I've raced the half-ironman 3 times. The bike course is flat and the swim is mandatory wetsuit. It's a great race.

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Havent raced it but did IM MD which is similarly flat. Flat can be challenging in a different way (constant power on the pedals). I recommend getting in some longer trainer rides to really simulate the race day. Even riding outdoors flat is tough with traffic/stop signs/lights/etc. Getting used to constant pedaling is crucial IMO.

Heard the swim is current assisted so thats a plus if you're a weak swimmer.

I'm assuming that the course has not changed since last year's B2B. If that is the case...

Like the poster above stated, the swim is wetsuit mandatory, you have no choice. You take a bus from T1 to swim start. The swim is straight down the ICW to the marina, hang a hard left, swim about 200 meters, hard right and swim another 200 meters to swim out. Up a dock where you remove your wetsuit and then run through a freshwater rinse station. Through the marina and across the street into T1. Depending on the weather and the tide the swim is either fast or very fast.

Bike out is onto a couple of local streets, up an on-ramp, and then onto a very big highway which is closed. Over a steel grated bridge that seems to give more people concern than actual problems, then down a ramp onto an interstate (I-195 I believe) where you have the left hand land and light traffic in the right lane. After that it is on lightly traveled and flat local roads. The 112 mile course is 1 loop that just goes a lot further out into the country side than the 56 mile course. Coming back you are back on the interstate for a while and you have to climb the bridge again. The only hills on the course are the man made ones to get over other roads. T2 is inside the convention center. You hand your bike off to a volunteer and run to the bag racks, grab you change bag and go into a restroom and change. Leaving the change area you hand your bag to another volunteer.

The run is out 6.5 miles out and 6.5 back twice with the finish in an area just north of the convention center. That may change because it used to be down town but was changed due to construction a few years ago. I would hope they are done by now but who knows. The run has a hill on it at the 1.5 mile mark that is deceivingly difficult going both directions, and you do it twice. Most of the race is around a small lake so it undulates. I would call it rollers, it just has lots of little elevation changes.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

That was fantastic. I am doing that race as my first IM, and that was the most useful thing I have read. I had no idea the bike course was closed on the highway. What is the weather usually like?

I agree. Thank you for your time and a great post. What time do they usually open T1 in the morning to allow you to get everything ready? Any idea what time the buses start running in the morning to take you to the swim start?

I think it was 6 am. Last bus left at 7:30 am. I missed the bus last year and had to run down the road to the swim start. It was hilarious.

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Lots of good stuff already, but I would like to make a couple of points:

1. Now that Ironman has taken over the race, the "wetsuit mandatory" status may not continue. I don't have any inside knowledge, I would just be on the lookout for other information concerning this topic.

2. Course maps suggest that T2 will no longer be inside the convention center. It now seems to be along the river in an empty lot at the end of a dead end street a couple of blocks away from the Convention Center.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

How are the water temps? I only have a sleeveless wetsuit and am planning on wearing it.

If I remember correctly, water was in the low 70s.

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The 7:30 bus must have been for the 70.3. The full started at 7 am.

I think T1 opens at 5 am. We stayed in a hotel next to the convention center that provided a bus to T1. It left at 5:15 and the first bus to the swim start had already left when we got there about 5:40.

Last year it was cool at the start of the swim. The water was a lot warmer than the air. Most of us sat around in old sweats or plastic garbage bags and still were pretty cold until the sun finally got high enough to provide a little warmth.

I forgot to mention that this race also requires you to get in the water and swim to the actual start line, which isn't very far away, but you don't start the swim "dry" like so many others. You don't have a choice. The hardest thing about the swim last year was not getting swept past the start line by the current. It was actually a challenge not to cheat.

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"...the street finds its own uses for things"

did B2B last year and if the course is the same, once you get 20+ miles into the course, some of the roads can be a little bumpy. I hit a pothole and lost my left arm rest. Was a tad cold and didn't really warm up until I was 40 miles into the course. Also, watch out for the cones on the interstate. I saw a couple of crashes where people had ran into them. They're easy to miss but just stay alert.

Other than that, it's mostly flat so you'll do well.

Weather is usually good, low 70s for the high. Wind can be a factor on the bike. It is true there are two loops on the run, and there is a loop within each loop in the park. This can get a little confusing, but the volunteers here are usually fantastic.

B2B was my first full and I came back and did the half a couple of years ago. Absolutely loved both events. In for the full this year -- we'll see how it goes under the IM banner.

Great post. More informative than most of the race reports I've read on past B2B races.

I'm debating between IMNC and IMChatta for my first IM next year. I'm leaning towards NC right now, but Chatta is closer. But I think NC would suit me better. I'm a little on larger side for a triathlete (193ish) so a flatter bike and run would be preferential. I do love Chattanooga though... such a cool town. Temperature wise... I think NC would also be better. You could still get hot and humid in Chattanooga that time of the year (I live in the ATL)... and H&H freaking destroy me. :(

Out of curiosity... I know IM may change the whole mandatory wetsuit thing(I don't care either way), but WHY was it mandatory wetsuit?

