Hell of the West Kilkee - Hills etc?

Spins

Hi,
Anyone out there doing Kilkee in two weeks time?
Has anyone done it before and what are the hills like for the bike and run legs?
How far in to each leg are they and how steep/long are they?
Downloaded the Event Information Pack today and it's gotten me all excited. Sounds a bit daunting in parts tho.
If anyone has done the Connemarathon, how does the hill in the run compare to the HOTW in Connemarathon?

hunnymonster

I can't remember any hills on the bike course. Wind was a problem last year, but not the year I did it. The run course is up and down the cliff so pretty steep on the way up, definitely steeper than the connemarathon hill but then you've only 10km to run not 39 miles. Probably worth driving the run course beforehand to get a handle on where you can push it and where to just survive.

tagoona

Ennis tri club are doing the full course tomorrow morning. I'll report back on the realities then.
Until then,
Cycle: There's a nice hill down leaving kilkee, but you have to travel back up it at the end of the cycle. Most of the rest of the course is fine (I've been told)
Run: 4-5 kms mostly uphill. This will hurt. Medium to steep in places. Coming back down it, tired legs have trouble on the descent

HardyEustace

TBH, I'd heard SO much about the run I was dreading it.

The run is grand though, the cycle though, TERRIBLE, it just sucks the life out of you. <<shudder>>

MCOS

Went over the course twice last weekend

Swim: Bay was lovely, can get quite choppy but buoys are easy enough to sight, just follow them and stay right of them. Hardest part of teh swim is the run up the beach taking your wetsuit off!

Bike: Slow climb for first few km, don't attack it as you will need the legs later. Course not to bad up to 40k a bit of a drag in the middle. Short sharp hill at about 43k which will knock the stuffing out of your legs just before the run. Hardest part of teh cycle is bound to be the wind. When there is a headwind, its a HEADWIND!

Run: Up Dunlicky road is after the first couple of mins around the strand. It levels out a little then climbs slowly up to 5km. Its a negative split run by at least 2 mins. You will fly back on the 2nd 5km assuming the wind is not trying to press you back over the cliff. Its a tough run IMO

Basically if you attack the start of the bike or the run you may blow up sooner than you expect... so pace sensibly but go hard all the same

Spins

tagoona wrote: »

Ennis tri club are doing the full course tomorrow morning. I'll report back on the realities then.

Looking forward to hearing how you get on....

HardyEustace wrote: »

the cycle though, TERRIBLE, it just sucks the life out of you. <<shudder>>

Scary stuff!

tunney

MCOS wrote: »

Basically if you attack the start of the bike or the run you may blow up sooner than you expect... so pace sensibly but go hard all the same

I disagree, I think it's the one run course that you should attack from the go.

Bambaata

i cannot wait to take on those hills. the run views are supposedly fantastic too?

HardyEustace

Bambaata wrote: »

i cannot wait to take on those hills. the run views are supposedly fantastic too?

That's a bit like saying that there's a great view from the delivery ward. There could be but it's not something you're going to notice at the time. (Made the same mistake last year when I cycled the Mullaghmore run as a prequel to the race, did I notice ANY of it during the race? NO)

Bambaata

lol. it'll beat the usual training runs anyway.

tagoona

Kilkee Training session report
This report is tempered by the fact that I'm not a great triathlete - much more middle of the road (2.32 for Athy olymplic
Note : There was some glass in the transition area around the bandstand. I'm sure they'll sweep it before HOTW.

Swim: Calm and clear waters this morning at 8.30, but quite cold. It was still quite cold during the post-training swim at 12.30.

Cycle: Moderate-steep hill coming out of kilkee for about 2k. You get some good speed coming down the other side. Up and down all the way as far as the halfway point, a right turn and a long moderate hill as far as creagh, where there's another right turn(gravel on the outside - be warned). 2 k brings you back onto the road you came in on. Up and down all the way back to the 38k mark. A steep hill, that you think you've sorted, except at the crest you spot another long steep hill. That's the final hill, you get great speed coming back down that hill and into kilkee.
The surface is mostly good, with one section of patched potholes.
Wind was mostly with you on the way out, against on the way back. But it's a swirly wind, so only the day will tell.

Run: About 1.5-2k up a moderate hill. Up and down (averaging up) to about 3.5k (There was a painted note for a water stop, here, not sure what the plan is for this year).
Flat to downhill to the 5k mark.
Turnaround and back the way you came. Surface is rough tarmac. Camber is quite steep at the sides in places. Wind was against on the way to the 5k mark, and with on the way back.

Hopefully that helps anyone who's wondering about the course