With as much time as they have had since April's postponement, I sure hope that Ironman comes up with an alternative in the event that Harris County won't permit the course.

I was going to ask if the actual hospital utilization was rising towards worrying levels, but by checking the Harris County COVID dashboard, I see that they seems to think it is and that's all that matters.

With the recent rises in cases, do we have locales that have cancelled events as opposed to just insisting on mitigation protocols?

I "fired" Ironman Texas after the latest cancelation in April. I was/am done with them. Indiana wants me and thats where I'm going.

 

I thought that Ironman Texas 2021 is being held in Waco Texas which is in McLennan County, not Harris or Montgomery county. Waco is about 180 miles Northeast of Houston.

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Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

It did. Harris County pulled or refused to grant the permit for the bike course down the toll road.

Unless there's a drastic change in the Montgomery County political landscape that's not really an option. A large portion of the old bike course in Montgomery County (northwest of The Woodlands area) runs through a precinct controlled by a local politician that refuses to cooperate in anyway whatsoever.

You thought wrong. There are currently two Ironmans scheduled in October in Texas. Ironman Texas in The Woodlands and Ironman Waco in Waco of all places.

He’s not totally wrong, what he states was the plan for IMTX in 2020 before cancellation #2. This is not the plan for IMTX 2021 (or attempt #4 to run the IMTX April 2020 race)

My understanding is there is currently no feasible option outside of using Harris Co. for the bike course.

That’s if they want to run the race out of The Woodlands.

I said it earlier this year… the race needs to move to Galveston at least for this year (if not forever).

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I'm also in Houston and have been following cases closely. Currently my in-laws are cooped up at home with positive tests, all four being unvaccinated (from what I read this seems to be the population that the Delta variant is burning through). But, I have a hard time believing this wave will be as bad as previous waves, mainly because we have a good percentage of our population vaccinated + many others with natural immunity. Hopefully this all means that Harris County let's some people bike on the Hardy Toll Road this October. I also hope this serves as a bit of motivation for the fence sitters to get jabbed. I'd prefer to see it held in Galveston though. The 70.3 back in April seems to have gone well.

Quote:

I "fired" Ironman Texas after the latest cancelation in April. I was/am done with them. Indiana wants me and thats where I'm going.

Ditto. Done with Houston politics. Except I just moved up the road to Waco.

Quote:

With the current trend in Covid I am worried that the October Race may be in jeopardy again.

Cases seem to be mirroring almost exactly last July 4. I honestly did not think we would see another wave. I was wrong. Per the case counts you'd never even know we rolled out a vaccine.

Based on last October I think we all know how this plays out for Houston.




https://www.nytimes.com/.../us/covid-cases.html

IM had plenty of notice before the April (2021) postponement that the bike course would need to change and it still did not manage to find one. It was clear in the months leading up to the postponement that Harris County was not going to offer a permit. If IM did not manage to find an alternative in April, then I assume will be either unable or unwilling to find one before the October race. The best hope is that the Delta variant motivates enough fence-sitters to get out and get their shots.

It does appear that a wave of cases is on the way. I suppose this leaves two questions. 1) Will the hospitalization rates follow to a level that is a problem? 2) Will Harris County stick to the same metrics as before in which high cases but low hospitalization still sinks it?

I worry the answer to #2 is still YES.

I live in Florida now after moving away from the Houston area in 2019. The delta variant is running amok here and we account for 25% of the nation’s current COVID cases. North Florida is getting hit particularly hard and hospitalization metrics are reaching levels not seen since the worst of it back in January. COVID hospitalizations have increased 6x since the beginning of July.

The same is coming to Texas. There’s no question. Similar political slants and similar dickheaded citizens.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

The year that they had to shorten the bike (maybe last minute?) did it stay in the same county?? What year was that?

Not sure but most likely on the old course. New course 80 miles is up and down the HTR. No way to really shorten it.

No, much of it was in north/northwest Harris Co. and not the same roads in Harris Co. as the current course.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Besides starting in the same spot that year (2016) it basically used none of the roads from the original IMTX bike course.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

You mean like you, right?

similar dickheaded citizens.

Witty retort, genius.

I mean dumbfucks who don’t believe in medical science, refuse to get vaccinated, and keep us mired in a pandemic. Those similarly dickheaded citizens.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

The vaccines definitely help. But other nations have not done much better with their vaccination rates. Israel and England still are having problems despite slightly higher vaccination rates. Israel used moderna and pfizer and despite media, england used quite a bit of pfizer. I wouldnt isolate criticism to california, texas and florida. They are just ahead of the curve. The wave will spread across the nation soon. Many wont have an issue as has been the case to date and we still dont understand clearly why certain people are at more risk than others. CDC just changed its position on masking nationwide. Vegas announced mandatory masks, etc. But this isnt a vaccine debate. Its about IMTX.

I have been in every IMTX since its inception. Everything south is harris county and everything north is montgomery county. The old bike course was the best( hard and pretty). Bad local politics resulted in the loss of priveleges to use this route. The hardy route and the other possible route on the grand parkway are both in harris county. The one year we had flooding they created a twisty backyard route through mostly harris county. They unfortunately will not be able to come up with a new route in time with proper allowances. They could make it a swim/run?

Tokyo is not doing well either and they pushing ahead despite the covid issues there. The mental toll on the athletes is probably related to the stress of what is going on with this around them that we are not priveleged to from the local media.

I am sad. This texas race got cancelled last april, reschedule to waco in october, postponed to april and then rescheduled to october. The only race i did in the last year was oilman which was fun local half distance race. I have been group riding over the last year with a group of twenty guys who have all remained strong and free of covid complications over the last year despite the sweat flying in the draft pockets, lol.

I feel lucky to have qualfied for kona and went in 2019 which i guess to date was the last kona. I was looking forward to making another go but its getting hard trying to maintain without racing. I may postpone that effort for another year when i age up to 55+ which i think or hope finally gets slower.

I there are races available, gobble them up. Race each like it is the last. Have fun and hopefully they pull this off. But like the graph posted above it looks ominous where we are going.

From the Great Keyboard Warrior....yawn.

Few, if any, are interested in your snap-judgment of others.

Snap judgment, huh? It’s almost August 2021. We have highly effective vaccines that have been freely and widely available for months. Yet a bunch of dumbfucks won’t get a vaccine for reasons completely unrelated to actual medical science and keep us mired in this pandemic situation. If you choose to not get the vaccine, and you do not have a legit medical reason for doing so… I, and others, will rightfully judge you. No snap judgment about it. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been put in people’s arms for nine months now. The medical science is there and it’s overwhelming. Only dumbfucks can’t see that.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Quote:

Cases seem to be mirroring almost exactly last July 4. I honestly did not think we would see another wave. I was wrong. Per the case counts you'd never even know we rolled out a vaccine.

Correction: case counts have surpassed the July wave from last year. Last year we peaked at ~73k, yesterday we hit 108k, and appear to still be trending up.


We're higher than the March / April numbers. As near as I can tell the writing is on the wall for IMTX (Woodlands).


:-(

I wonder if the RD has had any recent conversations with the Precinct 2 Commissioner about revisiting this decision? A number of new road projects have been completed in Precinct 2 which could, with some small changes to the original bike course, really ease the congestion that was experienced by the non-racing public the first few years. There would still be an impact, but the huge delays at some of the major intersections that caused such big complaints could be largely avoided. Sure would be nice to get the loop through the Sam Houston National Forest back!

