Hopefully Vineman will come back. That was truly one of the great independent IM races.

That said, if Ironman is looking for another IM in the area, I'd love to see them look at the Folsom area. There have been lots of great independent HIM races in that area in the past.

Did a memo go out and the site not get updated? Looks like it's still on, per the official Ironman site:
https://www.ironman.com/...519881251.1579039995

And 70.3 is in May still:
https://www.ironman.com/...519881251.1579039995

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- John
"Have courage, and be kind."

Vineman was so much better than the cluster that is IMSR. Please bring it back.

Ironman just sent an email a little bit ago...

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Matt

Thanks for that clarification; based on the OP, I was assuming they meant this year.

This still sucks for me, because I was planning on doing my first full-distance Ironman in 2021, and Santa Rosa was conveniently located (relative to Oregon) and had a great course (from what I hear). Damn.

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- John
"Have courage, and be kind."

Thinking Lake Tahoe or near Sacramento.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

I would guess further south. If IM SR didnt work, I doubt Tahoe or Sacramento will bring a larger crowd out.

My view would be closer to L.A. or San Diego. But they still need one in the Cali state as that has to be a core market.

Then they have 4 options:

1. Palm Springs
2. Old Wildflower spot
3. Ventura county
4. Buy out MESP and turn Nautica 70.3 into a full.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

I think that how big of a logistical PITA the race is has a lot to do with participant size and crowd size My main issue with IMSR, as well as the old Vineman course, and 70.3 Santa Rosa for that matter (which I'm doing this year) is the two-transition setup. That's just a downer, and makes family spectating much more difficult. WIldflower has its own logistical issues. It's pain to get to, and if you're not the type that likes to camp you're driving in from Paso Robles or some place like that on race day. I'll commit triathlon heresy and say that I frankly hated the whole "Wildflower experience" the one time I did it. And no way would I be able to drag my whole family for a weekend of camping and watching me race. For a race to be financially viable, it takes a lot more than entry fees. It has to be viable for the whole town, meaning that folks travel in for the race (as in, entire families) and spend a few nights, eat at all the local restaurants, etc. There's no airport anywhere near WF, so you pretty much get folks that are willing to drive in and camp.

The race that I and my family have all enjoyed the most was 70.3 Coeur D'Alene. It's a great little town, amazing local support, great restaurants and a nice downtown area, plenty of lodging, and a well set-up course. Lots of other courses would do well to emulate that setup.

You could IMCDA its back for 2021

This year is on our anniversary and my wife really wanted me to do so she could drink wine and have a nice California vacation. I had committed but my parents decided to celebrate their 50 years (Nov 2019 actually date) with a family vacation to NC that weekend. Obviously that is more important so we pushed Santa Rosa off until next year 2021...so we thought. Oh well, we'll see what pops up.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

Lake was great, scenery on the bike was awesome, but the asphalt was terrible... the run was just ok...

So, IMO, not a giant lost to the calendar.

I'm sad that Ironman is leaving the Sonoma area. I did Vineman as an independent and Vineman as an IM race in 2016. Both experiences were great. I loved swimming in the Russian River and the bike course was great. I think people exaggerate the issues with the roads. Yeah they are not perfect but it's not a big deal.

I think that the logistics of two transitions and the perception of horrible roads has sunk the race. The person paying $850+ for a branded race is a bit more discriminating. Hopefully the independent Vineman can now come back. I would do that one again in a second.

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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com

If you are in Portland it is but a 6 hour drive to get to Coeur d'Alene, which is bringing back the 140.6 in June of 2021. Cd'A Course is not too shabby either, but water will be colder.

