No. 1 & done. That said it was a great experience and a well run race. Please patch up some of the monster holes on the bike course!

I'm done with long course, but if you like heat and humidity and rolling hills, this is your event. The run is stupid hard, much harder than the bike.

Stay at the Sheraton towers, shuttles and easy.

Get race packet early.

Do the run course a month or so in advance to know what you are in for, especially the damn last 10 miles. It was NOT flat at the end! And the stairs and ramps hurt more than you think.

And if you don't like heights, you will hate the bridge section.

No. I think the RD did the best he could within the constraint under which he was operating, but I found the bike and run courses boring and spectator-unfriendly (except the part of the run course in NY), and I thought the logistics were too challenging for an IM.

I would change the bike course. The road conditions were bad, the road was too narrow for the number of athletes racing, and there were virtually no spectators. It was like a long, hot, boring training day.

I'd also put more of the run course along the west side highway path. New York doesn't stop for anything, and that path was filled with families and friends and other folks enjoying a summer weekend day. They were very encouraging of the nut jobs running past them, their bbqs smelled GREAT, and overall it was nice to focus on something other than sweaty athletes and hot pavement. There were kids playing, lovers strolling, families socializing -- if the whole run course had been like that, it would have been great.

Where you stay depends on whether you want to use the race as a chance to explore NYC or whether you want to stay somewhere more quiet and less expensive. I found the Comfort Inn in Edgewater conveniently located to the ferries and to transition. It's also reasonably priced, close to grocery stores and restaurants, and it's got a nice view of the NY skyline.

Edited to add one more recommended change: do something to improve gearbag pickup. I am one of many athletes who went to pick up my bike and run bags this morning, only to find them missing. Cost me $40 to get over here from NJ, just to leave my name and number, and ask for a callback if they show up.

We shall see if it sells out again in 9 minutes

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

Seven, and my guess is yes, regardless of price. That's on the basis of the folks I met here. It's a destination race. People who have done lots and lots and lots of IMs chose to come race it. The locals raved about how great it was to do an IM so close to home and in familiar surroundings. Warts aside, this race sells out instantly for as long as a part of it is in NYC.

As you are asking me today, no, I wouldnt do it again. It was a great experience, NY is a great city, going on ferries everywhere is fun and running on the GW bridge was uber-cool.

However logistics for both athletes and spectators were a nightmare, the run was brutal and the bike super boring. Swimmin in the hudson was not that bad but no credit is given when you are current aided and coming out in 40-min. I also felt aid stations were not as good as other north american races i've done as they were too short for such a not and humind day.

I'm sure volunteers, staff and race director did the best they could and all athletes are thankful for that but right now my memory is too fresh to want to come back.

I personaly stayed at the hampton on 52nd & 8th and think it was a good option. I was relatively close to the expo and ferries and the rooms are very quiet considering how close to times square you are. The location is also awesome for some post-race party and sighseeing. Not the cheapest but a good value.

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I definitely enjoyed my day, but I won't do this race again until I have done a few different ones first. As for things I'd change, the end of the run saw a dramatic decrease in aid-station frequency, which really was uncool at that point. Also, the bike was boring as fuck.

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If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
If at first you DO succeed, try to hide your astonishment!

I don't think it is much of a stretch too surmise that most of the race course, date, logistics was not part of Plan A (or even Plan A to Plan P).

It was more than likely, "take it or leave it". Thus a bike course on a wide open highway in NJ

Especially with a mid-August date, as opposed to a much more weather friendly date in later September, and the course being very limited to just a few miles in Manhattan going up and down the bike path in a upper West Side Park, to no waiver on the amplified sound after 10pm regulation, the Bloomberg Admin wanted very little to do with this event.

Did it and will never do this again...it's a logistical nightmare.

Well shall see, but I sure would not vote against it happening.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

There were no spectators because spectators were not allowed to be there. Anyone you did see managed to avoid getting caught (probably they weren't in that spot for long). They were going out of their way to keep people away from the road.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

All this makes IMLP look so much better, which is what I expected.

#1 yes
#2 got a timeshare week at the Manhattan Club, good spot with a mini kitchen to help keep things simple. No stove though.
#3 besides all the hurry up and wait for ferries and things, the race was great. Needed a bit more run training for the hard first half which took a lot out of me. Rough year recovering from an injury though.

Hats off to the WTC dealing with all the issues and logistics. If you do the race make sure you do the Tri-bike-transport valet so you don't have to go back to T2 to get your bike. At least have a friend go get it with the ticket.

Not sure why people complain about the roads. Except for a few miles on the north end of the bike they were great. I'm sure the course was tight in a few areas due to people riding two abreast thinking it was a group ride. Tons of people got to all the road intersections to cheer which was cool every few miles. The first half of the run was just aid stations for people cheering, but they were great. Once you climbed out of the park there was a massive crowd waiting. Riverside park was a huge crowd as well with people everywhere.

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Brett Miller
Cydesdale Triathlon
M2 Revolution

I was in the medical tent running the critical care section and floating.
we were all out busy from about 5pm on

while I am happy the DNF rate was not what was predicted, there were many people clueless about how they would feel after - wanting medical treatment for the normal post race conditions.

