I wonder how many volunteers feel like they wasted a day. Certainly, most volunteers would give their time regardless of whether they could sign up early. But I have to believe there are some who volunteered just so theyu could wait in line on Monday morning. Now that you do not have to wait in any lines, and can just roll out of bed on Monday (or apparently Tuesday) and sign up, that is going to have to dent the number of people volunteering. And that may also free up some hotel rooms.

Supply/Demand. Too many options these days. Still open at 9:30 am Eastern Time on Tuesday morning.

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

WTC: "We used to sell out all 10 of our races within minutes. Now, we have to wait for a few days/weeks/months to sell out all 25 of our races"

Supply/demand problem? ... seems like it's a kind of supply/demand problem that Challenge, Rev3, Setup, and others would like to have :)

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

I never said "problem". I just said that the supply now (# of races) vs the demand now (# of participants) no longer equates to instant sell outs (IMAZ and IMFL being the obvious exceptions).

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Yes, WTC will still sell out on most of it's races, but the volunteer issue is one that may concern them a bit. As mentioned above, if you think a race will sell out in minutes, you are incentivized to volunteer to get first dibs on next day sign up. If it doesn't sell out in minutes, there is no incentive to volunteer.

I think IM races have reached their peak in terms of interest. The sport is in a gradual state of decline, the allure of the 'everyman' to become an Ironman has receded, and pricing is acting as another deterrant. Not just race entry, but price gouging in Lake Placid puts people off a lot when there are so many other choices now.

Last year on IMLP sign-up day I thought I might do it. I had the site ready and waiting for 12:00, but ultimately decided I didn't feel like bothering. One of the reasons was cost of lodging. There were others, sure, but looking at what it cost to stay there and the minimum required days which were more than necessary turned me off.

I decided to instead race with a WTC competitor.

This year, I looked at it again. But wasn't even remotely considering it. Between IMMD, and all the others within a reasonable driving distance, along with the competition from Rev3 and Challenge, I don't really see any reason for me to spend my money on the WTC race. The race fees are higher and the total cost can be much higher once lodging is taken into account.

As a MOP guy, honestly the appeal of WTC is lost. I am not going to KQ any time soon, so I don't feel like I need to race WTC-owned races. I have done two M-dot branded races in the past and I suspect I am not going to bother with it again unless I think I have a chance at KQ. It's not that they did a bad job, far from it, but that the overall cost of the M-dot race start to finish is quite a bit higher than others, and I like the less formal vibe from the smaller races.

You are seeing the first signs of deterioation once you basically kill the pro field. No heroes there and eventually people will go elsewhere. Not everyone of course, but it will show up on the bottom line eventually. It will cease to be a big event, thus folks will lose interest and move their money elsewhere.

And all who don't give a shit about pros, save your breath, your n=1's are just that. The true tell is the n=1 of the entire race.

There were also the most spectators I've ever seen up there and I go up every year. Between that Syracuse package and the crowds, I am very surprised it's still open as I would not have been shocked if there weren't many online spots. But there are also so many options now and Lake Placid in particular is a great place to go up to train and spectate.

I raced Lake Placid last weekend for my first full iron distance. I wanted to do a branded race for my first full and I chose LP based on the awesome course (I'm in the DC area- 10hr drive). Glad I did it, but looking for non-branded events to do in the future. I have severe M-dot logo overload, and my wife said she was going crazy listening to Mike Reilly over and over at the finish line.

I agree Mark. With all due respect to the pro field this year at LP, I only recognized one name and she's local to my area.

She's had a big worldwide year already and I guess now I need to consider her a big name!

Soooo...Rev 3 is dead?

Neither race will be dead, I just said it will cease to be a big event from a media standpoint. And that will hurt their sponsorship opportunities and eventually the numbers that hear about and wish to do that event. And really cannot directly compare rev with WTC, one was grabbing for market share, the other trying to hold onto and grow as the dominant player in the field.

WTC introduces 3 new IM races in that region and you think IMLP numbers are down because there aren't enough heroes there? Seriously?

You are attributing the N=1 effect (true tell) to the incorrect cause. Has nothing to do with a diluted pro field. Has everything to do with more choices. I would be willing to wager that the vast majority of an IM field couldn't name 10 pros. We are competing in a hobby that does not lend itself to being a spectator sport and therefore will never generate interest on that level. I know it's hard for people like yourself (been around a long time competing at a very high level) to accept, but it's point you can argue until you are blue in the face.

Funny reading the results initially it looks like 8 of the top 10 Overall finishers were AGers with 2nd 4th and 5th even being AG, but this is of course because of shortened swim...

"exorcise" is the right way to put anything related to AWA!

After doing IMMT the last two years and IMMD this year, I decided to register for IMLP and try something different so I logged on yesterday at noon and grabbed my spot. Since then, I've been looking to secure lodging and I cannot believe how greedy the town is. I get that people need to make their money, but when you find a decent cottage at a decent rate and select the "book now" option and receive a message 12 hours later saying that they had not updated the prices for Ironman weekend and that the rates were double, well...that is just plain ridiculous. I can truly say that this will be the one and only time that I will be doing IMLP. I'm wondering if a lot of other triathletes share this same opinion. With many options available now in the mid-Atlantic (IMMT, IMMD, IMMuskoka), people will think long and hard about which alternative is better. Personally, the difference between a 3 bedroom cottage in Mont-Tremblant for the week at $1,000 and one in Lake Placid at $3,000 to $4,000 is significant. I am very much unimpressed.

As for the lodging in Lake Placid (and I'm going to sound like a cheapskate here) there are other options that are much more cost-effective. I stayed at the nearby KOA 10 miles outside of town and actually tented with my family this past weekend. It was about $38 per night for 3 nights. The cost in town is crazy and if I could pay the 5 night minimum there I wouldn't be riding an older tri bike. Tenting may totally suck for many people. Still there are options like renting a rustic cabin at a place called Sherwood Forest Motor Inn in Ray Brook for $120 per night. That place is 5 miles outside of town. There are other places too; often it's a matter of looking outside of Lake Placid. I'll be back next year but I won't be staying in Lake Placid.

You didn't get the memo. You won't be doing the race again because top name pros, you know...your heroes, aren't there. It has nothing to do with other options. Save your breath and keep your N=1 to yourself.

I stayed at the camp too and paid $65 per night for a cabin :)

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The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev

this...

Next year I am going to IMMT

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The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev

Exactly... frugal cheapskates of the world unite :) For crying out loud... the savings pays for the next year's entry fee! :)

I paid $900 for 5 nights (minimum) at Cobble Mountain Lodge. It was affordable and close enough to town. Nothing fancy, but served it's purpose.

I don't find it surprising. This year's race did not sell out for a while either.

Nah, Syracuse 70.3 was one of the better races that I have done! Albeit, Syrcause itself was boring.

You can most likely do IM France for that $$ and IMO there is without question no comparison! Better venue, better course, better competition, and much better food and wine. ;-)