It all starts with a 1.5-kilometer rough water swim at D.T. Fleming Beach fronting the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua. Once on the bike riders navigate from the Ritz to a ridge line – down to a ravine – and back up again, like a tropical roller-coaster ride through paradise.

The bike is one big 20-mile loop with 2,800-feet of climbing that goes up-and-down the lower slopes of the West Maui Mountains more than a dozen times.  Course designers are striving to find the perfect balance of passing opportunities early with skillful riding opportunities later on.

Once on the run competitors will be faced with a whole lot of climbing while they weave along dirt trails, through oleander forests, and into 60-foot high ironwood evergreens to an unexpected mountain lake at the 700-foot level.