Which case counts are you looking at?

They really need to pivot to Galveston at this point. As you stated, the writing is on the wall and we all know how Harris Co. and City of Houston leadership is going to fall on this one. So why bother? Start working with City of Galveston and Galveston Co. now.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Same link I posted prior.

https://www.nytimes.com/.../us/covid-cases.html

I need to change my name so i am not confused with GMAN

I don’t apologize for being extremely blunt. I’m tired of this shit after a year and a half and the blame can be firmly placed on the near 50% of the population that chooses to not do the right thing. We have a way out but we keep getting dragged back down. I have zero tolerance left for that bullshit.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Your continued belittling and name calling of those who don't share your exact world-view or opinions is reminiscent of Chrissy Teigen's bullying.

Surely you can express yourself without name-calling and bullying.

Oh goodness can we get back on track.

I was considering this race but now I am having second thoughts as if the same logic is applied in April it will be shut down.
Anybody with insider knowledge?

I didn't find GMAN's anger regarding the situation offensive. I mean this is the internet and you will get some strong opinions. Are you unvaccinated? Is that why you are so triggered by GMAN's general comments not aimed at any particular member on this forum?

I will say I live in a state with the highest vaccination rate and we are pretty much back to normal with minimal cases. With more than 80% of the population fully vaccinated, life feels back to normal. In spite of the recent CDC recommendations on masks inside, we don't have to do that right now (hopefully out-of-staters don't spoil this for us). Imagine if the rest of the country followed our example. I'm no expert but I think we'd be in a much better place right now (ETA: the US as a whole).

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Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.

If you are unvaccinated because of what amounts to bullshit excuses and ignorance you deserve every bit of belittling and name calling. I’ve had it with these fucking people. What's worse... a bunch of unvaccinated dumbfucks keeping us mired in a pandemic or me calling them dumbfucks?

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

This is on track. The whole reason this race is again in jeopardy is because 50% of the population are selfish people. It's that simple.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

50%?

Currently 64% of the population in Harris County age 12 and up has at least a single jab. Montgomery is 57% and Fort Bend is at 76%. Delta is certainly all the rage right now, but if it follows a similar trajectory as it took in the UK and India (and Norway too I believe), it will be a fast burner lasting 4-6 weeks before calming down.

There is also a much smaller population who is really at risk too. Vaccination rates of the 65+ crowd are at a minimum 82% across the three counties. I have a feeling Delta will also motivate some to go get jabbed who otherwise might have been on the fence. I have in-laws who are COVID positive at this very moment, all unvaccinated who wish they would have gotten the shot.

So, I think things look to be in jeopardy at the moment, but as time passes I believe the situation will improve and this race should continue. I say this as someone signed up for Waco 70.3 and really wants to race!

Harris county is at 52% first jab, 44% fully vax. Per Harris co health dept

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the world's still turning? >>>>>>> the world's still turning

The country overall is about 60% fully vaxxed for 18+ and 50% overall population. So I amend my replies to say about 40% of ADULTS are selfish dumbfucks. I won’t take umbrage with the under 18 crowd yet (even if their parents are making poor decisions for them). 😁

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

For a 16 year old male, what's the relative risk for COVID-19 versus the reported heart inflammation in that group? At the moment, the CDC is still saying vaccinated people have massive viral loads so the idea of preventing infection/mutation doesn't stand at the moment.

Regarding IMTX, I think we can all agree, the 'go, no-go' call comes down to Harris County permitting the course. If they are still in Level 2, will they block the race?

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Regarding IMTX, I think we can all agree, the 'go, no-go' call comes down to Harris County permitting the course. If they are still in Level 2, will they block the race?

They've answered this with past experience. I've got $10 right now that says this race is a no-go based solely on current trends and past precedence.

Harris Co. just moved to Level 1 (Red) and, while things could be significantly different in two months time, I would not bet money on Harris Co. dishing out special events permits anytime soon.

Ironman doesn't need a crystal ball to see how this is going to play out. They need to find an alternate venue because I don't think they have a Plan B for the bike course.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I give the event a 2% chance of happening. Harris County political leaders have already said that the hospital system at RED = NO GO for anything.

At this point the more interesting discussion is how the race is going to be modified.

My vote: SWIM RUN!

Wonder if I can transfer to IMFL? With this rate of growth, I think the wave is past by race day, but probably too late for permitting. Grrrr.

I would agree with this. My anecdotal evidence is that the Delta variant is absolutely burning through the unvaccinated, based on who is showing up in the ER and ICU's. Ain't no way Harris County allows it.

The majority of hospital admissions in houston are unvaccinated. About 20% are on the ventilator. Models predict we are to rise to 30% higher than the prior peak in the next 3-4wks. I am a physician working there.
The vaccinated are a highly underreported carrier transmitter of the virus. The unvaccinated are not the reason the virus is spreading, but the unvaccinated are responsible for clogging the healthcare system because they are getting sicker and requiring hospitalization.
The easiest solution for running the race is to limit the race to people with proof of vaccination. I in general do not agree with this concept of a vaccine pass, but this would mitigate the risk to the organization for having an event with any covid fallout.
In the long run because the vaccine does not create a dead end host, the problem is the virus is running around from person to person( vaccinated or unvaccinated) and the more it does this the more mutations occur and the increasing liklihood of a new strain which is not just resistant to the vaccine as this one but harmful to the vaccinated population. This is the looming disaster around the corner. Therapeutics to treat sick people are desparatedly needed which have a meaningful and profound impact on peoples outcome. The MABs are declining in efficacy because many are too strain specific and there window of application is to restrictive. The JAK inhibitors help somewhat but not enough to be a game stopper.
A bad sign of the local politics and how they will affect ironman is governor abbott is standing on his no mask requirement, but houston independent school district is moving foward with a mask directive for children despite legal implications.
I think in the big picture, Ironman could win hildago in houston over if they move to a vaccine mandate for ironman. At the end of the day, Ironman is an unnecessary activity/event and therefore it is no imposition or restriction on civil liberties to require a vaccine proof to race. This would probably help them in other races as this wave continues to spread.

Unfortunately, “burning through” hospitals is an accurate description. Waco is a college town. I expect football to continue with their first home game in a month. IM Waco six weeks later. I suspect IM will be less concerned than 2020 if local politicians will permit. I’m vaccinated and will attend a Safe Race event…but I don’t want the race cancelled 3 days before as happened in 2020.

Vaccine passports or proof of vaccination for services that receive public funding are prohibited by the governor of texas. I’m guessing this would include an Ironman race.

Ironman is a private entity.

That being said, I thought Abbott's restrictions were regarding government facilities.

I'm glad that Abbott can blatantly be paid off (sarcasm if not obvious, but he is known to get paid off. Some call it campaign contributions, but let's call it what it is).

Private businesses can do whatever they want escpecially in texas. Methodist hospital i think was the first in the country to mandate a vaccine and lay off workers who did not get vaccinated. Memorial Hermann just passed the same requirement a week ago. My kids private school does what it wants regardless of what the state and HISD says. Ironman reserves the same rights. Like i said I am not a fan of a vaccine passport, but it could be a necessary evil for ironman to have a successful season.

