----

Calgary is my pick of the bunch.

---

I have not caught up with this thread, but the Muskoka proposal will have a flatter bike loop and flatter run loop. I'll be able to share some details with you guys later. Right now the guys in the local bid group are meeting with city council for the final approvals before the bid submission to WTC for the Sep 24th deadline. The submission by the local community will have a 70.3 and 140.6 as part of the proposal.

fixed

---

_________________________________________________

Do you think two loops of Muskoka 70.3 course would be harder the IMLP? If you assume they cut the bike course down so it would be 180k. I'd think they would be close.

Anyway I'd love it if IMC came to Muskoka.

I think Kelowna or Vernon can offer anything Penticton did course wise...

---

_________________________________________________

I live in Calgary and while I don't even pretend to be in the know, I haven't heard anything about a submission.

I have however registered for the Half in July.

There are a lot of potential places to hold the various components of a Triathlon and certainly enough space. Some of us have already thought about a bike course that would certainly be memorable, let's just say you better like to climb, lots. But, there are much flatter routes as well.

---

BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.

One loop of the LP course is definitely easier than the Muskoka 70.3 course. There are longer climbs in LP but nothing really steep. It is easy to keep your effort well under threshold throughout the LP course, whereas unless you have a triple on your bike or have LA approved watts/kg, you will be spiking your wattage well over threshold multiple times in Muskoka.

Yep. I'm in Calgary as well. I've pondered it myself, I figure if they kept the swim in Ghost you could send the bike course through Cochrane, down 22 through Bragg Creek to Hwy 66, and have an out and back section way out to the end of the road past Elbow Falls, then come back in on 22x or use some of the range roads that run parallel to it with maybe one last short climb up the backside of the Road to Nepal, then in through the south side of the city.

The run could start on the south side of the reservoir near the 70.3 run turn-around and almost stick entirely to paths and the Calgary Marathon route and finish at the Stampede Grounds.

It would be cool to incorporate Highwood Pass in the bike, but I can't figure out how that would work if you wanted the run in the city. But there are certainly some other epic routes that I'm sure other people have figured out. I just made that one up because its a few of the routes I usually head out on.

---

Raf
http://www.shutuplegs.org

My understanding of the Muskoka submission is that it will have a single loop of the current 94K with a 10K out and back in the middle that loop that is generally flatter than the rest. The second loop will be a loop of the lake of bays using the easiest part of the 94K....so first loop around 104k, second loop 76k, total 180k. The order of difficulty will probably be in the range of IMLP, achieved differently in that the hills are spaced more or less continuously through the entire ride. The hardest 10K out and back will only be done once at the begining heading out of water and then at the end coming back to T2. Run loop will be easier, but not completely easier. The idea is to use the first part of the 70.3 course and then head into town and then use the old Muskoka Chase course. So basically a run that should be slightly easier than IMLP, but not much. I'm just sharing this info with you guys noting that it is only draft and needs council approvals etc. Either way, this course will not be completely dream crushing course like the 70.3 (I love that course), but at the same time, it won't offer any free trips on the train to T2. Every athlete will earn their bike split as those of you have done the 70.3 know.

In a few days, I will have a full inteview of the organizing group which is separate from the current race directors (Mitch and Janet Fraser). Basically the local communities have to make a bid to WTC. Mitch and Janet are not part of the local Muskoka bid as they are WTC employees working for World Endurance Canada. Each city make a bid then WTC will step in and run the race once a city is picked. That is my understanding of how the bid process works and applies to all the communities in question.

What Muskoka has going for it is existing infrastructure, a proven track record of running international calibler events, massive community support and in kind donations to running the event (that keep costs down relative to some communities like NYC) and there is an existing 70.3 serving as a feeder event. Basically WTC just has to turn on the switch and the event can happen from a technical perspective. Which is totally differernt from the new Western communities where it is not a turn key technical operation to turn on the running of a 2500 person event in a span of 11 months

What it has going against it is that it is not in western Canada and frankly being in the east, being in Canada is marginally a problem. My guess is that WTC wants to find something to replace NYC in the Eastern US (and rightfully so). Obviously WTC would love to have an IMC in the west. Personally, I'd love to see one in Whistler, but I don't think that can be pulled off in 11 months. Muskoka certainly can be pulled off in this short time frame.

Anyway I should shut up now, go do the interview of the organizing committee and then I will be glad to post details of their bid that they would like to make public (what I shared is what they are comfortable with, but once the time council meeting happens, then its much more locked down and open for public consumption as anyone could probably download them for council meeting minutes).

Dev

Singling out "Vancouver Proper" is like saying Calgary NE. Most triathletes in Greater Vancouver live in North Van, West Van, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Moody etc. There were approx 250 finishers from Greater Vancouver at IMC 2012.

I take it that Deerhurst will remain the host hotel?

