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HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3
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HITS Palm Springs must be so affected by Indian Wells 70.3 they just sent an email that next year the event will be in October ... because “warmer water temperatures, to a more athlete-friendly position on the calendar.”
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [seeyouincourt] [ In reply to ]
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And only $85 for the half ironman, 300 for full
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [CP78] [ In reply to ]
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I saw that. Odd pricing. Might be their last year too.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [seeyouincourt] [ In reply to ]
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The icy-cold water of early December won't be missed by manny people...

DFL > DNF > DNS
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [seeyouincourt] [ In reply to ]
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I think you said it man, once the race goes into (we are desperate mode) it usually doesn't happen the next year.

I did the 70.3 in 2014, 2015, 2016.

2014 - Felt like a race, lots of athletes on the course and stations and markings and signs, lots of Hammer products on course, smiling faces and high 5s, Tri Tat marking.
2015 - Felt like a bit less of a race, less athletes on the course, odd sudden T2 change, less real aid out on the course - regular water bottles that don't fit bottle cages etc.
2016 - Kinda wonky but ok, with the run on the horse park grounds and flies everywhere in our bags and on the food. Having to stop at traffic lights mid race -----, scrambling to setup the one aid station at the bike turn around as the mid-packers 70.3 (me) people showed up. I did love that bike course though, I'm on a very short list of people that did.

2017 - Didn't race, went through multiple life changing events from July to December

2018 - Didn't race, oh my god the $80.00 70.3 distance special price is tempting but...…. I have a sense it won't be put on next year. I saw the facebook video of the 70.3-140.6 swim start. That was a very, very small crowd so for 2019 I can't see them even getting enough entries to make it happen with the new date. As far as races, I'm a bit of a purist, but I can't see myself training and giving up a whole weekend, hotel dollars, pet sitting dollars, meal dollars, to go do a 70.3 with 20 other guys, I'll feel like I'm out training and getting lost in the desert

The whole multiple distances for everyone over a weekend thing seemed to be a good idea and seemed to peak about 5 years ago. With interest in the sport fading a bit this doesn't seem like a smart model right now - better to focus on one/two races and do it well. For local triathlon and running races lately I notice its (sign up now before it sells out!) then two days before the event (we have 50 spots available, now at discount prices!)

This is very sad I wanted HITS to be successful and did their event 3 years in a row - but it's starting to look desperate which usually leads to a cancelation of an event.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [Stafford Brown] [ In reply to ]
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Why trash the race when finally it listened to the demands of the racers?
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [Stafford Brown] [ In reply to ]
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The 2016 bike course was their best at the event. But the run was literally a [horse] shit show and when they left transition completely unmanned that did it for me. Thought about it last year, and this year, but it seems like the changes they make each year come with their own set of issues rather than just correcting the prior issues and get it nailed down.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [Stafford Brown] [ In reply to ]
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You forget HITS has all the money from their equestrian event circuit so I doubt they will cancel a race that has gone on sale, maybe no race in 2020 though. Myself and 6 others from my club have signed up for 2019 so I'm guessing with the $85 price they'll have a few hundred.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [seeyouincourt] [ In reply to ]
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seeyouincourt wrote:
HITS Palm Springs must be so affected by Indian Wells 70.3 they just sent an email that next year the event will be in October ... because “warmer water temperatures, to a more athlete-friendly position on the calendar.”

That or they made a smart business move.

Me? I love the HITS races. Best transition zone setups and super helpful staff, both of which cannot be said for WTC.

Signed up for the half and the sprint for next year.. total of 135 for 2 days of back to back racing! Can't beat that.

Support the little guys. It's worth it!
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [seeyouincourt] [ In reply to ]
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seeyouincourt wrote:
HITS Palm Springs must be so affected by Indian Wells 70.3 they just sent an email that next year the event will be in October ... because “warmer water temperatures, to a more athlete-friendly position on the calendar.”

Exactly what Southern California needs... another race in late September/early October. Come on!!! Move it to the April. Much smarter business decision.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [davejustdave] [ In reply to ]
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davejustdave wrote:
seeyouincourt wrote:
HITS Palm Springs must be so affected by Indian Wells 70.3 they just sent an email that next year the event will be in October ... because “warmer water temperatures, to a more athlete-friendly position on the calendar.”