Lots of good tips already. I'll add mine.

Under the prior organization, there was no such thing as morning clothes bag. Whatever you brought to swim start was thrown out. I brought old socks to keep my feet warm, wore my full sleeved wetsuit, and was freezing. I was lying on the ground, huddled next to a retaining wall to get out of the wind.

I thought the cones on the bike course (highway) were plainly easy to see, and still people bike into them. Not sure why.
In my experience, flat always = windy. Though I hear wind was low the year before I raced here.
Note that somewhere between miles 80-90 there are some really, really uncomfortable seams in the road way; these seemed to last forever.

In my opinion, the race was perfect as it was. I can't see how the increased registration fee will make it better, unless they repaved that one section of seams.

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

I've done the full twice, weather in Wilmington in October can be perfect one day and cold and raining the next. Make sure you are prepared clothes wish for a cold day. I think it was the first year it was around 40 degrees and raining.

After the swim (IMNC), there is a run on pavement and across the street to the TI location. Last year some participants dropped off shoes/flip flops to wear while running on the pavement to TI. There was a "shower area" between the swim and TI to rinse off the salt water. The highway was not totally closed as one lane was shut down and marked by the mentioned cones. The shoulder features "wavy" warning pavement so one really does not want to go into the shoulder area. Once you have climbed the bridge (hill) on the bike course, you head out of town on the highway and there were numerous potholes and seam issues that one needs to be alert for. This part of the highway did not feature any cones or lane reserved for participants. A north or south wind will be noted on this section. The hill on the run is when one leaves the riverfront area and runs a block or two uphill to the main downtown street. As stated before, bring hat, sweatshirt, sweatpants to TI early in the AM for warmth. One can also use the large tent area at T1 for warmth purposes. The swim seems easy for those that swim slow.

Yes and yes.

Wetsuit mandatory was a Setup deal, and may have been related to their insurance. With WTC in play, their different rules, and an October date, it's quite possible that it won't even be legal.

T2 will be outdoors, as the Mdot-sized field is too big for the Convention Center.

I'm doing the half in NC this year. Last year I did the Chattanooga half. I will say for the half it was mostly rollers on the bike course with one short steep climb. The run did have some hills. One short steep one right out of transition. I think for the full in Chattanooga there is an additional significant hill that the half avoids. With that being said I am planning on my first full next year and most likely it will be Chattanooga. The downtown area was awesome and having a single transition area next to the finish line was great. And plenty of hotels downtown that are 5-10 minute walk to transition.

Why wetsuit mandatory? One response during the Setup days implied it had something to do with their insurance policy, and the first 3 years the water temps were between 61 and 65F. I would have thought they could do away with that as they moved the date earlier in October.

I did the full in 2015 and the half in 2013 and (the infamously cold/wet) 2011. If not already covered:

1. I brought a disposable blanket to the swim start and only wished I had more to pass out to others. It was a long wait in the dark cold beach, which is worse when you're nervous. The blanket plus my sweats and socks and sneakers and hat was a game changer.

2. There were about 5 ladders (straight up climb) from the water up to the dock at the swim end. Wondering how that's gonna work with the dramatically increased 140.6 field off a mass start. Plan for a possible wait to exit.

3. The first 40+ miles of the 140.6 had a headwind (30 for the half, before the split). Plan for it, and also plan to fly back in with reasonably fresh legs for the run.

4. Lots of bike dropouts in 2011 due to hypothermia. As someone said earlier, come with clothing for a cold, misty, windy bike ride.

5. If running past sunset consider packing a long sleeve shirt in run special needs bag. Temp difference after sunset can be noticeable.

6. Don't stress the bags and logistics. Read the athlete guide, ask questions, spend time getting your bags in order, and then stop thinking about it or you'll make yourself crazy.

7. Have fun with OCEARCH.org :)

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"Some guys they just give up living, and start dying little by little piece by piece. Some guys come home from work and wash up, then go racin' in the street." Bruce Springsteen

jdf1019 wrote:

I am doing my first full ironman in October at the IM NC. I wanted to see if anyone who has raced this course, could give me some pointers please? Also, any general information about stuff I must do or must know for a first timer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Here are some general tips I put together a few weeks ago for first-time Ironman peeps. More to do with race week and race day execution but still helpful. Hope it helps. Good luck
http://www.thomasgerlach.com/...n-tips-from-age.html

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To elaborate on some, but not all of those points...
2. Hope for more ladders with the field roughly doubled? The RD says there will be more. Aim for the first ladders, because you don't want to have to come back against the current to get to one. The upside is that the current won't be as strong this year.

3. In 2009 it was the LAST 40 miles that were headwind. In 2010 it was a beautiful day. Just be ready for wind, and know that there could be long stretches with no place to hide from it. You can't know until a few days ahead where on the course you'll have to deal with it.

4. Fall is a transition season in the Carolinas, so there's a wide range of possibilities. Make sure you have something for any contingency that's reasonable at the time you're packing your gear.

5. Usually the evenings cool quickly at that time of year. Unless the humidity is up.

7. :)