I did this event last year, the half! It was a bit strange, not a bad event but not one of my favourites.
Be prepared for the water to be black, and I mean black like swimming in the night. This is not because it is dirty but just because it has lots of fresh water muscles and it is rather shallow. And because the swim is laps too, it is constantly being churned up. There was an extra transition where you left a pair of shoes to put on when you came out of the water before running to your bike, quite a bit but ok as everyone else is doing it too.
The 8 laps on the bike was not great, up & down the dual carriageway, all I can say is be careful! It is a busy road and they did not have enough warning signs up stating cycling event in progress. There was one bad accident on the roundabout near the event. This probably mainly happened because cars were still coming on and off the road, and with so many events quite a few cyclist on the road too. I think the bike ride was longer too, about 97k but I might be wrong. The crowds were great cheering on before the accident so hopefully this year they will be too.
The run was a long out and back, think it was laps as well, can't remember correctly. I did this event 3 or 4 weeks after doing IM France so I think I was not ready for it and was more tired than I anticipated which might affect my outlook on the event. But even still the finish was good and the crowd great too.
Think you will enjoy it more knowing what to expect, black water, busy road but a great crowd. There was also a good bike guy set up there before and after the event.