That or they made a smart business move.

Me? I love the HITS races. Best transition zone setups and super helpful staff, both of which cannot be said for WTC.

Signed up for the half and the sprint for next year.. total of 135 for 2 days of back to back racing! Can't beat that.

Support the little guys. It's worth it!

I agree re transition.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [GreenPlease] [ In reply to ]
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 I don’t know which Palm Springs races you did, but in 2016 they left transition completely unattended, which means your bike and equipment could’ve been stolen by any random person rolling through transition; and in 2015 they had the two transitions and they were throwing bikes on the backs of trailers and pick ups to bring them back to the park. Scratched my bike that year. That was the same year you had to wait for a volunteer to find and give you your shoes/run bag before you could continue onto the run. I waited so long I had the Porta Potty, came out, and they still haven’t found my shoes.

I used to do there Napa and Palm Springs races but both of them ran into so many problems, which started after ‘Mark Wilson left hits.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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synthetic wrote:
Why trash the race when finally it listened to the demands of the racers?

I respect your position and comments. Those were my experiences competing in the same event 3 years in concessive sequence in the years stated.

I don't see it as trashing, yet I see how to another person - it could be trashing.

My experience watching the triathlon scene is when an event finally listens to the demands of the racers, sometimes its too late and there aren't enough entrants. and its a little sad.

Ok so why not go out and support it. Well everyone's different.

Some people didn't want to a buy a Suzuki car in 2013 or Blackberry phone in 2013 because, even though they were making attempts to get it right - they just had a hunch their Suzuki dealer will be closed by the end of the year, or their Blackberry OS phone was about to get dropped by the developers of the apps they use daily.

So someone bought a Suzuki, and gets the letter they are pulling out of the US market entirely if you have a service issue covered under warrantee please call our 800 hotline to get it validated and fill out forms a-z and your car will gladly be service by your local Suzuki motorcycle within 8 weeks of your original letter and you will pay a $200 parts delivery fee - thanks for everything good luck customer :)

So someone bought a Blackberry phone in 2013, then got e e-mail saying they will no longer update or support blackberry OS, and then the 20 apps on their phone they use everyday will now only support Andriod or Apple based platforms - thanks for everything good luck customer :)



It's the same thing for me I don't wanna drop money on a race, book a hotel, submit my vacation and then, oh sorry, race has been canceled.

Hopefully someone gets a chuckle out of my analogy - just saying - not everyone wants to go through all that.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [seeyouincourt] [ In reply to ]
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Like you, I enjoyed their races a couple years ago. What problems has Hits had post Mark Wilson?
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [CP78] [ In reply to ]
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CP78 wrote:
You forget HITS has all the money from their equestrian event circuit so I doubt they will cancel a race that has gone on sale, maybe no race in 2020 though. Myself and 6 others from my club have signed up for 2019 so I'm guessing with the $85 price they'll have a few hundred.

You are correct, triathlon is just a little side thing for the large and wealthy equestrian event circuit.

But think about this. That one rich guy at the end of the your cul-de-sac puts on his big 4th of July part every year dropping 5 grand.

200 people come.

The next year 100 people come, so he drops the live bass band.

The next year 50 people come, so he drops the ice cream truck.

The next year 25 people come, so he drops the fireworks show and says just bring your own sparklers.

The next year he...…. OH THE HELL WITH THIS LETS JUST TAKE A TRIP THIS YEAR AND GET AWAY FROM THESE NEIGHBORS :)
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [DamonHenry] [ In reply to ]
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People are obviously voting with their money, so the problems are not just from the perspective of any one person. The participantion drops and drops and drops and now WTC moved in for the kill.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [seeyouincourt] [ In reply to ]
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Except for the accident on I10 that sent all
The traffic and many many Semis flying down the canyon road. It was by far the least safe course I have ever seen.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [Sbernardi] [ In reply to ]
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True, but it was a good climb and I did enjoy the bombing down that hill
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [BrentwoodTriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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April would compete with the Oceanside 70.3 and the 2,000 plus that do Oceanside every year.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [stevecycles200] [ In reply to ]
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stevecycles200 wrote:
April would compete with the Oceanside 70.3 and the 2,000 plus that do Oceanside every year.

