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A comprehensive guide to racing Ironman 70.3 Indian Wells
*This is a a review of Ironman 70.3 Indian Wells- La Quinta based on my experience in the 2022 race.
Photos by Rachel Faulds #ironman70.3
Pre Travel:
Travelling to Indian Wells-La Quinta from Toronto, Ontario was straightforward. There are direct flight options to both Los Angeles International Airport and Palm Springs.
We prepared for this trip by booking a booster COVID-19 Vaccine about five weeks before our trip. We were up to date on all other vaccines and wanted the booster for additional coverage. It is also important to note that proof of COVID-19 Vaccination and/or a negative PCR result within the last 72 hours was required to access the race venue.
As always, it is important to take note of the risk level for your travel destination. The Reccomendation for USA from the Canadian Travel Advisory was: Take normal security precautions. Sometimes there are regional advisories based on natural disasters.
The Race:
Venue: La Quinta, California
Photos by Rachel Faulds, Allan Faulds and Nabeel Chirathodi
Expo & Double Transition Set Up:
The race expo was set up at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden which is the same location as T2. Athlete check in and race packet pick up opened a couple of days before the race and was busy but well organized. Outside of registration and the Ironman store there were a few small booths with vendors providing an opportunity to pick up some last minute gear (at a price markup). There was also on site bike mechanics but the line for this was long. If you have bike problems prior to this race I reccomend checking out local bike shops (there were many options including Tri A Bike Palm Desert, who helped me with some rear brake issues).
A unique feature of this race was 'wetsuit decontamination'. This is designed to eliminate the threat of bringing the quagga mussel into Lake Cahuilla. It involved submerging your dry wetsuit in chlorinated water for a set period of time infront of the volunteers, who then tag the wetsuit and store it until race morning.
Both transition set ups and wetsuit decontamination were done the day before the race between 10:00am-5:00pm. Wetsuit decontamination was mandatory. T1 and wetsuit decontamination were located at Lake Cahuilla. Here you dropped off your bike and your 'bike bag' with your helmet and any other things you would require for the ride. You also took your wetsuit to the 'decontamination' area, which was a large chlorine pool meant to eliminate bringing invasive species into the protected lake. Your wetsuit was then tagged and hung up to dry. After decontamination you can not access your wetsuit until the race day. It is essential you leave the tag that shows proof of decontamination on the wetsuit (including when you are racing) because park rangers will be enforcing this protocol. You will be unable to race without the tag confirming that your wetsuit was decontaminated.
Setting up T2 (at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden)was slighly easier and just involved a 'run bag' drop off. Here you include everything you will need for the run portion of the race. You will not be able to access this bag again until you are mid race. Entrance into both venues was free and parking was well organized.
Swim: The swim takes place in Lake Cahuilla. It is a protected reservoir that is notoriously chilly. A wetsuit is essential for this course and some athletes used additional neoprene products. On race morning there is an opportunity for athletes to 'desensatize' themselves to the water (which means you get to feel how cold the water is), but an actual swim warm was reserved for only the pro athletes. The race has a swim stagger in attempt to eliminate congestion. Athletes are seeded based on their predicted swim times. Starting the swim you have a long straightaway to the first turn buoy. This straightaway is marked by sighting buoys which offer the most direct line for the course. You then make two right turns (which are seperated by a short straight) and return close to where the start is before pivoting to the next two right turn buoys and returning home.
The course is clearly marked and the water is very calm and clean. The biggest challenge for this swim course is the low temperatures.
T1: After exiting Lake Cahuilla there is a 'wetsuit strip' zone before making your way into T1. Here you strip your wetsuit and put your swim gear into a designated bag with your number on it. You then either aquire your bike gear or run straight to your bike. It is essential that you put your wetsuit back in the bag with your number on it and hand it off to a volunteer before you enter T1 or else there is no way of getting your swim equipment back. This gear bag be brought to you at the end of the race. T1 is relatively straightforward where you grab your bike and run it over to the mount line. The mount line is right before a short steep hill, so I suggest setting up your bike in a relatively easy gear. Bike: The bike course here is flat with a couple technical bits. A good chunk of the course has some rough pavement. The highlight of the course is definitely biking through the race track at the Thermal Club. This section is technical and requires some quality bike handling on flat, fast pavement. The course has a net elevation gain (starting at an elevation of 55 feet and ending at 140 feet) with a total of 528 feet of climbing. There are very few noticable climbs on this course but there are a lot of turns and cornering.
