The swim course is a 1.2-mile open water swim in the Gulf of Mexico.
	Athletes will start on the beach and swim one loop the rectangular course in a clockwise direction. At the finish, athletes will exit the water and run up to T1.
Wetsuits are allowed and optional as long as the water temperature is below 78 degrees F.

Swim Course.  The Triathlon swim course is a 1.2-mile open water swim in the Gulf of Mexico .  The swim will start and finish at the Boardwalk Beach Resort at Panama City Beach , Florida .  Refer to the map of the swim course, Figure 1.  The swim will be an out and back course starting near the center of the Boardwalk Beach Resort.  The race will start in waves as shown in the below table, the swimmers will swim straight out approximately 950 yards from shore, turn right for approximately 200 yards, and then swim back toward shore to the finish line.  The first wave of the swim will begin the professional triathletes at 06:20 AM followed by 13 waves spaced 5 minutes apart.

Wave Number	Start Time	Category	Cap Color
1	6:15	Physically Challenged	Pink
2	6:20	Professionals	Pink
3	6:25	Women 35-44	Yellow
4	6:30	Women 25-34	Orange
5	6:35	Women-All Others	Purple
6	6:40	Men 25-29/55+	Green
7	6:45	Men 50-54	Navy Blue
8	6:50	Men 30-34	Light Blue
9	6:55	Men 35-39	Green
10	7:00	Men 40-44	Orange
11	7:05	Men 40-44	Purple
12	7:10	Men 45-49	Light Blue
13	7:15	All Relays/Men 16-24	Navy Blue

The swim will be marked with large buoys approximately every 125 yards to keep the swimmers on course.  Large boats will be positioned at the outer corners for a visual reference.  Several small safety boats, jet skis, kayaks, and surfboards will be positioned along the swim course to aid in navigation or to help any swimmer in distress.

 

 

Distance	Buoy Name
0 yds	START
200 yds	E1
325 yds	E2
450 yds	E3
575 yds	E4
700 yds	E5
825 yds	E6
950 yds	E7
1150 yds	W7
1275 yds	W6
1400 yds	W5
1525 yds	W4
1650 yds	W3
1775 yds	W2
1900 yds	W1
2100 yds	FINISH

The bike portion of the race is a circular course traveling through residential, commercial, and rural areas of Panama City and Panama City Beach. The course is flat, fast with head winds averaging 15 mph.
You will be sharing the road with automobiles and at times traffic may be heavy so please obey all traffic regulations. Police will be at all congested intersections and you will have the right-of-way unless the police stop you for an emergency vehicle or other such related matters. All turns on the course will have GCT officials to direct you. When entering the bike transition you will be instructed to walk. Always keep your chin strap fastened. This is cause for immediate disqualification.
Aid Stations are numerous with the friendliest volunteers offering you encouragement and assistance. Stations will have water, Gatorade, fruit, Clif bars, Clif Gel and cola

The bicycle portion is a 56-mile out-and-back course that will cover the northwest side of Bay County and go through the West Bay area. The bicycle course will begin at the Boardwalk Beach Resort immediately after the swim.

1. Begin at the Boardwalk Beach Resort transition area and proceed east on South Thomas Drive and to Thomas Drive going towards the State park.
2. Go east on Thomas Dr. on the inside lane and make a U-turn at Mystic Ave.
3. Go west on Thomas Dr on inside lane and go to South Thomas Dr. and go past the transition area at the Boardwalk and go to Front Beach Road
4. Go west on Front Beach Rd and turn right on Hwy 79.
5. Go north on Hwy 79, go over the West Bay Bridge, and turn right on Hwy. 388.
6. Go east on Hwy 388 for 12 miles and make a U-turn at Hwy 388 turn-around.
7. After the U-turn, go west on Hwy 388 and turn left on Hwy 79.
8. Continue south on Hwy 79, go past Hwy 98, and turn left on Front Beach Rd.
9. Continue east on Front Beach Rd to South Thomas Drive and turn right.
10. Continue on South Thomas Dr. and finish at the Boardwalk Beach Resort.

The bicycle course will have aid stations approximately every 10 miles and will be patrolled by persons on motorcycles. Police will monitor all busy intersections and loose dirt will be swept where necessary. Hwy 388 will be closed from 6:00AM to 12:00 noon because of the two-way bike traffic. Numerous signs will be used to inform the local traffic of the race in progress and GCT volunteers will direct racers to keep them on course.

Note: Aid Stations:

 The bike course will have aid stations approximately every 10 miles staffed with friendly volunteers offering you encouragement and assistance. Stations will have water, Gatorade, fruit and Clif Bars.

Bike Detail

Bike Overall

The run is a flat circular course traveling through some of the most beautiful beachfront areas that distinguishes Panama City Beach as having the World's Most Beautiful Beaches. Temperatures average 85 degrees with high humidity. It is recommended that you apply a sunscreen while running. Sunscreen will be available as you exit the bike to run transition. We will have volunteers with sunscreen ready to assist you.

Aid Stations are numerous with the friendliest volunteers offering you encouragement and assistance. Stations will have water, Gatorade, fruit, Clif Gel, and cola. Communication between aid stations and the base station located at the finish line medical station is available to all triathletes experiencing medical or other problems.

 

 

The run course will have mile markers and aid stations approximately every mile. Traffic cones separate the runners from the traffic where necessary. The traffic cones will not block the flow of traffic. Numerous signs are posted to inform the local traffic of the race in progress and GCT volunteers will be used to keep runners on course.

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Run Course.  The run course will be a 13.1-mile out and back course that starts and stops at the Boardwalk Beach Resort.  The run will begin at the transition area immediately after the bicycle segment of the race.  The run course is described below.

1. Exit Boardwalk Beach Resort, go east on South Thomas Dr. to Thomas Dr.
2. Go east on Thomas Dr. to Joan Ave and turn right and go to Surf Dr.
3. Go east on Surf Dr. to Utes and turn left.
4. Go north on Utes, cross Thomas Dr.  
5. Go one block and veer right onto Sunset.
6. Proceed onto S. Lagoon Dr.
7. Go east on S. Lagoon Dr. to Mystic Dr. and turn right and go to Hilltop Ave.
8. Turn left on Hilltop and go to Treasure Circle.
9. Turn left on Treasure Circle and follow it to Beach Dr.
10. Go west on Beach Dr to Irwin and turn left.
11. Go south on Irwin to Thomas Dr. and turn left on Thomas Dr. and go to Spyglass Dr.
12. Turn right on Spyglass Dr and follow Spyglass Dr. to Lookout Dr.
13. Turn left on Lookout Dr and go to Thomas Dr.
14. Turn right on Thomas Dr and go to State Park.
15. Make complete loop through State Park in a counter-clockwise direction.

Exit State Park and follow same route back to the finish line at the Boardwalk.

click map to enlarge

The run course will have mile markers and aid stations approximately every mile staffed with friendly volunteers offering you encouragement and assistance. Stations will have water, Gatorade, fruit, Clif Bars, and cola. Aid Stations at miles 3 & 8 are stocked with Clif Gel. Communication between aid stations and the base station located at the finish line medical station is available to all triathletes experiencing medical or other problems.