A Little History The Lake Geode Challenge Triathlon was started in 1993 by George VanHagen, Richard Luckenbill, and Rick Seals. It ran for five years. Team BEAST resurrected the race in 2006, using the same course. In our first year, we had 29 sponsors, 18 race coordinators, over 120 volunteers, 37 individual and team categories, awards and door prizes.

2008 Water Temperature: 85 degrees

2006 Water Temperature: 84 degrees

Bike Elevation Profile     Run Elevation Profile

Lake Geode Water Quality

For travel info, please check the Iowa DOT and Illinois DOT for road conditions/closures/construction/etc.

FAQ

Question:

What bike wheel set ups most racers feel is the best for this course? Since I'm flying I have to be very selective about my gear and pack light so I want to bring the right set of wheels. Do many racers prefer to use a rear disk and front deep dish (ex. Zipp 404) if they can or is too hill and technically, twisty, turny, for a disk? Or do many racers prefer to use front and rear deep dish style (ex. Zipp 404) wheels if they can?

Answers:

1. The deep dish would be fine. This is a hilly course, not a technical one. I raced with a solid disc before and did fine.

2. Note that the overall winner last year (2007?) used a Zipp 404 deep dish front, solid disk combination. Glad you are coming. I think you will find this to be a challenging Olympic distance course, especially, the run course.

Question:

Can anyone tell me about the bike and run course? How hilly is it? I understand the swim is pretty flat.

Answers:

1. The bike course is sort of hilly at the beggining, then rolling hills. The running course is just challenging for the 1st half. That's my point of view. I will say be prepared for the heat.

2. Hello. We look forward to having you at the Lake Geode Challenge. I am in charge of the run course for the event. The first challenge will be a hill leading out of the transition area. This is the same hill you have to go up to start your bike as well. The course is an out and back and winds around quite a bit. Most of the course has rolling hills, many curves, and lots of trees. There are some flat spots where you can put it into cruise control. There is one significant hill just past the dam on the way out to the turn around point. The good news is you get to go down the hill on the way back. We have added an additional water station this year so you will have access to water, ice, sports drink and sponges 8 times including immediately out of transition. Like Gabe says, be prepared for the heat. This is a challenging course but also a very rewarding course. Elevation maps are on the way. Keep checking. Good Luck. Feel free to ask more questions. Thanks for joining us.

3. I rode this course about a month ago, and liked it a lot! There are a couple of climbs, but there is some really fast cruising too. I put this course up on "mapmyride", check it out. I'm not sure about the exact location of the turnaround on HWY 79, but it should be close. It's all flat, hot, black asphalt at that point, and you will be plenty happy to see the turnaround! <http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/ia/burlington/440753826>

Question:

Does anyone know what we could expect the water temp to be around race time for Lake Geode?

Answers:

1. If you were wondering about temp's for wearing a wetsuit, it is usually above 78 degree's. Bring it just in case.

2. Man, this is Iowa, not Idaho! Bring your bubbles - it's bath water!