Our trajectory is different than the UKs and i dont pretend to know why but i would speculate that maybe the UK has a larger percentage of the population with natural immmunity so the morbidity of th delta strain was less. 20% of our hospital admissions are ICU with more than 50% on ventilator. Those not on ventilator tend to be on high flow like vapotherm. These people are very sick. Daily Death numbers in the US have quadrupled in the last several weeks. Yesterdays were 849 and climbing.
There are alot of problems with the vaccine from the longterm outlook, but the short term protective effects are significant. It wont provide great protection from getting covid, but overwhelming protection from getting sick requiring hosptialization or dying. The number of people getting covid who are vaccinated is very underreported. Therefore a race venue mixed with vaccinated and unvaccinated people who be a bad scenario for a mass event.

For a (unreasonably?) optimistic view, when the UK hit the normalized case count Texas is currently at, they were 9 days before their peak. Any chances our rise gets stopped that fast?

What wouly people think of a vaccine requirement for race?

I don't like it as a matter of policy, but I'm already vaccinated so I'll grab my card and be at the start line.

I'd be fine with it to race but not sure that side of it is going to sway the powers that be. The number of racers (what, 2000ish) compared to the number of people in the area is insignificant. My concern is that they'll pull the plug because if they let this event take place, it sets precedent to allow other large scale events to happen.

I'm normally an optimist have have my flight/hotel booked and am training away but I just don't see this ending well. Cases are high and those that could make that number drop fast enough have already had the chance to do so but chose not to. Can't imagine they're all of a sudden going to make that choice. Frustrating for all involved no doubt.

Confusing times. If it was just local government, I would say it is going. Last night pavilion was packed for concert. However, enter Harris county and their controlling input and things then get complicated. Also the recent media with San Francisco setting a august 20th deadline for vaccination and the use of a vaccine card to go to a restaurant, gym or movie is an ominous sign

How has this race not been cancelled yet?

Houston region reports record number of COVID-19 hospitalizations with only 44 ICU beds available, state says (msn.com)

Nothing official so far. I’ll be on a long ride tomorrow morning getting ready, but it’s hard to think this will actually happen.

Where are our inside sources? Didn’t we have unofficial, but in-the-know, reports at this point last time?

Harris County remains at Level 1 (Stay home unlessfully vaccinated - severe threat).

Earlier this year, the postponement was made approximately 5 weeks prior to the race. Some people were pleased with that much time while others were upset the decision was made a few days too late to cancel their reservations without penalty.

Unless IMTX is seeking location changes, I don’t know why a decision hasn’t been made. Seems Harris County is making the decision for everyone.

If this race goes forward, I'll probably need a new trisuit. Since I won't be doing a full IM after if this date doesn't happen, it will be a waste since my other ones are all good for anything less than a full.

Out in our West Texas county, we are showing the first signs of peaking. Too early to be sure, but the signs are there. Of course, so are the deaths...

I think it's a gamble right now and I'm growing less optimistic each day. For myself, having transferred into this race (from Wisconsin 2021 due to family obligation) I'm kinda stuck with no chance to transfer or request a refund. I'm at the mercy of Ironman and what they're able to do. I'm opting to shut my ironman focused training down and focusing on more local events that I feel are much more likely to happen. Admittedly, as a bubble KQ'er the recent change to only 26 KQ spots did nothing to help my focus on Texas.

I'm in the same boat (minus the KQ bubble :-)). I transferred from Mont Tremblant before it was officially canceled because I didn't want to be in a situation where I was stuck doing a race that didn't fit my schedule. After I transferred slots opened up at other races, including Wisconsin, which is only 2 hours from me and I've done several times. Now there's nothing I can do but wait and see. I should have held off to see what would have happened with Mont Tremblant but IM gave no indication of opening more slots at other races so I took a chance. I'm still training like it's going to happen because I can only hope that if it does cancel they'll let us transfer to another fall IM that has a better chance of happening.

Memorial Hermann was withdrawn sponsorship for this year because of the covid spike. One additional problem is the surrounding hospitals to the woodlands are overwhelmed with covid admits. For the last two weeks, elective surgery has been limited and even banned on certain days. System wide we have more than 1100 patients with covid, more than 220 in icu and more than 190 on the ventilator. School has just opened, and ridiculous number of children are being reported as covid positive. We have no yet seen the outcome of this yet which is when they get their unvaccinated family members sick.
The problem at the hosptials is the lack of resource for non covid patients. To have a mass event (which requires a medical tent and medical personnel and availability in the hospital for bedded patients), is not possible. For this reason alone, the event is likely to be cancelled for lack of safety. Right now we can barely take care of the noncovid ER admit. It is disaster zone in a public setting where the average person walking around is clueless how bad it is.

While I don't like the fact that Harris County might not issue the road use permit, I can't argue with the issue of medical assistance shortage. Don't think we have much spare capacity in our local hospital also and I can see the toll it takes on the docs.

Here is the usage rates for Harris County. Unalike the last spike, it was in the midst of reduction in other patient admits (car wrecks, sports injuries, RSV, etc.)
https://covid-harriscounty.hub.arcgis.com

Don’t take this question to mean I doubt your claim here but do you have a source on this statement?

It happened a couple of weeks ago. August 11th to be exact. You will notice it’s no longer called Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas. There wasn’t a big news story about it. Just quietly pulled.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Anyone know how many medical personnel are needed to support a race of this size?

Well, that's one way of killing off some of the voter base - his voter base. Stupid is as stupid does.

I’m aware it happened I was looking for a source that says it was due to covid in particular

I seriously doubt you're going to find a press release on this. Ironman surely wants it to be under the radar and MH probably both doesn't necessarily want to bring light to it and also likely has their hands full in other areas of focus.

As was the case before the April race was cancelled, the Memorial Hermann logo has disappeared from the IMTX website. If the past is any indication, IM will cancel it about 5-6 weeks before the event.

Hospital usage rates now match the of the prior wave early in the year that cancelled the April date.

Memorial Hermann embraces ironman. In fact we have ironman centers for orthopedics, training and rehab. The withdrawal was based on covid. Covid has overwhelmed the system. The wave related to school restarting has not even happened yet and we are at capacity and strained from the standpoint of resources and utilization. In no good conscience can they move foward supporting an event which requires medical services when they can barely meet the needs of the patient load presently.
Texas as a whole is not doing well from this regard and i wonder about other races to come in the near future. Frustrating and sad times. Glass half full perspective is that if your bummed and frustrated about races being cancelled, then your health is good. Get vaccinated not for yourself alone but to help relieve the burden on the hospital system so your neighboor has access to good health care.

I think we are in agreement on all this. Our local hospital is now doubling up patients in rooms and isn't showing signs of getting better. Transfers are near impossible and non-COVID patients can't get the care they need because there is nowhere available to send them.

Am I correct to assume that Memorial Hermann would have been providing all the medical staffing during normal times?

So the question I have is does Waco have room for us for that to be a transfer option when IMTX inevitably kicks the bucket for the 4th time?

With the full on Saturday and the 70.3 on Sunday, that is a lot of fatigue on Waco. I would guess Indiana and Maryland are options? Unless everything is pushed to 2022.

For those who know the area and local politics, is a changed route, avoiding Harris County, an option?

With current numbers on the hospital system, I'm not sure a route change out of Harris County would be enough at this point.

