Are you curious about racing the Santa Barbara Triathlon in California and want more details about what to expect? Then this blog is for you!
I recently competed in the Santa Barbara 45 Triathlon (aka SB 45) and will share my race report, what you should know, and some course tips.
As a registered dietitian, I will also share what I ate during the race to fuel my podium finish!
This was simultaneously one of the hardest, funnest, prettiest, and most frustrating courses I’ve ever done. Let’s dive into the race details.
Santa Barbara Triathlon 45 Overview and Race Course Details 2025
The Santa Barbara Triathlon consists of multiple distances and events, including a 45-mile course, 25-mile course (Olympic distance), a 10-mile course (sprint distance), duathlon, aquabike, and short beach festival events.
This blog will only cover the 45-mile distance since that is the only race I’ve done.
The Santa Barbara triathlon 45-mile course consists of a 1-mile swim, a 34-mile bike ride, and a “10-mile” run (which is actually more like 9.9 miles). It’s a great distance for those looking to transition from Olympic distance to half Ironman, as it fits almost perfectly in between the two. Or, if you’re like me and usually participate in Olympic races, but want something a little more challenging, it’s a perfect fit!
The course starts at East Beach in Santa Barbara near downtown. It’s beautiful! I’ve done other “beach” races that turned out to be less scenic, but this entire course is stunning from start to finish.
Parking and Pre-Race Nutrition
Race day parking was all street parking, which wasn’t awful but wasn’t necessarily easy to find, either. My husband and I arrived just before 5 AM when transition opened to try to locate a parking spot. Luckily, we managed to park only a few minutes’ walk from the race. However, our friend was able to get dropped off closer to 6 AM by his family. If you have someone who can drop you off and then find parking, you can sleep in a bit longer!
That gave us almost two hours to set up, as the race started promptly at 7 AM.
Starting on time was much appreciated! I’ve participated in other races that started really late, which can be frustrating when you’re trying to manage your nutrition and race nerves.
Speaking of nerves, mine are always a wreck on race day which makes it very hard to eat like I should. For that reason, I try to pack my needed carbs (about 52 grams) into the smallest and easiest to tolerate package.
If you’re not sure how much you should be eating before and during a race, there is a science to it. Randomly eating a banana or pb&j sandwich may or may not be enough.
To learn how much to eat for your bodyweight and race distance, get my Runner’s Course. You can also click here for a free carb-load guide!
I chose a Bobo’s PB&J (about 40 grams of carbs) and 25 grams of Tailwind Nutrition in 12 oz water that I could sip on while setting up. Not only did Tailwind help me get my extra carbs, but provided necessary hydration as well.
The Swim
It happened to be one of the hottest weekends of the year, so race morning wasn’t cold. The water temperature was 68 degrees. In a wetsuit with the sun shining, the water felt comfortable – and I’m very sensitive to cold water!
When I raced (2025) they used a time-trial start, meaning that every 5 seconds, 2 people would run into the water based on predicted swim finish time. I loved this format! You’re grouped with others of similar swimming ability, which reduces the chance of being pushed around by stronger competitors and having to navigate around slower swimmers. It also makes for a safer experience.
The swim takes place in open water in the ocean, but the water was calm. From my experience, and what I heard from other athletes, previous years’ swims have also been smooth with almost no waves. So if you’re concerned about waves, this race won’t be an issue! Overall the swim was smooth sailing and well-marked with buoys.
Swimming back in the last few hundred meters, we were facing the sun, so I recommend mirrored goggles to help with visibility. Speedo Biofuse 2.0 are my personal favorite that prevents leaking and stays comfortably in place.
The beach is rocky at the shore, so most people walked a little ways before swimming. The same goes for coming out. I slowly walked out to avoid hurting my feet on the rocky bottom.
Personally, this was one of my smoothest, calmest swims I’ve ever had in a race, and I achieved one of my better swim times!
Transition Area
The short transition distance allowed for just enough time to strip off the wetsuit. The transition area was manageable in size and easy to navigate. They also placed water buckets at the swim exit to help everyone rinse the sand off their feet. My bike was very close to the bike out, so it didn’t take long to exit and get moving.
The Santa Barbara Triathlon 45 Bike Course
One of my biggest worries going into this race was the bike course because it’s an out and back with many turns. I wasn’t sure how well-marked it would be. I actually took directions and my cell phone with me on the bike—which I’ve never done before —just in case I got a flat tire at 20-some miles in the middle of nowhere or took a wrong turn. But neither was necessary!
For the most part, the course was easy to follow, and volunteers or police officers were stationed at key turns and intersections to direct participants. However, there were 1-2 places where the directions weren’t super clear, and I had to pause briefly to figure out the route.
It was incredibly helpful that my husband and I drove about half of the course the day before when we drove into town. This allowed us to familiarize ourselves with the layout, made me feel more comfortable on course, and helped navigate confusing areas.
They say the course is challenging, but it’s always hard to know what that really means. But me, my husband, and our ultraathlete/ironman friend all said it was the toughest bike course we’ve ever done. There are multiple hills, and two in particular are big and long climbs.
I would consider myself average at hills, and these were a grind. My tri bike gears just aren’t built for hills. I almost felt like I could have done just as well if not better on a road bike. I did see a few people walking their bikes or stopped, but not many. I’d recommend making sure you practice some steep climbs around 5-7% incline for a 1-3 miles to prepare well.