I heard from MANY experienced racers that the run was one of the hardest they had done

The bike course had a nasty section (that was not known prior to race) that resulted in at least 5 being pulled from course and crumpled carbon

IF I ever decided to do an IM I think I would pick something like Cozumel

Good choice and great race. Safe roads, safe water (a few jellies), and dead flat run. But, there is plenty of wind, and the temps can get up. Volunteers are fabulous as are all the locals.

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

Did this race as my first IM so I have nothing to compare it against. Having said that, I thought the race was extremely well run. Yes a 2:45am wake up call seems a little much, but I was in bed before 9pm and that is as much sleep as I get the night before a race anyway.

I thought the course was honest. The obvious current helped a ton in the swim but I would give up that in a minute for an easier run. This was my 4th marathon and was by far the hardest I have done. You just always felt like you were going up or down. From my perspective, the bike course conditions were great. There were a handful of pot holes (only some of which were marked) but I think that is to be expected. Actually thought it was much better than the roads I ride on around here (I live in CT)

I stayed at the Sheraton as since it was my first, I thought staying at the host hotel would have benefits. There weren't really any and I would just stay someplace that has a decent room and a good rate. While the Sheraton had buses yesterday morning, it would be just as easy to take a cab down to the ferry at 39th.

I would do this race again but not before getting some other experiences. I had no issues what-so-ever while out on the course and thought the whole thing went pretty smooth.

I did it, and Lake Placid previously so I have that to compare to. I stayed in NYC.

To answer the questions:
1. I wouldn't do it again, but I'm glad I did the one time.
2. not sure how staying in NJ worked out, but my gut is that it would be the better option.
3. Not much i would change. I wish they gave you more options to get to the transition area. And changing the run to be more in NYC and less of those hills in the Palisades would be nice.

Logistics - yes, very tough. Stuff is very spread out and you need to take ferries to drop off bike the day before, and then to transition in the morning, and then yet another from Transition to the start. And the ferry is the only way to get to transition in the morning. Not sure if anyone was able to get dropped off, but supposedly you weren't allowed to. So you were stuck to take a 4am ferry, which meant alot of people waking around 2am.
I did drive to transition post-race (as you were allowed to after 10pm) to pick up my bike and bags. That worked out fine. Bags were all lined up in order by number.

I thought the swim was fine. I like that everyone is spread out. No washing machine with people swimming over you. i didn't see any debris nor jelly fish nor anything that made me cringe. Felt like clean water to me.

I liked the 2 out and backs on the bike - broke it up into 4 manageable pieces and you got to see the leaders as well as those behind you. A little tight initially with the number of cyclists, but it spread out. I thought the roads were fine. Rolling hills, and some were a little tough, but really nothing major at all. Did see a few people walking, or just stopped on the side. Some parts had some bumps, so there was a lot of lost bottles and food items strewn about there.

The run was tough. But I liked it. The diversion into Riverside Park was rather brutal - some tough climbs at the final miles. And I didn't see this mapped out as such in the course map. That just showed a back and forth. This was all over the park. And by the way, this would make a great place to finish. It could accommodate alot more people than those that were there.

For anyone who wanted to spectate, I was just telling them, forget it. There really aren't many good places, although there were spots on the bike course that people were able to get out on the course.

The whole possible swim issue was stressful, although we all knew that heavy rains could have cancelled the swim as well.

Volunteers were great!! well stocked aid stations.

it was hot, and humid. We lucked out in cloud cover early on, but once that sun came out, it got hot. For all the chatter about the bad things, yeah, they all happened, but not as bad as everyone feared. It's all manageable.

Exactly the response I figured to be the most common. They'll be some sugarcoating but in the end this will be the overwhelming sentiment. Of course, it will continue to sell out. There is no stopping the WTC marketing machine.

I would not do this race again. The run course was tough, but the worst part of the race was the draft packs on the bike...there were guys wearing the same tri-club kits team time trialing...IMFL is draft free compared to what went on yesterday.

Interesting so few are talking about drafting if it was that bad. We always hear it about IMFL, so if you are saying it was worse, where are all the ST police?

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

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Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I've done IMFL twice (2004 & 2006) and I saw nothing there that even comes close to what I saw yesterday.

OK, it is 5:17 so maybe the race is sold out anyway, but between the discussion about the complexity of logistics, bad set up for spectators and now the various points about draft groups, I'll hang on to my $1200.

I was able to sneak onto the bike course and sat on the side cheering people on. But I left in disgust after seeing all the drafting. A few guys went by encouraging each other and discussing tactics, i.e take shorter pulls, don't pull through so hard. Things I only hear in a break of a bike race.

I hope these guys are proud. But since they blatantly draft, they probably blatantly dope and beat their dogs.

Sorry Dev, we are tracking in on another thread, and it still is open. But, you now have a race folks are saying has better drafting than IMFL, and has a 15.5 hour cutoff. Why are ST folks not flocking to the race?

IMLT, we know you want to do it


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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep