Race Reviews: Ironman 70.3 St. George

oliverbridge7
Nov 2
6 min read

Updated: Nov 5

Ironman 70.3 St. George course review - what is it like?

General

St. George is one of the most iconic triathlons in the world and for good reason. Whilst being tough to get to and some challenging logistics, that is where the negativity ends. It's a true test whilst also being a highly enjoyable rollercoaster of a course, fantastic volunteers, aid, support and the scenery - wow!

The bike is epic and iconic, with a tough long climb
The run is a challenge, undulating and tactical - time your pushes!
A unique man-made lake swim
T1 + T2 are in separate places, the start + T1 being far away is the most annoying part of this race

Climate

You're in the desert so it can be extreme, really hot and really cold. Typically whether it's at one end of this scale, there will still be a wide range on race day because it will be cold in the morning.

Around the swim it can also be really quite windy and with the amount of sand aroudn that can be challenging and something to look out for. On the road around the lake when you first get on the bike there could also be pockets of sand on the road so take note and be careful!

What is the Ironman 70.3 St. George SWIM course like?

The lake is a man-made job in the middle of the desert. You start off a steep ramp down into the water and you're straight into swimming as it's not shallow enough to stand.

The swim is super simple, straight out in front of where you enter, turn right for 100m and then turn right and head back to an exit that is very close to the entry.

This means you can pick whether to swim close to buoys, in the middle of groups or out wide and just swim straight.

Although it doesn't seem right for a man-made lake in the middle of the desert, there can be some powerful and choppy waves if the wind is up so check in advance.

The visbility isn't great as there is quite a lot of murky sand in the water but there isn't any man made pollution, no 'nastiness' from nature either and no fear of animals either.

The swim exit, like the ramp in is quite steep so prepare for that. It's very sure and solid underfoot.

You are almost right into T1 with a quick run to bags and straight to the bike racks.

What is the Ironman 70.3 St. George BIKE course like?

836m Elevation

The bike is a 1 lap course rollercoaster that is undulating overall with one large iconic climb in Snow Canyon and then going fast down into town.

Although it's undulating, you can carry speed well and the roads are immaculately smooth.

The first 1km or so is getting out of the lake complex, this is already fast and you can get stuck into your race pace. You go under a small bridge to get out onto a main road and do a 180 to face the challenge ahead of you.

Quite soon you'll see your first challenge, a hill of around 500m-2km that has gradients at times that can reach near 10% but otherwise typically hovers around 5% . Get used to those but don't be afraid of them. The roads are super wide, the scenery will keep you excited so you can push hard on these and not feel claustrophobic. The climbs also typically don't have a flat after and tend to go down straight afterwards. So you can push to carry effort and momentum and take that straight into some real speed on the downhills.

The best part of the course, and also the most challenging that can make or break your race is Snow Canyon.

The name of this is an indication of how the temperature can get really cold here but you're likely to pushing hard so don't worry.

It is around 7km long of a climb with an average around 4.5%.

You get a sign of when this comes at 64km when you see it ahead but take a left and do a 1km road to a 180 degree turn, come back to that turning and at that point enter Snow Canyon and climb!

It is a curvy zig zag through stunning desert cliffs where you can often see far ahead of you and people you can try to catch / not get away. The most challenging part is in the final km. It's a climb that you can put effort into without too much risk of it breaking you but just be slightly wary that it's easiest at the start.

Another reason to push is that you leave the climb very obviously and it is downhill for a long time.

You turn right onto a large main road and after a few 100 metres there is 11km downhill into St. George. This is a really nice time to pick up speed, assess how you're feeling and start to prepare what you need to do in the final part of the bike for the run. Do I need more nutrition or water etc.

The end of the bike is a downhill that is on one side of the road of the run course so depending on where you are you can start to see people running the other way. Before the dismount for T2 there is a short but steep downhill to a roundabout and the dismount is right there after you turn right. My recommendation is to get your feet ready before that steep downhill because that is hard to do otherwise and can be risky.

I did this during the world champs in 2022 and there were bike catchers (that is so cool and useful) but I don't think this happens in their normal event. T2 therefore is a long, narrow rack of bikes with the bag collection at the end you joined so you go in and come back. I think this is a race therefore where one of the transitions could be shorter and one longer for you.

What is the Ironman 70.3 St. George RUN course like?

The run is hard but brilliant. Firstly the people of St. George are so lovely, love sport and the event it feels like the whole town is out, as well as the hardcore American ironman fans.

The run is 2 laps and it starts by going out around the roundabout left to the short, sharp incline you've just come down off of the bike. As you're fresh off bike with adrenaline pumping, don't blast this but also you shouldn't feel it too much.

You turn left and come onto the long straight you've just come down on the bike as well. You will go up and down this road and this way out is uphill, so you're coming down the way back. If you're aiming for an average pace certainly anticipate going a bit slower on this and faster on the back.

As it's a long straight with no gradient change, although uphill, for a while it's a really good opportunity to get mentally focussed, calm down and get into rhythm.

At the end of the straight it's a little bit of an odd part as you find your way alongside a road on the pavement to get to THE GOLF COURSE. This is a relatively unique part of St. George. It has a steep ramp to get into the course and starts hard, brutal in fact. However you're then onto grass and that is quite up and down with moments to relax, enjoy that it feels a bit like mario kart and then enjoy the longer downhill through and out of the course on grass.

As you exit there is an aid station that is a very good point to get stuff onboard and then attack the downhill you've gone up. You go back to the roundabout you started at and this time you turn left and do a couple of roads that are also going downhill, you do a small park you loop around and then you're going back up those two roads to the roundabout and....bang, LAP 2! Time to work hard going up in general on the first half and leaving something to really push all the downhill.

The finish is fantastic because you take the only turn you haven't done off of the roundabout, which is very relieving and something you've seen since getting off the bike. As is the support everywhere, the finish is fantastic and really gives you a lot of energy back to start being super proud of your achievement and soaking in the challenge that you've completed.