friesen wrote:

Wtc has finally hit a price point to get me to stop doing their races. 280 for a half iron is getting ridiculous. Looking for alternatives. Tough man is Chisago MN looks good. Pigman was canceled last year. Any other good races in Midwest?

HFP in Ohio puts on a couple of halfs. Deer Creek Fall challenge and the Great Buckeye challenge.

http://www.hfpracing.com/index.htm


They're solid events and reasonably priced. Deer Creek actually sold out this; was doing the sprint myself.

Milkman in Madison. Oh wait.....

Door County (Wisconsin)
Titanium Man (Grand Rapids)
Traverse City
Toughman Indiana maybe?
Great Illini (Does this still exist?)
Rev 3 Cedar Point

Hopefully Pigman will come back, as it was a great race! Door County is even more expensive than WTC and in my mind, not worth it. Wait and get a late entry on their FB page. I heard a lot of good about the Grand Rapids race....

If cost is your primary concern, isn't location far more important than registration cost? Steelhead is in my back yard, I can race there a lot cheaper than traveling to Minnesota or Iowa for a race that is $50 cheaper.

The legend endurance events in Lawrence Kansas are great. They have an early season June race and a late season September one that both have half iron distance race. If you sign up early they are $100. I have done many races these guys put on and they do a great job. Challenging courses with excellent support.

Depending on where you are in the midwest crossing into Canada might not be to far and gets you a great discount with the way the dollar has been. Right now registration is $195CAD or just under $150USD. This year I think they had just over 800 athletes, but I might be a little biased since it is in my backyard.

http://niagarafallstriathlon.com

Grand Rapids Tri is great. Good date in June, usually mild weather. The same people put on Michigan Titanium in August which is a great half, and the only Full in Michigan. 100% WTC quality without the price.

Never done it, but I hear good reviews about Superiorman up in Duluth MN as well. Jump in off a boat in Lk. Superior to start the swim adds a bit of a unique touch. Not sure on the price but can't imagine it's what a WTC race costs. Door is getting expensive as well, but just love that race and would recommend doing it at some point.

Toughman Wisconsin is a fast course assuming you don't mind doing the run on dirt/grass
Superior Man looks fun but is not cheap
Door County I've only heard rave reviews but another expensive one

Toughman is most likely your best bet

GR Tri registration opened at $200 and Steelhead opened at $225, I think I paid $200 for each last year. If I were choosing between the 2, $25 wouldn't be the deciding factor.

I do both of these races most years. Grand Rapids is fine race, IMO Steelhead is easily worth the difference.

Superiorman is fun, and not too expensive if you register early. I registered when it opened last year and I think it was like $150.

Depending on where you are in the midwest crossing into Canada might not be to far and gets you a great discount with the way the dollar has been. Right now registration is $195CAD or just under $150USD. This year I think they had just over 800 athletes, but I might be a little biased since it is in my backyard.

http://niagarafallstriathlon.com


We had a great, but small group of our U.S. triathlete friends at the Barrelman this year. With respect, I am surprised by this. As Alex indicated, just on the exchange with the U.S. and Canadian dollars, there are major savings for triathletes coming to do the Barrelman, on entries, and EVERYTHING else in Canada!

I keep hearing there is a large and very active triathlete population in Western New York State, from Albany, all the way over the Buffalo. The race is RIGHT THERE just across the border for you!

For other, Americans the travel is a bit longer, but that 25-30% discount for you in Canada, is ALWAYS there!

Consider the Niagara Falls Barrelman for 2017!

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

In Illinois, you have Route 66 Half in July and Cutting Edge Half Classic in June. I have done both twice in recent years. Both are small, but logistics are easy, lodging the night before is reasonably priced and the post-race amenities are great. I think I have paid around $150 for each.

Ultramax Halfmax in Innsbrook, MO (near St. Louis) has always been a well-run race (as their whole series has been, historically) and surprisingly challenging, particularly the run, although I hear that has flattened out a bit since the last time I raced the course.

