I'm expecting the bike course, especially the last
20 miles to be like this

Does anyone know when the course will now close? If a biker was to get lost for 50-60 miles and then still wanted to finish the run, would this be possible?

It would never look like that, they have our safety in mind, 4000 athletes on a 50 mile course, im wearing elbow and knee pads and a motorcycle helmet. Its gonna be like roller derby out there. And then the run course should be fun as well. I cant wait...

My thoughts exactly. Looks like we are going to have a 50ish mile gran fondo followed by a stupidy crowded run. This was not a high priority race for me (doing the 70.3-6) but I feel for the full IM peeps.

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Don't drown. Don't crash. Don't walk.

I was told it was shutting down at 9pm. That the time the officers working the event will be no longer needed..

Don't feel bad for us, I'm going to set my IM PR!!! Heck, I may even go sub 8!

Pink??? Maybe. You decide.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

That's the spirit! All 4000 of us will be barrelling en masse to some big PR's.

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Don't drown. Don't crash. Don't walk.

Sure, but some people might find being wrapped in a cozy blanket for the long wait more comfortable than their wetsuit. Just sharing a thought — wetsuit works as well.

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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

So I wonder if they are pulling more volunteers in to T2? They are going to need a lot of bike catchers and run bag grabbers with everyone coming in so close together.

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Team Zoot - Great Lakes

Trash bag works great, too. Wear it like a poncho........just poke a hole in it for your head, and you're good to go!!!

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Don't be a jerkoff. Just do the fucking race as it's laid out for you.

It's actually against the rules since you did not do the race course so you can (and should) be DQ'd. Go read the IMTX threads where similar minded jerkoffs thought about doing the same thing.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Actually, if he/she re-enters the course at the same spot that they leave the course, isn't that OK?

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Fair point but I'm not sure the spirit of the rule was meant for a three hour departure from the course.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Maybe they'll just have all the officials in the first 5 miles of the bike course and just give out so many penalties that there will be like 3000 DQs for multiple drafting penalties that the field will be down to a 1000 by mile 10. ;)

Well, I have to say that it seems like the decision-making process by the corporation, and the entitled responses on the FB page, are a logical consequence of WTC turning iron distance triathlon into a commodity to be bought and sold. WTC makes decisions based on what is best for the corporation, purchasers of the commodity feel short changed when the "product" they get is different than what they paid a premium price for.

Honestly, had this been Setup, I can easily imagine this playing out very differently. It might have looked more like this: as the hurricane approaches multiple emails would have gone out from Setup about the potential impact and possible responses. Once the hurricane passed, emails would have gone out very quickly about potential changes. In fact, I can easily imagine Setup saying pretty quickly something like "The impact of the hurricane is devastating. We cannot ask our community to host this event at this time. We will find a way to make our athletes whole. Instead, we are hosting the day of the race as a day to volunteer to help rebuild the community. We welcome you to join us. For those that can't, please consider donating your hotel room to a family that has been evacuated."

And you know what, I best most of the athletes would have readily accepted that response, because it's about community, not profit.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

yeah. it's my A race but it's not like I'm shooting for podium. I'd like to do well but not looking forward to the bike congestion. I feel like to avoid a drafting penalty I'll either have to slow down way too much and get shot out the back or overbike to pass people and have a miserable run. Definitely sucks for the full IM people.

If I had any long run fitness right now, I'd look at the full. My m.o. of a MOP swim, BOFOP bike, and FOP run would, IMO, possibly contend for KQ. I think the advantage definitely goes to the better runners in this race.

It's a bummer that it had to come to this, but I can tell you that this area has been hit pretty hard. The amount of washed out roads, sinkholes, and flooding have been pretty bad. I live 3 hours from the coast and I'm having to take detours to work everyday, which add up to an extra 30-45 minutes (one way). We just had a new sinkhole take out part of a road (effects from the hurricane) as recently as this past Sunday! Those areas closer to the coast are in bad shape.

Well ... people have been demanding for a draft legal Ironman. Now that it's here, are people bitching about it? :)

I'm doing the full. I haven't decided what my strategy will be. Do I dog the bike and kill the run so that I can brag about doing a ~3 hour-ish IM marathon. Or, do I just kill the bike and walk the run so that I can brag about a stupidly fast mpg average on the bike leg of an Ironman? What to do, what to do. I already have a sub-1 swim at Chattanooga (year 1), so this will add nicely to my race resume. All of my fish friends already hate me for it. It's time to piss off either by biking or running friends with my endless brag :)

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__________________________________________________________________________
My marathon PR is "under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."

Low tide at the Masonboro inlet, where the swim start is, is at 7:50am. The "7:07" low tide is further north on Wrightsville Beach island. So we in the full will have pretty much a lull in current for the first 20-30 minutes, perhaps even the end of a outgoing tide.

Are you new to type-A triathlete assholeness?

You talk about the entitled responses and then close out your comments with "it's about community???" The problem is that it's not for a significant portion of the registered athletes. You were right the first time. It's about entitlement for many (not all). It's about me, me, me, my race, my race, my race. I was just reading some FB posts about IMNC and there's a lot of people with a skewed sense of moral direction.


But yeah, it's somehow WTC's fault.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

That would be nice, and while I agree that WTC hasn't done a great job handling/communicating this, I'm not sure Setup would have gone that route. When they cancelled the Pinehurst International race in 2015, they offered all pre-registered participants entry to this year's race, but that's really about it aside from a lengthy apology and explanation that they tried everything they could to still host the race. Race organizers, regardless of whether they're global or local, are in it to conduct races and make money.

I personally don't feel that WTC should have tried to keep both the 70.3 and IM on the same day when they took over the event, knowing that the participant count was going to increase...that makes finding a solution to the current issues exponentially more difficult. At least this should pretty much kill the idea of that happening in 2017, when I plan to race the full.

That makes my point exactly. From Setup would have come cancellation of the race, communication and a process to make athletes whole.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

Agreed, I am disappointed in WTC's lack of a proactive solution for the athletes...I just don't think Setup would have gone as far as you suggested on the "community" front. Their priority is still the race, and keeping athletes interested in attending their races so that they can continue to operate their business.

Just registered at the conevention center, front doors were locked and still were when i left at 930, i guess its not off to a good start there either. Mood seeme kind of somber in there, talked to a few athletes that were pretty bummed. One said they are going to break the trainer out at the finish line and get in the other 66 miles. I asked if I could switch to the half and was quickly shut down with an "absolutely not, there will be no switching from one distance to another". So i just grabbed my gear, ate my free cliff bar and left. See you saturday morning..

[/quote]

If I had any long run fitness right now, I'd look at the full. My m.o. of a MOP swim, BOFOP bike, and FOP run would, IMO, possibly contend for KQ. I think the advantage definitely goes to the better runners in this race.[/quote]
The runners will def have an advantage but I'd bet a good majority still blow it on the bike.