lemme just comment on three themes: the cost, a "racer's/triathlete's race", and human interest.
in my view, mix these all together in the light of m-dot has already proven, and 101 comes up short in terms of potential success. here is why:
m-dot is larger than the sport itself. its customer base, as participants, goes outside triathlon - who doesn't want to do an ironman ?? !! ?? there is an allure there, an appeal which reaches across to people who would otherwise never do a triathlon or become involved in it - i am one such person, drawn by that allure from a long time as a hobbyist bike racer. the cost aspect works, because it is such a big deal. a guy can rationalize the 5 bills to the wife because " its-the-ironman ". 101, on the otherhand, is more akin to the local non-m-dot 1/2 distance in its broadscale appeal. maybe it'll be nice, but it will not appeal outside the sport itself ( or if it does, it will be cost prohibitive without the m-dot brand association ) - as tom sez, it is the "racer's race". a tri for tri-racers. question being, can a bunch of racers equal broadscale success in a big-time long distance triathlon, without the field stacked up with first timers, or guys wanting to scratch the event off their life's to-do list, or guys looking to just being able to say " i did an IM " ???
if we look to the failure of most non m-dot IM's, the answer is no. how great did everybody say blue devil was ? or ultra-max ?? supposedly these events were fabulous as events, but in the end they drew how many people ?? not very many. what is going to make 101 succeed, where these races failed ? being a "racer's race" did not pay the rent for them, why will it do so for 101 ???
or, answer this - - - most enthusiasts have numerous 1/2 IM's available to them locally, at a quarter or third of the price of 101. why would they pass on the local 1/2 IM, then, for this new event ?? what is 101 offering to make that a reality ??? if you wish to go longish, why not just spend 75-80 bux on a good local 1/2 IM and call it done, as opposed to what 101 is offering - going a little bit longer, but at 3-4 times the price ?
in my view, mix these all together in the light of m-dot has already proven, and 101 comes up short in terms of potential success. here is why:
m-dot is larger than the sport itself. its customer base, as participants, goes outside triathlon - who doesn't want to do an ironman ?? !! ?? there is an allure there, an appeal which reaches across to people who would otherwise never do a triathlon or become involved in it - i am one such person, drawn by that allure from a long time as a hobbyist bike racer. the cost aspect works, because it is such a big deal. a guy can rationalize the 5 bills to the wife because " its-the-ironman ". 101, on the otherhand, is more akin to the local non-m-dot 1/2 distance in its broadscale appeal. maybe it'll be nice, but it will not appeal outside the sport itself ( or if it does, it will be cost prohibitive without the m-dot brand association ) - as tom sez, it is the "racer's race". a tri for tri-racers. question being, can a bunch of racers equal broadscale success in a big-time long distance triathlon, without the field stacked up with first timers, or guys wanting to scratch the event off their life's to-do list, or guys looking to just being able to say " i did an IM " ???
if we look to the failure of most non m-dot IM's, the answer is no. how great did everybody say blue devil was ? or ultra-max ?? supposedly these events were fabulous as events, but in the end they drew how many people ?? not very many. what is going to make 101 succeed, where these races failed ? being a "racer's race" did not pay the rent for them, why will it do so for 101 ???
or, answer this - - - most enthusiasts have numerous 1/2 IM's available to them locally, at a quarter or third of the price of 101. why would they pass on the local 1/2 IM, then, for this new event ?? what is 101 offering to make that a reality ??? if you wish to go longish, why not just spend 75-80 bux on a good local 1/2 IM and call it done, as opposed to what 101 is offering - going a little bit longer, but at 3-4 times the price ?