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Bravo Ironman
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I know ironman gets a lot of negative press and some of it is deserved. I am no fan boy and certainly have thought that most if not all local races have put out a better product in terms of race organization but i raced 70.3 Texas a couple weeks ago and they did a great job.

1) Covid forced them to modernize and fix the checkin process- We went from a manual process that dictated waiting in lines to only come back later in the day and wait in line again to check in the bike. They fixed this and now we have slots to check in which is all electronic and bike checkin is also slotted for your convenience. in our case we were done with both by 9:30AM sat.
2) Swim start- they switched to time trial start from age group and went from a multi hour start to i believe everyone got out w/i 1hr. In a hot race this matters and I never felt congested on the swim.....probably because i swam a little of course though:)..
3) Bike was well stocked for stations with everything needed and volunteers ready. I did see some blatant drafting and a lot of people in the penalty box but no way around that on a flat course i guess and it really did not affect me.
4) Run- very well supported and great to see all the spectators. I actually think having the cups sitting on a table is much better and easier to grab and go.
5) Finish- went right through food tent (grabbed what i wanted) and you could either sit outside with some canopies and eat or actually go into transition and pack up your stuff. Another huge plus as historically we had to wait until 2 or later to get out.

I am not one to get too concerned over social distancing but from what i observed if you wanted to be distanced at all times you certainly could be as the framework was there and followed pretty well.

Again good job and keep the races coming Ironman and all RDs!! Was great to get out and race even with tough conditions.
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Re: Bravo Ironman [hueby416] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for sharing this. It is really great to see all these measures.

Kind of ironic that the only non social distanced place during a flat race during Covid19 was the penalty tent!!!
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Re: Bravo Ironman [devashish_paul] [ In reply to ]
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this is funny dev!

Randy Christofferson(http://www.rcmioga.blogspot.com

Insert Doubt. Erase Hope. Crush Dreams.
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Re: Bravo Ironman [hueby416] [ In reply to ]
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Agree with almost everything pre and post race. Check in was a breeze and being able to finish, walk into transition, get my bike and leave was fantastic.

Swim queue race morning was not properly distanced, but I guess they gave us all masks. Don’t even know why some poor volunteer had to put 2000 red tape lines down... that immediately went out the window.

Felt sketchy to me to be in a mass of people like that again.

Only other complaint was that the run density on course was too high. They needed to tweak the loop so it either was longer with 2 vs 3 loops or reroute so we didn’t have as many two way out and backs. Also felt sketchy.

Was fantastic to race again. 4 outta 5 stars.
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Re: Bravo Ironman [MadTownTRI] [ In reply to ]
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Yeah I see what you are saying in the swim queue as around where I was standing it seemed like everyone who wanted to be distanced got to do that even if we all ignored the red lines.

On the run man I just don’t think anyone is going to get covid running feet apart in a windy open air place. I could be wrong and I just assumed everyone running would be ok with that as no way Ironman can really police that.
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Re: Bravo Ironman [hueby416] [ In reply to ]
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Was a participant and agree with the OP. Great experience!
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Re: Bravo Ironman [hueby416] [ In reply to ]
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Agree. Its an extremely low transmission risk on the run course or any outdoor event (I was actually called a covid apologist on another thread for saying just let people race at IM CDA).

By sketchy, I guess I was grappling with the fact that it definitely was the biggest crowd I’ve been in probably in over year... shoulder to shoulder to shoulder to shoulder....unmasked... breathing heavily...

I do think better run course design given the circumstances could have unclogged things a bit.

But I hope a lot of the process they rolled out carries forward.
Last edited by: MadTownTRI: Apr 21, 21 19:00
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Re: Bravo Ironman [MadTownTRI] [ In reply to ]
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This is spot on. Pre/post race was great. Actually hope they keep check-in reservations (with some flexibility) as I was in and out within 5 minutes. Early bike check out was great too, wondering if that was intentional or not as they did initially say 2pm.

Aside from masking, aid station precautions and the finish line, it was business as usual on race day though. Swim line was a mob...I was trying to keep to a red tape mark, but then people would just fill in the space. I do feel really bad for the person that put all that tape down! I’m interested to hear if the swim line up in Haines City was any different.

Maybe my expectations for “reduced athlete density” were too high...transition spacing seemed normal, though first time doing this race so don’t know what normal is there. I get they have limited space in keeping the run within Moody to minimize road closures, but can’t imagine that course with hundreds more with how dense it was.
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Re: Bravo Ironman [cp10] [ In reply to ]
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I'm also so glad they've done away with the useless body marking. With a rolling start, your age on your leg means nothing and with a transponder on your leg, bib on your run and sticker on your bike, your number on your body means nothing...maybe as a way to sell more photos I guess. I have always managed to pick the volunteer with the worst handwriting and the thickest sharpie pen and come out looking like some terrible attempt at pop art. And then of course the days of endless scrubbing trying to get it off.
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Re: Bravo Ironman [taldesigns] [ In reply to ]
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taldesigns wrote:
I'm also so glad they've done away with the useless body marking. With a rolling start, your age on your leg means nothing

And that's why they should do rolling starts based on your age group not your own estimated swim times. Age matters
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Re: Bravo Ironman [cp10] [ In reply to ]
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I did Haines this weekend. Similar complaint re: swim start lineup. BUT, it wasn’t IMs fault. Ironman itself went above and beyond marking out spaces for everyone. There was a giant roped lineup with markings on the beach followed by about half a mile of taped markings on the road. I can’t even imagine how long that must’ve taken IM only to have the athletes not give AF. I do agree though that if you truly wanted to maintain 6ft prior to entering the water, it was definitely possible.

