Beach to Battleship

If I understand the most recent communication from the R.D. about the Run Course for 2009, it will be a MUCH SLOWER RUN COURSE than last year. I hope that I misunderstood the change, but it sounds as though the 4 out and back loops will total 16 bridge crossings (4 loops of: 2 bridge crossings out and 2 bridge crossings back), PLUS the short but nasty Ann Street hill climb once per loop (4 loops), for a total of 20 HILLS ON THE 2009 B2B RUN COURSE!!!!

I'm afraid that this will seriously sully the growing reputation of B2B as a fast, P.R.-potential course, and inhibit the popularity and growth of B2B in years to come. That's too bad, because this race has potential to be terrific for this area!

I may be wrong but' I think there will only be 10 hills as it is out and back twice. That is 6.5 miles out and 6.5 miles back twice so you will only go up the bridges twice each way(2 out 2 back twice) and the Ann Street hill only twice going out. The other times on Ann Street coming back should be downhill. This is what I get out of the newsletter that was sent out.

I agree with the deester. Instead going out one bridge and back on the other and then again for the 2nd loop. You will repeat the 1st bridge, so it should be about the same. I wish they would post the run. Do you know if we will be going around the lake?

It says in the newsletter that we will be using the first 6.55 miles of the course. I looked at the map from last year and it appears that part of the course will be by the lake. It is hard to know exactly how far around we will go before turning around but it looks like about a mile and a half. Just a guess as there are not many mile marks on the map. I too, wish they would post the run.

I don't think you have to worry much over how a few hills on the run course will affect your full distance PR. The swim and bike are plenty fast enough for you to make up mucho time on most other full distance courses. Even without the current, a saltwater wetsuit swim is gonna give you several minutes to the good. With the current you could easily be looking at 10-15 mins. The bike is flat. I mean, for 112 miles you probably will find it near impossible not to show some elevation gain, but to summarize it as anything other than flat would be misleading. The roads are also in good condition and smooth. You will make up plenty of time on this bike course compared to a IM Placid, Louisville, Wisconsin, Canade, etc. unless you encounter big winds, which is always possible in the area. You could easily be looking at 30 minutes to the good on the swim and bike combined compared to other courses in the country. If you want to set your PR, you should still come to this course, hills on the run and all. But, don't just come for that reason alone. The venue is great and the race is well run, pun intended. BTW, this is a full distance event. Don't look for an easy way through it. No matter how flat or easy a course may seem, 140.6 is quite an accomplishment and plenty tough. Good luck and have fun.

Got to agree with RunRun on this. I did the half last year (and this year, too), but the same trends apply. Even if you have the aquadynamics of a sewer lid (like me....), you will go much faster than expected on the swim - way faster than in normal flat water. Likewise the bike - if you have any time trialing ability, you will totally smoke this course. It's nothing but hammer time. The bridge hills on the run are annoying (especially the first one, which is right out of the chute), but since it's out and back, it's a net gain of zero, so theorectically, if you can hold it together, you will be fine. The Ann Street hill is a pain, but you're only gonna lose seconds there, even with repeated trips - again no biggie. And these aren't major hills - just keep yourself together and you'll be fine. Use the downhills where you can, limit you losses where you need to. If there's anything extra in the tank (yeah, I know, but I'm just sayin'.....), then there is plenty of flat terrain to bring back some of the losses. All in all, a very forgiving course.

The real monster in hiding will be the wind. Last year was almost totally calm - a major stroke of luck for this part of the state. If the wind kicks up at all, then the hills on the bridges will be the least of your worries, because I promise you, even though the ride is dead flat, it will turn into teeth-grinding misery in a head wind of any stiffness. My advice: keep the cyanide tabs handy, and remember to bite down hard. You don't want to suffer any more than you have to.

Go hard. Have fun. Good luck.

I agree with the last two posts. And you should welcome hills, it will give you a chance to change up your stride a bit so that you are not plodding along. You can stretch your legs out on the down hills, and focus on some knee lifts on the up hills. It will be good to not keep going on the flats the entire time. Besides, bridges have a bit of an up hill, but they really aren't hills. Looking forward to experiencing my first ironman with all that it will throw at me. From reading the forums, it sounds like there's a great group of people racing with great attitudes so we all should have a challenging but wonderful day!

Alright. I just had to post up again, because even in my own mind I was anticipating my second go round at B2B to be fast and "easy", because as I noted in a previous post, the swim is lightening fast as can be the bike, and well, the hills on the run, as I recalled weren't too bad from last year. Yes, it is a race where a PR is attainable, and it was a PR for me this year, BUT, it is amazing just what a small amount of head wind can do over what felt like at least 65 of the last miles on the bike. I'm pretty sure that we were going up hill all of the last 3 hours, as a matter of fact. OK, not really, but it felt like it at times. And, the run, well.....it is definitely hillier than I recall, and on somewhat tired legs from fighting the wind on the bike, it was more challenging than I expected. Great race venue, great race, beautiful day and time of year for this kind of event.

RunRun - you're right about the uphill portions on the last half of the ride. It's nothing but a series of l-o-o-o-o-n-g false flats that combined with that headwind to make things pretty unpleasant, even on the half. By way of being a scientific nerd, I can tell you that those false flats are courtesy of the area's ancient geomorhpology, as you were riding over old sand ridges that run parallel to the Cape Fear River. Sorta made me wish that the highway folks hadn't followed the lay of the land so strictly.