Pasadena Triathlon

March 09, 2019 · Pasadena, CA

Distance: (tri)5K run, 150m swim (du)5K run, 15K bike, 5K run

The Bank of America Pasadena Triathlon, Duathlon and 5k returns for the 13th year! This family friendly event is great for new triathletes (lots of first timers), intermediate athletes (looking to get faster) and experienced triathletes (looking to gauge their fitness). We’ve added a kids triathlon after all the adults as well, so the entire family can participate.

Don’t like to swim? We’ve got a duathlon as well (run / bike / run).

Don’t like to swim or bike? We’ve got a great 5.3k run.

This all takes place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, an epic location with beautiful views and a rock’n post event festival at Brookside Park, complete with grub, beer, music and typically great weather.

Click here for registration information

pre-race	course	post-race
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Review

2013 was my third year participating and I ran the 5K. Packet pickup was held on Friday (the day before the race) as well as the morning of the race. There is a triathlon and duathlon was well. The 5K is actually longer than a 5K, since it begins/ends at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center area and goes around the Rose Bowl. There was no line for packet pickup on the morning of the race, but finding parking was a bit of a challenge. I arrived an hour before the race started and the line to get into the parking lot just west of the RBAC was already backed up. Registration included a bib and a blue tech shirt with the Pasadena Triathlon logo on it. The shirt sizes were unisex and ran big. At the start line, all of the 5K runners started together (no wave starts, no pace signs to line up next to) and it wasn’t crowded. The course wasn’t crowded either. I do not notice any mile markers. At the finish line, there were lots of spectators and there was water, Gatorade, and Slaters 50/50 burgers. I don’t know if I’ll run this race again now that I’ve participated three times. While it’s close to home, it’s longer than a 5K and the focus seems to be on the triathlon/duathlon.

Review

Registration and packet pick-up: Registration was simple and easy. There was a hiccup with some outdated information about their transferring policy but was quickly amended. They offered “day before” and “day of” packet pick up which was cool. People that picked up their packets the day before were able to view part of the course and transition area. The workers that set it up were very kind and helpful. They explained to me how everything was set up and what to expect on race day (my first time).

Course: They had course maps posted online so nothing was a surprise. There was a really bad bike crash that I witnessed because of an individual walking across the bike lane. Other than the crash, everything was pretty well marked and the volunteers brought their “A” game. I didn’t have any problems navigating the course and transitioning.

Post Race: Excellent! They had burgers, bananas, and water. The medal was part of a bike chain. Pretty neat! Take a look at Google Images for pics of it.