So I've been reading through this thread hoping it will help me make a decision. I want to race an LD tri. As a westerner and a Canadian, right now I'm without an Ironman race that's feasible for me to attend and let's face it, Ironman as a brand has a bit of an elephant in the room. As a mediocre age grouper, I have zero chance of ever getting to Kona. That's a reality, not much can change that. So, my question is, what compelling reason do I have for wanting to race Ironman over Challenge? The races will both be the same distance. It's crunch time for me, like or not - the change to Challenge Penticton is an unexpected opportunity for us late comers and I need to make a decision.

How many people can Muskoka accommodate? During the summer months before labour day, traffic alone is crazy. For the 70.3 I got the impression that Huntsville was pretty much all booked up for hotel space, at a 900 person event.

Can they allow for triple to quadruple that number between participants, volunteers, family and friends, all while competing with cottage country traffic?

As a local to the area, I would love to see a big-ticket event, but I am just having trouble wrapping my head around the logistics!

Are you kidding me - its a no brainer - race the iron distance race in Penticton. Who cares whats its called. Riding up Richter Pass is riding up Richter Pass. Dont worry about the Mdot tattoo :)

Glad to have you psyched to race a long distance triathlon - good luck and train smart!!

---

Michael Hay - helped on the journey by the great folks at ZiZU Optics, (for the custom fit), and Bialkowlski's TRYSPORT

---

There is no hurry for you just yet.WTC will announce their decision in Kona next month(I believe)and then the rush will be on to sign up for the new IMC (if there is one next year).Challenge will have a small spike in entries based on WTC's decision but I doubt it will sell out.As far as your specific race requirements go, you need to decide between a know and an unkown (for most) brand but Challenge is in the same town on the same course with the same volunteers and the same race crew.There will be a few differences with the "feel" of the race but if you aren't into Kona qualifying then you might as well sign up for a race with a long history and a proven crew.

Or not.

---

I agree with others here. If you don't care about the tattoo or qualifying for Kona, then Penticton is a good, solid choice with a long history of running an amazing race on a great course. There's no rush to make any crunch decisions right now. It sounds like you've already made the mental committment to do this thing, and good for you! You will never regret making that choice and no matter which race you do, you'll have an amazing and memorable time!

Since you're in a position to wait and see where the WTC goes, I'd wait to see if the new IMC location is more feasible for you. If location isn't an issue, you gotta go with your gut. I have a friend who is signing up for the new IMC no matter where it goes because she wants the tattoo (she's got some blank space on the inside of her left knee). Whatever your motivation for making your choice, I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience.

Didn't read in there anything about Kelowna wanting to change the date so as not to conflict with the Apple Tri ?

Just a guess ... But I thing WTC wants to go head to head with Challenge on the same day and in the Okanagan.

For that reason I think Vernon will get the nod cuz Kelowna will never Upset the Apple Cart and move their beloved Apple Tri :-0

I know, I wasn't trying to be misleading, its just I'd copied the finisher list into an excel file and counted the cities using a Countif statement and didn't want to add up all the different parts of the GVRD which I'm not too familiar with in the first place. So clearly YVR does have some pretty big numbers too.

---

Raf
http://www.shutuplegs.org

Like I've said before, I don't really give a crap about WTC and copyright. I've been alive longer than their trademark. Originally an IM referred to the distance, not WTC. As such, when / if I do a full distance I'll have no compunction getting an IM Tat (if I want) regardless of which group sponsored it.

---

BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.

Why don't you go do Ironman Coeur D'Alene. It's a great course and the town support is awesome. Sure it may not be in Canada but who cares.

---

_________________________________________________________________
Supported by Compressport Canada | F2C Nutrition | Element | Argon 18 | 4iiii Innovations | Read my Blog

Dude.

I was the one that got in line to sign up for the Challenge. Or to become Challenged. Or something like that. I'm just hoping the new Kelowna based IMC chooses a date that I at least three weeks prior to Challenge so I have plenty of recovery time between them ;)

---

===============
Proud member of the MSF (Maple Syrup Mafia)

----

Hey mate,did you see the news tonight,your stupid mayor said that Challenge and Ironman are two different events."One is for the recreational triathletes and one is for the championship triathletes,the real hardbodies.That is the Ironman" Hahahahaha what a fucking tool!!!!

www.chbcnews.ca/video/too+many+triathlons+/video,html?v=2280853968&p=1&s=dd#video

The blind Ironman-mania is astounding

--

Hey Nick,
I think he was comparing the Apple Triathlon (recreational triathlete) to Ironman (hard/core).
Cheers,
Laurent

Deerhurst Resort has over 400 rooms. There are 1000s of other rooms in the numerous resorts and hotels in the Huntsville area. Room space should not be an issue.

Yeah... Simon Whitfield is fucking recreational... Age Group National host four years running is fucking recreational...

---

___________________________________________
http://en.wikipedia.org/...eoesophageal_fistula
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy
2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)