This is a Frank Dobbs race, he is notorious for poorly run races with minimal support. I was speaking to writer at Accenture this year and she told me USAT has revoked any sanctioning from his races. So to answer your questions you will need a ton of gu and about 8 water bottles.:eek:

Second all the comments about how poorly run this RD's races are. If it's anything like past years,

1. Packet pickup the morning of is a giant clusterf***. Go the night before if at all possible. Be ready for the race start to be delayed (i.e., bring extra hydration and gel to stay fueled). Bring your own Sharpie and have a friend body mark you.

2. The swim will be anywhere from .7 miles to well over 1.2 (there's a story about the turn buoy coming loose one year and everyone just kept swimming after it).

3. Transition will have zero security and racers from shorter distances, their families, and anyone else who feels like it will be wandering around. Nobody will check for your bike number when you leave. Consider bringing a bike lock.

4. Bike course is OK. Lots of turns, most of them marked (though you will want to at least drive it beforehand), 1 tough hill right away and then nothing but rollers. Poor surface on State Line road, but that's only a couple of miles. There's also a fast descent that turns hard left as you head back into Fontana, so watch out there--especially if the intersection is not manned. Hydration was 1 or 2 stops. Don't bank on the aid stations being stocked.

5. Run course is very tough and hilly. IIRC, there are about 8 total aid stations (maybe 12?) Anyway, you pass each of them both ways on each loop so you get at least 8 potential stops.

Good luck!

I did the IM in 2000. Not sure if the course is still the same but the run had some (12) killer hills. I do remember check-in being disorganized and it sounds like that is still the same.