2025 version will look a little different this year with changes to the course. Here's how we think it will play out.

There are three races going on the Open Age Group (Classic/Non-drafting) race. There are also Collegiate and Draft-Legal races going on earlier that morning.

The good news for the "Classic" race is you can sleep in! The waves this year are 11:30 am Age Group Males 39 and under, 11:50 am Age Group Males 40+, 12:15 pm All Age Group Females and Relay Teams. Registration has been fairly smooth the day of in the past although they encourage you to go to Sports Basement the day before. Not sure what the parking situation will be like at the new venue. The slight complication is transition area closes at 10:45am. This means if you plan on riding the course beforehand you're not actually going to be "warm" from the bike warm up by the time the race starts. Nevertheless I suggest setting up your transition and then rolling out at 10:25am for a look at the course to be back just in time before you get kicked out. The Draft-Legal races are at 7:45am (Mens) and 7:55am (Women) and are less busy.

2025 Course Map

The Swim (600m)

The big improvement with the course change this year is that the swim is out and back and not point to point so there's no long walk to the swim start and also the distance from the swim exit to T1 is short. The water will be cold, it's just a question of how cold. You can check the current water temp here. I recommend long sleeved wetsuit, thermal if possible, and a neoprene cap to wear under your swimming cap to keep the heat in. Booties (swim socks) are legal in triathlon and they make them specific for swimming but for such a short swim and the importance of the transition I'm not sure that trying to pry them off with frozen hands is worth it. Gloves are also legal for this race.

You're not allowed to swim in the area before the event but you do get about 15 mins before your wave to swim around behind the start line. Also, it's a deep water start. You will line up by a buoy most likely. Seems like it should be a relatively easy course to navigate keeping buoys on your left shoulder.

T1 doesn't have a flow map yet on the website but looks straight forward and easy to navigate parking lot situation. It's a short race which means the transitions are key so practice doing it the fastest way.

The Bike (18.5K)

Dead flat. There can be some wind on the out and back section. The road surface is generally OK but as mentioned I recommend riding a lap before the race just to get to know any bumps or holes. Another improvement is it doesn't look like there are any speed bumps like there used to be on the lollypop section of the old course.

The main challenge of the course remains congestion, especially for the later waves. If you're a faster rider be prepared to be "communicative" so people stay on the right, or stay to the right if you're getting passed. The far end hairpin especially can be tricky with athletes slowing down to turn. Another complication is the 4 laps you have to do. You'd be surprised how confused you can get. A good way to double check to keep track is to have distance on your watch and when you get to about 17K you know it's time to turn right and head back to transition. Also get to know the entry back to T2 and pick a landmark where you're going to start getting your feet out of your shoes.

The Run (5K)

T2 looks simple to negotiate and then you're out on the run. We're not familiar with the new course but looks completely flat but it could be windy as it's mostly right by the water. The course passes the finish line at mile 2 so should be no problems timing your sprint finish!

Results and Prizes

Registration had gone up to $140 but that's just how much a race costs these days! The prized Treeathlon socks are probably the most valuable article of the race! The last two years it's taken a while for presentations to actually take place. The prizes weren't quite as generous for age group placings in the past and somewhat disorganized but perhaps things will be better this year.