SPECTATOR'S GUIDE TO THE ACCENTURE CHICAGO TRIATHLON
Whether you're interested in watching the pros, a friend or just experiencing the world's largest triathlon, the Accenture Chicago Triathlon offers a spectator-friendly course. All three legs of the race can be viewed within walking distance of the swim start.

The Swim
The swim takes place at Monroe Harbor with the start a half-mile south of the Chicago Yacht Club. The start is organized into 45 or more waves with a maximum of 150 athletes/wave. If you're planning to watch for a particular athlete, it's key to know their wave #, race #, cap color & start time. There's a hilly, grassy area along the lakefront that offers a perfect spot to lay out a blanket & watch as the waves go off.

Buckingham Fountain is another good landmark to help you find the start. At the fountain, head east across Lake Shore Drive (LSD) to the starting area. Swimmers in the sprint-distance race go north toward the Yacht Club. Olympic-distance triathletes first swim south toward the Shedd Aquarium before turning around a large yellow buoy & heading north. All swimmers exit the water at a platform 100 yards south of the yacht club.

Transition 1
After exiting the swim, triathletes will follow the Lakefront path to the transition area about a quarter mile north of the swim exit. The transition area is fully fenced & easy to find with thousands of bikes racked together awaiting their riders.

Bike
After the 1st transition, triathletes enter LSD at Randolph & bike north to the turnaround at Lawrence. Sprint athletes do one lap & return to transition, Olympic distance athletes do two laps. The bike leg is the toughest to watch. If you're up to the challenge, your best bet is to walk north along the Lakefront Path, across the Chicago River to Ohio Street Beach. From here, you'll get a good view of the cyclists on Lake Shore Drive.

It's close to a mile walk from the swim finish, so be aware that it will take awhile to make the trip there & back. You're better off waiting near the transition area or making your way south toward the run course before your triathlete returns.

Transition 2
After completing the bike, athletes enter transition, rack their bikes, put on their running shoes & exit transition on the south end.

Run
Athletes head south on the Lakefront path (past the swim area) heading for the Shedd Aquarium. They'll go past the aquarium to a turnaround point before heading back toward the finish. You can easily see a runner twice on the course, on the way out & heading back. After coming back around Shedd Aquarium, the runners will go under Lake Shore Drive (through the Museum Campus underpass) then make a sharp right and head up the sidewalk parallel to Lake Shore Drive. Athletes then make a left onto the blacktop path, head west to Columbus Drive where they head north to the Finish Line.

The finish line is on Columbus Drive just south of Balbo Street. It is a great to watch your favorite athlete finish (as well as the pros), but the finish zone is the most crowded part of the race. If you want a good spot (close to the finish line) plan to arrive early (before 10:30am). If you don't want to deal with the crowds, just walk along the course south of the finish line until you can find a clear spot.

Pro watch 2003:
If you're interested in watching the pros, you can follow the plan outlined above with the exception of the run. The male pros take off on the swim at approximately 11am followed by the pro women 5 minutes later. The pro run features multiple laps around the finish area, which allows you to watch them several times from the same spot. Although the finish zone will be crowded, you can easily find a spot a few hundred yards south of the finish. You can expect the top male pro to be out of the water in 18 minutes, with an hour on the bike & 35 minutes on the run.

Other Spectator Tips: