Can we talk about the Gulf Coast Tri?

You can read my race reports from the past few years for specifics but I will give you some general FAQ's here. This will be my 6th year doing this race (by far one of my favorites!) and so I have seen just about everything there.

Swim-You nailed it as far as the conditions go. I have swam there where it is smooth as glass and then last year when it was as bad as I have ever seen there. 4 out of the previous 5 times I have raced there it has been wetsuit legal, should be this year too. No wetsuit strippers.

Bike-Flat and fast! Can be windy, generally a 5-10 mph wind out of the west south west so a slight tailwind on the short out and back at the beginning and then a head/crosswind for the remainder of the bike until you hit the road parallel to the beach. Then if the wind hasn't died down or is coming directly off the water you might get a tailwind on the way in. Ride a disc if you have it. Also the back half of the bike is on a very rough road. They paved part of it last year and hopefully have paved a bit more this year.

Run-Flat and HOT HOT HOT....did I mention it's HOT on the run? Very little shade and then a loop around St Andrews park that is completely unshaded. Be prepared for high heat and humidity at the end of the run. Banking time at the beginning and positive splitting this run is not a bad strategy.

Post race food is good. They have a lot of food and beer, and the awards party at Spinnakers that night is legendary.

Hope this helps! See you in a few weeks.