It should also be mentioned that the Panama City/30A area has been dealing with a "red tide" event for like 2 months now. I was in PCB on vacation 2 weeks ago although further West of Boardwalk and there were piles of dead fish and eels all over the beach. The water was super brown in the afternoon but clear in the mornings. It affects everyone differently and it caused me to hack and cough like crazy. Also irritated my skin. Just wanted to make you aware.

by the way I see your race schedule says "injured". Me too. Nice to know I'm not alone!

I live in Tampa and am from Panama City. This storm is a fast mover. I'm not worried about either the Hurricane or Red Tide effecting the race on 3 Nov.

It should also be mentioned that the Panama City/30A area has been dealing with a "red tide" event for like 2 months now. I was in PCB on vacation 2 weeks ago although further West of Boardwalk and there were piles of dead fish and eels all over the beach. The water was super brown in the afternoon but clear in the mornings. It affects everyone differently and it caused me to hack and cough like crazy. Also irritated my skin. Just wanted to make you aware.

You will make yourself crazy trying to predict Gulf Coast weather even 5 days out. It’s too dynamic. A small, unanticipated storm the night before is more likely to can cancel a swim than damage from a Cat 1 storm two weeks prior.

Panama City is about to get F'd up, i think everyone is under estimating how much damage and how long it will take to get back to normal..

I hope everyone still gets to race but im sure that is at the bottom of the cities concerns right now

When I first posted that I did not expect this to affect the race, Michael was only forecast to make landfall as a Category 2 hurricane. Now it is Category 4 and PCB is very close to the bulls-eye. Power will be down for a week or more depending on location and the priority of restoration. But the real issue will be how much water surge damage there is on the PCB hotel infrastructure. E.g., what if the host hotel is taken out? Hotels on the beach side may be closed for weeks or more to make repairs.

It was tough to get up and go to the pool this morning knowing that the race might not happen. But I have my fingers crossed for the residents that their lives and homes are spared.

Nailed it.

So far my experience with Ironman is that you are out of luck if race is cancelled. I've done 3 Ironman brand events in the past year. 1 was completely cancelled and 1 had the swim cancelled. In both cases I asked to switch to an upcoming event that had open registration and was basically told, "sucks for you. You cannot switch and we are still keeping your money."

So far my experience with Ironman is that you are out of luck if race is cancelled. I've done 3 Ironman brand events in the past year. 1 was completely cancelled and 1 had the swim cancelled. In both cases I asked to switch to an upcoming event that had open registration and was basically told, "sucks for you. You cannot switch and we are still keeping your money."

What event was completely cancelled? How/why was it cancelled?

I'm guessing the reason why an race wont give any options to athletes when the race is cancelled day of, is because almost every resource is already spent/used

[From a contingency perspective, anyone ever had an Ironman event cancelled this close to race day, this late in the season? Wondering if they're going to let us move to TX or CO, or some other race early next season?

Looks like PCB dodged this one for the most part. I'm seeing lots of pics and videos from friends and family in Callaway. A tornado went through and there are a lot of trees down, shingles gone, a few roofs gone, etc. My parents and sister live right on the Callaway bayou in the mandatory evac zone, but they have no storm surge damage (a friend a block up from the water sent photos).

This video was taken at 1:00 p.m. EST:

https://twitter.com/ntsweather/status/1050066462776406016?s=21


from Pineapple Willy's Restaurant which is literally next door to the Boardwalk Beach Hotel and Convention Center.


At the end of the day, you can't stress over what's out of your control.


Sending good vibes to the locals in Florida! Stay safe!

Maybe I'm look at that video through rose colored glasses, but that didn't look nearly as horrible as most of the network news outlets and the weather channel have been making it.

people on IMFL facebook page saying PCB took less of a direct hit then expected.... seems that Mexico Beach area sustained much worse damage..... but we'll have to wait until tomorrow and see what everything looks like.... here's a picture of Sunbird Towers, which I believe is near host hotel.... took this off FB, roof is ripped open... heard other local business had roofs blown off too. hope all are ok

Looks like PCB dodged this one for the most part. I'm seeing lots of pics and videos from friends and family in Callaway. A tornado went through and there are a lot of trees down, shingles gone, a few roofs gone, etc. My parents and sister live right on the Callaway bayou in the mandatory evac zone, but they have no storm surge damage (a friend a block up from the water sent photos).

If the race is to be cancelled, I hope the RD and IM can make a decision soon for the atheletes. That was the case for the 70.3 in Wilmington that was cancelled due to Florence....and the deferrals were very generous.

I know it's hard to be motivated to train when things are unsettled, but hang tight, and hopefully they will reach a thoughtful decision soon! Sending good thoughts to the panhandle of FL right now. This year has been a doozy for hurricanes.

I don't see how they don't cancel the race. PCB got hit hard, but managed to fare the best when compared to surrounding areas. Hopefully seeing as all the resources haven't been spent yet, they'll offer deferrals like NC earlier.

