I have raced five in North America and this is my list.

1. Tremblant
2. Wisconsin
3. Lake Placid
4. Florida
5. Arizona

Is it just me, or is it odd that Penticton is mentioned a few times on this thread, but none of the other non-IM branded events like Vineman?

Because he asked for "Ironman events" in North America.

Is there an IM in Penticton?

Yes, challenge full Iron distance race.

n=8


Lake Tahoe (x1) had great scenery and small-village feel, tough bike but hum-drum run course. Easy to get to and from. Swim was epic.So was Brockway climb.
Wisconsin (x4) great overall experience with farmer's market on Saturday and fantastic spectator support on the run. Swim was funky with algae and murky water. Best transition and venue (convention center) by far.
Arizona (x1) had college-town feel but easy to fly into and out of. Pre- and post-race activities were meh. Bike was flat and boring. Run was flat and boring. Swim was boring.
Lake Placid (x2) had great scenery, challenging bike with wonderful views although a few boring spots. Run had great moments going by the ski jumps. Finishing on the (previous) Olympic oval was monumental for an Olympics fan. Swim in Mirror Lake with 2,500 people and trying to get on the cable was a fantastic memory. Staying in small town outside Lake Placid made for great experience.

Overall, after 8 IM, if I had to stay in North America (and had to do a previously-visited race), I'd do Lake Placid first, Wisconsin next, Lake Tahoe, then Arizona.

For 2015, I'm heading to IMTX and IM Los Cabos.

As others have pointed out, with so many choices now, it's more a question of what you are looking for, what meets your needs and what your expectations are?

Years ago, when there were far fewer races, those races that did exist tended to define, for the people that went to them what an Ironman was/is.

It's hard to compare, something like IMAZ to IMLP or IMMT to IMFL - the race distances are all the same, but the locations, the courses, the amenities, the accommodation, the settings etc . . . are all different.

Case in point. Many complain about the accommodation prices at some Ironman races. It's expensive and there is a real shortage of rooms. Consider IMFL then - where it's the total opposite. The choices are plentiful. The prices reasonable to down-right cheap, and many places come with ocean front views on what is a stunner of a beach!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I can only speak to IMFL but it foots the bill for me and my family. They love the beach and with younger children it's drive-able for us, accommodations are plentiful, and they can hang on the beach as much as they want and have a pretty relaxed experience and still see quite a bit of the action.

Of the three that I have done, my favorites in order are: Wisconsin, CDA, Louisville. Wisconsin and CDA are a close 1/2 but because of the crowd support I go with Wisconsin first. CDA water is cold!

I have done 15 IM
1. IMMT best all around lodging, restaurant, and race logistics
2. IM CDA
3. IM Switzerland
4. IMLP
5. IM Louisville- best finish line
Arizona is fun and easy but too many people in 3 lap bike course.
Manuel

Ironman Roth of course. ;)

immt
im austria
im germany
im lp
in that order

if you have family coming to the event, immt wins hands-down.

I have spectated/volunteered at IMMT the first 2 years, did the 70.3 last year and the full this year, staying in the village each time. I would say prices for hotels have been relatively stable. I don't think it will ever turn into a gouge fest as they won't want to punch the gift horse in the mouth. I'm assuming the resort is contracted to keep prices reasonable. The IMMT events are also used to promote local tourism and have people return. I doubt they want to leave a bad impression. I know a condo owner and he said they aren't even allowed to use their condo during 70.3 and 140.6 weekends to ensure there is enough vacancy to make race weekend successful

absolutely

I'm surprised no one has mentioned IM Chatt as a possibility. I know this race hasn't taken place yet but has potential for being a top notch race. Keep your eye on the forums after the race and see how it turns out.

before starting these threads, why not give reason why you want to do BrandMan as opposed to other grass roots series or big bucks like challenge, rev.

I don't think that was meant directly for me but why does he have to justify to us why he wants to do one event vs. another? WTC puts on a great event and so do the others that you mentioned but it's his choice for his reasons on what race series he chooses.

because he just limited his options by narrowing down to one race series. Perhaps another brand race is closer to him happening under his nose but he doesnt know about it, why fly cross country when you have something in your backyard.

Probably because he didn't want the thread to be derailed off-topic with people questioning his reasons rather than actually contributing valid input to the question. He couldn't have been more specific with his request.

Of the races I've done, I would rank them as follows:

IM Canada (Whistler) (fabulous course, great family vacation)
IM St. George (no longer) (spectacular swim and bike course, but run course needed work)
IM Cozumel (best swim, good bike course, great crowd support, great family vacation)
IM Wisconsin (good bike and run course, good crowd support, pretty dull)
IM CdA (swim too cold for me, good bike and run, dull)
IM Florida (dull course, very dull vacation)

Not only was Whistler my favorite overall course, it was probably the best family vacation (tough call though compared to Cozumel).

As for weather, I hate racing in the heat, so Cozumel was a disaster, DNF. Other races were all chosen for cooler temps.

X2 on Whistler.
Fantastic venue, scenery and course.
Also very reasonable for accommodations. I paid under 100 a night for a studio condo within 2 minutes of the village.

Why limit yourself? http://theratsnake.com/ ;)

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The Rat Snake:
A Tribute Race at Gilbert Lake State Park, Laurens, NY May 16 2015
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a few of you mentioned the road conditions of Wisconsin. How bad is bad??? Im not expecting perfection like IMMT (with the exception of the little speed bumps at the old village..lol). i did timberman recently and there were sections where the roads were pretty bad.

If you have not been to Europe and want to go, Ironman France, a little over an hour away from Italy and probably the most spectacular race I have done in terms of the sights and the challenging course. If interested, I can share with you my race/travel report.

Jean