Wow. And I mean that in a bad way. At least the beach is really wide.

If it makes you feel any better, I have two training partners that will not be able to compete, so it will ONLY be 2739 ;)

I love IMC, but I think it's time to look for a different race.

Haim

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"Sometimes you need to think INSIDE the box!" -- ME
"Why squirrel hate me?"

I love IMC, but I think it's time to look for a different race.

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I know what you mean. I'm considering Grand Columbian or Silverman instead of IMC next year. I'm doing IM Arizona in spring and need to decide how big of a gap I want between races (IMC 21 weeks; Grand Columbian 24 weeks or Silverman 32 weeks after IMAZ) I'm leaning toward Grand Columbian because the training season is too long for IMAZ and Silverman in one year. The downside of IMC is having to commit a year in advance where I can sign up for Grand Columbian anytime.

All those athletes and still no one wants the awesome homestay private suite available in Penticton during race week?

That number's insane, and pretty disappointing. I'm planning on swimming right around 60 min., and at that point the congestion should last all the way to Richter Pass. I bet the McLean Creek Rd. section will be just silly, and not in a good way.

I guess I'll have to work on my swimming. Gordo related that once he broke 60 min. he improved a minute for every one million meters he swam, so I guess I'll need to do eight million meters before next year's race to be clear of the crowds;-)

I'm still looking for someone to sign me up for 2006.

Anyone know of a warm willing body that will be there?

as happens every year, there is a 20% drop out rate so you will see it drop down to 2200 like every other year

Given the prices to get into an IMNA event, I would be surprised if only 2200 are at the starting line - I hope you are right because 2700 is just going to be unsafe.

Safe training (and tapering),
Grant

Holy ****! That is a full 1,000 more athletes than there were the first year I did IMC (1997). That is simply too many!

=:o

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TriBaby
"The rule is, jam yesterday, and jam tomorrow, but NEVER jam today." ---The White Queen

Sorry I don't know of anyone but if you do find someone tell them not to go first thing in the morning and spend hours in the lineup. I made that mistake last year and at about 10:30 - 11:00 I went back and people were just walking in and signing up! no line at that time.

Good luck getting signed up I hope you find someone.

yeah, that's way, way too many people. i think this will be the straw that breaks the IM camel's back, and people will be so angry about it that a record number of people will wait in line for several hours and each pay $600 to overfill the event next year.

-mike

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

IM CDA had nearly 2300 on the internet participant list and I think it was around 1700 that competed. I'm sure you'll see something along the same lines here.

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http://j-motrilife.blogspot.com/

What about the one year the numbers don't go down. Meaning, what if all but 100 people show up. 2600 would be a disaster I would think. There will be a year when this will happen, there are always anomolies to everything.

Post: What about the one year the numbers don't go down. Meaning, what if all but 100 people show up. 2600 would be a disaster I would think. There will be a year when this will happen, there are always anomolies to everything.

Maybe they'll do like the airlines do when a plane's overfilled and come over the PA offering a voucher to anyone willing to do a later Ironman ;-)

2747 today and still climbing

The last time I did IMC was 1996, and at that point it had just reached a bit over 1700 entrants...at the time it was the "largest mass start ever". I swam a 1:13 and was completely surrounded the entire time---never a moment there wasn't a chance of body contact.

I cannot even imagine another 1,000 people out there. Yeah, it's a wide start and there's not a turn for quite some time...but that's still a s***load of people. Something's gotta give---this will be an interesting race to hear the reports about.

Its funny because a few weeks ago, someone put a post about the number of IMUSA participants at 2650 and I said jokingly that IMC had only 2616. In the last three weeks how can 135 people appear that weren't on the list three weeks ago. The packs to Richter were bad last year.

In 2001 the actuallyanolmoly hit...2150 registered and 1900+ started. Then the largest mass start ever. They've adjusted since then to handle 2,000+. Will be interesting to see Hwy 3 (?) down through Osoyoos and then the out and back.

I think that was me. And I solved the issue of big packs of people by going reallllllllly slow. :)

You have to kind of wonder how all these people get slots so late. I know there are qualifying races and what not and then there are sponsoship slots etc...

Now wondering how many porto potties they'll have to handle all that...er...um...stuff?

Some of the qualifying spots were hard to give away this year. I know at two local halfs it went down some way on the roll down and even then the RD had to call up people the next day to see if they were interested.

every year they oversell working on the assumption that some people will not turn up due to injury or other situations.

If 2700 people turn up on race day the swim start, the transition during the rush hour (1-1.20 swimmers) and the first 60km will be just jammed packed. IMC has a wide swim start but even then its going to be very crowded, no two ways about it.

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Simple Simon
Where's the Fried Chicken??

What is the limit on the race? I thought it would have already filled up by now. I was thinking of maybe doing it.

Great, according to my expectations I will be getting onto my bike in the middle of rush hour.

Happy Days!!

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"How bad can it be?" - SimpleS

I am in awe of you guys and girls who do IMC multiple times, in fact any race year in and year out. I have done it twice and that is enough! Good luck with Ultraman, that sounds seriously deranged to me!

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Simple Simon
Where's the Fried Chicken??

I am a consistent 1.10 or thereabouts and its busy the whole way, and really busy in T1. In 2003 I swam the whole way with a group of maybe 15 or 20, and it was a battle the whole way round.

The ride to the base of Richeter can be a bit of a draft fest, if smart you can pick up one draft to another and with the aid of the tail wind (usually tail wind) its a pretty easy 60km ride!

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Simple Simon
Where's the Fried Chicken??