Course Info

Event Date & Time:

17 September 2023

Short Course: 8:00 AM first swim heat start with subsequent heats starting every 10 min. Last short course heat will be at 8:40 AM.

Main Course Super Sprint: 9:15 AM first swim heat start with subsequent heats starting every 15 min.

Venue:

Albany Memorial Park located at 1325 Portland Avenue.

Here’s the 2022 AlbanyTri course map based on a Google satellite view, so it’s to scale. Click image for larger version (opens in a new tab). Changes for 2023: “Super Youth” is now called the “Short Course” and is available to ages 6 and up, including adults. The portable classrooms on the sidewalk between the Aquatic Center and transition area have been removed, simplifying the flow of traffic in and around this area. AlbanyTri veterans should review the course map since it differs from the earlier years of the event (pre-2018).

Here’s a Google street map (also opens in a new tab):
AlbanyTri-Course-Street-Map

Super Sprint Main Course Information

The Super Sprint main course is open to participants aged 9 and up, either as individuals or relay teams consisting of 2-3 athletes per team. This is a standard super sprint distance triathlon consisting of:

  • 400 meter (0.24 mile) swim followed by
  • 10 km (6.2 mile) bike ride and then
  • 2.5 km (1.6 mile) run
  • The swim
    • 17 lengths (25 yards/length) or 8.5 laps (50 yards/lap) in the outdoor pool of the Albany Aquatic Center. This is 425y, which is a little shorter than 400m.
    • Two swimmers splitting each lane of a 10-lane pool.
    • Heats of 20 swimmers (max) start every 15 minutes.
      • This time includes 1-2 min at the end to clear pool and prep for the next heat.
      • If you don’t complete the 17 laps within ~14 minutes, that’s OK. Simply exit the East end of the pool and proceed to the transition area to start the bike portion.
    • Seeding into heats is generally by age group + sex with exceptions for the the beginning heat and family/friends preferences:
      • The first 1 or 2 heats will be reserved for the faster/more experienced triathletes (especially fast cyclists).
      • The middle-to-later heats will be for family heat(s) and less-experienced athletes.
      • The registration form provides a way to indicate your desire to be in an early, middle, or late heat, your triathlon experience, and preference to be in the same or different heat as another participant.
    • Kickboard okay, but not other flotation devices.
    • Shallow lane is available for water walking for participants over 4.5 ft tall. Indicate your desire to walk instead of swim on the registration form.
  • The bike course
    • consists of 12 laps around a 0.52 mile loop on the streets encircling the pool + park + high school clockwise.
    • Bike route (map):
      • Start on Portland Ave in front of Aquatic Center, heading West
      • right turn onto Key Route.
      • right turn onto Thousands Oaks
      • right turn onto Carmel
      • continue looping along the same route, counting loops as you pass the Aquatic center.
    • Bike helmet is required and no drafting is allowed, per USAT rules.
    • Starting in 2019, the bike course consists of 12 laps around the block, not 11 as in previous years. This brings the course closer to 10 km (6.2 miles) as advertised, though it does mean that bike times will not be directly comparable to pre-2019 times.
  • The run course
    • is 3 laps on the same loop as the bike course, running in a counter-clockwise direction (opposite to the bike direction)
    • run on the sidewalk or on the road near the curb where sidewalk is not available or in bad condition.
    • Starting in 2018, the run course goes around the back side of the transition area (near the tennis court fence, on the grass) to avoid crossing the path of cyclists exiting & entering the transition area, improving course logistics.
    • Also starting in 2018, the run is 3 complete laps, rather than 3.5 laps as in earlier years, finishing in Memorial Park just past the transition area near the concrete stage. This shortens the run from 3K to 2.5K, so run times will not be directly comparable to pre-2018 times.

The transition area (T1 and T2) will be on the grassy field between the tennis courts and the sidewalk (less than 50 yards from the pool exit).

Here’s a video tour of the course to get a good sense of the venue. The video is from 2012, so be sure to see the comment below the video for a number of  significant updates for the current course. Also check out our extensive FAQ for additional event details.

This race is not USAT sanctioned, primarily since the focus is on new triathletes. However, seasoned triathletes are definitely welcome! The early swim heats will be reserved for experienced triathletes and fast cyclists to minimize interactions with slower racers. On the registration form, indicate your preference for an early heat if you are an experienced triathlete or fast cyclist.

Think you’re fast? Then consider signing up for the “Beat-A-Triathlete” challenge!

Short Course Mini Triathlon

The short course is a mini version of the super sprint main course, about 30% as long overall. Prior to 2023, the short course was called the “Super Youth” course and was restricted to kids aged 7-10 only. The short course is now open to all participants aged 6 and up. This permits parents to accompany & supervise their kids on the course, and it allows any athlete to get a taste of a triathlon without committing to a longer event. Parents of very young kids (6-7yo) or kids requiring extra assistance are encouraged to enter the event and chaperone them along as you do the course together!

The short course consists of the following legs:

  • 70 meter (75 yard) swim followed by
  • 2.5 km (1.6 mile) bike ride and then
  • 1 km (0.6 mile) run
  • Short course swim
    • Three lengths of the outdoor 25y pool of the Albany Aquatic Center.
    • Two swimmers splitting each lane.
    • Heats of 20 swimmers (max) start every 10 minutes.
      • This time includes 1-2 min at the end to clear pool and prep for the next heat.
      • If you don’t complete the 3 laps within ~9 minutes, that’s OK. Simply exit the East end of the pool and proceed to the transition area to start the bike portion.
    • Kickboard okay, but not other flotation devices.
    • Shallow lane is available for water walking for participants over 4.5 ft tall. Indicate your desire to walk instead of swim on the registration form.
  • Short course bike
    • Three laps around a 0.52 mile loop on the streets encircling the pool + park + high school clockwise as described for the Super Sprint main course above.
    • Bike helmet is required and no drafting is allowed, per USAT rules.
    • The transition area will have shorter bike racks for kid-sized bikes.
  • Short course run
    • One lap running on the sidewalk or on street near the curb in a counter-clockwise direction, finishing in the same location as for the Super Sprint main course described above.

AlbanyTri FAQ

See our extensive FAQ about the AlbanyTri, covering various aspects about the race and answering a range of common questions.

πŸŠπŸ»β€β™€οΈ … 🚴🏾 … πŸƒπŸ½β€β™‚οΈ … 🀩


2 thoughts on “Course Info

    Dave said:
    September 9, 2019 at 3:14 pm

    Perhaps the information on how many bike laps the race is this year (12 rather than 11) should be updated here in the faq: https://albanytri.com/faq/#bike . Particularly, since an email was recently sent out with a link to the faq section of the site.

    Liked by 1 person

      trutane responded:
      September 9, 2019 at 4:15 pm

      Fixed. Great catch! The AlbanyTri website, like the event itself, is all-volunteer effort, so we appreciate the helpful feedback.

      Like

Leave a comment