Morro Bay Triathlon Race Preview & Tips

Updated 10/28/25

Here we preview the 2025 Morro Bay Triathlon based on my experience doing the Olympic event in 2017, 2018 and Sprint in 2022 and the changes reported to the course since then.

Swim

For the Olympic, the swim is, according to the website map, two clockwise loops from Coleman's Beach and that's the way it went in 2024. There have been years when it's gone anti-clockwise and it depends on which way the current is pulling and that call will be made by the race director on the day. The bay is fairly protected and very smooth, clear (but cold!). Currently the water temp reads 59 which is cold but not too bad. The start line is on the small beach. If you want to pick a side, pick the right side so you're not pushed wide around the buoys. There is some running on the sand between loops but it's just a few steps and not that complicated. Just a little annoying to get vertical in the middle of the swim.

T1

The transition area, which has switched between a few locations over the years, is a long two row affair along the road. There's a bit of a jog to your bike from the beach exit but nothing too strenuous or long.

If you put your bike shoes on in transition, which you shouldn't be, you probably want your bike close to the bike exit so you're not clacking around in your cleats up the road.

Bike

Morro Bay Tri Olympic Bike Course and Elevation Profile

There's usually a headwind, but how strong is up to Mother Nature on the day. You're probably going to be faster on the return so don't freak out if you're not on your average target goal pace on the way out as you might be able to get back on track on the return. You have to go by feel or power.

There's one 5% grade at 6 miles but that's the only time you're out of aero. The rest is undulating. All and all an interesting course. I did hear some people got stopped on the way back into town by a light but I must've struck it lucky because I was never impeded. This course is notorious for the seemly random manner the police will stop athletes (instead of cars) at some intersections along the course. This of course can be extremely frustrating to be forced to stop in the middle of a race but them's the rules. The table below shows distance, time and average speed of the 1st half to the turn around and 2nd half on the way back. As you can see that's a 3.5-4.8mi/hr differential between out and back.

1st half

2017 12.5 mi, 0:39:15, 19.1 mi/h

2018 12.5 mi, 0:38:37, 19.4 mi/h

2nd half

2017 12.3 mi, 0:32:37, 22.6 mi/h

2018 12.3 mi, 0:30:23, 24.2 mi/h

T2 

As mentioned the transition is long so you'll possibly be wheeling your bike for a while before you get to your space if you don't position yourself near the bike entry/exit.

Run

The run is BRUTAL. There are some normal sections on the way out, a mix of sandy trail and suburban roads but also about half a mile of real soft sand. You won't regret holding back in the first half because before the turn around you hit some hill and stairs and then on the way back it is ALL in the sand. Some sections (like 0:26 of the video) you're forced onto soft sand. In 2017 on the return, about 2.5 miles, you had the choice between quick sand near the water edge, or powder dry soft sand. I couldn't tell you which was the worse option.

Either way you're going to be running at least about 1 min/mi slower on the way back if the sand was like it was in 2017 and 20-30sec/mi slower if it's a little more hard pack like 2018. Depends on the tides. So factor that in as you're running to the turn around and make sure you've saved plenty of energy for the return. Probably worth trotting down to the beach in your warm up to check out what conditions are like on the day. Oh, and don't take your shoes off. I don't think anyone was disqualified but it's actually illegal so you could be. The finishing straight is paved and feels like heaven. 

Look for TCMTriSquad athletes out on the course this year and come say hi!