T2: Your second transition is located at the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens. You dismount right before the large grass field where you set up your run equipment the day before. Your run gear is sitting in a bag you set up with your number on it at your designated location. You rack your bike and remove your helmet/shoes etc and were not required to put them in the race bag (they do have to be placed neatly under your bike). After acquiring your run equipment you exit on the opposite end of the large field and enter the run course.
Photos by Allan Faulds and Nabeel Chirathodi
Run: The run is two loops and constantly rolling. Coming out of T2 you quickly have your first aid station (which is water only), this section is one of the only 'flat' sections of the run course. You then descend down the road (and to your next aid station, which is stocked will all of the on course nutrition) before turning into the golf course. Most of the run is on the cart path of the golf course with a few sections of sand (and sand hills), ramps, and grass. There are a couple washrooms on course (and signs marking their location). Aid stations were really well run with a lot of volunteers letting you know what they were handing out and cheering along the way. After leaving the golf course you do a quick out-and back on the road before climbing back towards the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Here you either head out for loop two or make your way to the finish line.
Nutrition: The on course nutrition was Red Bull, Gatorade Endurance and Maurten Gels (both Gel 100 and Gel 100 CAF 100). The bike course had three aid stations offering a bottle swap and a litter zone. These were around miles 15, a little bit before mile 30 and a litte after mile 45. On the run the first aid station out of T2 offered only water and was within the first kilometer. After that aid stations were every 1-2.5 miles and offered water, ice, pretzels, bananas, cookies and oranges in addition to the standard Red Bull, Gatorade Endurance and Maurten Gels. Not all run aid stations offered Gel 100 CAF 100.
Photos by Rachel Faulds, Allan Faulds and Nabeel Chirathodi
Overall, the venue was really cool and the organizers did a great job. The best part was all of the incredible volunteers. Their enthusiasm added huge value to my race day experience and I'm so grateful for all of the work they put forward so that we could all share a safe and competitive day.
Based on the scoring guide this race received a 'A'. The race lost points for both the spectator accessibility (more specifically for the swim and bike portions of the race) and the road quality.
Overall Rating Of This Race: A
Pre-Race Training and Accomodation:
There were many hotel and Airbnb options for this race. Indian Wells and La Quinta are located close to popular tourist areas like Palm Desert and Palm Springs. Many of these accomodations were expensive and we chose to stay a little farther away in Coachella.
There were a couple of pools available in the area. I tried out Palm Desert Aquatic Center, which had an outdoor pool that offered lane swim in short course yards or long course meters depending on the day. This pool had a lot of availability for public lane swim.
There are other pools available in the area including Palm Springs Swim Center. This pool had reduced hours, increased one day usage fee and the website suggest that you must also purchase a annual membership to use the pool.
Photos by Allan Faulds and Nabeel Chirathod
Finding locations to cycle was also easy. A lot of areas surrounding the race venue offered bike lanes. Riding in the city just meant that there was a lot of stopping for lights. There was also the option of leaving the city and testing out the course on some more rural roads.
Like cycling, finding locations to run safetly was easy. There were a lot of sidewalks and smaller residential areas to get pre-competition runs in.
Though it was very easy to find accomodations, grocery stores, restaurants, and find safe locations to train prior to this race - it was very expensive and access to a vehicle is required. Because of cost and logistics I would rate Pre Race Travel and Accomodations a 'B'.
Overall Rating Of Pre Race Travel and Accomodations: B
Post race sightseeing
We didn't get a chance to do too much sightseeing before flying home, but can suggest a few things. A lot of the post race sightseeing options including visiting some of the parks in the surrounding area. For this, you will need access to a car.
Photos by Rachel Faulds
You can visit Joshua Tree National Park. This park is about a 45 minute drive away from La Quinta (depending on where you are staying) and is described as the place where 'two deserts meet' due to it's two distinct desert ecosystems (Mojave and the Colorado). Before you go be sure to visit their website to learn things like 'what is a Joshua Tree' and definitely read their FAQ's so you are aware of things like a lack of cell service or gas stations available in the park.
If you are into golf, La Quinta offers some world famous golf courses (many of which are open to the public). This region is a host venue for the PGA tour and has many award winning courses. You can read about which public courses you can play at here.
Photos by Rachel Faulds, Allan Faulds and Nabeel Chirathodi
For other ideas including hiking, cycling, historic venues and more view the La Quinta's Pocket Maps.
Triathlons in California:
There are a lot of different triathlon and multisport opportunities in California. These events are put on by different organizing committees and I've linked them below. Please note this is not an exaustive list.
