It seems a bit surprising that PNW has 2 new races. They didn't have any for a while after Lake Stevens disappeared, which I assume was because of lack of interest.

I’m surprised by this as well.
Hoping you’re right since I’m only a couple hours away and wasn’t able to get into Washington 70.3.

I wonder if this may just be a temporary race like IM Indiana, as it's so difficult to enter races right now, due to smaller fields/rollovers

Interesting. From when I lived in the area I know there was a decent amount of triathletes in both Portland as well as Eugene. There hasn’t been much in terms of long course stuff in the area since Rev3 Portland and Leadman in Bend both ceased to exist.

I imagine it will fill quickly. Not nice roads to ride on around there. Not sure where they will swim though

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Matt

That would make sense

https://www.facebook.com/...eos/777573413133927/

The tease video

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I'm surprised you haven't already predicted it will be postponed.


Kidding. Kidding.

It's a shame. We've got such fantastic possible venues, but the weather doesn't really support the training, and it's a pretty small group of people doing it relatively. I'm excited though, I'll probably sign up for Salem.

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JustinDoesTriathlon

Owner, FuelRodz Endurance.

Just got the email announcing this race. Kind of surprised they were able to get permitting for it, as Oregon has been one of the strictest states during COVID. Permitting for the Bend Marathon, set to take place at the end of this month, was not given, so it had to go to virtual. Also surprised at the "last minute-ness" of the race announcement. In a sport where most of sign up for races a 6-12 months ahead of time, 3+ months seems like a quick turnaround. I live in the PNW and was wanting to get a 70.3 in late July, so signed up for Ohio, which is about the same as this one will be. It is very tempting to eat the registration for Ohio to do this one, just a few hours away. Anyone have inside info on the course? Road conditions, run course, water quality?

I did a sprint race in Salem in 2019; we were supposed to swim in the river that ran through town. Due to water conditions (fecal coliform counts? I'm not certain anymore) the swim was converted to a run. I recall some of the roads we rode on as being a bit rough. Transition was in a nice park downtown. The run was relatively flat, a paved trail went south from the park and over a bridge across a river and into some woods. I remember it as a nice town.

It's on the site:

https://www.ironman.com/im703-oregon

July 25th. This year. Hmmmm

I'm wondering about the swim too, it says it's a river swim which virtually guarantees it'll be in the WIllamette. I'm always aprehensive about getting into the Willamette but people swim all the time, who knows.

Frankly I'm surprised there aren't more long course option in Oregon, but this is very close to the Pacific Crest half at the end of June so I'm not sure how many locals will want to double up.

Really looking forward to this race, will be great.

I'm sure the swim is in the Willamette but no way is the cleanliness worse than Tempe Town Lake...

I'm was a little surprised it's in July and not September. We can get some pretty hot days late July/August.

Really surprised it's in July due to potential cancellations. Earlier today the governor had a press conference about rising infection numbers and embracing prevention measures. I would not be investing money in large Oregon events this early.

Very true. Oregon has been better off than many states w/r/t infections, but they are rising again. Hard to say what will happen in the next 3 1/2 months, I'm willing to chance it.

I meant to say I am surprised Ironman is investing in an OR race this early. For individuals I encourage everyone to sign up and visit Oregon!

Pacific Crest is on rocky ground. Pre-Covid, the powers-that-be at the Sunriver Village voted to not renew the race past 2020. There seemed to be a small chance that it could get renewed, but the race announced they were looking at other options. Within the past month the race organizers sent out an email saying "no news yet, hopefully update you soon."

When I saw this on the news tonight, I thought, Salem? That dump? Salem IS a dump, thought so even by people who live and work there. (I live in a town about 25-30 minutes away, moved here from Chicago about 6 years ago.)

Plus, I don't think there's a single park there that hasn't been completely taken over by the homeless, so.....that'll be interesting.

Now, what's nice about Oregon is that you get out into the country pretty quickly, so the bike ride could be nice depending on which direction it goes in. There was one organized ride I did that left from Salem, and no lie, I marveled at how they managed to cobble together such an ugly route. That went south and east. If they go north and west, that's winery area (all of Willamette Valley is wine country, but the wineries are consolidated in a couple of areas) and that's gorgeous, and hilly.

There are some GORGEOUS places to ride in Oregon, but in and around Salem isn't one of them. Though of course the prettiest places (Wallowas, Burns, Painted Hills) don't have anywhere for a lot of people to stay. And sadly, some of the lovely scenic bikeways burned up in last fall's wildfires.

