reservoir, Cherry Creek State Park, Horsetooth Reservoir, Carter Lake and Boulder Reservoir, within 90 minutes drive from Denver International Airport. Eventually I settled on Boulder Reservoir for 2006, mainly because of it's proximity to my house and the fact that it is already permitted for the Boulder Triathlon Series with sprint, international and long course races.

Working with the reservoir staff and police bodies was pleasant and surprisingly easy. I had anticipated we would have problems getting the permits, based on hearsay from within the tri community, but this was not the case. Our priorities for safety and a world class race experience for he athletes were well received by everyone involved and everyone worked together exceptionally well.

Boulder Reservoir is also home to 5430 Sports Boulder Triathlon Series, and our event was a nice compliment to the series, with their races in June, July and August and ours in September. Race sites really don’t get much better, with a quiet, enclosed swim and run, and smooth roads with a shoulder. Actually the bike course would prove an interesting challenge, mainly because of a dirt sectoin and the use of highway 119, but more about that later.