Swim:   Lake Sawyer & XTERRA Island

                1000 meters

500 meters into this 70-degree swim on Lake Sawyer, athletes will be exiting the water to traverse  the mysterious shores of XTERRA Island, manned by disgruntled & exiled Raise the Bar  road triathletes.  Safely navigate across the island and head back into the water for the return trip.  Be ready for a short grassy run to transition

The Course

Swim Course

Bike Course

Kriss Chiropractic Run Course

THE INITIAL STEEP HILL AND THE TECHNICAL SECTION OF THE FIRST LAP HAVE BEEN REMOVED FOR THIS YEARS RACE!!!  Leaving transition you will enjoy almost a mile of dirt road riding with plenty of room to pass. Use this time wisely because there will be no more breaks after you hit the single track. The next mile is some nice fast single track. Once you start feeling comfortable you will come upon the stream crossing. Here you will have to get off your bike and maneuver around, over, or under the logs that try and keep you out. Plan on getting your feet wet!!! Once on the other side, enjoy some more casual riding along the creek where you will cross it again over the wooden bridge. From here there will be some short technical sections and some short leg burning climbs. But that just warms you up for the nice climb up Ruth’s hill. After this gruelling climb you will traverse the hillside and make a big loop that will eventually take you on some fast single track back to the start of loop two. The start of lap two is different than lap one, here you will have a rude introduction to a lot of switch backs, roots, and rocks. This is the technical part of the course. Once you ride (or walk) out of this section you will merge back into the same course as you did on lap one.

Bike:          Lake Sawyer Trails

                 15 miles - 2 x 7.5 mi loops

After we make sure that your legs feel like concrete and your arms and hands are froze to the handle bar position you will enjoy a nice leisurely run through Frog Lake Forest. Here you encounter single track trails with moderate elevation changes. I must warn you though, when you are running along Frog Lake, watch your footing, it’s a windy technical section. You might even have to jump over a fallen tree or two.  After this section, you will come back towards transition, just before you get there you will have to take a sharp left up a short steep climb for some more single track running. Here, you will loop back by the finish line for a teaser, because one you are there,  we have you do the loop again because we know how much you loved it the first time.

Thanks to Kriss Chiropractic for making our run course memorable!!!

Run:            Frog Lake Trail & others

                   6.2 miles - 2 x 3.1 mi loops

The bike and run courses are on privately owned property and are unavailable for XTERRA pre-rides until the Saturday preceding Race Day. 

The owners of those properties thank you for your cooperation, which, by the way, will encourage them to continue to offer their property for this race in the future.

Pre-rides will be available, as stated, on July 31st.  We’ll see you then!  

Questions?  You can bug Toby with those.

First..the venue!  The XTERRA Black Diamond transition area is currently sitting on the future site of the Lake Sawyer Regional Park owned by the City of Black Diamond. You can visit that park at any time.  The Lake Sawyer Park Foundation's mission is to identify and secure funds and resources to develop approximately 150 acres at the south end of Lake Sawyer into a regional park that includes sports fields, beach front/swimming, picnic areas, and trails for walking, biking, and riding horses. They are a grass roots, community-based organization. If you are interested in seeing this park turning into a great community resource, you can make a tax-deductible donation during as part of your online race registration.