KingMidas wrote:
I’ve done IMWI and IMLOU.
I’m doing IMMT this year. Can someone describe the bike and run courses compared to IMWI/LOU ?
I’ve done both IMWI and IMMT, and the courses are pretty different.
As others have said...the swim course is simply awesome. The wave start and single loop was great, and the clear, cool lake nestled in the hills was simply fantastic. I set my IM win PR there. There is a bit of run from the swim exit to T1, but it’s not bad, and you don’t have to run 3 stories up a helix.
The bike course is definitely hilly, but in a different way from IMWI. The first part of the course is rolling with hills that you can maintain speed down and use your momentum to get up the other side. You end up on a highway that is an out and back, and you have a long, steady climb that isn’t like anything at IMWI (and IIRC, there is an aid station right about in the middle of the hill). Then it’s back on the rollers to where you started, and then an out and back on the Chemin Duplessis. This is where it gets real at IMMT. The Chemin is twisty with some short, steep hills. Nothing terribly long, but you go up and down on the out portion while steadily gaining altitude. On the way back in, you can really gain speed and attack the course a bit if you are a confident bike handler. I’m not sure where the no pass regions have been implemented on the course on the Chemin, as they didn’t have them in 2015, but you can maintain a lot of speed if you try. I highly recommend pre-riding the Chemin if you get a chance to get a feel for the punchy climbs on the out portion, and the way to use momentum to your advantage on the way back in. The tough part of the Chemin is that it comes right at the end of each lap. So, it doesn’t feel too bad at the end of the first lap, but it packs a punch on the 2nd. Be prepared for folks walking their bikes on the 2nd lap on the outbound portion. Lastly, I asked this very question back in 2015, so there is a thread with a lot of great info if you do a search. Bottom line is that some people think IMWI is tougher, while some folks think IMMT is tougher. The thing that makes IMWI hard is all of the tight turns at the bottom of hills that wipe out a lot of momentum; you generally don’t have that on the bike course at IMMT.
The run course couldn’t be more different. You head out of T2 and directly into about 3 miles of rolling hills, then on to a long out and back on a trail through the woods. The run through the village is cool, with tons of crowds, but the trail is pretty quiet.
All in all, I loved IMMT. Fantastic organization, and some great touches, like the rock concert on the Friday night before the race. There is also tons of stuff to do in the ski village. I’d like to go back and do that race again some day.
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