I completely disagree with your “snobbery” point. It’s just a completely different race day experience to line up with 2500+ athletes, run through streets lined with cheering spectators, etc etc vs doing a race on an empty course that feels more like a supported training ride.

I enjoy the local Olympic Distance race with 100-200 competitors just as much as the next guy. But when it comes to doing an all day 140.6 mile “A” race once or twice a year (let alone if you’re a 1 and done bucket lister), clearly the market has spoken. People want a production. So you can wax nostalgic all you want about the good old grassroots days but as far as I’m concerned the bigger the better for full distance IM.

Another event, somewhat near by, still on.

http://www.bayshoretriathlon.com/


folks who mentioned participant limit maybe right. Well IM could have limited the participants for this race, or spread it over 2 days like HITS does, or do morning / afternoon waves.


Regardless.... Sept 20 there will be informal 70.3 / 140.6 fiesta island san diego. 6am start. Many who did put training in for the canceled IM events might as well put it to use. And rediscover if you really love triathlon or just seek the glory IronBrand gives.

I'd wonder about permit issues.

Bayshore does not require any closed roads so do they even need one? Would be curious to hear whether HITS had one. I can only assume they can. But from what I am hearing the County of Riverside pulled the plug? No idea if that is true but if so you'd have to winder about HITS

Again, I think all the WTC/Ironman bashing just getS old. I don’t care whether they call me an Ironman or a DiegoMan or just call my name over the PA at the finish line.

I like lined up with 1000s of competitors. It feels like marching into battle. I like the throngs of spectators. I like the cornucopia of snacks at aid stations. There is a lot more to an Ironman race than the brand. It’s like Starbucks. Not a perfect cup of coffee. But no matter where in the world you go to one, it’s consistent.

I fall on this side of the fence. I've done my share of small local race events and have really enjoyed the experiences. But as someone who crossed over to Ironman in 2016 (2015 but had a SF), I have to say I love the big Ironman events for these reasons:

1- I give everything I have (financially, physically, emotionally, etc) into a training cycle for an Ironman or big race, so I want a good quality event with great organization, safety, and quality. (not that this can't happen in a small grassroots event. But I know what I get when I pay for an IM race)

2-I love the competition that the IM events draw. In a small local race, I almost always podium or win my age group mostly because I just don't have that much competition being a middle-aged female in a rural place. But in an IM event I have to claw my way to the podium. The competition is fierce and I love that. The women in these events are insanely strong and experienced. It brings out the best in me. Heck I've come close but still haven't KQ yet. And I love that challenge!

3-I enjoy meeting athletes/competitors from other countries in the IM events. I loved that in Syracuse NY (2018) I got to race against a fast awesome woman from Ecuador. I loved meeting athletes from all over Europe and even Russia doing races in Denmark and France. It was a thrill meeting athletes from South America when doing Puerto Rico 70.3 in 2017.

4-I love the red carpet feeling of finishing an Ironman or IM 70.3. It's truly special. I also love the many spectators and crowd support. Living a quiet life for most of the year, these races are very exciting :-)

That all being said above, a couple favorite race experiences were these more local type races: Pumpkinman 70.3 in Maine 2014, the Baystate Marathon in Lowell, MA in 2013 (edit: not 2012), and the Lake Dunmore sprint race series in central Vermont. 5 our of 5 stars for these events!

So just because an athlete enjoys the big IM races, it doesn't necessarily mean he/she is a snob. There are races out there for everyone. Find the ones that will bring out the best in you and align with your race goals. Sometimes its a small local race, sometimes is a 50K person marathon in NYC. It's all good! Just keep moving!

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

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Why did Challenge in North America fail? Ironman snobbery,that is why.It has little to do with the size of the event,it is the almighty logo that people love to tattoo on their bodies.

Hey Nick, people love the logo, because it has transcended our sport and it allows people to brag to those outside our sport on their accomplishents. I was talking to a fellow masters swimmer who did a 5:20 min 400IM at 60+ age group. The only people who get how crazy this achievement is other serious swimmers. The average person thinks that doing a 15 hrs Ironman is more impressive than 5:20 "only 400m" race. So there is no point entering a local race, or any non Mdot race because those outside the sport won't give you a pat on the back.

....so it boils down to those doing something like triathlon, a 5k, a marathon or mountaineering, or yoga, or martial arts, for intrinsic purposes or for external bragging rights. Our sport has managed to attract a lot of the latter. Its not a bad thing if it expands the sport, and some actually move over to the dark side of actually doing this sport for intrisic reasons because they fall in love with the process, not the finish line and how much others recognize the finish line.

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Yep Dev I agree..It is funny because sometimes if you point out observations about the Ironman culture (and there is one) some people think you are trying to bring down Ironman.That isn't true.

Back in the day when I use to spend my northern summers living in "The House of Iron" in Penticton people couldn't understand why I liked going to random races in weird places.I remember after Ironman Canada 2004 Graham Fraser heard that I was heading down to Grand Coulee in Washington State to do the Grand Columbian Iron Distance race.He was talking to the IMC race director Dave Bullock about it ( Dave's place was The House of Iron) and he asked him"Why does Nick go and do these tiny events in nowhere towns?" Dave just says to him "Because they are great fun and he wants to support the race director,who is a friend of ours".
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Three weeks later Dave,his wife Cindy,Steve King and I head off in a van for the long drive to Coulee Dam and we had a ball. Steve was race announcer and Dave and Cindy looked after the finish line.I raced and came in 2nd overall and after finishing got back on my bike to be a spotter for Steve and Dave as racers did a small loop around town before finishing the run.I was treated like a mini celebrity because the locals thought I had flown in from Australia specially for their local event and the cops at the finish just laughed and gave me the two thumbs up when they saw me at downing beers at the finish line celebrations.It was such a fun weekend and like the bike touring I do it gave me the chance to meet the locals and not just a swarm of tri-geeks.

There are a lot of reasons races fail which have nothing to do with branding.

While I do indeed have an Ironman logo hidden within a larger tattoo across my back/shoulder, Challenge Roth is a bucket list race for me. It's a life event I hope to have the opportunity to experience (despite all the apparent logistical hassles of that event). I just haven't figured out how to write a bot to secure me a spot.

Until Challenge and Ironman start capping race fields at 500 or less they will have draft fests. I just find it hilarious that we only bash Ironman here when Challenge is the same exact BS, just has a different name.

Challenge NA failed because of Challenge. Not much more than that. Unlike Ironman they have ZERO brand recognition, so if they go somewhere, they need to dig it. The only place they have done that is Daytona.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

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Challenge,for example in Penticton, failed because people are brand whores and followed Ironman to Whistler.The only thing that changed the first year in Penticton was the name.That is it. Same course,same town,same volunteers,same race director,same everything except for the logos.Triathletes only knew about Ironman in that region because they are not actually fans of the sport but are fans of Ironman.A very subtle but telling difference.
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Apparently Penticton went from an awesome Ironman town to one not worth going to overnight in September 2012..Then when Ironman came back for this year, magically Penticton became the must go to Ironman destination in 2020. Just so obvious and so ridiculous!

You think just because it's the same exact course people will come back? That's not how this works. There's some folks around here that would tell you that Challenge did the community dirty in Penticton. (Hydrosloth, where you at?)

Just because someone had a race elsewhere doesn't mean a different promoter will be able to fall in on the same business and be successful.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

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You actually believe the average triathlon punter knows the politics behind the scenes? Any issues with Challenge and the City of Penticton were totally unknown to the general public in 2012/13. You are denying the bleeding obvious if you think the M-Dot brand doesn't have the blind cult following that it does.Just look at the majority of posts on almost every issue here on ST,it is almost always about Ironman or related to how Ironman does things. Challenge,Rev,ITU.HITS and everything else are a distant 2nd because people only care about Ironman and here on ST most of the time only in the USA.

Having volunteered for a local promoter here in AZ. There is a difference between local promoter and a national brand. At least here in PHX. LifeTime had hundreds of volunteers, and I mean hundreds. 4 Peaks for Cactus Man? Probably can count on all your digits max. And well now LifeTime is gone from here sadly. But whose fault is that? Other than the internal politics from Challenge, what was their marketing of the event? Are we talking grass roots engagement? Did they just think they're name which had zero recognition was enough? Did they think the course was enough? I'm not sure courses are enough. They didn't dig in, they clearly thought they had a self-fulfilling prophecy of "Keep the Ironman Canada course but with a different brand and 'People Will Come'". This ain't Field of Dreams.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

It's a shame, CactusMan is a fun race. I raced all the Lifetime events since they started here in Tempe. The local tri community and the clubs like ONE and Tri-Scotssdale have always tried to support the local events.

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

I'm a bit sad that LifeTime is gone, that was a fun race.

On the athlete and competition side I see Cactus Man getting large. 2019 had 356 finishers for the Olympic and 296 finishers for the Sprint. But as it grows it will need support that resembles what LifeTime was like. I know for 2020 they were going to cap the field. Only last Spring did I learn how much volunteers are appreciated by local promoters.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

ONE and Tri-Scottsdale should be able to rally volunteers.

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-Of course it's 'effing hard, it's IRONMAN!
Team ZOOT
ZOOT, QR, Garmin, HED Wheels, Zealios, FormSwim, Precision Hydration, Rudy Project

I’ve done over a hundred long and short triathlons over the past 40 years. I have a memory and story for nearly every one! Thrill of victory, agony of defeat. People still ask how the “Ironman” went on Monday morning after the local sprint. Ironman brand brings one experience, the local sprint another... always unpredictable. I set a goal to break 60s for a 100 Freestyle at age 60. The dedication and work that I did in preparation was epic. In the end, I knew that the race would take very close to one minute. I finished shy of my goal with very little story to tell (I could have hit that third turn better?). My last Ironman story was much better. I overcooked the bike to finish within a minute of my target split. By run mile 3, my pace indicated that my run pace was about a minute/mi off. I was planning to DNF at the half when a guy running near me stopped and told his wife that he was dropping out. She went off on him... something about putting up with all that training. I continued past the half-way mark, tried to smile while running by my wife, and headed out into what I knew would be darkness. My finish time indicated that despite being a half hour slower that my goal, I held my pace through all 26.2 miles. I was an Ironman that day. I should have gotten a tat... but it looks like I’m waiting for something magical to happen at the finish line of my next 140.6. Sorry Ironman, I consider the I-dot a symbol of my dedication to a life of fitness and competition. I remember the day back in the mid-70’s when my hard work In the pool was rewarded with a time measured in seconds. I’ve done more independent long triathlons than Ironman-brand events, but I’m still looking forward to my tattoo. I’m just not done with the story!