(entirely speculation)

Waco City held a press conference yesterday, and it is terrible there as well. :(

No ... but ... at this point that's not the main issue. It's no longer a Harris County not willing to grant the bike course permit issue. The Montgomery County hospital system is overwhelmed with COVID cases at the moment and the effects of "back to school" haven't even hit yet.

Nope. bike course is still the only question mark.

Good news on the covid front is that hospitalizations went down from 409 on 8/23 to 395 today. Hopefully a trend and not a blip.

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Badig| Strava

Here are the numbers from Montgomery County for anyone wanting track.
https://mcphd-tx.org/...-19/confirmed-cases/


Looks like this one shows both Harris and Montgomery.
https://app.powerbi.com/...YmUxMGUwOCIsImMiOjN9

Am I right that, assuming the upcoming October race is cancelled, IMTX will have been postponed/ cancelled four times? It happened in April and October 2020, again in April 2021, and presumably will get axed again in October 2021. Has any other IM had this happen four times?

Kona, if Feb 2022 gets cancelled.

ABSOLUTELY DISAGREE, MEDICAL RESOURCE IS A HUGE OBSTACLE. MAYBE NOT SPOKEN AT THE MOMENT BUT A CLEAR IMPEDIMENT TO RACE EXECUTION. HISTORICALLY NUMEROUS PEOPLE ARE ADMITTED TO ICU AND HOSPITAL FOR CARE AND SEVERAL TRAUMATIC ORTHOPEDIC INJURIES REQUIRING SURGERY FROM RACE. HOSPITAL IS IN NOT CAPACITY TO ABSORB THAT AND TREND IS FAR FROM CHANGING FOR THE BETTER. DAILY NUMBERS PUT US AT A STEADY STATE CURRENTLY WITH AN UPTREND EXPECTED FROM SCHOOL REOPENING WITH ASTRONIMICAL POSITIVE TESTING FROM CHILDHOOD POPULATION IN CONROE ISD.

Yeah, the overall trends seem to indicate that as a whole the greater Houston area may be peaking. TMC is showing their positivity rates and hospitalizations as possibly cresting the peak as well. This is anecdotal, but our trends also seem to align with what happened in the UK. Still, I doubt IM TX goes off. Heck, I'm signed up for the Waco 70.3 and I'm preparing for that to be cancelled.

https://www.tmc.edu/coronavirus-updates/covid-19-testing-metrics-for-tmc-hospital-systems/

We are down again today to 372 (Montgomery County). Fingers crossed it continues.

And to the screamer up there, most races aren't sponsored by a hospital system and therefore hire the med crew for the race. Few if any athletes make it to a hospital on race day, so it's not a tax on the hospitals. Obviously if COVID is still blowing and going the race will get canceled, but if there's capacity, then the catch is still the bike permit.

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Badig| Strava

It only takes a few preventable tragedies to change everything. We have over 120 covid in the the hospital and about 1100 in the system. Local ERs are all closing because staff needs to be diverted to the hospitals. Its good to remain optimistic and positive, but to understand what is going on, you need to go visit the hospital or as one of your friends who works there.

We are five weeks out. There are no answers here that are absolutely correct. Whatever decision is made is understood. But scheduling issues, travel plans, etc., really mean a go/no go decision be made soon. Any word/thought on how IM and the local jurisdictions might be leaning?

Not much in the hospitalization numbers to make one feel optimistic. Montgomery County looks a bit better, but Harris County isn't seeing the same. Really frustrating how bad the communication is on the go/no go decision.

I had been planning to do the Blackland Triathlon this weekend with my brother (a doc). Because of the local case count, he isn't expecting he can make it out of town that long.

Really would like to know if I need to get a new trisuit ordered. Since it was the run that caused the trouble last time, maybe I should just plan to change clothes for the run.

His all caps ASIDE, I think the crux of the issue is the hospital situation. Are local hospital systems bursting right now. Yes. Does an IM race typically result in additional ICU care for a handful of participants? I don't know. I hope we all agree that if the hospital situation doesn't improve we should all do our part not to contribute to the problem.

So honest question: how many people end up in the hospital after your typical (2000 person) IM event. For me personally, 1 is NOT too many but a handful is. So if it is reasonable to presume a handful of people end up in the hospital after an IM I think the race should be canceled (pending the status of the local hospitals in 5 weeks. Hopefully that improves and this is all moot).

I think the race is slightly less than 50/50 to take place. But who knows....

I agree, we need a go/no go decision very soon.

It's interesting that in just the last two days the IMTX Facebook account has put out short video clips of the course to get people excited, including one of the Hardy Toll Road.

We all understand there is a very real concern around hospital capacity. I spent several days at Memorial Hermann after a nasty bike crash during the 2018 IMTX bike leg, so it does happen. There were at least 2 others I'm aware of on that day.

I think we just need some communication soon, so we can all make plans accordingly. Stay safe, and hopefully the hospitals get some reprieve soon.

Last year IMAZ canceled the Thursday ~10d prior to the event date. Unless they've changed their policy, Ironman carries on as if an event is going to happen until it's 100% definitely not happening.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

I can do you one better. 2019 Ironman 70.3 Lubbock cancelled 3 days out form the race. People and bikes were already en route and not all hotels offered money back.

My take is that officials assume can’t assume an average number of hospitalizations when making this kind of decision. The number of hospitalizations could vary wildly from hundreds of people being hit by a single car to just a few people that fell off bikes.

My point is I doubt there’s a set number they say is the breaking point. My understanding is they are already at it without the race.

honestly what are they to do? They want to hold the race. But the only decision that they can definitively make now is cancellation. Are you saying you want them to throw in the towel on the race now? If that is your perspective, I get it, so no judgement on my part.

That's a good point. They do have to keep the race going forward until the local government tells them no. They can't unilaterally cancel the race. And I don't want them to throw in the towel.

I guess I'm asking for inside information, which is a bit selfish on my part. I'd truly like to know (i) the status of the Harris County permit for the Hardy Toll Road (i.e., has Harris County said they are in jeopardy); and (ii) if the local government has given any indication that the race is in jeopardy due to local hospital capacity. It would be nice to know if neither of those have happened and we are full steam ahead.

I know they can't give that information out. I understand.

You are correct that we will just have to wait and see.

Nice new culpa! I think we all feel the same way. So for what it is worth, I just filed a FOIR with Harris county. I’ll let you know what I find oit

Fixed it.

For what it is worth, i didnt realize i was using all caps and that all caps had any meaning aside from all caps. Lol
Last October, things were clearing up and we should have had race then, and we didnt.
Numbers in hospital are not clearing up definitiviely, today they started to spike again. We may in the next week or two be seeing the back to school spike. Hospital is functioning better because of additional nursing staff brought on to manage the crisis.
The hardy tends to create more bike casualties, and the heat creates more dehydration, hyponatremia problems for athletes. Right now we have oxygen supply issues secondary to a national shortage and local shortages created by Ida. One thing after another.

What I don't quite understand is the timing of the permit from Harris County. How does that process typically play out? My assumption is that in any normal year IM has its permits many weeks if not months in advance of the race. If that is the case, IM currently has all the permits it needs and the risk is that Harris County may revoke it. Or is it the case that IM does not yet have permits and is waiting on Harris County to grant one?

