Yeah, just received the email. Options to race in February, or defer to October 2021 race. Will probably race in October, but I am wondering how they will fill up february race. Or how they will manage slots in 2021 if lots of people switch to October.
I would say this is a fair (!) decision. But an organizational nightmare.

Unless you live in Arizona, the weather will be perfect for the training! We plan on going in February. Now I will look at a fall race to see if I can qualify for the October race.

I wonder if the postponed Fall races like St George will KQ for February now?

I’m not sure what difference four months will make, but let’s hope for the best.

I am going to deffer to Oct. I believe there are 650 about athletes already qualified for the race.

So if they do the February race and split that number it would only be 300 for Oct which wouldn't be to bad. But what if February doesn't happen then it gets a bit tough to qualify for Oct for others.

They will fill up February either way if there is no race season in 2020 they can sell the spots for 10 x reg price and sell it out.

I too will almost certainly opt for the 9 October 2021 date and I expect that many others will as well. I just don't relish the idea of long and hard training through the winter (I expect no sympathy from Southern Hemisphere triathletes) and end of the year holidays would complicate the training schedule.

That’s very unmanly

Well for all your questions, there might be a couple on this site:

https://www.slowtwitch.com/..._Postponed_7673.html

do you realize, unless i'm mistaken, the feb race will be 40 years, to the day, since our (your and my) first go at that race. 40 years to the day since the first race in kona.

do you realize, unless i'm mistaken, the feb race will be 40 years, to the day, since our (your and my) first go at that race. 40 years to the day since the first race in kona.

I wonder if they will make all the Legacy athletes do the February race to fill up the field.

So are you going to try to get in the field?

Zero sympathy from us Southern Hemisphere athletes, although many places don't get the snow etc that many in USA and Canada have to deal with.
Question for the masses: how will the weather be in Kona at this time of the year? I have had many trips to other Pacific Islands and there are reasonable differences in humidity and rain during the various seasons.

nossir. not what i'm against qualifying in the office. when i was 23 years old, at the height of my power and my testosterone, i found that distance to be awfully long and the effort quite hard. i'm in another chapter of my life. CSN sung about the downhill run to papeete. i'm on the downhill run to somewhere, but it goes right past (not to) kona. i might. maybe. go there to watch it. especially when i contemplate the shenanigans concomitant with that 81 trip.

Dan - You need to start training and do this race! It would be EPIC having you do it 40 years (to the day) after your first!

OK now I just want to go in Feb, to escape winter, get on a flight to somewhere, go sit in a restaurant (have not been in once in 10 weeks), then go ride my bike in the middle of the pacific, and listen to war stories from 40 years ago.

Ironman will roll the dice and hope things go their way.I expect them to offer extra Kona Feb 2021 slots to all three of the yet to be run Ironman's in Oz later in the year and then hope like hell that the races can be run and if so pray that in Feb Aussies and Kiwis are allowed to fly to Hawaii. Same will go for all the other late season Ironman's around the world which would usually be qualifiers for the following year.Then of course there are the legacy folks on top of that.

Weird. Portugal is not listed and (according to ironman website) being held September 19.

At the moment the race is a no go.
At least local governing said so almost 1 month ago. But we all know how politics works...

That’s very unmanly

Ironman will roll the dice and hope things go their way.I expect them to offer extra Kona Feb 2021 slots to all three of the yet to be run Ironman's in Oz later in the year and then hope like hell that the races can be run and if so pray that in Feb Aussies and Kiwis are allowed to fly to Hawaii. Same will go for all the other late season Ironman's around the world which would usually be qualifiers for the following year.Then of course there are the legacy folks on top of that.

At the moment the race is a no go.
At least local governing said so almost 1 month ago. But we all know how politics works...

I hope that IM Portugal happens as I just transferred my IM Switzerland entry to Portugal. Within EMEA there were only two full IM events in 2020 that were not already closed (Portugal and Kazakhstan), so I didn't have many options since the 2021 IM Switzerland date doesn't work for me. Nice is tentatively scheduled for 11 October, but I didn't want to wait for that to be confirmed (or not) and risk losing Portugal. Kazakhstan in late August is a bit too early for me. So...hope that Portugal is a go...I will be ready.

I hope that IM Portugal happens....

why do you "hope" anything? Why not just take it day by day?

I hope fewer people die from COVID.

You're talking 2021? "Kazakhstan in late August and Nice is tentatively scheduled for 11 October"

No...2020

What are you talking about??? There are races now scheduled all over the world for later 2020 and Kona Feb 2021. So it looks to be the exact opposite of what you just stated.

