Ticonderoga Triathlon Festival: Course, Elevation & Route Profile

Course & Elevation

The swim is two loops of the 750 m triangle; between them athletes leave the water and run a short stretch along the beach. The water is clear and a little chilly, and wetsuits are recommended. On the bike it is twice round the rolling lakeshore loop with no long climb, and on the run twice round the 5 km loop with aid at every mile.

The festival is small and friendly, in its eighth year, and has no cut-off times. There is no mobile signal and no parking at the site; athletes arrive by shuttle or ride from a car park three miles away. With the later start, the run often becomes a warm midday affair.

Pacing Strategy

The double loops make pacing simple: every second loop should be as fast as the first. Use the beach run in the swim to settle your heart rate and your bearings, and ride the first bike loop deliberately controlled.

The race is decided on the second run lap. If you drank and ate enough on the bike, where there is no aid, you can still run it briskly in the late morning.

Training plan for Ticonderoga Triathlon Festival: 12-week build

For most athletes the Olympic distance takes two and a half to three and a half hours, a mostly aerobic effort in the upper endurance range at a sustained high pace.

Open-water swims of 1,500 metres in a wetsuit, bike sessions of 60 to 90 minutes with tempo work on rolling terrain and brick runs of 30 to 40 minutes form the core. Practise the exit onto land and back into the water that the beach run requires.

Plan your fuelling on the bike and train in the warmth. The logistics of shuttle and no phone signal are part of race preparation, as is a breakfast plan for a 9 am start.