The Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin is an official qualifier for the 2009 Ironman World Championship 70.3. We will offer 50 slots.
Tentative slot allocation is available HERE.
Walter E. Long Park, Austin, Texas.
The race site is 10 minutes from downtown Austin.
Sunday, October 5, 2008. The first swim wave will hit the water at 7:30 AM. The Transition area will open at 5:30 AM. Race management reserves the right to modify or shorten the race course in the case of inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances, and to accept or reject any entry. No transfers, substitutions. The minimum age to compete is 15. Athletes MUST pick up their packets on either Friday evening (October 3), from 4-7 PM or Saturday (October 4), at the Longhorn Athletes Village, between the hours of 12-6 PM. The Longhorn Athletes' Village and Expo is located at the Sheraton Austin Hotel, in the heart of downtown Austin. Athletes are required to rack their bikes in transition between 2-6:30 PM. Professional Security will be onsite overnight.
1.2 mile freshwater swim, in Decker Lake. No big surf here! Wave Start, with approximately 120 participants per wave. There will be lifeguard and boat support. Average water temperature is 76-82 degrees F. There is a Professional wave available for those attempting to win the race. This wave will lead off the race.
SEE MAP OF SWIM COURSE.
56 mile spectacular, scenic 1 loop course through rolling Texas farmland, and, um, longhorns….pass sprawling ranches, cedar-covered vistas, sunflower fields, prickly pear cacti and see why this is part of the big sky country. This is true Texas! You’ll see more cattle than cars. Texas may be the Chip Seal State, but these roads are in great shape. Watch out for El Diablo! There will be professional lead and sag vehicles provided. MAVIC will be onsite and on course for mechanical support. They will also be on hand to help you with any problems that occur race morning. There will be 4 aid stations with bottle hand ups. Gatorade Endurance Formula EDGE Bottles, water and PowerGel will be available. Athletes should begin the bike with 2 full bottles. This is a draft-free event! Marshals will be enforcing USA Triathlon drafting guidelines. You must know the rules! All athletes must have ansi-snell or CPSC approved helmets to participate. Motorcycle support provided by Blue Knights TexXxas.
SEE MAP OF BIKE COURSE.
See why Austin is the Live Music Capital of the World! Live entertainment from local Austin artists will keep the endorphins coursing through your veins, as you rock out on the run course! 13.1 mile Run is a 2 loop course meandering through Walter E. Long Park, along the shores of Decker Lake and through the Travis County Expo Center grounds, with roughly 2 miles on knee-friendly grass roads. The remainder of the course is on asphalt roads. Prepare for Hill Country Running Company's QUADZILLA, the hill of truth…!!! Be the "King of the Hill" with the best run split up the hill, 
listen to the crowds cheering you on, rock out to the live music, and more, all presented by the Hill Country Running Company. The course is completely closed to traffic. There will aid stations every mile stocked with Gatorade Endurance Formula, Water, PowerBars, PowerGel, fruit, defizzed cola, salt and vinegar potato chips, pretzels, ice and just about anything else you could dream of. Sponges, live entertainment and highly spirited volunteers will also be on hand.
SEE MAP OF RUN COURSE.
Don T. Bonk patrols the last part of the run course. He calls this area the Don T. Bonk Zone. To finish the triathlon you will need to pass through his zone. We know it’s not easy to keep running at the end of a race, when you must pass through the Don T. Bonk zone. He'll be there to provide inspiration!!
As you begin your second loop of the run, special needs bags will be available. Place whatever you feel you might need in it: special gels, food, drinks, blister pads, bandaids, socks, etc. Fill this bag with anything you think you may want for the second half of the run. You will pick it up as you begin your second loop, next to the transition area. Bags will be lined up in rows according to bib #. You'll drop off your bag race morning in the appropriate row.
The Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin will be offering the AquaBike Division. The Aquabike Series was a pilot program for 2005 in which athletes competed in the swim and the bike portions of a long course triathlon, but did not do the run. We will continue this program for 2008. Participants in this division are NOT eligible for Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 slots.
There will be co-ed or single sex relay teams. Teams can be comprised of 2 or three teammates, dividing up the swim, bike, and run portions of the race. Participants in this division are NOT eligible for Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3 slots.