On the flip side, once you finish the hills, there are rewarding, speedy downhills and flats to help make up time, give your legs a rest, and put a smile back on your face!
I took several downhills a little slwo because of sharp turns you have to make. But if you’re good with technical courses and quick turns, you could really send it down some of these hills. However, keep in mind that it’s a shared course with cars with no cones. There were stop signs and intersections where bikes have to stop, so caution is important on this course.
Due to the stops and even getting stuck behind cars a few times, the course wasn’t as fast or fun as it could be. That put a damper on things for me because I had to nearly stop and lost a lot of time in certain spots. Plus, passing other athletes can be tricky and unsafe if cars are around.
So, it’s not the most fair or fun course if you’re trying to race or PR. But for the most part, the slow downs were only in certain sections and many people still hit amazing speeds on the bike.
Bike Nutrition
Once I was in a groove on the bike, I ate a Precision Nutrition Chew, followed by another maybe 10 minutes later. I love how soft and tasty these are, and I prefer chews to gels on the bike as gels take me too long to eat and tend to turn into a sticky mess. I had planned to take another two near the end of the bike, but ended up only taking them at the start of the race as I could feel my stomach starting to feel funny.
Most of my bike nutrition was in my water bottle. For me, it’s the easiest way to get all of the hydration and carbs I need without overloading my stomach. My bike bottle consisted of 100 grams of carbs from Tailwind, which also has electrolytes, in about 20 oz of water to maintain adequate hydration.
Between the bike bottle and Precision Nutrition chews, I had about 160 grams of carbohydrates for a little over 80 grams of carbs per hour. This was based on estimating the full race to take me about 4 hours, and knowing I wouldn’t consume all of it. This strategy helped me get around 60 grams per hour.
To learn how many carbs you need per hour based on race distance and intensity, and the types of carbs needed, check out my Runner’s Guide.
The Santa Barbara Triathlon Run
Coming off the bike, my legs were definitely tired, but since the course ends on a flat, there is some recovery time. While I was ready to be off the bike, I felt good and mentally prepared for the run, thanks to quality training sessions leading up to the race.
The run course consists of pavement and concrete with some rolling hills. There is one main hill about three miles in, then very slight uphills until the 5-mile turnaround point.
Similar to the bike, much of the run course is narrow and shared with pedestrians and beachgoers, so it got a bit tough to pass other runners. And parts of the course go through parking lots where you have to navigate cars and people. I had a few close calls with cars who weren’t paying attention and found it frustrating at times to navigate around so many cars, kids, dogs, bikes, etc.
There are aid stations at almost every mile providing water and Gatorade. I took advantage of these stations, grabbing water at each one to pour over myself to keep myself cool as the temperatures rose.
While it was a challenging run after the bike course, the second half is mostly downhill or flat, and the beautiful surroundings helped distract me from fatigue.
Unfortunately, my stomach was threatening me with cramps, so I had to hold back on my run pace more than I would have liked. I know from both experience and science that the harder you run, the more likely you are to have GI upset. So, I wasn’t able to run what I know I’m capable of in a race, but I held off cramps which was a win for me. I also felt pretty comfortable for most of the run.
It wasn’t until around mile 8.5 that I felt my energy tank and couldn’t muster up much more speed in my tired legs. But the last mile, I was very ready to be done!
Luckily, even with a slighlty slow bike due to traffic and brutal hills and a slower run than I’d prefer, I still managed 2nd place in my age group!
Run Nutrition
When I started the run, I felt a tad nauseous. So I was hesitant to take on much nutrition. I took a handheld run bottle with about 45 grams of carbs and a UCan Energy Gel. While technically I should have taken more carbs, I am never able to take on all of my nutrition so I didn’t load up with much. The combination of liquid and gels gave me options, depending on how my gut was feeling.
I took tiny sips of water as needed and sipped on the UCan gel on the last 5 miles as I could feel my energy starting to dive around mile 7.
Additional Thoughts
Here are a few remaining thoughts and observations about the Santa Barbara Triathlon :
- Well-Organized: Things were organized, on time, and coordinated well, unlike I’ve experienced at some other races. The online course talk was quite helpful. The only improvement would be adding more volunteers and police officers to help with directions on course.
- Swag: I think we paid a lot of money for very little. The shirt was a cotton shirt. While comfortable, a nicer athletic shirt for the long course would have been preferred. I’ve gotten better at cheaper races. The medal was fine. My 2nd place award for my age group was a coaster – kind of anti-climatic.
3. Good vibes: The girls in my age group were super friendly, competitors cheered each other on during the run, and support from volunteers and spectators was fantastic, keeping spirits high. And tacos and drinks were provided at the end of the race – much better than a banana! Overall, great vibes.
Final Course Recap
The Santa Barbara Triathlon 45 was an incredible experience. The combination of a beautiful course, well-organized logistics, and a friendly race atmosphere made for a memorable race day.
While there were challenges, particularly with parts of the bike, the accomplishment, beauty, and fun with friends made it all worth it!
I would highly recommend this triathlon to anyone looking to challenge themselves with a unique and scenic course. Whether you’re moving up from shorter distances or just looking for a fun race, the SB 45 is definitely worth considering.