Anyway, it should be interesting. If anyone's thinking of or planning on coming out for it, feel free to message me with questions, etc.

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http://thethighmasterroutetokona.blogspot.com

Intrigued, but you guys aren't doing me any favors selling Salem or the fact that this will even happen. I'd gladly sign up and get credited should it be postponed, but no interest in deferral.

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Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do.

Well....I really don't WANT to trash Salem, because they could certainly use the tourism money, but it's just a yucky city. I looked up some articles on Salem's parks and the homeless to see if miraculously things had changed and they were no longer a hazard, and...no. A press release for this even mentioned the "beautiful parks" and I had to roll my eyes.

Again though, it's a compact town (Oregon's land use laws are specifically targeted to prevent urban sprawl), so you get out of town quickly and poof, countryside. I'm going to keep an eye on the site to see when they put out the route info, as that'll be informative.

As for whether the race will happen, I think it will. Sure, it looks like Oregon is spiking in Covid cases, but any increase will make it look like that, because we've been really low in infections/deaths from the beginning. Other rides are happening this summer too, so I think there's reason to be optimistic.

And Oregon has no rain in the summer, so the weather should be nice at least!

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http://thethighmasterroutetokona.blogspot.com

"As a valued athlete we want to ensure you stay up to date with the latest race information and have the opportunity to enjoy your hard-earned benefits. Priority Registration is NOW OPEN for 2021 IRONMAN 70.3 Oregon which will take place on July 25, 2021.


Salem features a downriver swim, bike the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway through orchards and vineyards and an enchanting run in Minto Brown Park. Be one of the first athletes to take part in this inaugural experience.


Priority registration will be open until Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 11:59pm EST with limited spots available.


See you in Salem in 2021!"

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I'm from Salem born and raised so I can shine a bit more light on it. First of all the first triathlon they tried in Salem where the swim was cancelled was trying to take place in a back slough and in Mid September. When we got a heavy rain a few days before the race it washed a lot of stuff into the slough and raised the bacteria levels. They didn't have enough time to change the course into the main river channel in time so they canceled the swim. The main part of the river is tested regularly tests in the safe range. There should not be a issue of any run off in July because we barley see rain. They did this race in 2019 and I swam in the river just fine. Salem does have a homeless problem just like most of the state however Riverfront and Minto Brown Island park where expo and run will take place is the only park relatively free of homeless, they have park police that routinely monitor the park. I don't know where the ride is going to take us yet but they say its flat so it should be a nice ride out west of Salem by some vineyards. Roads should be pretty good I ride them often. Downtown Salem should be pretty vibrant that time of year and we have tons of stuff to do in the surrounding areas. COVID in Oregon is pretty low we are one the lowest in the nation.

I'm not sure how its going to go down but it sounds like they are going to have a pretty fast course and I'm all in!

Thank you for taking the time to write this and for not taking a 💩 on Salem. Let’s see what the post spring break numbers show in the coming weeks. I see a lot of counties moving towards high risk. But that has no effect on July.

First post ever on here, but I figured that I could chime in since I was born and raised in Salem for the first 23 years of my life and now currently reside in Central Oregon. I was looking for a 70.3 this year and when I saw Ironman Oregon I was pumped. Then I saw Ironman Salem and was rather surprised. The Willamette River has always had the reputation of 3-eyed fish and smelly water, but in college, I had a wastewater management professor tell us they have spent a lot of time/money making it cleaner. In terms of the bike, I have spent a lot of time on the roads west of Salem and north of Keizer/Salem and they are very nice, so hopefully they keep it that direction. It is mostly flat with some gentle rolling hills if they keep it in the valley. The run should be an average run, not much special there. It would be cool if they kept it in the Minto Brown area, those trails are great.

With that being said, I don't think that I will be signing up for it. Marion County was the last county to reopen due to COVID, even the 3 major Portland counties opened first before it, which says a lot IMO. I honestly have no idea how they are allowing a race like this to happen given how recently they allowed indoor dining. Every park and multiple downtown blocks are overrun by homeless, there is trash everywhere. Riverfront Park and Minto Brown Island Park are better, but still can be dangerous. In terms of activity before/after racing, there is almost nothing to do in the Salem area. If you want authentic, non-fast food, you're most likely driving up to Portland. There are very few bars/clubs if that is your thing as well. It will be interesting to see how this whole thing plays out.