Closest Airport(s): San Diego International Airport, John Wayne Airport (Orange County), Los Angeles Airport (LAX), Ontario International Airport and McClellan-Palomar Airport. *Note: Usually larger airports are easier to find direct flights to at lower costs.
Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz Closest Airports: San Jose International Airport
Ironman 70.3 Morro Bay Closest Airport: San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (Regional Airport) *Note: This is a regional airport and flights may be hard to come by. Cities that are close(ish) to this race are Los Angeles (LAX) and San Jose (San Jose International Airport).
Ironman California: Closest Airport: Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
Malibu Triathlon: Closest Airport: Los Angeles Airport (LAX)
Los Angeles Triathlon: Closest Airport: Los Angeles Airport (LAX)
Where to Stay:
We chose to stay at an Airbnb. The Airbnb we picked was about a 25 minute drive from Lake Cahuilla and 18 minutes from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Coachella. Our decision to stay in Coachella was based off of cost for accomodation and access to a kitchen.
There were a lot of hotel options, but at the time I was booking they ranged from around $300-800 CAD/night which was out of our budget.
If you are wanting to stay closer to the venue there are a lot of hotels along highway CA-111 and a lot of homes within gated communities that may be available for short term rentals.
Tips and Tricks
Plan your nutrition in advance, including if you are going to be using aid stations. If you are using aid stations make sure you look out for litter zones and/or prep yourself for the bottle pick ups.
Bring a flat changing kit (and/or a flat patching kit).
If possible, bring your own pump race morning. There are some available in transition but there can be lines to use them.
Race specific:
Give yourself a lot of time the day before to set up both transitions. They are around 20km away from eachother. The setup was really well organized and was a relatively quick process but having to do the process at two seperate locations can be a little bit time consuming.
You need access to a vehicle for this race. The venue is very spread out and a vehicle is required to access adequate training facilities and race specific venues. There is a shuttle between T2 and the start of the race on race day, but outside of that public transit would be insufficient for race and training needs.
Ensure you have a wetsuit (if you don't have one look into borrowing or renting options) because this swim is cold and keeping your core temperature up before heading out onto the bike is essential.
Bring extra clothing- it gets cold race morning.
Cost:
The local currency here is USD. It is easy to access cash, but your bank may charge you a fee and credit cards are widely accepted. Tipping is common practice here with average tips ranging from 15-20%.
Rental Car: We shopped around for deals with our rental car and the best rate that we found for our stay (five days) was $418 CAD. This was for a medium sized SUV and included insurance fees. This also included unlimited mileage. We felt this was important since we were flying into LAX and driving to La Quinta and wanted to drive the course and check out the venue.
Accomodations: Most accomodations in this area were out of my budget. I was lucky to find a Airbnb in Coachella that came to a total of $930 CAD for all four nights. This was close to 50% less than anywhere else I found in the surrounding area. Our accomodations were about a 25 minute drive from the venue.
Food: We grocery shopped for most of this trip, with the exception of post-race tacos. For 4.5 days of food for three people we spent approximately $210 CAD on groceries, $45-50 on purchasing coffees/tea lattes and $150 CAD on dining out. Gas Prices: We had a small SUV as a rental car and drove a round trip from Los Angeles to Coachella and between Coachella, Lake Cahuilla, and Indian wells many times. Our total price of gas was: $115 CAD
Park Entry: $0.00
Entry Fee: The entry fee was hefty for this race. I was entered in the Womens Pro division which has a one day event fee of $250 USD or $387 CAD plus a one day insurance fee of $22 CAD. Professional athletes also have the option of paying $900 USD annually in 2022 (but this increased to $1200 USD in 2023) and entering as many Ironman events as they choose. For this race (in 2022) if you are entering in the Age-Group division the entry cost was $424 USD or $579CAD. There are often 'early bird' price options for this event so this cost can be variable.
Expo Cost: Going to the expo is included in your entry fee. The expo does sell some Ironman branded products and any last minute gear you may need to buy. I forgot to pack anti-chafing product for my wetsuit and spent $13.50 CAD purchasing this (this was at a big markup). We also got two Ironman 70.3 La Quinta shirts at the expo to celebrate my first long course race. This came to $101 CAD for both. This was really expensive and I don't anticipate making this purchase for subsequent races. It is important to note that you do get a race shirt included in your race packet, this was an additional shirt.
Please note that this post was written from my perspective and experiences. Your experiences may vary. Please read the Canadian travel advisory (or your own countries travel advisory) prior to travel.
#ironman #ironman70.3 #indianwells #70.3IndianWells #triathlon