Except when you need to get a support kayak to a swimmer in the center. With the rolling start the swimming lane is 25 feet wide and it is easy for a kayak to get to swimmers in need.

This was exactly what happened in front of me at IMLP in 2012. Some guy had a panic attack 5 minutes into the swim and none of the lifeguards could navigate through the hoard of swimmers to help. A few good Samaritans sacrificed their race to hold him above water.

Matt, was the guy wearing a wetsuit? I have had panic attacks, even wearing a wetsuit but never to a point of needing rescue. Since the wetsuit holds you afloat I don't understand how people get so panicked that they need rescue. Was the water rough? Just curious...

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

Full sleeve wetsuit, and very calm water. When I swam up on him he was being held afloat on his back and was pulling on the neck of his wetsuit with both hands trying to breathe. Dozens of swimmers were waving their hand and screaming for a lifeguard, and they saw us but could not safely paddle through that many swimmers.

IMLP is like IMFL, in the sense that with the mass swim start people would spread out across the start line for 100+ feet from dock to shore

Registration link says this: *THE 2015 IRONMAN FLORIDA WILL HAVE A ROLLING SWIM START. MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOWING THE IN COMING MONTHS.

The published 2014 Athlete Guide current as of today says this: Ironman Florida will feature a mass start based on self-seeding.

Since the registration link was out there many months ago and the Athlete Guide is recent I would guess it's going to be a mass start.

2014 Mass Start
2015 Rolling Start

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Well, it just goes to show that I am an idiot! :) Sure wish it was this year though. It's a real beat down for us MOP swimmers. And given my age, the 'just get faster' advice isn't going to work.

I was wondering what you were talking about and figured you'd just misread it. :-)

Maybe it's just me, and I haven't done a non mass start IM (full) yet, but not having my real finishing time on my finishing pic would bug me. It was this way in Augusta for the 1/2 there and I didn't keep that pic for this very reason. Both of my IMFL pics I kept. I'm sure I'd get over it and i know we don't do the race for the pic at the end, but...

you could always photoshop your time..

FinisherPix will adjust your time for an additional $5 (although I didn't pay for it).

After doing Louisville 2x, I did IMFL for this very reason. Or, maybe I was just chasing a PR!! :-)

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Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

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MS: Exercise Science
Your speed matters a lot, sometimes you need to be very fast, where sometimes you need to breakdown your speed.

I thought WTC was going to try to do this at as many races as they can as part of their "SwimSmart" initiative.


I've never had my actual finish time on the clock for a finisher pic at a WTC or Rev3 race. That being said, I did have a guy a work photoshop my time for IM Chattannoga (not finisherpix, a friend took the pic).

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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