Based on how the world is going controlling the pandemic do you really think people will be able to travel and mass in groups late 2020? I think there may be regional races people can do in areas that have it under control but international travel and even interstate travel will be very difficult especially with the situation in The US. I hope differently but until a vaccine is available racing will be compromised everywhere.

What are you talking about??? There are races now scheduled all over the world for later 2020 and Kona Feb 2021. So it looks to be the exact opposite of what you just stated.

What are you talking about??? There are races now scheduled all over the world for later 2020 and Kona Feb 2021. So it looks to be the exact opposite of what you just stated.

Ironman can schedule as many races as they want, but they do not control various countries borders. If people can't get into Hawaii, then there won't be a race or there will be some kind of clusterfuck race. Australians and Kiwis won't be able to travel there.

man pointing finger at head and smiling dot gif...

Unless you live in Arizona, the weather will be perfect for the training! We plan on going in February. Now I will look at a fall race to see if I can qualify for the October race.

So what happens if the February race doesn't take place? Those of us (I haven't completely decided) who chose that option are we SOL or do they give us another group of race options?

I realize everything at this point is speculation, but it seems highly unlikely that February would be a less virus prone time than October. Sure we don’t know if the summer has any effect on it or not, but even if it doesn’t, the difference between Oct and Feb is probably moot.

I personally am pro-race for a variety of science based and philosophical reasons, but unless IM is spending next to nothing to hold (potential) races, it seems they would be better off cancelling at least some races entirely. The logistics of holding a year’s worth of races in a 4 month window alone are probably unrealistic. I will still race in Sept if my race occurs and I commend IM for doing their best, but if races currently postponed end up getting re-postponed or cancelled I think they’d be better of cancelling most of them altogether.

No...2020

I think what you are underestimating is the acceptance that this will be the norm by then. Its my belief that there are still a lot of people out there that expected 12 weeks of lock down and then normal life instead of the realistic view that the risks of covid will be with us for a long time. I'm certainly not a protester or against the lock down we have had but at some point the negatives will outweigh the positives and we will get back to some semblance of normality because people just won't conform.

Not sure I fully agree on this one.

People might have been moved/banned from the beach sands themselves in Sydney, but never in my life have I ever seen so many surfers in the water (totally not socially distancing...when I say crowded, I mean crowded to almost dangerous levels out there), nor so many people packed onto the promenade's above the beach exercising...walkers, joggers, etc. Multitudes of people I've never seen before (because they have been at work in the past), out and about.

Families galore. And especially lots of all-female families (apparently) of 3 to5, of similar ages, having an intimate chat as they stroll along together. Lol.

It's been like a game of dodgem cars.

The beach parking has been almost at full capacity, much of the day, everyday, for weeks.

And it's been that way for weeks....regardless of social distancing rules which, no matter how hard people have tried, thought they tried, or didn't try at all, were certainly getting violated APLENTY.

Doesn't seem to have hurt us any, either.

Must be all that Vitamin D, and the fact they are out and about doing something mentally and physically good for them, and away from the fridge. ;-)

I find it interesting that so many people, (me included), can suspend reality in favor of what we want to happen!
Speculating on earning a Kona slot in a September race that is highly unlikely to happen. Lol.
Here is reality- Nobody is talking about mass gathering of 50 or more in the foreseeable future. Foreseeable meaning until something that does not currently exist happens, there is no point in talking about it. What we all have to remember, for any large WTC race, it is not about what the situation is at the venue. The conditions in New Zealand are very good, totally in control- but they intend to keep it that way. So, until there is a way to assure everyone participating, volunteering, watching....is virus free, there will be no gatherings 50+, there will be no races!
Any race in 2020 does not look likely- again, nothing to do with the venue location, the overall virus spread in the world is what will be considered. Of course, chances improve as we get further out, but a whole lot of things that do not even exist have to happen before we race again, and regardless of how much we love the sport, Triathlon will not be a priority!
Keep in mind- the NCAA is very seriously considering postponing or cancelling ALL fall sports.
If you love training, most of us do, keep it going and as they say, enjoy the ride! Aloha and Mahalo to all 😘
AND- now is the time to embrace the IM slogan- ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

sgy wrote:

Yes, February is much better!
But I really doubt the race is going to happen :-( Fingers crossed!
Sam

Thank Sam.
But why are you skeptical about maintaining the race in February? Because of the health situation? In Europe (France) the situation is better after two months of confinement. But the economic situation is catastrophic.

