There are quite a few places in the Pacific Northwest that have something like "endurance weekends" or "endurance festivals" with tris and run races of different distances over a weekend during the summer. I know there is one
(Pacific Crest
) in Oregon in late June. It's in the Sunriver resort area near Bend and Sisters. Sure that they have the following: 10K, half-marathon, marathon, Olympic distance du
(bike is 29 miles, though
) and tri, HIM du and tri. One caveat--Pac Crest is at altitude
(goes up to about 6000 feet on the bike and back down; the swim, run and about half of the bike are at about 4000 feet
), so you can expect cold water
(50's, low 60's max
) on the swim and possibly unstable weather at that time of year. The year I did it, I had signed up for the HIM
(my first!
) but ended up switching to the du due to very cold water and air temps
(triggered asthma for me
); bike course was also cut to 29 miles due to snow at the higher elevations. I didn't find the elevation affected my run--it was actually one of my best HIM splits, probably as I didn't swim and biked only half as much as standard! It did hail at one point on the run and temps went from 50 to 70...in an hour and 43 minutes, somehow. That was interesting.
I think there is a new, similar race weekend in the Mount Shasta area--you can Google it. Chelanman in Washington State
(which was my first full HIM
) offers the same deal. It is later in summer, in Eastern Washington
(warmer and dryer than further west
), and lower down
(maybe 1500-3000 feet
) so would not expect those issues. Rather slow, hilly course but one of the best swims out there, very well-organized, low-key local event that attracts some strong racers from the Seattle and Spokane areas.
I did Toughman in Washington State last year, and think they also offered a stand-alone half marathon, 10K, and 5K the same weekend, maybe the same day. Be warned--it's a VERY low-key race! 66 people for the HIM. Easy lake swim, flat but windy bike; part of the run is literally next to the ocean, on the sand. Not the fastest course, but interesting. Within an hour's drive of Olympic National Park.
All beautiful venues for a race and worthy of a trip. If on a budget, camping should be readily available nearby for any of these if you book in advance. A lot of families make a weekend of camping, fishing, and the various events.