San Diego International Triathlon

Considered to be the home of modern triathlon, San Diego probably has the best weather year-​round for athletes. And, what better weekend to do this race for a second time than June 30, 2013, when my hometown of Las Vegas had scorching temps of 117 degrees vs. 77 degrees in SD. The SDIT is a great race to do if you’re a beginner or a seasoned triathlete and Koz Events has this race down to a science.
LOCATION: Swim and transition are at Spanish Landing Park on San Diego Bay,
across from the airport. Plentiful parking around the area for athletes and support. Packet pick-​up the day before the race is at Spanish Landing, too.
RACE DISTANCES: You can choose between the Sprint distance: 500 m swim, 20k bike, and 6K run OR the International distance: 1000 m swim, 30k bike, and 10k run. I did the International distance again, as I did in 2011.
SWIM: A nice calm swim in the bay this year. The water was perfect and I wore my sleeveless wetsuit again. One of my friends had a mishap with a broken zipper on her wetsuit and she ended up swimming without it and was just fine with the water temp. What’s great about SDIT is that there are volunteer ‘swim buddies’ who will swim with you if you’re a beginner and want someone there with you along the way.
BIKE: After running out of the water and leaving transition with all your bike gear on, athletes ride up to Cabrillo National Monument = hilly! The weather was great, though, and it was even eerily foggy at the top of Cabrillo. There’s a loop in the monument area that the International distance athletes have to do twice. By the second loop, the wind started to pick up for me, but better than the whole ride being windy.
RUN: After riding back to transition, getting off the bike, and putting on the running shoes, athletes then run along the Embarcadero to the finish line at Seaport Village. This is a flat course that takes participants by hotels on the bay and tourists who are just out enjoying San Diego. The course is not closed so athletes are dodging people, dogs, and bikers along the way, too.
Myself and six of my friends did the International distance race and all finished in one piece, having a blast and enjoying the scenery and weather. I came back again to do this race because it’s well-​organized, well-​supported with volunteers, and very spectator-​friendly. If you are looking for a tri in San Diego, give this one a try!
PS-​thanks to Mel C. for being the best cheerleader and support crew on race day – his pics of the event are awesome :)