Weekend Triathlon Retreat Location Suggestions

[Jonathan Deng]

Hi:

My friends and I were supposed to participate in the Ironman 70.3 Maine, which sadly have been cancelled. Now we are thinking about organizing our own triathlon weekend retreat for that weekend. Our plan is to rent a house, near the ocean or a lake, and organize our own tri.

Does any suggestions in the Maryland and Virginia area?

[CoachAJ]

Good for you for finding a creative way to enjoy the hard work you have put into your training.  Many athletes are doing something similar.  And while it’s not quite the same as a race, there is still lots to be learned, experienced and enjoyed!

While I am sure there are more options out there, here is a list of areas where I believe you can do an open water swim.  Perhaps confirming this first and then planning around where you can swim might be easiest.  Just be sure you can leave the park/swim location on your bike (as there are places you cannot like Sandy Point SP).  Also be sure you check where you can safely travel to with/without quarantine.  For these reasons, I have only included DMV options.  Not far away is PA and WV with some decent options as well.

1. Lake Arrowhead, Luray VA
2. Cunningham Falls State Park,  Frederick MD (challenging location to do a solid bike leg however)
3. Lake Anna State Park, VA  (you can use Kinetic Multisport’s HIM cue sheets for a pre-made race venue)
4. Rocky Gap State Park, Flintstone MD (if you camp in the park, there is a lake swim venue just for registered campers, which might be a better option than the day use area….and a trail run around the lake would be a fun way to mimic the Maine trail)

Options that have open water swimming but I am less knowledgeable about the ability to build a race around the area.

1. Aquia Landing Park, Stafford County VA
2. Beverly Triton Nature Park, Edgewater MD
3. Hammerman Beach, Middle River MD
4. Buckroe Beach, Hampton VA
5. Breezy Point Beach, Calvert County MD

Have a great triathlon retreat!

[RunBikeDavid]

Lots of great suggestions from AJ!

Adding a couple more.

The Maryland Swim for Life is coming up. You could do the swim with them and then your own bike.

Another place could be Chickahominy Riverfront Park, the site of Rev3 Williamsburg. I think you can swim there or Jamestown Beach and then you could do the Rev3 half course.

[ncrcoach]

Actually, you may leave Sandy Point for a bike ride as I did so back in June.  I am not sure about running and there is much of an area for running.  Some of us are heading to Cambridge so the same weekend (Sept. 18-19) as which would have been IMMD.

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