Course routes, road closures for upcoming Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley triathlon

Josh Moyer
·7 min read

In a little more than a week, a 70.3-mile triathlon — the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley — is set to kick off in Centre County. And organizers want to make sure participants, supporters and locals alike are prepared.

The course routes for the July 2 event have been highlighted online, orange road signs have sprung up around town, and flyers on the traffic impact have been mailed across the county.

So, after nearly three years of discussions and planning, cooperation from more than a dozen state and municipal entities, and about 1,000 volunteers ready to chip in, the large-scale event is almost here. Here’s a closer look at the course routes, along with the specific road closures:

Swimming (1.2 miles)

The triathlon, known as a Half Ironman, starts off with the swimming leg at Bald Eagle State Park’s Foster Joseph Sayers Lake. It is a single loop, clockwise swim with just two right turns.

Bicycling (56 miles)

The longest part of the triathlon consists of bicycling, with the course starting at Bald Eagle State Park, traveling northeast through Mill Hall, then turning south past Hublers Ridge and traveling through municipalities like Pleasant Gap. The bicycling portion of the triathlon will finish up near Penn State’s Beaver Stadium.

There are 20 numbered directions: 1. Right out of “transition area” on Main Park Road, 2. U-Turn on Main Park Road, 3. Right on North Eagle Valley Road/Highway 150, 4. Right on Beech Creek Avenue, 5. Right on North Water Street/Highway 64/Nittany Valley Drive, 6. Right on Jacksonville Road, 7. Left on Hubler Ridge Road, 8. Right on Highway 64/Nittany Valley Drive, 9. Continue on Highway 64/East College Avenue, 10. Left on South Harrison Road, 11. Left on South Main Street/Highway 144, 12. Right on West Church Street/Upper Brush Valley Road, 13. Right on Linden Hall Road, 14. Right on Boalsburg Road, 15. Left on East Branch Road, 16. Right on South Atherton Street, 17. Right on University Drive, 18. Right on Dauer Drive, 19. Left on Commuter Drive, 20. Finish at Beaver Stadium.

Running (13.1 miles)

After swimming 1.2 miles and bicycling 56 miles, more than 2,900 participants will then have to run a half-marathon through the Penn State campus. The two-loop course will begin near Beaver Stadium and will take athletes past Old Main, the Berkey Creamery and the Nittany Lion Shrine before finishing inside the stadium.

There are 26 numbered directions: 1. Exit “transition area,” left on Curtin Road, 2. Left on University Drive, 3. Right on Hastings Road, 4. Left on Bigler Road, 5. Right on Elm Road, 6. Continue on campus pathway, 7. Left on Linden Road, 8. Left on McKean Road, 9. Right on Mifflin Road, 10. Left on Pollock Road, 11. Left on Old Main pathway (follow around Old Main Lawn), 12. Continue right on pathway at East College Avenue, 13. Right on Pattee Mall, 14. Left on Pollock Road, 15. Continue across Burrowes on Westgate walkway, 16. Left on Barnard Street, 17. Right on Railroad Avenue, 18. U-turn on Railroad Avenue (at North Patterson Street0, 19. Left on Barnard Street, 20. Right on Westgate walkway, 21. Continue across Burrowes on Pollock Road, 22. Left on Shortlidge Mall pathway, 23. Left on Curtin Road, 24. U-turn at Nittany Lion Shrine, 25. (Start second lap) U-turn on Curtin at transition area, 26. (To finish) Left into Beaver Stadium.

Closed roads

(All dates are July 2 unless otherwise noted)

  • Commuter Drive — from Curtin Road to Dauer Drive — 8 a.m. July 1 to 6 p.m. July 2

  • Curtin Road — from University Drive to Porter Road — 3 a.m. to 6 p.m.

  • Curtin Road — from Atherton Street to University Drive — 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

  • Bald Eagle State Park — from Route 150/Eagle Valley Road to Old Route 220 — 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.

  • Route 144/Pennsylvania Avenue — from Black Bear Drive to Church Street — 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

  • University Drive — from College Avenue to Park Avenue — 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

  • College Avenue (Westbound) — University Drive On-Ramp — 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

  • Hastings Road — from McKean Road to University Drive — 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

  • Elm Road — from Bigler Road to Benedict House — 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

  • Linden Road — from McKean Road to Bigler Road — 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

  • McKean Road — from Shortlidge Road to Bigler Road — 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Mifflin Road — from McKean Road to Pollock Road — 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Pollock Road — from Mifflin Road to Burrowes Road — 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • West Campus Drive/Old Railroad Grade — from Patterson Street to Barnard Street — 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Shortlidge Road — from Curtin Road to Pollock Road — 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Closed roads (local access only)

  • Beech Creek Avenue — from Route 150/Eagle Valley Road to Water Street — 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

  • Harrison Road — from College Avenue/Route 26 to Main Street/Route 144 — 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

  • Main Street/Route 144/Pennsylvania Avenue (Southbound) — from Sunset Avenue to Black Bear Drive — 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

  • Route 144/Pennsylvania Avenue (Northbound) — from Church Street to Kelly Street — 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

  • University Drive (Northbound) — from Easterly Parkway to College Avenue — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Event traffic / Heavy traffic expected

  • Route 150/Eagle Valley Road (Eastbound) — from Main Park Road to Beech Creek Avenue — 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

  • Water Street (Southbound) — from Beech Creek Avenue to Jacksonville Road — 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

  • Jacksonville Road (Westbound) — from Water Street to Hubler Ridge Road — 7:30 a.m. to noon

  • Hubler Ridge Road (Southbound) — from Jacksonville Road to Nittany Valley Drive/Route 64 — 8 a.m. to noon

  • Nittany Valley Drive/ Route 64/College Avenue (Westbound) — from Hubler Ridge Road to Harrison Road — 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

  • Church Street/Upper Brush Valley Road (Westbound) — from Route 144/Pennsylvania Avenue to Linden Hall Road — 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

  • Boalsburg Road (Northbound) — from Linden Hall Road to Branch Road — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

  • Branch Road (Southbound) — from Boalsburg Road to Atherton Street — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

  • University Drive (Northbound) — from Atherton Street to Easterly Parkway — 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

No Parking Zones

  • Curtin Road — from University Drive to Porter Road — 12:01 a.m. to 6 p.m.

  • Dauer Road — from University Drive to Commuter Drive — 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Bigler Road — from McKean Road to Elm Road — 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Elm Road — from Bigler Road to Benedict House — 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Linden Road — from McKean Road to Bigler Road — 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • McKean Road — from Mifflin Road to Linden Road — 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Mifflin Road — from McKean Road to Pollock Road — 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Pollock Road — from Mifflin Road to Burrowes Road — 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

  • West Campus Drive/Old Railroad Grade — from Patterson Street to Barnard Street — 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

  • Shortlidge Road — from Curtin Road to Pollock Road — 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

  • Curtin Road — from Atherton Street to University Drive — 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.