robgray wrote:
johnnybefit wrote:
The GMAN wrote:
I get why nobody is registering for IMMD but what's the deal with Boulder?
There have been a few threads about the course: swim- challenging due to altitude, uninteresting bike = no climbs, no scenery, uninteresting run = concrete on a multi-use path with a bunch of civilians. Not the best of Boulder. WTC even advertised IM Boulder on their Kona broadcast.
maybe that's the impression people have but none of it is true.
The swim is not made more difficult by altitude. It's only 5000ft - swimming at 9000ft is a big deal - 5000ft is not as long as you swim within your ability. Most people coming from sea level don't have a problem with it.
The bike course is great - and is about 100 times more scenic than Arizona (which sells out fast), plus it's a faster bike course.
The run is slow for whatever reason, but the Boulder Creek path is not that uninteresting. There is one out and back section which is boring but the rest is pretty cool. Comparing with Arizona again, the run is significantly more interesting, although maybe 10 mins slower.
So if people want a fast race, this is a good one to sign up for. The swim and bike are probably faster than IMAZ, the run is probably a little slower. But it's a much more scenic and more enjoyable race. I think most people are put off by the altitude but that aspect is not a big deal. The "dryness" is probably more of a legitimate concern than the reduced oxygen
All this really just makes me want to do IMAZ even less (if such a thing were possible) rather than to want to do Boulder more. The boulder course isn't awful, but it just seems like a missed opportunity to me. I'm semi-local and and there just are too many far prettier and less crowded places I can go and spend a day outside for free. For out of towners, I just don't think it highlights the best of what CO has to offer (though it might print a pretty accurate picture of what life is like in much of the front rage, i.e. congested and expensive).
While I think there are plenty of even more lackluster venues than Boulder they tend to be adjacent to larger population centers. You have 20+ million people in SoCal for whom IMAZ is driveable, 6 million+ in the Houston metro alone to put up with IMTX.
If we aren't going to be able to draw on locals to fill most of the slots, I think you could
in theory put together a far more scenic and memorable venue in Colorado. I say 'in theory' of course because that would most likely involve heading up higher which means harder/slower. I think WTC has learned their lesson already on how their consumer base of super-duper-ironman athletes responds to a proper challenge.