TIME LIMITS:
All triathletes must be capable of completing the swim in 1 hour and 10 min from THEIR swim wave, completing the bike by 5:30 minutes from their wave start, and finishing the entire race in 8:00. All cyclists must be past the 28 mile mark of the bike course within 4 hours of their wave start. All athletes must begin their second loop of the run before the 7:30 mark.
The Austin Triathlon
THE PERFECT TUNE UP FOR LONGHORN!
The 2nd Annual Austin Triathlon is set for Labor Day, Sept. 1st. Added this year is a Sprint Distance event, and a $5000 prize purse for the Olympic Distance event. The race is held right in the heart of downtown Austin, with a start and finish line at Auditorium Shores, a swim in Lady Bird Lake, a challenging 3-loop bike course down historic Congress Avenue, and a very spectator friendly 2-loop run course. Event festivities include a multi-sport expo, a personal concierge in transition, live music on course and at the finish line, free post race massage, free food, free drinks, free beer, free ice cream, a fun zone for the kids, and a top notch goody bag. This is an event that you don't want to miss.
Info and registration are available at www.theaustintriathlon.com .
Pre-race Festival, Athlete’s Village and Expo with live entertainment, custom multi-color technical
t-shirt, the best goody bags, imprinted swim cap, finishers medal, finishers waterbottle, finishers towel, custom awards, participants' raffle, great giveaways from ZOOT CLOTHING, FUELBELT, GURU bikes, complimentary post-race feast, complimentary post-race massage provided by Advanced Rehabilitation, Run-Far Racing Services timing featuring ChampionChip, Race Announcing by the Mouth of the South, Adam Reiser, boat, motorcycle, and radio support, USAT Officials and Marshals, best volunteers and staff anywhere, accurate, spectacular, and safe race course.
After a long, hard (or, we hope, fast and easy) race, hoof on over to the CUDZ N’ SUDZ Area for a Texas-Sized feast featuring great food, FREEBIRDS BURRITOS, BEEF KABOBS compliments of the TEXAS BEEF COUNCIL, succulent, organic fruit provided by Austin's own GREENLING, plenty of MICHELOB ULTRA, JIM-JIM'S WATER ICE, AMY'S ICE CREAM, SWEET LEAF TEA, and all the fixin's! Keep the good times rolling, as live entertainment will be performing for all of you on the Longhorn Stage as you chow down. Head over to the massage area provided by Advanced Rehabilitation. After that, chill out at Decker Lake…Relax, and enjoy the day !
Are you part of a team or club participating in the upcoming Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin? We will host a team tailgating area inside the park near transition. This is your chance to have a gathering spot for your team and to cheer on athletes. Bring your tents, trailers, picnics and energy! Email Ainsley@endorfunsports.com to secure your spot inside the park!
Cross the finish line...bask in the glory....wrap that cool, ice-soaked towel around your neck, along with your medal...Then, head over and get your finisher picture taken with a real, live longhorn! He'll be there right next to the finish chute for you. Don't worry, he's nice....and proud of you for your accomplishment!
No bouncer at the door, just come on in and take a load off. Pull up a bean bag and commiserate with your fellow tri-geeks.
Stop by and grab a Longhorn bell, and fill out a sign to cheer on your favorite athlete. There may even be some foam horns laying around….
On FRIDAY Evening, October 3rd, join triathlon legends Simon Lessing and Michellie Jones, as well as other greats of triathlon for a Carbo Load Dinner at the Athletes Village in the Sheraton. To get you ready for the big day, we’ll be offering a buffet pasta dinner. Simon and Michellie will be on hand and speak with everyone, take questions and more.
Simon is triathlon’s most decorated active triathlete. Born in Cape Town , South Africa , Simon now competes for the United Kingdom , and lives in Boulder , Colorado . Lessing is a five-time ITU Triathlon World Champion in both the Olympic and Long Course distances. In fact, in 1996 he broke the world record in the World Championship Olympic Distance triathlon with a time of 1:39:50 – the record still stands. Lessing competed at the first Olympic triathlon in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney Australia, finishing 9th. He was also awarded the title of “Member of the British Empire (M.B.E.) by the Queen in 2000. Some of his career highlights include:
Born on September 6, 1969 in Fairfield , New South Wales , Michellie Jones is a short and long course triathlete from Australia. Her most prominent success is the 2006 Ironman World Champion title. Jones became the first Australian women to win a World Ironman Championship with her victory in the 2006 Ironman Triathlon in Kona , Hawaii . Jones' victory makes her the second Australian in history to win this prestigious event – behind the 1994 Men's World Champion, Greg Welch. Some of her career highlights:
The dinner will be from 6:30-8:30 PM on Friday evening. Adult dinners are $30.00, with all of the net proceeds benefiting Athletes For a Cure. Athletes for a Cure, a program of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, is a fundraising and awareness program to assist individual athletes in their quest to raise money for better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer. Every dollar raised from the program goes directly to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Admission is limited, and tickets must be pre-ordered online at the race registration link. If you’ve already registered, you may order tickets on the “Xtras” link.
THE MENU:
Jack & Adam’s Bicycles, Austin T3, and Advanced Rehab will be hosting a complimentary pancake breakfast the Saturday morning. Get those carbs! You will have your choice of pancake fillings ranging from chocolate chips and cherries to sausage links and blue berries. All participants and family members are welcome. The breakfast will be completely free for all. Please RSVP to jack@jackandadams.com so we can get an accurate head count and plan accordingly.This will take place at Jack & Adam's Bicycles at 1210 Barton Springs Road, Austin, TX 78704 from 7:30-9:00 AM. MMMMMMMMMM......pancakes........
You've finished Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin, you've gotten your medal...Now, it's time to bask in the glory! Join us at Hill's Cafe, an Austin institution since 1947 for the soon to be legendary Longhorn Sunday Night Shindig. Hang out on Hill's Cafe outdoor patio, have some great food and drink, listen to the live music that makes Austin famous. We've got the whole outdoor patio reserved just for you!
A visit to Hill's Cafe has always been an investment in the true and cultured heritage of Austin, Texas Until you have been to Hill's Cafe, you can't say you've been to Austin. For more on Hill's Cafe, visit www.hillscafe.com.
All the info on this great end to the Longhorn weekend will be available soon!
Austin is rockin', and our lineup will be sure to please on course and on stage....More bios and info to come....
MOPAC AND THE BLUE SUBURBANS
Mopac and the Blue Suburbans is the only jump blues band of Austin, adding even more color to the Austin live music pallette. Jump is a mid-20th century Southern music style with a fun dance beat built on a blues foundation. Mopac mixes it with more contemporary familiar tunes when the spirit moves them. Mopac is the fusion of musicians Doug Miller (lead and harp), Chris Greta (base), Joe Barkan (guitar), Greg Orchard (percussion), and resident triathlete Larry Kravitz (keys). Mopac and the Blue Suburbans have been playing Austin for 15 years curiously popping up at venues like Speakeasy, The Belmont, The Detour, Mulligans, and Jazz on 6th Street. Mopac has also been one of the bands helping runners from hitting the wall at mile 23 of The Austin Marathon. Athletes may object to the message in the jump tune "Can't Keep It Up", but then, it wasn't about running anyways. Maybe the triathletes will get pumped to the vibes of "Start It Up", or enjoy cooling down after the race to their signature tune "Mellow Down Easy".JONATHAN SALAS
Jonathan Salas has accomplished a lot in his music career for a 20-year-old. In 2004, he gained national attention at the Gospel Music Association's "Music in the Rockies" in Estes Park, Colorado where he and his band won top honors as the "Spotlight Band Grand Prize Winner". Jonathan also won 2nd and 3rd place in the pop/rock songwriting competition with "Check Out #9" and "Summers Fade" while receiving rave reviews from professional songwriters. In addition, Jonathan's guitar playing won second place in the overall instrumental competition. These accolades caught the attention of several major record labels. In 2005 he signed a recording contract with Provident Label Group (Essential Records) a division of SONY BMG. In March of 2006 Essential released a four song EP produced by Peter Kipley (Mercy Me, Robert Randolph, The Afters) and mixed by Reid Shippen (Third Day, Relient K) and Joe Baldridge (dcTalk, TobyMac).When asked about his love of music, Jonathan will tell you "he didn't choose music - music chose him". He started playing piano when he was 4 years old. At 8 years of age, he was playing drums with his church's praise team. He then picked up the guitar at age 12 and then began leading the worship team at age 14. He started producing and writing his own songs that same year. By age 16, Jonathan was traveling with his band on the weekends all over his native South Texas. A gifted guitarist and songwriter, Jonathan connects with any size audience through his passionate live shows. His musical influences come from legends such as: Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, James Taylor, Paul McCartney, and Eric Clapton.
