There are lots of great races to choose from across Australia in the 2011-12 triathlon season. Here's some information on a notable few which we picked!
Yeppoon 70.3 (formerly the Capricorn Half)
14 August
1.9/90.1/21.1
This year there's a big contingent of MTC athletes heading to the first long course race of the season, and you can still join them. Yeppoon is right near Rockhampton, so you can enjoy a weekend defrosting in the north Queensland sunshine (it's 25 degrees there at time of writing!) and taking on a fast, flat half ironman course at the same time. It's a great way to stay motivated through the winter, and the race takes place mostly in the grounds of the Rydges Capricorn Resort.
http://ironmanyeppoon.com/
MTC Duathlon
18 September
5/20/3 and 2/10/1
The biggest duathlon of the year! If you're racing this one in club colours you can be guaranteed awesome support. The best course on the duathlon circuit is this year the Victorian leg of the National Duathlon Series. If you want to race in the best organised duathlon over the most testing course, this is the one for you. get out there and support the club - even if you can't race we'd love your help on the day.
https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?ID=4218
Gatorade Sprint Series
These dates are not yet confirmed, so keep an eye out for changes before you ink it in the diary, plan your travel, shift your wedding date etc. Entries open 1 September, but be warned - the way the long course races fill up, it's likely this year a lot of the sprint races will fill well before race day. Keep an eye out for the details and be ready to enter early!
Confirmed calendar
Race 1: 20 November - St Kilda
Race 2: 11 December - Elwood
Race 3: 15 January - Brighton
Race 4: 5 February - Sandringham (Melbourne Triathlon)
Race 5: 19 February - Elwood
Race 6: 18 March - Portarlington (Long course)
Race 7: 1 April - St. Kilda
XOSIZE Sprint race series
Start to Finish have locked in these dates, but distances still TBA. One of these races is usually a double sprint format (swim/bike/run/swim/bike/run), but otherwise they're just like the Gatorade Series events except usually with smaller fields and slightly lower entry fees.
6 November - Green Point, Brighton
4 December - Moordialloc
22 January - Elwood
26 February - Sandringham
25 March - Green Point, Brighton
Canberra 70.3 (formerly Canberra Half Ironman)
11 December
1.9/20.1/21.1
In it's 11th year, and one of the only surviving race from the Half Ironman Series, the Canberra Half is back as Canberra 70.3. Usually raced in very hot conditions this is a very challenging race, and a great feather to have in your cap. Swim Lake Burley Griffin, ride a hilly 3 lap bike course on excellent roads, and run alongside the lake in often baking heat. Last year's edition was reduced to a duathlon after local flooding turned Burley Griffin into something resembling Lake Springfield in The Simpsons Movie.
Sandringham Olympic Distance
15 January (TBC)
1500/40/10
This year it's slated for 2 weeks after New Year, as opposed to the usual 1 week, so no excuses this year! The biggest race in the Gatorade Series is Melbourne's only Olympic distance race, and a great place to make your first jump up from sprint racing. The lightning fast bike and run courses are augmented by a swim that finished with an uphill, 800m run to T1. A pb here is well earned!
Falls Creek
2/80/20
Date TBC
Race promoters SuperSprint are calling this Australia's Toughest Triathlon, and no-one who raced the first edition last year will argue with you. A 2km (very) fresh water lake swim is followed by 80kms on the (now fully sealed) Great Alpine Road, and a half-marathon along the old aqueduct is a mammoth test.
Entries open next week 14 July, although the race date is still TBA. With only 500 places last year, this will sell out very early even if it does go to 1000 capacity as suggested.
Geelong Festival
1500/40/10
(other events also)
11-12 February
USM events, promoters of the Noosa Triathlon and the recent Challenge Cairns last year took over the Geelong Triathlon from IMG and the popular 70.3 race became an Olympic distance event.
There has been talk that a half-Ironman distance event will be added to the calendar, but at the moment it's just the Olympic distance race. The course is an absolute cracker, and if you haven't races at Geelong you really shouldn't wait another year. This year there's 2 days of events, including a 5km twilight fun run, a 1000m bay swim, a kids race, a 200m/5km/1km "enticer" event, the Elite Sprint distance Australian Championship, and a pro cycling criterium. And of course, the obligatory expo.
Portarlington Long Course
2/80/20
1 April
A half ironman in all but name, this is a long-awaited event and will follow the last round of the Gatorade series the day before. It still has TBC all over it, but Supersprint have been wanting to put this event on for a long time, so my advice is to pencil it into the calendar.
Hervey Bay Triathlon
1500/40/10
22 April 2012
http://www.herveybaytri.com.au/
Byron Bay Triathlon
1500/40/10
Date TBA, usually 1st week of May
http://byronbaytri.com/
Either of these races are a great way to end your season in the slow lane. Both races are done in a very friendly, laid back way. Don't expect the resources of Supersprint or IMG or the massive infrastructure you get at an Ironman or even a Gatorade sprint race. These are very friendly locally organised and run races in beautiful rural settings. They're still very professionally run and attract great athletes, and both have been going over 10 years. Byron Bay was my first ever Olympic Distance race and despite nearly drowning after a buoy was washed away and I ended up swimming over 2km in my first open water swim I still have great memories of it.