I swam 3 miles in Lake Aspen off Lionshead Beach this past Saturday. Those hills are still there, and they look meaner than ever :)

(I haven't raced Ultramax since 2015 so the course may have changed like you said)

---

Regards,
J. Smith

Border Wars (near STL).
Kind fun twist of "east" vs. "west" for bragging rights.
They're still dialing it in. They moved up the date the last few years to warm up the swim.
But, sounds like this year they ran into some odd issues due to unusual rain for the area.

All's I know is I've wanted to do it every year but have conflicts. Mainly for the BBQ. As far as I know their post-race food is provided by Pappy's.
Which is pretty serious. There's pretty good agreement amongst locals that it's the tops locally and amongst the top nationally from Food Network, Food and Wine, etc.

Toughman Indiana is a good race and good venue.

---

http://www.toughmantri.com

https://robinsonsstrengthandendurancecoaching.wordpress.com/

Fleck, might want to update your western NY info. Most tri's are down in this region and quite a few small ones will be gone from the calendar next year.

Most I know if they go long are only interested in Ironman, often as a 1 and done. Musselman for many is seen simply as a stepping stone to Placid. Once that is checked off the list it's on to the next thing.

WTC dominates because that is what the athletes have chosen.

---

Boots
Fleet Feet Rochester, NY
Fleet Feet Buffalo, NY
YellowJacket Racing, Rochester, NY

Boots,

Thanks for the more detailed regional update.

It confirms trends across the board in the sport in North America - anywhere/everywhere! Numbers are flat or down, and people are focusing on doing one (typically an IM or 70.3) race each year and eschewing completely, all other races.*

I was basing my comments more on historical data/info. Clubs like the RATS out of Rochester were really big, and thriving years ago. Ditto with the Buffalo Tri Club more recently.

*With my Race Announcing work, no one is at a greater range of triathlons and other endurance sports events in my area (all non-IM) than I am. There are many very serious triathletes, who I know, in my area who train a lot, who I've NEVER seen at a race in years!!

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Did this the first year as a relay team for fun, it was well run, just new. Last year my wife did it, and while still growing, it was really well run again. If you are looking for a PR on a "half iron" distance race, this is the course to do it on. Flat and Fast. My Garmin had just barely 300 feet of climbing on the entire bike course, and a lot of it was over the Mississippi River bridge. The run is on top of the levee, so dead flat as well.

+1 for Route 66 in Springfield, IL. Very fast bike course. Well run. It's small, so you don't get that 'big race' feeling, but that's okay with me. Very low chance of it being wetsuit legal. The run was surprisingly shaded. Post race food/drinks were better than a lot of the bigger races I have been to. I paid for the race and a nice hotel room within riding distance for under $200 total.

I'm still a little miffed about Pigman cancelling. How did they go from 'waiting list only' a few months out in 2015 to 'not enough people' in 2016?

Name: Liberty Triathlon
Distances: Olympic Course (1.5k Swim - 40k Bike - 10k Run) / Long Course (1.2 Mile Swim - 56 Mile Bike - 13.1 Mile Run)
Location: Lake Rebecca Park Reserve - Rockford, MN
Date: June 10, 2017
Start Time: Long: 7:30 am / Olympic: 8:00 am
This is a USAT certified event.
Here is a great race. For only $95 (if you register before December 4th) you can race a 70.3. Nice lake swim. Rolling hill bike course. Nice run around the lake. Great food afterwards. I have done this race 4 of the last 5 years. Has yet to disappoint. Water can be a bit chilly though.
I come down from Canada (Winnipeg) for the race and make a weekend out of it. The race is just west of Minneapolis so I hit the Mall of America and Albertville while I am here.

---

Charity is injurious unless it helps the recipient to become independent of it. John D. Rockefeller Sr.

How did they go from 'waiting list only' a few months out in 2015 to 'not enough people' in 2016?


As previously noted there are BIG changes going on in triathlon in North America right now. The Macro story is that numbers are down/flat. How drastic this has been over the past couple of years varies from region to region. Some areas have been less impacted than others - in other areas it's been rather dramatic the drop in numbers!

The other challenge with races (Non-IM in particular), and I know that many here have a hard time believing this, is that like many businesses races/events run on VERY thin and narrow margins. Hard costs to put races/events on have been going UP dramatically in the last few years. A 25% drop in participation could put your race significantly into the red!

---

---

Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog