Battle of Waterloo only takes place every other year… this is the year!
Featured in Triathlete Magazine as a bucket list tri, Battle of Waterloo has 10 legs totaling 42 miles that traverse the sprawling Waterloo Recreation Area, one of the most rugged and beautiful parks in the Midwest. You’ll bike paved remote roads, run winding dirt lanes, climb steep trails, and swim across three wilderness lakes… carrying your shoes and swim gear with you the entire time. Don’t have that much time? Try Half the Battle: six legs, 18 miles of the same terrain (OK, less than half, but Half the Battle is a great name!).
The Battle of Waterloo is the real deal: no cargo nets to climb, no pits of mud in your path, no monkey bars to maneuver through. The lake may be ice cold… or it may not. Our only threat of electroshock is a thunderstorm. Lilypad tangles and jungles of aquatic plants are amongst the obstacles you’ll encounter. Battle of Waterloo is you and mother nature and you’ll win the battle!
Full Battle (all distances in miles) — Run (1.4 miles), Bike (20.5), Swim (.45), Run (4), Swim (.25), Run (3.4), Swim (.7), Run (3.3), Bike (5.8), Run (1.4)
Half Battle (all distances in miles) — Run (1.4 miles), Bike (5.8), Swim (.45), Run (4), Bike (5.8), Run (1.4)
Please note that all of the information here pertains to both the full and half-battle. The only difference is that the half-battle has fewer legs.
Click here to view a demonstration of the appropriate gear needed for the Battle of Waterloo from the Race Director herself!
Big Portage Lake, Waterloo State Recreation Area
11500 Seymour Rd, Grass Lake, MI 49240
Please use this address to access the correct entrance! Most GPS units will locate Waterloo Rec Area at the McClure Road location, so please use the stated address on Seymour Road.
Park Entry
A State Park permit, or Recreation Passport is needed to enter Waterloo State Recreation Area. Visit the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' website here for pricing and more information.
If you have any questions about this race, click the button below.
There is plenty of parking close to the transition area. Follow Event Parking signs as you enter the park.
Please be sure you have a current Recreation Passport. Vehicles without Recreation Passports will be issued notices to pay the fee. For details and pricing for both in-state and out-of-state Recreation Passports CLICK HERE.
The Waterloo Recreation Area is the largest park in the Lower Peninsula. The park is home to rustic, equestrian, and modern campgrounds, cabins/yurts, beaches, picnic areas, fishing lakes, nature trails, hiking trails, mountain biking trails, equestrian trails, and swimming beaches! Oh yeah... and it is BEAUTIFUL!
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