Of course there is.

I don't know the details behind the short Challenge Weymouth. But, if they advertised it as a full Ironman distance and provided something dramatically different, there should be pushback that this is unacceptable. Challenge, however, is not the steward of the Ironman brand, so if they put on a race that is advertised as some non-standard distance that is close, but not identical to 2.4/112/26.2, then fine. That is their prerogative. But, they like all promoters, should deliver what is promised. I don't know the story of Weymouth? Do you?

Not to take away from all this indignation, but isn't Challenge Roth just as equally a BS course at least based on some of the comments in this thread?

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
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I followed this thread for a few days, stepped away for a few days, and moronically reengaged just recently. So, I've missed any discussion of Roth. But, if the premise is that Roth is 2.35, 111, 26.1, and is thus not a real ironman distance, then I would say No, not a BS course. They should offer an accurate course, but at least it's close. Otoh, if Roth is off by 30% on one leg, either by distance or by effective effort (ie, swimming down a narrow canal with all swimmers creating a current) when options exist to make it accurate, then yes, Roth is BS too.

Weymouth is advertised a a Full Iron Distance race.

I have never heard of any of these "pros" but they threw down some incredible times, including some that went under 30 minutes for the swim.

Really?

http://www.challengetriuk.com/...20Results%202014.pdf

Edit - typo

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"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

I thought IMChoo was an awesome race, especially for racers with young families. It has the best family venue on the circuit. There is the Aquarium, Climbing Gym, Discovery Museum ad IMAX all within 4 blocks of transition and free shuttles all over downtown with the pickup 1 block from the Expo/Village. The hotels were super accommodating. Staybridge handed out bike shop rags/water bottles to guests, the Marriott opened their Starbucks/restaurant/room service at 3 am on race day, etc. Tons of restaurants nearby and the reservoir just a short drive with a swim area. Ruby Falls/Incline Railway is also a very short drive away.

This was number 10 for me, my kids are grown and a hard swim is what I prefer so this one wasn't ideal personally - but I still loved this race and I knew that swim was downstream when i registered. I raced for Team Challenge as part of the biggest charity team at any Ironman event in history. It was amazing. IMO, There is room on the WTC calendar for this one, downstream swim and all. I also loved Tahoe last year for the challenge of it and there has been more than one IM with 111 mile bike courses. Sign up for the one that suits you best, especially if you are looking for a KQ. Pass on those that don't.

Having said that, that swim start needs fixing which will go a long way to fixing the bike density/drafting issue. There was no seeding whatsoever and I started near the back of the line, 30 mins after the first age grouper went in the water, and just before wetsuits. I swam just under 52 minutes and came out in a an absolutely huge mob of people. I believe WTC will adjust for that next year as they settle into this venue.

The bike course is fair and nice and we had a good day in terms of wind/temperature so it rode a bit faster than i thought it would. The run is the real deal. Barton hill 4x (it's long and steep on both sides) makes this run 'where they getcha' along with other uphills on that side (which is very pretty along the golf course). I raced with many friends that were doing their first Ironman and brought their families - IMChoo is hard to beat for a first time race and first time family spectators.

Lastly, while Little Debbie may not be a beloved sponsor by all, they went all out to support this race. Kudos for that level of commitment. I met a racer that worked for them and they had a corporate team with the McKee jerseys on. I thought that was cool.

I didn't experience the big mass of swimmers since I was in the water within 1 minute of the age group start. I was lucky that I pretty much had the changing tent almost to myself in T1 and T2 and other then a few big packs and riders now and then throughout the bike, I had plenty of space on the road as well. I agree that the area seemed big enough where we waiting for the swim start where they could set up corrals or start groups based on estimated swim time. Maybe that would help keep athletes spread out a little more? It would also make it less stressful if people knew they would be in a start corral rather then a first come first serve line. That all said, this was my 9th Ironman and I thought it was a fantastic venue and great course. I would definitely consider doing it again. I'm a pretty good swimmer but I don't mind the downstream swim even if it does aid the weaker swimmers more. I've done down river swims and I've done ocean swims with 3-4 ft swells. As I look at it, everyone has to swim the same course whether it's "hard" or "easy". It's a 2.4 mile swim either way. I love the bike course and actually liked that it was 116 miles. I also really liked the run course, hills and all. I don't understand the animosity towards the Chattanooga swim, especially from people who didn't even do the race. If you don't like it, then don't do it. It's as simple as that.