Back in March when the April (2021) race was cancelled, it had been clear for months that Harris County was NOT going to allow any large events. Right up until the race was cancelled IM was still saying "the race will go on" even though I'm pretty confident it knew that it did not have a permit and was unlikely to get one. That's what I found frustrating. IM was projecting more confidence than I'm guessing it really had. So I wonder what the situation is now? Does IM have its permits and is crossing its fingers hoping Harris County won't step in? Or, does it not yet have approval and it's crossing its fingers hoping cases will decline enough for Harris to grant approval?

Why does the toll road create more bike casualties?

In general and from what I understand, permits actually aren’t issued far in advance even for races that will obviously happen and are more or less a rubber stamp process.

So even races like the Boston Marathon likely don’t get final approval until just a couple/few weeks leading up to the race.

That’s my understanding of how things normally work given conversations I’ve had with some RDs.

There are lots of RDs here that can chime in with a better grasp than me.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I thought this was -not- the issue.............rather it is if hospitals are that busy, then they cannot guarantee medical staff to be available on site at the race.

Right now, Texas hospitals are pulling in staffing in any way possible. Locally, we shut down the OR because those staff have been moved to general care. That they have then been pulled back to the OR for emergency surgeries hasn't helped the situation.

Too narrow. Last time I did it they had an aid station near a narrow part and second lap it was a nine field of bottles. Hopefully they fixed that.

I cannot tell if you are just trolling? Maybe not? I think the best term is "entire medical complex." Doctors, nurses, beds, meds, ppe, vents everything is in demand right now and some are in short supply. ICU in particular, but hardly the only issue.

I have a prediction: the race will take place. They will use the hardy tollroad. It will run from the tip down to the county line and itwill be 3loops instead of 2. Total bike distance will be around 105.

I have zero inside knowledge here. Just spitballing.

Texas here. People act like nothing is happening. I see pictures of kids, moms, parents attending school functions, activities and everything all over the social media. No one is wearing a mask except some of them in grocery stores. HHH (Hotter Than Hell Endurance bike ride) happened in Wichita Falls last weekend and all the bike rallies and races say they will happen. On the other hand, young people are suffering and dying(not vaccinated). Anyway, I think it's going to happen. Be careful out there.

Trolling?? OK....I think you mis-understood my post.
Yes I understand the hospital system..........or....'entire medical complex', is maxed out. My point was specifically in reference to what would technically prevent an IM race from taking place, and my answer was that they could not have a guarantee of having medical staff at the race site, which is required. And, yes, this would be due to the entire medical complex being maxed.
NOT because the race itself would be sending too many people to ICU - the bolded part of your above post...

You're either trolling or don't understand the geography. The tollroad is 100% in Harris County. The county line between Harris and Montgomery is essentially Spring Creek which is actually just north of where the tollroad begins.

Got it. My confusion.

I thought the county line was the beltway. In fairness It is all the boonies to me ; ). Is spring creek pronounced “crick”

That's interesting. If this is how it works then IM's hands are more tied than I realized.

Having the permits probably doesn’t matter if Harris county can cancel them anytime.

They need to bring back the old race course through montgomery county. It was a harder and nicer ride. One loop through the farm lands. Not many races have a single loop bike course. Also montgomery county politics are much simplier if they can get past the small stuff that led to the end of that relationship in the past. They pay quite a chunk of cash to use the tollroad. I dont know what money exchanged hands in the past running the course up north.

4+ weeks out. No word. But there can only be a few options at this point.

Permits approved/race on. (Even as Harris County remains in most severe threat level)

New course to avoid Harris County

Race off.

I don’t care at this point except to say that I just want a formal announcement. Anyone hear anything?

Doesn’t seem to be much positive new as far as cases of hospital utilization. Haven’t given up training yet though

Nearly every day for the past several months, I have been tracking Harris County COVID at this site:
https://covid-harriscounty.hub.arcgis.com/ Scroll down to the bottom to see the actual metrics.


While the county is still in the red this morning, all metrics have been trending toward the better every day. The major school district in Harris County is the Houston Independent School District. Kids went back August 23, the district does have a mask mandate. Though, it may still be too early to know the effects of school back in session, the metrics have still continued to trend better thus far.


University of Houston football played their opening home game last weekend and looks to be a lot of people in the stadium.


Other Ironman events are going forward even with high hospitalization rates in the area e.g., Ironman Wisconsin this coming weekend, St. George 70.3, Augusta, etc.


Ironman has in the past week posted the 2021 Traffic Impact guide for the race.


Who knows what all that means for the race. They cancelled the April 2021 race 5 weeks out and that time mark has now passed obviously.

The October 2020 race was cancelled 4 weeks out. We aren’t out of the wood(lands) yet!

 I seem to remember it was back in 2016 when Permits and all the Flooding were an issue with IM TEXAS. They were all scrambling at the last minute (last couple of weeks actually), to get us a Bike course for this race. I think that is when we found out that the Old Course in Montgomery County was not an option. It seemed that they kept quiet on this big issue.

We used all Harris county roads for the most part, through subdivisions, along side busy Farm to market roads, etc. The bike course had been shortened to around 90 miles I believe. The course actually turned out to be kind of fun with all the turns and stop signs.Totally different than what we had been used to on the Montgomery County/National Forest Course.

But what turned a lot of us off at the time was that we were within about 10-14 days from Race Day before the Bike course was given the OK. It almost did not happen at all.

Hope it happens for you guys or at least a decision will be made sooner than later.

I was there for 2016 and the bike course that was approved just two weeks before the race with 90+ turns. That was my first Ironman. Now I'm back for my 2nd and here we are. I have predicted that The Woodlands will not happen, but Waco will. As everyday passes, I feel like I may be proven wrong. I'm still training. I'm in my peak weeks. I'm pretending to walk normal but fooling no one. But it's still there. There is a seed of doubt. Either way, I'm ready. I raced Galveston earlier this year, and the race director was very transparent. I received emails saying the race was on, but in the event it wasn't, there would be arrangements made. EVEN IF Ironman chose to communicate with us for IMTX, I don't think it would do much to ease our minds.

And to go back to 2016. The website only had a published run course and swim course and no published bike course until it was approved. That makes me think there is not an alternate course this year as some of you have suggested (hoped for). The Woodlands has been plagued with bike course issues and I don't see it being resolved because geographically... no one wants us there. Montgomery county was throwing tacks on the roads on race day and now Harris County won't open the Toll Road.

I'm too lazy to look up the data, but I'm guessing that Harris County numbers are currently worse than they were when IMTX was cancelled each of the previous three times. That does not mean it will be cancelled this time because we are dealing with COVID differently as a society than we were six months or a year ago. I'm sure pulling for all of you who are still training. It would be just terrible to have one cancelled this late. If IMTX gets cancelled for a 4th time, I think anyone who can prove s/he trained for all four races deserves automatic qualification for Kona.

For the sake of numbers, here they are. Certainly worse than before. At best, we are showing signs of a peak, but we are not on the downward slope. Last time, we were halfway down the slop but it wasn't good enough.