Anyone know what WTC is doing with Kona, even with vaccines rolling out global travel isnt opening this year broadly. Perhaps a Feb and Oct race 2022? Or over two weekend in Oct 2022 as there is a lot of slots backing up now.

I understand you position.

Still, if qualifiers from all over the world who want, but unable to travel to Hawaii because of visas/lockdowns/other policies, and the race happens without them, it can't be called Ironman "World Championship", it's more like another American Ironman race with people who are lucky enough to be present on the Big Island.

When I qualified in 2019, I wanted to race a WC with a very competitive field, like it was before. And I hope that Ironman will make sure that the event is top-notch or push it from October.

But yeah, I get that it's my problem and it's not for me to decide.

My 2 cents worth

• Athletes who qualified go and race if the race happens. If they can't travel due to their country restrictions that is too bad
• Related to the point above, some athletes were able to qualify BECAUSE no one was allowed into their home Ironman event....only them, so the travel restricition things works both ways
• We're coming out of a pandemic, everything is different. We take what we get based on where we live and where we want to go race. Some will be luckier based on their place of residence, but the kid from Rwanda is less likely to make the FIS downhill ski world cup than than the kid from Austria, so we have this problem in sport all this time before Covid19 too. Sport is all about unequal access (sadly). Gold medals are a combination of talent, work, money and where you live.
• So if someone qualified for Kona 2021 and Kona 2021 happens, they either race it, or they miss it.

For the record, I will try to qualify for Kona 2021 if the one IM that I can travel to inside my country happens and they reopen registration. If I qualify and can travel, then great. If my country bars me from traveling back in without a crazy ridiculous quarantine process (I can't do that with my work), then I am stuck with not going

The way I see it is: it is a world championship race. It means not only Americans, Australians, Europeans should be there but also athletes from Africa and Asia. Do you think by fall, we will have people covered with vaccine? if not, how do you think they will be allowed to travel to Kona?
Are you considering that there will be hundreds of athletes who are no-vax party? what do you do with them? (I am not no-vax)
Masks and social distancing will last for years!

I really can not see how Kona 2021 can happen, in a fair and equal way for all worldwide people.

There are races happening in the United States right now (Challenge Miami) in which international athletes from Canada, EU, Great Britain, Asia, Australia, Brazil, etc participated.

So why shouldn't Kona 2021 happen, if cleared to race?

As a Kona 2021 qualifier, I also worry that the atmosphere in October 2021 (if the race won't be postponed) will be very different from other years - masking, social distancing, no hugs, high fives with volunteers, etc.
I still see how in San Francisco Bay area almost all people wear masks outdoors, while we have 20% people over 16 y.o fully vaccinated.


Probably it will be my only Kona experience in my life as I qualified being in a quite 'easy' group M25-29, so I'd rather transfer my entry to 2022 or 2023 edition.

sorry which athletes? PRO? oh yes. age group from Europe? how many?

I think most of you guys are gettting confused about this age grouper thing. The World Championships are really about a professional race. There will be top tier pros who will make it a worlds worthy field.

The age grouper race is a "revenue fill" show. They make us feel good about ourselves, but we're like the fans in the stadium at a Premier League soccer match. We are paying the tickets. It does not matter what fans are there (how fast they are). We're there to pay the bills even though we are duped into thinking we are special. We're just being used to create a volume business (which is fine).

If kona can happen with or without age groupers, the quality and depth of the age group field is not that important in a post pandemic year. We'll also get to deep and competititive age group field in due course. Pro sports are possible during a pandemic as proven by many sports (and triathlon), so let's just take that and take whatever the age group field is.

who makes the events popular? what about NYC or Boston marathons with PROs only? where would they be today?
age groups keep alive the events and make the businesses running around them

no age groups, no Kona

who makes the events popular? what about NYC or Boston marathons with PROs only? where would they be today?
age groups keep alive the events and make the businesses running around them

no age groups, no Kona

To respond to your previous comment to me: I don't know the exact demos of age groupers - but know from all the threads here that have related to earnings of a typical amateur triathlete: My assumption is that far more age groupers can afford to make travel to Hawaii easier than most Pros. Ability to get there isn't any easier for an international Pro than it is for an AGer. Probably the opposite in a lot of cases.

Not exactly.
At least from an Australian viewpoint.
If you are travelling for Work reasons (which a Pro would be), then you would end up with an infinitely easier visa application, compared to a recreational visa.
I am assuming this is going to be similar for many other countries as well.