I appreciate that all races are different but I would have preferred a time without an asterix next to it, or to have to explain the 'river swim' every time someone congratulates me. Having said that, it was a race, fair and square and to all those that didn't do it .... it was a great race, in a great place with awesome people. So despite preferring that change ... I am wrong.

What I do see is a lot of people, who didn't do it, complaining about it ..... just don't fucking do it then.

I would love the swim to be indicative of time I would get in a lake, but only because of that stupid triathlete type A mentality that we all have. All those wired 'it has to be this way' types that we see running round the expo .... that's what this thread looks like. It's why trail runners think we're a bunch of twats. It's why tri businesses are able to squeeze every last penny out of us for buying shit that makes us 3 seconds faster over the course of 8 races. We've got so inflexible over the details that we've forgotten that that it's a race, not simply another file in our collection of comparable data points.

Everyone who paid and did the race thought it was a fantastic event (despite the fact that WTC annoy the shit out of me I can not argue that the races or RD's put on a great show). So if that is the case ..... either do it and enjoy it or ignore it, because if you are not going to do it, or ignore it, the only thing that really annoys you is the fact that someone else's race times from an entirely different race that you haven't done might look good in comparison to some of the races that you have done and you think that's unfair. Their time on an entirely different course, in another part of the world, on an entirely different day, under entirely different conditions had a swim time that, when compared to your own data, had a favourable outcome. Which when you sit back and look at it is a ridiculous point of view.

If you want exactly the same race, same difficulty, just in different locations, so that everyone can get times that you can exactly compare against one another then go and swim pools, ride velodromes and run track.

Does it suit strong swimmers, no. Does it favour runners, yes. Was IM Choo a great race. Yes. I've not heard anyone who actually did it say otherwise.

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I hear ya. I won't be telling peeps my swim PR is sub 1 hr in an IM either but i would still highly recommend the event.

There was a sizable wetsuit group going in right after me - where do they show up in the results? or do they? I could not find a specific 'Wetsuit' group to filter on.

I'm the opposite. I tell people about my sub-1, just to get under their skin. Heck, I'm going to jump on very single ST fish thread and brag about my sub-1 just to rile people up :)

It's a great race, great venue. The 116 miles grew on me. I was very pissed that it was changed to 116, but today, I love that it was 116.

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

Zoom, this is awesome!!! Love it

hahaha! I did rub it in to my friend that has legitimately done a 52 min IMTX swim.....just to razz him a bit.

/End Thread/

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Proud Member of Chris McDonald's 2018 Big Sexy Race Team "That which doesn't kill me, will only make me stronger"
Blog-Twitter-Instagram-Race Reports - 2018 Races: IM Florida 70.3, IM Raleigh 70.3, IM 70.3 World Championships - South Africa, IM North Carolina 70.3

How so? The swim is in a shipping canal in a rectangle and you basically go in and out at the same point. I got 111 on the bike (and roughly 4500 ft of climbing) but I was cutting every tangent on the course. The run course may have been a touch short as I got 25.9 on my Garmin 220. But I've lost .5 mile on long runs with it before.

It is just a fast course.

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Heath Dotson
HD Coaching:Website |Twitter: 140 Characters or Less|Facebook:Follow us on Facebook

"Sadly for Angela"?... Do you really think that Angela is concerned about the "9 hour" time? I'm fairly certain that the answer here is no.

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Paul Duncan Jr - Triathlete/Coach/Loyal Friend - Coaching Site -