500M Swim
You
will swim in Folsom Lake at
Rattlesnake Bar State Park, 6 miles downhill
from the Auburn Railhead Park finish line. Rattlesnake
Bar is at the very rear of Folsom Lake (furthest
from the dam), where the American River feeds
into the lake. Water
temp on race day has ranged from 66-71 degrees. You will swim in a small bay surrounded
by steep canyon walls and natural beauty.
8
Mile (13K) BIKE
Enjoy extremely quiet roads (no signal lights) and a very tough,
very beautiful course. You will climb a solid 1,000' from Rattlesnake Bar park (el.
430') to Auburn (el. 1,430) at mile 6, then roll through some ups and downs along the edge of the canyon to the finish line at 1,300'.
3.1
Mile (5K) RUN
The
3.1-mile run is a scenic
and challenging route throught the Auburn State Park and Auburn canyon-edge neighborhoods. Enjoy the tranquility
of a course entirely closed to auto traffic and affording stunning canyon views at seemingly
every turn.
The course consists of flat shaded single track and canal trail (mile 0-1.5), a brief journey on pavement and then back to Railhead Park on single track trail. You will add a .5-mile section just before the finish on dirt path along the railroad tracks to achieve your 5k course. The course has minimal elevation change but you will find a couple short steep climbs on the return portion of pavement and single track.