I know....when I was younger, not married and no kids, I loved WF. Now with a family its a PIA if you arent the camping family. Even if we would just go over and make a boys trip out of it, waiting in the sun for that damn trolley or having to hike up your bike was a nightmare, when all I wanted to do was sit down and drink beer and not worry about any of that. but i will say i will miss it if its gone forever. if IM moves there, on the years when we have bad heat, that course would have to be the hardest on the circuit. or at least up there.

vineman 70.3 prob was my favorite race/course/event. did it many years, but by the last time, the logostics after and before the race were just becoming too much. i got really tired of waiting 30 mins for a bus after i finished, driving 30 mins plus on said bus, getting in my hot truck, then driving back and picking everyone else back up. i dont know, just grew tired of that whole after the race experience. then throw in having to rack bikes the day before the last couple years and the total mess that was, and that pretty much sealed it for me. not like i had much choice as i think we did it the last year before they moved to SR anyways :)

But back to your point. i was planning on doing SR next year, i dont mind dealing with everything the day before and then when you are done, you are done! just my preference. one of the reasons i love oceanside with everything close, and signed up for santa cruz this year and love arizona, when everything is nice and close its so convenient. but given the choice of messing with it the day before or the day after, ill take day before every single time. that way i get to drink a beer quicker!

i think if they did tahoe the weekend after labor day it would be a huge success all around. its a dead weekend for the area so they would probably love the vistors, and you are almost assured of nice weather that weekend (fires not counting). unlike when they would hold it the last weekend of sept which as everyone who was there in 2013 knows, snow is a very real possibilty.
and keep the bike course they did in 2015 that took out some of the hills. still plenty challenging for everyone but not 8000 plus or whatever we had in 13.
to me, that course on that date would be a huge success.

palm springs is tough just for time of year. when are they going to shut everything down for IM, Nov or Dec? Nov has the chance to be hot but manageable and Dec can be cold! if you hit it right on either one those you can have perfect weather too though. but if you do nov, who is picking that over AZ? and December is kinda the same thing? I doubt you are getting that real estate in the spring, and we know the summer is out for temps. i think it would be great location and fun spot but i just dont know how they could really make it feasible.

old WF would be interesting- could be really really hot and hard if they just doubled it and kept it on same date.

ventura could be very enticing. always baffles me that there isnt a 70.3 in the Ventura/SB area. i know i know about SB tri......but just surprised IM has wiggled their way in somehow.

Nautica.....just imagine the permit fees for a full day of closure on some of those roads! but talk about iconic and fun. sign me up.

who knows, maybe they get access back to the base and turn oceanside into a full again. i dont know all the ins and outs of how the cycling on the base works, but seems kinda like a perfect match. dont have to close down a bunch of public roads and if any of these triathletes does something stupid, a marine can shoot them with an M16!

I signed up for IMSR this year. First Ironman. Glad I get to experience it before they cancel it.

I don't mind the cold water, I do Pacific Crest in Sunriver every year (and that's bloody cold!). I was a bit concerned about the CdA bike course, but I have plenty of time to train up. This might be my best option.

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- John
"Have courage, and be kind."

First thing I thought was they are taking over Wildflower spot.

My first IM was Tahoe 2013. And I had a shit day there. I would LOVE to take another crack at that course. That said, the Tahoe locals hated it and for that reason I doubt it will come back there. I would love to be wrong. I'll sign up that day if it happens.

Plus airplane ticket, plus car rental, plus hotel... we are more talking about $2000-2500.

And that is before considering time commitment for training and bike upgrades.

So yes, we should be unimpressed with courses where just about everyone comment that their bike make more noise at the end of the race than the start.

Yeah, there is some good elevation gain in the bike course and there are big open stretches which can be no fun if a big wind kicks up but it's do-able. I've only done the 70.3 here but plenty of folks have done the full IM and regard Cd'A as one of their favorite venues.

Another consideration with today's Western US races is the big wildfire season we get most summers nowadays. The late June timing of the Cd'A race is prior to the fires ramping up and affecting air quality in ID, WA, CA, Western Canada and Western NV.

Lake Tahoe will never happen again. It was a logistical nightmare due to extremely unpredictable weather and wildfire smoke. Ironman chose to leave Lake Tahoe because of “adverse environmental and weather conditions.”

Also it’s speculated that the third IM in the rotation with St.G/CdA will be maple valley in 2022 so Seattle isn’t far.