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Rolling start at IMTX this year
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The 2015 event schedule was posted today and I noticed that it's now a rolling start beginning at 6:40 for age groupers. Not clear how they'll handle it if its in the wetsuit gray zone. Perhaps they'll be at the back of the line.

http://www.ironman.com/~/media/f364a47f7c2b4d86bf629bbcfe46ad16/2015%20im%20texas%20event%20schedule%203%2018%202.pdf
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [logella] [ In reply to ]
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logella wrote:
The 2015 event schedule was posted today and I noticed that it's now a rolling start beginning at 6:40 for age groupers. Not clear how they'll handle it if its in the wetsuit gray zone. Perhaps they'll be at the back of the line.

http://www.ironman.com/~/media/f364a47f7c2b4d86bf629bbcfe46ad16/2015%20im%20texas%20event%20schedule%203%2018%202.pdf

This great news!....IMLP rolling start was awesome. In terms of no wetsuit "grey zone" from what I understood from WTC, the no wetsuit guys would go first in a rolling start and then the wetsuit folks would go after that.
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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devashish_paul wrote:
In terms of no wetsuit "grey zone" from what I understood from WTC, the no wetsuit guys would go first in a rolling start and then the wetsuit folks would go after that.
Yup. Wetsuits get corralled and sent after everybody else.

Sylvan Smyth | http://www.sportstats.asia | sylvan@sportstats.asia | Starvas
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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i don't know about great news. the way the parking lot and park is set up I am not sure how we can get the athletes out and turned right without it causing a huge log jam.

Kirk Noyes

Downtubes are for Dinosaurs

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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [logella] [ In reply to ]
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F-YEAH! Finally! Love the news. And screw you, drafters. This makes your crap harder to pull off.

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Last edited by: texafornia: Mar 18, 15 19:57
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [kman74] [ In reply to ]
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kman74 wrote:
i don't know about great news. the way the parking lot and park is set up I am not sure how we can get the athletes out and turned right without it causing a huge log jam.

Sorry, but I don't understand your post knowing the set up of last year's race start....athletes would just line up in the same place they entered the water from last year and the clock would start as soon as they entered the water....course would be adjusted in distance (if any) at the turn buoys to account for extra swim distance to "last year's start line".
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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I understand that the clock wouldn't start until the athlete entered the water. The boat ramp you enter the water in is roughly 20' wide and it faces directly east entering the lake where we swim directly south. The water is about 3' deep at best along the right side so you need to get out away from the dock. In my estimation having done this race multiple times and others in the lake it just seems difficult to get it rolling fairly quickly like a true beach rolling start where you swim straight away ( think Zurich). Competitive swimmers completely lose their advantage to get out front of the pack and gets going. Even if I was a mediocre swimmer and as I entered the water people take off at varying speeds and it will be tougher to get out away from the shore and not feel on top of each other. The only solution might be to make an artificial beach like we have in the past for CB&I and roll like that but it's still only a half better solution. I'm honestly shocked that when they changed it they didn't go for a TT start since the start isn't a whole lot different than Louisville excpet you jump in at an angle at Louisville and can't walk In. being the north American championship (yes I know for pros) the start list in the AG is looking pretty stout.

Kirk Noyes

Downtubes are for Dinosaurs

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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [logella] [ In reply to ]
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Tell me the details of how this start works. Is there a seeding of who goes first? About how long to get everyone in? Does this mean that when you are racing during the day, you don't really know your placement when passing/being passed? Kind of sucks, I like the simplicity of Fire the cannon and first person to the line wins.

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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [Jim Martin] [ In reply to ]
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I don't have any personal experience with rolling starts as all my IM's have been mass start. My understanding with the rolling start is that people self seed themselves according to estimated swim finish. For example there might be a sub-1 hour group, a 1:00 to 1:10 group and so on. Then, the various groups are sent off together. This is different than a time trial start where everyone starts one at a time.
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [logella] [ In reply to ]
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In Switzerland there was two groups sub 1:15 and above 1:15. That is the only one I have experience with.

