This document is your pre-race briefing for the 2024 Honeymoon Half Gravel Triathlon, happening on July 21. Please note that there are a few changes from the information published on the website, mostly due to the low number of participants that have registered.

Race package pick up is from 3-5 pm on Saturday, July 20, at Central Park in Honeymoon Bay (the race venue). In your race package you will find a swim cap that must be worn during the swim, a bike number plate that must be fixed to your bike so that it is visible from the front, a bib number that must be worn to be visible from the front on the run, and a temporary tattoo that goes vertically on your right calf. The temporary tattoo is applied by removing the cellophane cover and applying the tattoo to your skin by wetting the paper backing until the tattoo comes away from the paper.

There is a pre-race meeting at 4:30 pm on Saturday at the race venue. The purpose of this meeting is to verbally go over the course and to answer any questions that athletes may have.

Parking on event day is very limited at Central Park and we recommend that you park at the Honeymoon Bay Community Centre, located on the opposite side of South Shore Road from the race venue.

Transition opens at 5:30 am on race morning. Bike racks are first come, first served. Bikes should be hung by the nose of the saddle, six bikes per rack, alternating side to side. Your race gear should be stored on the non-drive side of your bike so that it does not extend past the front edge of your front wheel. Gear bags with non-race gear may be stored around the outside fence in transition. You must be set up and out of transition by 6:45 am. Only athletes and race staff are allowed in transition.

You will be issued a timing chip on race morning at the registration tent. The chip must be worn on your left ankle at all times during the race. The timing chip must be returned immediately once you cross the finish line. All your timing data is stored on the chip so no chip, no time.

Relay participants will exchange in transition at your cyclist’s bike. The timing chip is exchanged between disciplines. the cyclist must have the chip affixed to their left ankle before they unpack their bike, and they must rack their bike before passing the chip onto the runner. Each participant must wear the chip on their left ankle at all times while racing.

The swim starts at 7 am sharp. It will be a single wave mass start from the beach. The swim course is a single counter clockwise loop on a triangular course. There will be large round orange buoys at the turns and smaller triangular orange buoys between the turn buoys. You must keep the swim buoys on your left. There is a cut off of one hour and twenty minutes to complete the swim. Any athlete who has not completed the swim by 8:20 am will be assisted to shore and may not continue in the race. Whether or not wetsuits will be allowed is decided by the head referee on race morning. Late last week the water temperature was 22.8 degrees. The cut off is at 24.6 so we anticipate a wetsuit legal swim but be prepared either way.

The mount/dismount line on the bike course is on Park drive across a grass path from transition. You must cross the line before mounting your bike and must dismount before crossing the line on your return to transition.

The bike course is a 90K clockwise loop mostly on gravel forestry roads. There will be professional traffic control at the intersection of Park Drive and South Shore Road to facilitate your left turn onto South Shore Road at the start of the bike and your left turn onto Park Drive from South Shore Road at the end of the bike. The bike course is marked with orange arrows on a white background. The directional arrows will be situated just before each turn and to mark the course through intersections where you don’t turn. There will be an aid station at or just before each major turn on the bike course. Aid station 1 is 100m before the turn from Gordon River Main onto Loop Creek Forest Service Road. Aid station 2 is at the intersection of Loop Creek FSR and M13. Aid station 3 is at the intersection of M13 and McClure Main. Aid station 4 is at the intersection of McClure Main and Caycuse Main. Aid station 5 is at the intersection of Caycuse Main and South Shore Road. Aid stations on the bike course will have water and Gatorade in self serve dispensers. Aid stations 2 and 4 will also have Clif energy bars and bananas. There will be radio communications at each aid station. There will be a sweep on the bike course following the last rider. If you have a problem on the bike course notify the next rider to come by. If you see a problem or are notified by another participant please report the issue to the next aid station you encounter. There is a cut off at 2:30 pm to complete the bike course. Any athlete arriving in transition after 2:30 pm will not be able to continue onto the run course.

The run course is a 19K modified counter clockwise loop that starts on paved residential streets before continuing onto gravel forest roads. There will be professional traffic controllers at the intersection of Park Drive and South Shore Road to assist with your crossing of South Shore Road at the beginning and end of the run course. The run course is marked by white arrows on pavement and by green arrows on a white background on the gravel road sections. There are two turn arounds on the run course, one at about 4.5K up Gordon River Main and one on 19 Creek Main just before it emerges onto the Pacific Marine Road. You will run on the right side of the forest roads on the run course and cross onto the opposite side at the turn arounds. There are two aid stations on the run course, one of which you will pass three times. The first aid station is at the intersection of Gordon River Main and Ashburnam Main which is at about 2K, 8K and 17K. The second is at the turnaround on 19 Creek Main at about 12K (These distances are very approximate. I will have more precise distances for you on Saturday afternoon). The aid stations on the run will have water, Gatorade, and Coke. The 19 Creek aid station will also have Gu gels. The finish line is on Park Drive adjacent to transition. The course cut off for the run is 5:00 pm. Anyone still on course after 5 pm will DNF and will not receive an official time. There will be a sweep of the run course following the last runner.

The roads that make up the bike course will be open to the public during the event. Traffic should be light except for South Shore Road which will likely have some traffic as the day progresses. The middle part of the run course should be closed to non-race traffic, although there are ways that people can access these roads that we cannot control so be aware.

The awards ceremony will be at Central Park as close as possible to 5pm on Sunday. You must be present to receive an award. We will not mail out awards following the event.

TriBC competition rules apply to this event and there will be officials present on course. It is up to you to know the rules before competing. There will be signage and marshals on course to assist you but it is your responsibility to know the course and it is not the marshals’ fault if you go off course.