Hospital Usage:
- ICU Beds - End of March 2021 was about 5.8% and declining from a high of 11%. Today, we are at 13.82% and level.
- Hospital Beds - End of March 2021 was about 17% and declining from a high of 34.6%. Today we are at 40.77% and level

For the optimistic view, prior cancellations happened under dramatically different views of handling the pandemic. Many mitigation strategies were still in place. Today, most mitigation strategies are hardly being done and likely not at a level necessary to make much a difference. The U of H football game is an example of this. That's probably an example of an event with similar standby medical resources and was crowding a far larger group of people into a tighter space.

Our hopstial system in Houston is flatline with. No signs of improvement system wide. Can alos argue worse as new reporting methods required by government say you cant count a ten day old covid patient as a covid patient.
Tomorrow will be important. Biden is going to speak and set the nations tone for the posture to take on the current surge. Hildago will likely echo his sentiments.
Hedging that it will happen, i jumped in the pool for the first time in 3wks. Got to get some yards in,

I also think the April 21 cancelation was a lot about Hidalgo’s response to the governor not doing a mask mandate. That kind of dynamic no longer exists and I think with a 4th cancelation they have to know that many will say enough and move to another race. I know I’m eyeing Florida or Arizona (or Waco if it’s a choice)

This is were I'm at. Haven't done laps since June. Should probably get at least 2-3 hours of swimming in before race day...

If IMTX gets cancelled for a 4th time, I think anyone who can prove s/he trained for all four races deserves automatic qualification for Kona. //


Pretty funny, although not sure you meant it to be. Give people slots to Kona for a 4th cancellation of Texas, a race that itself has been cancelled 3 times, and now probably a 4th time too. So why not give away phantom slots, not like anyone is getting to race either of those races anyway!!!

Yes, I was joking. Should have used pink font, I guess. It was also my way of expressing sympathy for the poor souls who may have this race cancelled deep into their training for a 2nd, 3rd, or (hopefully not) 4th time.

Regardless, Ironman communications have left a lot to be desired.

Looks like the relevant part for us is that he called for vaccine requirements, but didn't call for the cancellation of events.

I would be all in for a vaccine requirement to race. Makes sense. Lets get this to happen.

I agree. I'm sort of loosely against a mandatory nationwide government-led EVERYONE ALWAYS vaccine requirement, but I see no problems with private companies requiring vaccines for participation in their essentially private events. If I have a problem with that, I would just not attend the event.

Texans have 60k unmasked For home opener. I’m sure this would be more of an issue than 1500 people triathloning outdoors. From what I gather no concerts have been postponed by local municipalities, etc.

However I’m not from the area, any locals have examples of current planned and then canceled outdoor events? By municipalities….

People like to bring up the Texans (or Astros or Rockets) having fans at games but 2000 triathletes can’t race. One has nothing to do with the other. Permits and approvals are completely different. Let us also not forget how much revenue is generated in comparison.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

In the event it does happen, how are we looking regarding wetsuit legal?

too soon man, too soon.

With the shallow lakes it comes down to the weather about 5 days before the event.
I've had wetsuit legal races (USAT temp) as early as late September.
It seems that weekend alternates hot and cold each year.

I've never raced in TX in October where it was not wetsuit legal. Seeing how we're near the end of the month I'd put probability at 99%.

FYI I saw a report on fb from someone in Houston there are now signs on the hardy toll road warning it will be closed on 10/9 for the race.

Guess I'd better start swimming....

Looks like they updated the Event Schedule on the website as well. No Athlete Guide however.

Here's the current weekly trend on hospitalizations from Texas Med Center in Houston:

In speaking of large spectator events vs IMTX - as one mentioned, permitting and road closures are a factor, yes. Partly driving this is the higher probability of an athlete injury per participants vs a sports arena spectator. When most of the accidents requiring medical care on on the Hardy Toll Road, they go to Harris County/Houston. If they are already full of cases, then managing broken cyclist adds to the mayhem.
Plus, there are hundreds of retailers at the race hub that will get hit heavy with family and friends, race crew and athletes that week. Their staff will be at a higher risk, or they could already be short staffed due to cases. The Woodlands local authorities have to keep this in mind, regardless of Montgomery County.

I just want to race. I have trained over two years for my one and done before my father goes blind. Simply not racing after all the hours, life on hold, money bleeding out ...... is not an easy option.

It is a complicated formula with many factors.

Athlete Guide is now up!!

Exciting!! Starting to worry not swimming in a long time may adversely affect my performance...

Check-in links for Tri Clubs now sent out. Still not ready to say it's 100% go, but this is much further progressed than last time.

the response I got from the county more or less confirmed your understanding.

Looks like most likely we are a go. Sign on hardy, emails for registration confirmation, and some background activity suggest race is on. I will be paddle boarding out there either tomorrow or sunday and will post a lake water temperature for those who are interested. Unofficial measurement. Word of mouth from friend was last temperature was in the 76 range. Nights and early mornings are cooler now.
Regardless of what happens in the background hospital remains stressed and covid numbers remain high. Harris remains on high alert level and medical access is limited. I know people have commented on the lack of need for this from a racing standpoint in general. I gave this some thought and because this race has traditionally been under guidance and sponsorship by Memorial Hermann, the medical presence has been paramount compared to all races across the world or country. So for this race the standard of medical care and presence will be below its standard but maybe not below the general ironman standard. Thinner field should make the hardy less hazardous with the two way traffic on the bike course.

Any updates on the water temperature?

I think pacco's answer above still applies. From what I'm understanding, the lake is fairly shallow which means the last week is really all that matters.

So if the race is nixed, I would be to blame. Secured flight and hotel yesterday.

Time for the smack talk. I am laying it down now: given the expected long day and my poor training, I will eat more than anyone on race day. Need to research “fast food on IMTX course”.

Good luck everyone!

I'm planning to scout the course and see if there are any Sonic's nearby. A slushee halfway through the bike sounds awesome.

Nights in DFW are dipping into the 50s / 60s. Water temps should be dropping accordingly.

Just start a new thread dedicated to this. Better yet, just pack your wetsuit regardless. Plan for both. Expect the situation you don't want and mentally prepare for it. Be pleasantly surprised if the opposite happens. There are 472 other things you can stress over that are more controllable than the water temperature of a shallow retention pond in between mega neighborhoods and a mega shopping area (I'm sure it was either put a mega retention pond or a mega church in that spot).

Don't @ me.

The mega church is across the street.

There's a Dairy Queen on the way out and on the way in (bike). Your own special needs bag!

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Badig| Strava

Only one?

If my math skills are working properly, it looks like there is ~1,500 names on the currently posted participant list. I believe there is usually close to 3,000.

I know less than that will show up on race day, but it's looking like the field may be 50% smaller than normal.

Haven’t measured water temp myself directly, but I would shocked if it’s not wetsuit legal. This Sunday will get early morning temperature measure off dock. Cooled off last two days but can still be a hot day in early October. Race is small which could make it execute nicely on hardy.
Pollen count is high this time of year for those it matters to.

The Lake Woodlands Water Temp Facebook Page (yes, there is actually such a page, lol) measured it at 77 degrees this morning at 9am. It's certainly trending in the right direction.

More hope: the athlete's guide is now out.

Even more hope for y'all. Living less than a block from the run course and about 2 blocks from the swim course I received my 2021 Ironman Texas Traffic Impact flyer in the mail today.

Water temp was 78F as of this morning. When do they dump the ice in?

