Off topic also - but I've done 10 branded IMs and would consider that presumption to be as presumptuous as it is incorrect. BTW - I've done Powerman Zofingen (and IM Switzerland).

Im gonna do rev3 I think the course is faster than miti

I'd love to know too. I thought maybe they were taking pictures of everyone, possibly holding their bikes. Sometimes IM takes pictures of all the bikes, but held by volunteers or propped against the transition barriers. No explanation given. There was no pictures or ID checked at bike check-in. Just wrist bands and bike number as per usual, and we had to have the run bib with us which is dumb because it is redundant. More asinine rules that make no difference. Large corporations LOVE doing that.

Embrunman. The bike is a bit long at 188km, but scenic.

That is definitely not within driving distance.

Yeah, I tried to word that as carefully as possible since I of course have no way of actually knowing what motivates the masses. But I do wonder how many more independent tri's would have lasted longer had they been legally allowed to say The Phrase as people crossed the finish line, and if there were no such snippy arguments about people finishing eg B2B, Challenge AC, etc. and not being ironmen b/c they didn't do a branded event.

(And I shall add your name to my list of people to check back in with on Zofingen. :-) )

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Another vote for Michigan Titanium here. I did the Olympic this year, and will be doing the half next year. There are a lot of distances, and lots of racers, so it won't get lonely until the backhalf of the race. That said, the course support on the run is really good. Like another poster mentioned, it's basically a 10k loop. So you'll have four of them, so there's a decent amount of opportunities for family and friends to see you.

All that said, mid/late August in Michigan is a bit of a crapshot. It could be super hot out there.

I cannot argue that some people are all about Mike Reilly calling out their name...I think there are far better announcers on the circuit.

PM me when you are ready to do Powerman and I'll send you my 2014 race report.

I have done Peasantman twice-2013 and this year, small field for sure but beautiful course, very clean water and the event folks really want you to have a good time. The bike on the full can get lonely fast as the course is 4 x 29 mile loops but the roads are in pretty good shape.

I didn't realize the bike was loops. That would definitely make sense considering that they have a few distances going at once. What is the run course like? I am leaning toward this one because of the location. Also, so few women do it that I am almost guaranteed a top three spot.

I agree with the irony.

"I want to do an Ironman!"
"Boo hoo, a hurricane ruined my plans. I'm less of a person since I didn't do the full distance. Somehow that's Ironman's fault so I'm going to do another race."
"Wait, what??? There are no 140.6 races with more than 100 people?"

:-)

I don't think the "You're an Ironman!" is a major pull for most. Certainly it is for some folks but that's a pretty trivial thing to get caught up in. I think 1) the name is synonymous with the distance (good, bad, or indifferent), 2) Ironman puts on a really good event that's well attended and a known entity.

I've done 6x Ironman races and I could give a flip about being called an Ironman or not. In fact, I only remember hearing it 1x and that was only because they congratulated me on my first Ironman finish... even though it was my fourth. Which is the only reason I recall it.

I have not done an indie 140.6. I see zero appeal in traveling to a race to do 140.6 miles with 10 to 150 other people. I don't feed off the energy of crowds or anything but races with 10 to 200 people tend to get treated like races with 10 to 150 people. Logistics, volunteers, police, aid stations, etc. tend to suffer with low numbers of participants. Not saying it's always the case but it's certainly far more likely than an IM with 2000-3000 participants.

If there were well run indie race that could pull 1000+ I would certainly think about it but that doesn't exist within North America.

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There isn't an independent single full distance in those states, but Virginia has a double, triple, and quintuple Iron-distance race:

http://usaultratri.com/races_va.htm

One step at a time! I haven't even really done a full yet.

The run is 4 out and backs, plenty of aid stations.

Not in MD, but there is a new full distance race in DE:

http://www.piranha-sports.com/Race381.aspx

If it weren't draft legal, it would be perfect. I did one road bike race and hated it. I do not like riding that close to people that I don't know and can't read.

You have to ride the whole state of Delaware point-to-point...interesting, but sounds like a PITA logistically.

Claremont is different - great venue.

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Claremont is in Southern California. Presumably you mean Clermont, FL.

correcto.

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I'd love a 1000 person race, but was happy with B2B's #'s last year. My trip to Penticton was indeed sad, with I think 300 participants in the full last year. I'd also like if there were more iron aquabike options. I liked pairing that (Challenge AC) with a full in 2014 and 2015. Alas...

One way to have numbers smaller would be if IM picked a couple of US venues to use shorter cutoffs (15 h race max), but I'm not thinking that would really fix course density w/o wave starts with wide gaps between send offs. Or, there are already non-pro races, what if they had some w/o Kona slots? Yes, sounds absurd but might be coupled with newbie friendlier event? I mean, once all the competition has been destroyed (we are pretty much there now, right), no reason IM has to keep offering slots at all races b/c where else will you race if you want that distance?

Oh well, it's late and I'm spouting nonsense.

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To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.

Honestly, I think the only reason to really consider a non-WTC full-distance would be money. They are so damn expensive while indie races are not. But, if money is not your primary factor then stick to WTC for the full IM distance. Fact is your domestic non-WTC alternatives are all so small that it is going to be a long solo training day which really diminishes the experience in my mind. With the exception of Roth and some extreme alternatives (Norseman, etc...), WTC has conquered the full-distance market.

So, pretty much I would say disregard your unhappiness with event organization at IMNC (probably an anomaly as WTC tends to have well organized affairs), and pick an IM in a good climate. I've always been partial to IMLP. But there are plenty of options to choose from now. Or, jet on over to Europe and do Austria or Frankfurt or Wales or .....

No mention of any HITS races in this thread, a little surprising.

I did HITS Marble Falls 70.3 (TX) the couple of times they had the event before cancelling. Numbers were small but it was a great early season race. However, the group doing the full was really, really small. Plus the race was a few weeks before IMTX. Can't speak for any of their other offerings but that one was well ran and executed. It really is unfortunate that WTC has a monopoly on full distance events in North America.