This document is your pre-race briefing for the 2025 Honeymoon Half Gravel Triathlon for this SundayJuly 20.

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 go over the course, brief on any last minute changes or potential hazards, and to answer questions from athletes.

Parking on event day is 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, divided into Half distance and Standard distance. 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. Pick it up prior to heading to the beach. 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 Half distance swim starts at 7 am sharp. The Standard distance swim starts at 7:30 sharp. Both starts will be a single wave mass start from the beach. The swim course is a 950m counter clockwise loop on a triangular course. There will be orange buoys at the turns. You must keep the swim buoys on your left.

The Half distance swim is two laps of the course, turning prior to the swim exit for the second loop. The turn for the second loop is around a buoy in deep water.

The Standard course swim is one loop of the course.

There is a cut off of one hour and twenty minutes from the start of the Half distance swim, or at 8:20, 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.

The mount/dismount line on the bike course is on Park Drive at the intersection of March Road. You must cross the line before mounting your bike and must dismount before crossing the line on your return to transition.

The Half distance bike course is a 90K clockwise loop and the Standard distance bike course is a 42K clockwise loop, both mostly on gravel forestry roads. There will be 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 Half distance bike course is marked with orange arrows on a white background. The Standard distance bike course is marked with green arrows of a white background. Both courses leave Honeymoon Bay on Gordon River Main (GRM) and return on South Shore Road (SSR).

Some sections of the bike courses, particularly the descent on the Standard course, can be quite bumpy and it is recommended that athletes wear cycling gloves on the bike sections to avoid blisters.

The bike course 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 at the intersection of GRM and Caycuse Crossover. Aid station 2 is just before the turn from GRM onto TR6. Aid station 3 is at the intersection of Loop Creek FSR and M13. Aid station 4 is at the intersection of M13 and McClure Main. Aid station 5 is at the intersection of McClure Main and Caycuse Main. Aid station 6 is at the intersection of Caycuse Main and SSR. Aid station 7 is at the intersection of SSR and Caycuse Crossover.

Aid stations on the bike course will have water and Gruppo Power in self serve dispensers. Aid station 2 and 5 will also have Clif energy bars. 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 Half distance run course is 21K and the Standard run course is 10K. Both courses are a modified counter clockwise loop that start on a gravel trail and paved residential streets before continuing onto gravel forest roads. There will be 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. Both run courses follow the same route in and out of Honeymoon Bay. These sections will be marked with white arrows on the ground. Both run courses are marked by yellow arrows on a white background on the gravel road sections. Turn arounds on both courses will be marked by signs and will be marshalled.

After leaving town both run courses follow GRM. There are two turn arounds on each run course. Both courses first turn around is at 3.5K up GRM. Both courses turn right onto Ashburnam Main, which becomes 19 Creek Main. The standard course turns around the second time at 4.5K before the Pacific Marine Road.The Half run course turns around the second time on 19 Creek Main just before it emerges onto the Pacific Marine Road. Runners 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 three aid stations on the Half run course and one on the Standard course. Aid station 1 on the run course is at the intersection of Gordon River Main and Ashburnam Main. Each distance will pass this aid station three times. Aid station 2 is 3K up Ashburnam Main on the Half distance course and Half distance athletes will pass this station twice. The third aid station is at the turnaround on 19 Creek Main at Pacific Marine Route on the Half distance course. The aid stations on the run will have water, Gruppo Power, and Coke. Aid station 2 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.

A map of the bike routes. The red line is the Half distance course. The green line is the Standard distance course cut off.

A map of the run course.

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. It is not the marshals’ fault if you go off course.

The awards ceremony will be at Central Park as close as possible after he last finisher or at 5pm on Sunday, whichever is earlier. You must be present to receive an award. We will not mail out awards following the event.