I the the biggest noticeable change was transition. Bikes are normally stacked on top of each other at the race. But, to maintain distancing, they basically doubled the size of transition. It was nice to have so much space. But, the run to my bike from swim out was also half a mile. And, that’s also how far I had to drag my bike in T2. It was a pain in the butt. But, they did a good job making transition safer. So, whatever.

I also did IMFL last year and my reaction after the race there hasn’t changed....IM has 100% impressed me with their protocols. Granted some of the other racers that can be the problem. However, if you’re vaccinated, I see no reason why you wouldn’t feel safe racing.
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Re: Bravo Ironman [MadTownTRI] [ In reply to ]
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MadTownTRI wrote:

Swim queue race morning was not properly distanced, but I guess they gave us all masks. Don’t even know why some poor volunteer had to put 2000 red tape lines down... that immediately went out the window.

I've been racing quite a bit in tri, duathlon and 5k road races (lucky to live in Florida!) and that's one thing that drives me nuts. The race directors do all the work to implement safety protocols and people can't stay apart in a queue.

The 5k races are starting ten people, stretched across the road, in each wave. The waves go every ten seconds or so. You can wear a mask until you start to run, shove it in a pocket, and pull it out and put it back on at the end. Very safe. But people get too excited and can't maintain distance before they start the race and are pressing up on the people in the wave in front of them. It literally makes no sense at all.
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Re: Bravo Ironman [DieselPete] [ In reply to ]
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DieselPete wrote:
MadTownTRI wrote:


Swim queue race morning was not properly distanced, but I guess they gave us all masks. Don’t even know why some poor volunteer had to put 2000 red tape lines down... that immediately went out the window.


I've been racing quite a bit in tri, duathlon and 5k road races (lucky to live in Florida!) and that's one thing that drives me nuts. The race directors do all the work to implement safety protocols and people can't stay apart in a queue.

The 5k races are starting ten people, stretched across the road, in each wave. The waves go every ten seconds or so. You can wear a mask until you start to run, shove it in a pocket, and pull it out and put it back on at the end. Very safe. But people get too excited and can't maintain distance before they start the race and are pressing up on the people in the wave in front of them. It literally makes no sense at all.

I have been a hermit during the pandemic and when I do have to venture out in public (store mostly and the pool) I've noticed 95% of people do not give others 6 feet of space. I've had to ask women in the locker to please respect this rule laid out by the facility and our governor. Adults who should know better but don't. It's really frustrating. So I'm not surprised at all that everyone is crowding each other right before a race.

Now that I'm fully vaccinated and immunized I will feel so much better about racing in July if/when the event takes place (upper state NY).

Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.
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Re: Bravo Ironman [taldesigns] [ In reply to ]
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oh yes no body marking is awesome. I do miss seeing others the next day walking around with dull sharpie on their legs:)

I do get the rolling start making it hard for the pointy end of folks to be competitive and I do think Ironman should think about a "competitive only" start for those folks but the more i think about it y kind of there with the rolling starts as they are self seeding. Would be easy for everyone wanting to finish in the top 10 in the age group to line up in the front.

For crowding i do feel like Ironman did a good job but really if you are concerned about being near folks (lets say w/i 2-3ft outside with a mask) then racing in large events like an Ironman is not for you right now. I just dont see how during the event this can be guaranteed.
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Re: Bravo Ironman [Triingtotrain] [ In reply to ]
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Triingtotrain wrote:
DieselPete wrote:
MadTownTRI wrote:


Swim queue race morning was not properly distanced, but I guess they gave us all masks. Don’t even know why some poor volunteer had to put 2000 red tape lines down... that immediately went out the window.


I've been racing quite a bit in tri, duathlon and 5k road races (lucky to live in Florida!) and that's one thing that drives me nuts. The race directors do all the work to implement safety protocols and people can't stay apart in a queue.

The 5k races are starting ten people, stretched across the road, in each wave. The waves go every ten seconds or so. You can wear a mask until you start to run, shove it in a pocket, and pull it out and put it back on at the end. Very safe. But people get too excited and can't maintain distance before they start the race and are pressing up on the people in the wave in front of them. It literally makes no sense at all.


I have been a hermit during the pandemic and when I do have to venture out in public (store mostly and the pool) I've noticed 95% of people do not give others 6 feet of space. I've had to ask women in the locker to please respect this rule laid out by the facility and our governor. Adults who should know better but don't. It's really frustrating. So I'm not surprised at all that everyone is crowding each other right before a race.

Now that I'm fully vaccinated and immunized I will feel so much better about racing in July if/when the event takes place (upper state NY).

<pink> The trouble with distancing estimation may be genetically linked to the same problem people have in estimating draft zones on the bike... </pink>
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