LESLI WOOD
Has been playing music in an around Austin since moving there from Houston in 1997 following the release of her first album, Child of the Water (http://cdbaby.com/cd/lesli). When not playing solo, Lesli performs with the Spiceboys. The group consists of Robert Asocar on the fiddle, mandolin, lead guitar, John Dunn on bass and guitar and Pat Carpenter on drums. Lesli has been playing with the Spiceboys about five years. They play a mix of Texas Swing, Rock a’ Billy and Folk Rock music that keeps parties hummin’. In recent years they have rocked venues in and around Austin and Houston, including the Bob Bullock Museum, Spicewood Arts Festival, lots of function for the Austin Triathletes organization, Artz Ribhouse, and JPs Hops House in Houston, to name a few.Lesli and her musicians are currently in the studio working on a new album. Lisa Rogers, ˝ of the famed Therapy Sisters is producing the album and doing quite a bit of playing on it as well. You can try out some early bits of music from this "yet-to-be-named" release, at her website.
WOODE WOOD
Born in Virginia, Woode Wood lived on multiple coasts (Los Angeles,
Baltimore, and Key West) before arriving in Austin, Texas, in 1994.
(in fact, in the 70's he hitchhiked from coast to coast 12 times altogether.)
After pursuing multiple occupations (cook, journalist, gas jockey), Woode
discovered his calling at age 36 when a neighbor in Key West placed a guitar in
his hands and taught him five chords within an hour. Epiphany! He wrote a song
that night and hasn't stopped since. Later, he was
inspired to move to Austin after seeing Ann Richards on Johnny
Carson; during her eight-minute segment all Richards talked about was
the vibrant Austin music scene. For the past 12 years, Woode has
performed extensively throughout the greater Austin area and Texas as
well as performing for the morning runners and walkers on the Town
Lake Hike and Bike Trail. Woode also sang the national anthem for a
7,000-strong
audience at a University of Texas basketball game. His music has been
featured on KUT, KGSR, the Austin-American Statesman, and several local
and national television stations. "Austin is where I am meant to be",
says Woode. The whole world is opening up like a clam shell.....
Check out his website: www.woodewood.com.
Run Far Racing Services will be timing the event, utilizing the state of the art ChampionChip. You'll receive 5 Splits: Swim Time, Transition 1, Bike, Transition 2, and Run times.
Special Awards for the top 3 male/females overall. Top 3 M/F all 5-yr age groups. Top Clydesdales (200+ lbs) and Athenas(women 150+ lbs). Relay: top all male/all female/mixed. Awards also presented to the top male and female Master's finishers (40 + years). NO DUPLICATE AWARDS. All Finishers will receive a great medal, Headsweats Technical hat, 22 ounce Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin Finisher's waterbottle, and a Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin towel. Out of respect for the other athletes, YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO RECEIVE YOUR AWARD. NO AWARDS WILL BE MAILED.
Join Advanced Rehabilitation for complimentary post-race massage.
To book a pre-race massage, contact Advanced Rehabilitation at www.atxrehab.com or at 512-467-1100.
They'll be scheduling pre-race massage and A.R.T. appointments to ensure your best race!
Texas Iron Multisport, T3, and Rogue Training Systems are the Official Training programs for the Longhorn Triathlon Festival. They will provide athletes the opportunity to utilize a complete training program in preparation for the races. Find out more by clicking on each below.
Go2Girl-Your Time Saving Expert
Enjoy a stress free race with the help of Go2Girl. Go2Girl is the official Longhorn Ironman 70.3 Austin time saving expert. Now you don't have to worry about forgetting those little things that keep you up the night before a race. Go2Girl will be in the transition area ready with a variety of items you might forget such as Goggles, Official Swim Cap, Body Glide, Sunscreen and more! She will even be there to help with those other pesky little things like forgetting your timing chip or your race number. All race day services will be provided compliments of Endorfun Sports, and the Texas Triathlon Series so be on the lookout for her and pr at Longhorn!
*Need extra help before your race? Call Go2Girl at 512-751-6157 or visit www.go2girlaustin.com to schedule your time all for a price that will help get you to your next 'pr'.
