Race Profile: East Cooper Coastal Triathlon (ECCT)

The 4th East Cooper Coastal Triathlon (ECCT) will take place this Sunday morning at 7:30 at the IOP County Park. The air temp should be around 60 degrees in the morning, and reach mid-70s by the afternoon. The water temp is approximately 70 degrees. Not bad, considering the chilly start we had at the first ECCT. Air temps dipped below 40 the night prior to the race, and on race morning, it was mid 40s with high winds. The race director even shortened the swim from .6 to .4. I think the water temp that morning was mid 60s, which was warmer than the air temp, but that offered little solace. The last thing you want to do when you’re standing on the beach shivering, is run into the ocean.

Anyway, let’s take a look at the course.

The Swim
The swim portion of the race is a .6 mile ocean swim. It’s a standing start on the beach, so when the horn blows, you head for the water (check out the picture at the bottom of my blog and you’ll get the idea). Once in the water, you swim out past the breakers to a big, bright orange buoy, then turn and swim parallel to the shoreline with the prevailing current. This is important because if the current is moving, you can fly through this swim. Let's hope it's rolling!

There are five orange buoys along the way to help you keep your line. Don't follow another swimmer without checking for that next buoy because you might be following someone off course. There will be a bottleneck of swimmers at the first buoy, then again at the last buoy when everyone is making the turn home, so just be aware and try not to catch a heel in the nose.

Once you make the turn, you're almost home. If you're lucky, you might catch a wave or two and make up some ground. It's a couple hundred yards to the transition area once you come out of the water, so you'll have some time to unzip your wetsuit and pull it down to your waist. No need to struggle or spaz. You have time.

The Bike
The bike portion of the race is 16 miles. Once you leave IOP County Park, it's out on the Connector to Mount Pleasant. The connector incline on the IOP side is steep, but it's super short. It will slow you down, but you can get to the top in about 30-45 seconds.

Be careful on the decent. You will reach speeds over 30 MPH, which isn't all that fast, but there can be debris like broken bottles and trash on the connector shoulder. You also might have other cyclist passing you, and the road is open to traffic, so you don't want to be dodging and swerving around at that speed. Just be aware of the road in front of you, and whose behind you.

At Hungryneck Boulevard you will turn left and bike about a mile and a half before turning around and heading back to IOP via the connector. Police will be directing traffic at the light, but still be aware of traffic.

You'll follow Palm Blvd. across Breach inlet to Sullivan's Island. You'll probably hit some wind over Breach inlet, but you aren't exposed for more than a few hundred yards. Once on Sullivan's Island you'll loop around on Middle Street and follow Palm Blvd. back to the transition area. The road surfaces on Sullivan's Island can be sketchy, so pay attention. Flat tires are no fun.

The Run
The run portion of the race is 4 miles. They shortened it this year for some reason. It's been 5 miles in previous years. Once you leave the transition, you will head back over the IOP Connector to the finish line at the Shoppes at Seaside Farms. It's a nice run and you can take advantage of the long, gradual decent into Mt. pleasant. There will be at least one water station, but they've moved it around the past few years, so can't help you there. There are typically a lot of people at the finish and hopefully you can kick it home for a strong finish.

Other Info
Shuttle buses will be available for transportation back to the IOP. You'll need to clean up your transition area by 11 a.m. A lot of racers jog back to IOP -- if you need the extra miles. This is not a USAT sanctioned event, so you don't need your card. There are Athena and Clydesdale divisions, as well as a big relay division. Lots of relay teams each year.

There is a cut-off time this year. I think this is the first year they've implemented this, so be aware. If you haven't completed the swim and bike segments in 1 hour 50 minutes, you won't be able to start the run.

You can pick up your race packet on Friday April 18 and Saturday April 19 from 4-7 p.m. at TrySports. The IOP municipal parking lot opens at 5:45 a.m. Transition area opens at 6 a.m.
Packet pickup and body marking will be at the Isle of Palms County Park.

You need to be on the beach at 7:20 a.m. for pre-race instructions. The award ceremony will start around 10:15 at The Shoppes at Seaside Farms. The awards and post race grub have been great each year. Paul King, who directs the James Island sprints as well, knows how to put on a race. He's been doing it for a lot of years.

Good luck and have fun.