30 seconds before they measure. Flying down tomorrow and not bringing a wetsuit. That’s right - I am teasing the water temperature measuring gods. Find that spot where Timmy just dropped his ice cream cone. Tell me the water is 55 degrees. We will all smile, wink, and laugh.

Hand check of the water indicates it’s going to take shenanigans to hit 76F.

Any word on good places to park?

At check in today, they’ve claimed it was 76.1 if I’m not mistaken. I’m not sure I believe it, either, but I’ll wear a wetsuit if it’s legal (not optional).

77 today. Going to take lots of ice. I heard in the athlete brief they said the Memphis (?) race wasn’t wetsuit legal but about 20% of participants still wore one.

They are giving one slot per age group which means only the ringer each age group is going to qualify. Wetsuit legal is not going to change the outcome, so from race perspective they may make it wetsuit legal just to have less problems. Personally i think water is to warm to be legal, but if they truly said it was 76.1 at check in, then they must have a special thermometer. I forget what depth they measure the temperature and the mornings have been cooler.
The day will be hot and i will share a run tip from a coach which i still use today. Bring a sandwhich sized zip lock baggie with a zipper closure so its easy to open and close. Fill with ice and hold in hands or tuck in groin area. When ice melts, you got ice cold water to drink, repeat. My favorite heat management trick. The hands and groins are countercurrents for blood and facilitate cooling.

Race meeting yesterday said 77 degrees and trending higher. He said he is guessing the race will not be wetsuit legal.

Also, I have a sneaking suspicion the race will happen. Good luck and have fun.

Swim start is now 7:15.

At swim warm-up this morning, anyone I saw in a wetsuit was complaining about how hot it was.

No temp posted. Guess it’s still not wetsuit legal.

this is for the best, trust me...

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Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

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They added slots to both World Championships. Too bad they didn’t do this last week in Indiana.

Does anyone have an idea of how they allocate this at the awards ceremony? I’m
Guessing they call up 1st in AG and that person gets to decide Kona or St. George. Then on to 2nd place who also gets to choose?

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Mark Saroni
____________________________________________________________
COACHING | TRAINING PLANS
MS Kinesiology | USAT LII | USAC L3

I think they'll do the 45 Kona slots first, then do the 50 St. George slots. If you take your slot for Kona, you're crossed off the list and won't be called when the St. George slot comes around in your age group. Just going from memory from when we did both IM and 70.3 slots at the Chinese races and you only got to choose 1. I might be totally wrong. Nice to be back here in the Woodlands though!

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Sylvan Smyth | http://www.sportstats.asia | sylvan@sportstats.asia | Starvas

They didn’t even announce with enough time for me to go grab one after having missed out in Indiana.

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I swim fast because I'm afraid of sharks.

Makes sense. Thanks.

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Mark Saroni
____________________________________________________________
COACHING | TRAINING PLANS
MS Kinesiology | USAT LII | USAC L3

If you were close in Indiana I would keep checking your email. They are going to retroactively go back and offer slots.

I was 4th. 2 slots, went to 1st and 3rd.

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I swim fast because I'm afraid of sharks.

Sounds like they will both end up glorified American championships.

I was 2nd in one of the old guy groups. I can't say I would be terribly excited if I get a slot at St. George but would probably take it.
If Kona, hell yes!

What's your source? I was third in 45-49 in Indiana. First and second took the slots.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

They've updated all the # of KQ slots for both past and future races.


Scroll down to the bottom of the list of races/KQ slots and you'll see this...

https://www.ironman.com/...hampionship-register

For 2022 IRONMAN World Championship qualifying events that have already been completed, IRONMAN will retrospectively award additional slots, and the IRONMAN team will proactively be reaching out to affected athletes to continue the roll down process. We ask for patience as this may take some time to complete.

Holy crap. That's pretty bad ass. Now I'll be refreshing my email every 5 minutes. Thank you.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

Haha yea I'm not getting my hopes up until I see that email. I was 1 slot away in my AG at IM Maryland. I found an online calculator and it showed that with the extra slots my AG should get one more slot which should get me in but we'll see.

You can check out the Ironman Tracker App to see how the 45 slots played out for Texas today. It's under the INFO tab at the bottom then inside KONA SLOTS.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

Wait so I’m going to Kona and I don’t have to go do Ironman Waco?!?!?

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I swim fast because I'm afraid of sharks.

I am hopeful, but I'll believe it when I see the email. Seems like a lot of confusion on Ironmans side.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

Kona!!! We are stoked for you!! Our new friend!

Dude this is insane!
I have been seriously obsessing over whether I could be recovered enough to do Waco or if I should wait until next year and for once my wife goes “do both” figuring as long as I don’t injure myself might as well take 2 shots. Now I just have to check my email again and again and again for the next month until it’s official.

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I swim fast because I'm afraid of sharks.

Saw my first person given a penalty on this race.

As I was on the first lap of the Hardy Tollway, I saw two guys ahead of me taking turns on the draft. I'm not talking a 6m vs 12m, I'm talking a clear rotation going on as I gained on them. Soon after I passed them, I hear a comment about pass infraction and then some yelling. I was confused until I saw the referee pull past on a motorbike. I'm assuming they jumped on my wheel as soon as I passed just like they had been doing before I passed. Don't think I saw the referee again all race.

note: I was at 1:32 on the swim time so hardly front of pack.

Did the race end up being wetsuit legal? What was the water temp?

I volunteered for the Swim portion. It was not wet suit legal. They did let people who wanted to wear a wet suit start their race a few minutes after all the others.

It was something of a strange Ironman to me. I was told only around 850 people showed up for the race. Not having a Pro field seemed to dull down the excitement a bit. The usual Crowd at the swim start was of course lower due to not having as many entrants in the race. That seemed to keep the usual energy down a bit.

A couple of my buds did finish and when I went to Congratulate them, they both said the Hardy Toll road was Brutal!

My wife and I went back over later to cheer on the runners on the Waterway and overall the weather was great, at least for the spectators. :)

Congrats to all the Finishers.

It ended up at 77ish, so not wetsuit legal. Despite constant announcements that anyone wearing a wetsuit needed to step out of line and start at the back, people kept trying to jump up to their normal spot...

Hardy was certainly worse than expected, but I didn't think it was too bad. The concrete surface was nice, but there were just so many joints between concrete slabs. The temperature screwed me up on the run. I was so focused on reports of it being a hot race that I missed the fact that it was still cooler than most of my training days (90-95f). I should have stuck to my training and not worried about the heat as much.

What made it so brutal? Heat? Wind? Road conditions? I'm doing IMTX in 2022 and would like to know what to expect.

I am doing my first Ironman at IMTX 2022 as well and would like to know the issues as well. Thank you.

I went out there to spectate. Arrived around 7:50 and here are my thoughts on the race.

- Someone said there were about 820 participants, but it looked bigger than that somehow when I saw racked bikes.
- Felt the water and it was very comfortable temp. I hate cold water, so it was just perfect for me.
- Saw the first swimmer, Latorre(winner) finishing the swim and he dominated the swim. 2nd place came in way later. Everyone looked so relaxed, and I could tell swim was comfortable without any issues.
- It was beautiful sunny day with no wind at least when most people were leaving T2.
- Changing tents were there for men and women but no one was using it. Not a single person. I thought that was weird.
- It was getting hot around 11-11:30, so it could have been brutal for some people on the bike. Almost no cloud in the sky.
- Parking was fairly easy and it was very spectator friendly venue.
- I counted 9 bikes that were left in transition after everyone out of the water and left T1 around 10-10:30AM. I wonder what happened to them.
- One Trek SC bike came back with a dropped chain in a SAG, and a volunteer carried and racked it. I wonder if owner had to go to ER or something.
- Saw two guys with transition bags and bikes leaving the site around 10AM, and it was tough for me to see that. Didn't ask, but I'm sure they have the reason.