Thomas Drive: http://www.wbrc.com/...y-hurricane-michael/

get your mountain bikes ready....

I know that’s not part of the bike course. Is it part of the run course?

Viper966 wrote:

The new NOAA storm damage sat imagery is availble.. ot doesnt look that bad in PCB

https://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/storms/michael/index.html#9/29.9014/-85.3239

I am in Central Florida and the weather people here said it was going to die down and hit a Cat 1 or just under that. When we woke up the next morning it was a Cat 4. I know they get it wrong sometimes but that is a pretty big Oooops. My heart is ripped apart for those people in Mexico City Beach and surrounding areas. I can't imagine having to recover and start over with my family like that.

Move it back 2-4 weeks does what for participants? Vacation time taken, rentals booked, airfare...moving the race back doesn't seem to make sense. .

Moving the race by 2 weeks worked pretty well at IM Maryland in 2015.

the difference being IM Maryland was delayed because of flooding, IMFL possible move/ cancellation is because of death and destruction of a hurricane.

Postpone till next year makes sense. Move it back 2-4 weeks does what for participants? Vacation time taken, rentals booked, airfare...moving the race back doesn't seem to make sense. Plus the idea of riding my $$$bike past some folks' demolished homes makes me a little queasy.

Best bet would be deferrals to next years race, combine the 2018 and 2019 Kona slots so you'll guarantee a sell-out, use a portion of the extra participant $ for a local relief fund.

Postpone till next year makes sense. Move it back 2-4 weeks does what for participants? Vacation time taken, rentals booked, airfare...moving the race back doesn't seem to make sense. Plus the idea of riding my $$$bike past some folks' demolished homes makes me a little queasy.

Best bet would be deferrals to next years race, combine the 2018 and 2019 Kona slots so you'll guarantee a sell-out, use a portion of the extra participant $ for a local relief fund.

Dear IRONMAN Florida Athletes:

As the extent of the damage to Panama City Beach and surrounding Bay County has become apparent over the last several days, it is clear there is a low probability of our being able to conduct the 2018 IRONMAN Florida as scheduled.

Our thoughts and primary consideration are with the area, which has played host to literally thousands of athletes over the long history of IRONMAN Florida, as well as the Gulf Coast Triathlon. Many of us have built long-standing relationships and friendships within the community.

IRONMAN is working on alternatives to try and ensure a race experience for our registered athletes and in parallel support the people of Panama City Beach and Bay County.

The IRONMAN Foundation has launched a Humanitarian Relief Effort campaign to raise funds in response to Hurricane Michael in Panama City Beach. As part of the campaign, the IRONMAN Foundation has pledged $50,000 to support local recovery efforts. Join us in supporting the Hurricane Michael Humanitarian Relief efforts in three different ways - make a DONATION; BUY a custom Humanitarian Relief T-Shirt to support recovery efforts; and VOLUNTEER for local service projects, providing hands-on rebuilding assistance as our friends in this area that look to recover during this difficult time.

For full details on the IRONMAN Foundation Michael Relief Effort and how to donate, purchase t-shirts or volunteer, visit http://www.ironmanfoundation.org/relief

There will be a formal announcement at the end of business on Tuesday, October 16 to inform registered athletes of next steps in relation to the 20th anniversary event. We ask for your patience until that time.

Thank you for your understanding and please keep the people of Panama City Beach and Bay County in your thoughts over the coming days and weeks.

IRONMAN

Postpone it till when though?

I have done IMFL a few times, and it was my 1st IM so it will always hold a special place to me, but the weather was always iffy in November it won't be any better to worst in remaining off-season months of Dec, Jan, or Feb.

Moving the race by 2 weeks worked pretty well at IM Maryland in 2015.

"https://www.facebook.com/...859805&width=500"


Could always switch to a local race. (no affiliation)


First I would like to say our thoughts are with everyone impacted by the storm. We are so fortunate here in Central Florida that we escaped this one. Having been hit by several hurricanes ourselves, we realize how tough it can be to regroup and recover.
We know first hand that Mother Nature does not always cooperate when it comes to racing and events. It takes a tremendous amount of training and dedication to ready yourself for a full distance triathlon and we do not wish to see athletes lose out on an opportunity to race a full distance triathlon when they are race ready. With the possibility that this year's Ironman Florida event could be canceled or altered, we have have decided to offer athletes registered for this year's IM Florida event a $100 discount on the full distance 28th Great Floridian Triathlon should they wish to race. If you are an IMFL athlete interested in taking advantage of this offer, please email info@SommerSports.com.
We are also offering discounted entry into the Florida XtremeTri to all participants of the 2018 IMFL event. While not a standard full distance triathlon, nor a traditional triathlon experience, it is still a great way to reward yourself for all the training and sacrifices you made over the summer getting ready for IMFL. We're offering a $100 discount off of each single stage event, or $500 off the entire three stage, 300+ mile race across Florida. We also have shared crew members available to assist you with your journey if need be. Email info@SommerSports.com for details. Additional details on the race can be found at www.FloridaXtremeTriathlon.com