The swim will be a loop starting and finishing from the beach. Swimmers will start in large waves and swim in a clockwise direction finishing along the spectator friendly sea wall. The swim course will offer fantastic views of the Wisconsin State Capitol building and downtown Madison. The bike course for the sprint and olympic events will be the same for the first 6 miles of the race. It will begin with a series of moderately challenging rolling hills, with most of the difficult hills on the second half of the course. The sprint race will split off from the olympic race after 6 miles and turn around in a large cul-de-sac, and then return on the same roads. The most challenging hill on the sprint course will be at approximately mile 8 soon after the turn around. The olympic course is a mixture of rolling hills and fast flat sections. The course has a 9 mile out and back section capped with a 5 mile loop. The most challenging hill is at the end of the loop at approximately mile 15. The course will be fully patrolled by draft marshals and busy intersections will be manned by state patrol officers. The bike will finish back into the park at the transition area. The run course is completely on the trails of the State Park. The running surface is a mixture of dirt, grass, and wood chips. The course runs though all the ecosystems of the park including the prairie and the wooded forest. The run will swing back by the beach and transition area before charging to the finish line located in a large grass field.