Build your Devil's Challenge plan
Your coach opens with the Devil's Challenge set for September 19, 2027, asks about your week and your fitness, then writes every session of your sprint triathlon plan. Free, and you can start as a guest. About 47 weeks to go.
Start your Devil's Challenge plan- Formats
- Sprint
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Taper starts
- September 10, 2027
Devil's Challenge distances
- Sprint 0.2 mi swim, 16 mi bike, 3.1 mi run
Course
The Devil's Challenge course
The finale of the seven-race Wisconsin Triathlon Series is held in Devil's Lake State Park just outside Baraboo, with the swim, transition and run all inside the park. The swim is a 400 m course in Devil's Lake itself, surrounded by the Baraboo bluffs.
Read the full course notes
The 16-mile bike rides through those bluffs, and the organizer's route file shows about 1,265 feet of climbing, a lot for a sprint and the hilliest ride in the series. Expect real time in your easiest gears on the way up and stay alert on the descents back toward the lake. The 5K run follows the quiet park roads, a scenic way to close out the season.
- Terrain
- Hilly
- Formats
- Sprint
- Race-day conditions
- Mid-September in the Baraboo area usually means cool mornings around 50–60 °F at the 8:00 a.m. start and highs in the low 70s °F, with fall wind or showers possible. Wetsuits are required below 58 °F, allowed up to 78 °F, award-ineligible from 78.1 to 83.9 °F and banned above 84 °F, and by mid-September many athletes are glad to wear one. Bring a warm layer for the wait in transition, which closes at 7:45 a.m.
What to train for
Climbing is the key: ride hills once a week, building to 6–8 repeats of 2–4 minutes at a hard but steady effort, and do a long ride of 25–30 miles with as much climbing as you can find.
Practice descending and cornering so you recover on the way down instead of tensing up.
Follow hill rides with a 10–15 minute brick run, because the 5K starts on legs that just climbed more than 1,200 feet. If you plan to wear a wetsuit, swim in it in open water at least twice before race day.
Sample week
A sample Devil's Challenge training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Swim, 30 min: drills and technique
- Tuesday Key session
- Bike, 45 min with climbing repeats
- Wednesday
- Swim, 30 min: steady intervals at race effort
- Easy run, 30 min
- Thursday Key session
- Run, 30 min with tempo segments
- Friday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Saturday Key session
- Long ride, 1 h, then a 15 min run off the bike
- Sunday
- Long run, 45 min easy
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Devil's Challenge
Start the taper seven to ten days before race day. Trim the volume in all three sports, keep short race-pace efforts in each, and do one last short brick so running off the bike still feels familiar. The course is hilly, so keep one short hill session in the first taper week to keep the climbs familiar. With the race on September 19, 2027, your taper starts around September 10, 2027.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a sprint triathlon season for the Devil's Challenge Triathlon on September 19, 2027. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
Devil's Challenge training questions
How long should I train for the Devil's Challenge?
Most athletes give a sprint triathlon eight to twelve weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The coach counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
What is the Devil's Challenge course like?
Hilly. The finale of the seven-race Wisconsin Triathlon Series is held in Devil's Lake State Park just outside Baraboo, with the swim, transition and run all inside the park.
How cold is the water at the Devil's Challenge?
Mid-September in the Baraboo area usually means cool mornings around 50–60 °F at the 8:00 a.m. start and highs in the low 70s °F, with fall wind or showers possible. Wetsuits are required below 58 °F, allowed up to 78 °F, award-ineligible from 78.1 to 83.9 °F and banned above 84 °F, and by mid-September many athletes are glad to wear one. Bring a warm layer for the wait in transition, which closes at 7:45 a.m.
When should I start tapering for the Devil's Challenge?
Start the taper seven to ten days before race day. Trim the volume in all three sports, keep short race-pace efforts in each, and do one last short brick so running off the bike still feels familiar. The course is hilly, so keep one short hill session in the first taper week to keep the climbs familiar. With the race on September 19, 2027, your taper starts around September 10, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Devil's Challenge training plan?
Start as a guest and save a free account later. Your coach writes your sprint triathlon plan and adapts it every week as you log your training. No card.