Overall, it was very motivating for me and I wished I would have done that race. I couldn't ask for better weather.
Next day(Sunday) was humid, hot, muggy and windy.

1. This is a great race, even though it wasn't my best performance this year. This was my 2nd time, first time was back with the old bike course. I have raced more than 2 dozen Ironmans.
2. Venue is just great. Athlete and spectator friendly with easy walk from hotels to transition, food, expo, grocery, etc. If flying, easy to get to and from airport in Houston only 30 minutes away.
3. Local food options are amazing for my dietary needs -- like 5 close restaurants with lots of vegan, vegetarian, clean food options.
4. Swim is great. 3 person time trial start. I heard swim temps this year was 78+. Plenty warm. Prepare for water to feel rougher coming back and in the canal.
5. Bike - smoothest road surface I have ever ridden. Very well marked, Very well patrolled at all intersections. Pre-race they told us to expect headwinds going out on the Hardy and tailwinds coming back so I was mentally prepared. I only saw 1 drafter, but at least 5 officials out there. (but keep in mind only 900+ athletes). Surprised there were a few smaller hills out there, good to break things up. I like how the bike is broken up - -about 18 miles to toll road, 20 miles or so out, and back and repeat, then about 7 miles back to transition. The "brutal" part is probably the heat if you are not used to it, and then the headwinds on the out section you do twice.
6. Run is fantastic. 3 mostly flat loops. Very pretty along the canal, through wooded area, nice neighborhoods, tons of spectator support through the hotel/restaurant area and other places.
7. Plentiful volunteer support through all of it was among the best even the volunteers running the post race athlete food cheered for you walking in to pick up your food :)
Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks for the information! I believe someone commented on the expansion joints on Hardy Toll Rd., did those give you any issues? As far as Texas heat, not sure what its like in April but I train in Southwest Florida where its still 90+ degrees here, so heat shouldn't be an issue for me at all. Any other tips you can give for this race would be great as it will be my first full distance. Thanks again.

I just asked my Buds what they meant by The Toll Road being BRUTAL. One said the wind picked up on the Toll Road even though it was pretty calm in The Woodlands. Both said the Heat felt like it was melting their backs. No shade at all for that ride I'm guessing.

On the few bikes left in transition, I did see a couple people who were given a boat ride back to the Swim start soon after beginning their swim. I was also with the very last swimmer in my kayak trying to get him to the Swim exit by cut off time. He did not make it and well as a few others. I really felt for those people.

I think I mentioned the expansion joints. I should clarify that they didn't give me an issues, per se. I'm in West Texas so almost all my cycling is on chip seal roads. Depending on the condition, then can be rough and rattle you pretty well. The concrete was different because the impact was a jarring impact instead of rattling. It wasn't hard on my body, but it made me worried I may have bolts loose on my bike.

I didn't find the winds out there all that bad at all. I didn't feel like I was getting cooked in the heat either. Light colored concrete is nothing on heat generation vs fresh, black chip seal.

If I had your view on the heat, I think I would have been far better. Most of my training was in 90+ degree weather, I just overthought Houston heat. I was far more worried about cooling and hydration than I needed to be. I took it easier and used way more water and ice than I ever would have training in the same weather.

Awesome, thanks for the feedback!

I expected to feel expansion joints but I felt zero and I am usually sensitive to that. However, I run latex tubes and inflated to 80psi's. It was a soft smooth ride for me . .well, every once in a while going up a hill there would be a slight bump but that's it for me. Other tips, relative to me.
-Swim - I planned for a no wetsuit swim, mentally and physically. In training, I didn't ever use a pull buoy to help with that. Note where the canal entrance is, which is nearly all the way back across the lake from the start. Expect it to be rougher in the canal.
-Bike - have to be able to hold aero position for 80 miles with nothing to look at other than the road in front of you and interstate highway on one side. So, be super comfy in that position and mentally strong. and then the usual, stay on top of hydration and nutrition.
-T2 - they didn't have any water in T2 and T2 was completely exposed to the sun. (other Ironman's they usually have a table with water near the exit). I was so hot! A volunteer handed me a bottle of warm water. No aid station until 1 mile out where I finally got cold water and ice, etc. and then started to come around by about mile 2. Wished I had had a bottle of water in my T2 bag.
-Run - unfortunately, I was out there after the sun went down and it was DARK on some of the paths. Very dangerous to be running in that. I wished I had checked sunset, and if I thought it might be remotely possible I still be out there, to put a light in my special needs bag that I grab the last loop to light the way.

Thanks for the great feedback and tips! I dont think riding on the highway will bother me too much. Most of my riding is done indoors and my other rides are done on closed bike trails with not much to look at, so I think I will be ok. Swim is my weakest sport, so thats my biggest concern.

Swim is swim. Texas lake water, Not much visibility so very hard to draft someone. Best in my opinion to swim straight out to the bouys and stay along the middle down to the turn buoy. Basically broken into thirds( down, up, and down the canal). Canal I hear gets worse as race progresses. You can stand if you need to along the shoreline and in many areas of the canal. For first timers this may be comforting to know.


The toll road is tough because its boring and one way is typically in the wind. Race day had a descent headwind going south with worsened as the day progressed. On my first north bound trip, i was averaging about 26-27mph and felt no head wind. In the heat this makes it feel too hot. Good at stations to get two water bottles( one to drink and one to hose yourself down with). The bike course was thin with bikes, so no drafting. With that heavy head wind, legal drafting still feels good but that day I rode pretty much alone for the whole ride. Felt like I was in wrong place.

Run is a great run( although i personally had a terrible run day). Three laps around a well populated race venue. Lots of people to cheer you on. Very few dead spots. East Shore tends to be the hot spot on the run course. Run around the canal always helps gets your pace up because of the all the people, especially the Hippie Hollow group.

Run aid stations consistently have tables for water, gatorade, coke, red bull, and ice).

Despite the race frequently having execution problems, it is a great race. Frequently tends to be hot. The April time slot will often be wet suit legal.

"Swim is my weakest sport, so that's my biggest concern."

The swim allows you to swim as wide as you need to avoid contact or to swim closer in to get the draft. It's that way the entire way (canal a little more congested but not crazy). (e.g., as compared to IMWI reports this year, with 2 loops and it sounded crazy congested the entire time).


They also provided a practice swim time the day before the race, 8-10 a.m. You had to wear your chip. They had the course buoys set up so you could see the course layout, and then an additional red buoy 500 yards out that you could swim out and back, all with kayak support.


Race day also had plenty of kayak support all along the way.

I appreciate all the feedback, I think the swim will be good with having room to get away from everyone and I am hoping for a wetsuit swim.

I appreciate all those who are providing details about the race and conditions. April 2022 will be my third shot at IMTX after a cancelled 2020 and 2021; it will also be my first full IM. It helps to know as much as possible about what to expect.