Kirk Noyes

Downtubes are for Dinosaurs

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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [Jim Martin] [ In reply to ]
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In LP they had sub 60, 60-65 min, 65-70, 70-75.... you just got in the corral where you thought you will finish and within the corral people asked each other "how fast" and you self seeded. I did 64, entered at the back for 60-65 and literally never passed or got passed. It was perfect. Actually all day I literally never passed or got passed, until I flatted and several 100 passed me and then I fixed it, and passed several hundred back, settled into my finishing position mid way through the bike and literally stayed there through the marathon!
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [texafornia] [ In reply to ]
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texafornia wrote:
F-YEAH! Finally! Love the news. And screw you, drafters. This makes your crap harder to pull off.

x2
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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Just to clarify, does the clock begin for each person at the gun, or when they cross some start line? 2013 IMFL had a self seeded rolling start, but it was still figure the gun and start the race. That particular one was a total disaster (my opinion only). Worst ass kicking I have ever taken and I seeded exactly in the corral where I belonged.

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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [Jim Martin] [ In reply to ]
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Clock starts when you cross the line. It works fine, don't sweat it.
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [logella] [ In reply to ]
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logella wrote:
I don't have any personal experience with rolling starts as all my IM's have been mass start. My understanding with the rolling start is that people self seed themselves according to estimated swim finish. For example there might be a sub-1 hour group, a 1:00 to 1:10 group and so on. Then, the various groups are sent off together. This is different than a time trial start where everyone starts one at a time.

IM Louisville advertises their swim as a rolling start in the athlete's guide, and it's first come first serve (no self-seeding). I hear the line starts forming before 4am. So it appears there is some inconsistency in how a "rolling start" is executed from race to race?
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [Jim Martin] [ In reply to ]
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Jim Martin wrote:
Just to clarify, does the clock begin for each person at the gun, or when they cross some start line? 2013 IMFL had a self seeded rolling start, but it was still figure the gun and start the race. That particular one was a total disaster (my opinion only). Worst ass kicking I have ever taken and I seeded exactly in the corral where I belonged.

IMFL 2013 was a mass start, not rolling start. They did have different corrals but everyone still went off all at once when the gun was fired.

Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [japarker24] [ In reply to ]
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Gotcha, whatever it was, it was a cluster#$%^.

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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [arby] [ In reply to ]
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So we are talking about essentially a TT start (basically).

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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [Jim Martin] [ In reply to ]
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When I did it at IMCDA in 2013 - it was time based, self seeded.
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [Jim Martin] [ In reply to ]
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I think so yes. IM Chatt was a rolling start, not seeded in any way. First to line up were the first into the water (other than the pros of course). Wetsuits in the rear. Your time begins when you enter the water.
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [mbwallis] [ In reply to ]
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mbwallis wrote:
logella wrote:
I don't have any personal experience with rolling starts as all my IM's have been mass start. My understanding with the rolling start is that people self seed themselves according to estimated swim finish. For example there might be a sub-1 hour group, a 1:00 to 1:10 group and so on. Then, the various groups are sent off together. This is different than a time trial start where everyone starts one at a time.


IM Louisville advertises their swim as a rolling start in the athlete's guide, and it's first come first serve (no self-seeding). I hear the line starts forming before 4am. So it appears there is some inconsistency in how a "rolling start" is executed from race to race?

It looks like the website is saying that Texas will be self seeding, with volunteers holding signs directing athletes on the swim times. I hope that's the case, because it worked well in Boulder, and we didn't have to stand in line for hours, and just jumped in where we wanted to start.
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [arby] [ In reply to ]
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so, basically you won't have a clue where you are in relation to your competitors?! Nightmare for anyone chasing a kona slot. I guess this completely robs the event of any resemblance to a 'race'.
Dumbing down me-thinks!
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [endoverend] [ In reply to ]
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How do you know where you are in relation to your competition in a mass start?? Unless there are two of you.
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [kman74] [ In reply to ]
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Re: Rolling start at IMTX this year [endoverend] [ In reply to ]
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endoverend wrote:
so, basically you won't have a clue where you are in relation to your competitors?! Nightmare for anyone chasing a kona slot. I guess this completely robs the event of any resemblance to a 'race'.
Dumbing down me-thinks!

Just like a TT...it's still a race....you need to go full throttle to the finish line.

What you do know is the last time that someone entered the water. So let's say you start 10 min after the first racer, all you have to do is ask the timing guys when you crossed how long it took everyone to start. The answer is likely 22-25 minutes based on previous race sends offs. So if you entered at 10 minutes, 15 minutes after you cross the finish line, your position is your final position. No one one can pass you after that. Until then, it's like be the skier at the bottom of the famed Hahnekammin run Kitzbuel with the best time, biting his/her nails to see if the time stands.....just a different type of race, but a race nonetheless.
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