If I had finished 25 or 30 other ultra distance tris around the world in all the spots I wanted to travel and hadn't done IM Kona, I think I'd probably seriously consider doing a 140.6 in Kona that was no longer MDot branded just because of the history of the course. There aren't that many that finish 25 or 30 ultra distance tris around the world. I didn't.

I've trained all around the Big Island so I agree that the Kona course isn't the most beautiful or challenging that could be created on the island, but I don't think the course is ugly. I loved looking at the ocean on one side, the mountains on the other and the warm sun almost always on me. It's certainly a challenging course with the weather conditions. The run along Alii is certainly not boring.