Same thing can be said about October but with half a dozen other races including Superfrog. SoCal is inundated with too many races in the early fall. If it's going to be in Palm Springs, spring time makes the most sense.
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [Stafford Brown] [ In reply to ]
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Stafford Brown wrote:
synthetic wrote:
Why trash the race when finally it listened to the demands of the racers?

I respect your position and comments. Those were my experiences competing in the same event 3 years in concessive sequence in the years stated.

I don't see it as trashing, yet I see how to another person - it could be trashing.

My experience watching the triathlon scene is when an event finally listens to the demands of the racers, sometimes its too late and there aren't enough entrants. and its a little sad.

Ok so why not go out and support it. Well everyone's different.

Some people didn't want to a buy a Suzuki car in 2013 or Blackberry phone in 2013 because, even though they were making attempts to get it right - they just had a hunch their Suzuki dealer will be closed by the end of the year, or their Blackberry OS phone was about to get dropped by the developers of the apps they use daily.

So someone bought a Suzuki, and gets the letter they are pulling out of the US market entirely if you have a service issue covered under warrantee please call our 800 hotline to get it validated and fill out forms a-z and your car will gladly be service by your local Suzuki motorcycle within 8 weeks of your original letter and you will pay a $200 parts delivery fee - thanks for everything good luck customer :)

So someone bought a Blackberry phone in 2013, then got e e-mail saying they will no longer update or support blackberry OS, and then the 20 apps on their phone they use everyday will now only support Andriod or Apple based platforms - thanks for everything good luck customer :)



It's the same thing for me I don't wanna drop money on a race, book a hotel, submit my vacation and then, oh sorry, race has been canceled.

Hopefully someone gets a chuckle out of my analogy - just saying - not everyone wants to go through all that.

IronBrand screws up... Yet people still flock. I guess that is capitalism. You have a good and bad guy. No in-between
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [synthetic] [ In reply to ]
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I can't argue that statement. Ironman has become so large maybe they will make even more screw ups and lose business in the future? I agree with you it's like watching Nike sponsor athletes who are terrible people who do terrible things knowingly, but drop them the moment they are exposed and people buy their stuff all day long.

Nike would make sneakers out of ground up kittens and puppies if they could and people still buy their products.

Painful to watch. I don't own any Ironman branded products. Years ago I had those Foster Grant sunglasses with the M-Dot logo - never again, 3 pairs, they break quick.
Last edited by: Stafford Brown: Dec 4, 18 15:24
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [Stafford Brown] [ In reply to ]
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Stafford Brown wrote:
I can't argue that statement. Ironman has become so large maybe they will make even more screw ups and loose business in the future? I agree with you it's like watching Nike sponsor athletes who are terrible people who do terrible things knowlingly, but drop them the moment they are exposed and people buy there stuff all day long.

Nike would make sneakers out of ground up kittens and puppies if they could and people still buy their products.

Painful to watch. I don't own any Ironman branded products. Years ago I had those Foster Grant sunglasses with the M-Dot logo - never again, 3 pairs, they break quick.

Your spelling is a big screw-up.

And fwiw, they never did disclose what their zoom foam is made of. You could be accurate with that one.

808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo
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Re: HITS affected by Indian Wells 70.3 [hadukla] [ In reply to ]
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Fixed the spelling - sorry.

I've only done three 70.3. HITS Palm Springs 2014-2015-2016

The IM branded events I've considered are Oceanside, ST George, Arizona.

After listing to Thom Richmond's (California Triathlon) interview on Babbittville the trick or tri 70.3 option sounds fun. October next year and only 40 minutes from my home (Brea).

It will feel like racing inside of a blender doing so many laps - but could be fun?

I was the "cover boy" in 2016 for the HITS full/half photos and am eternally grateful to captivating sports photos. Never happened any other time in my life :)
Last edited by: Stafford Brown: Dec 4, 18 16:42
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