It shouldn't be allowed.

It's against the rules and both participants can and should be banned.

It shouldn't be difficult to find out. RacePix should reveal the truth.

If it bothers you enough, you can always report to WTC. Send them IMLP race pic link and link of another race that the "real" racer did.

To answer your question, it's should not be allowed especially in today's WTC Ironman when they allow you to transfer to another race if you are injured. Lots of 140.6 races are still open for transfers.

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My marathon PR is "under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something."

Thanks, maybe I will. Have a picture from Facebook that the person posted

The fifteen minutes worth of medical forms we all fill out during registration are annoying but they do serve a purpose. If the person who takes the bib has a medical emergency during the race, their information will not be in WTC's system and nobody will know who the person is or what their health history is.

I would not take someone's bib for this reason and I don't think it is a good idea for others to do so. If they do, I don't really care, and I'm sure it happens at every IM. It just doesn't seem like a good idea.

No it should not be allowed at all. While it could be an innocent case of someone subbing in for a friend who ended up not able to race it's a slippery slope. for sold out races it opens up to black market bib sales. What's even worse it could be "KQ for hire" like the Boston Marathon qualifier scandal last year.

Not allowed, shouldn't be allowed. IM is not a local charity 5K.

How did they do that anyway? The registered person picked up the packet with their ID, then gave it to the faker? How did they get the wristband transferred without cutting it? Or was there a fake ID involved?

If it were a KQ I would probably report it. Otherwise, I would strongly consider if I wanted to be the one to report this considering they threaten a lifetime ban for both athletes. Even though what they did was wrong, I am not sure I would want a lifetime ban for two MOP age groupers on my conscience.

A lifetime ban from WTC, not triathlon. They took a shot, should have know risks and consequences. Let's see what happens!
I understand why someone might try it, injuries and costs, but there are other competitors. It is not just a time trial against oneself.

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Team Zoot So Cal

Did this person happen to be in your age group?

Exactly. Spend the time training instead. In the grand scheme of inequities in the IM world, this is somewhere down around snaking someone at a water station.

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I think all races should have a way to legally do this. One participant should be able to transfer to another for a fee. WTC gets some cash from it, and someone gets a bib that would have gone unused.

But what you describe is not cool.

I agree that there should be a way to transfer an entry, particularly in the case of expensive events where you may have to register up to a year out. But I think that it would need to happen through the race organization, via a waiting list, so that people couldn't sign up, and then "scalp" their entry.

Sadly, capitalism will dictate that this likely won't ever happen, so if somebody signs up for a race a year out, then decides not to race, then their option is to eat it (or illegal transfer).

I do agree that transfers shouldn't happen if it's against the rules. But I do think non-transfer is a bad rule.

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John Hartpence, Athlete & Coach
tripence@gmail.com, @coachpence

I dont think Ironman is interested in transfer of bibs at all. Let's say they sell 2000 bibs but they know that only around 1800 will eventually show up at the start line. They never need to accommodate anything for those that doesn't show. That's my guess.

And my bet is....they factor in for a certain number of DNS's in and never plan for them to participate.

You should absolutely be able to transfer your bib/race entry. I should be able to alert WTC and tell them that I paid you for your bib (spot in the race) and as long as they have time to get my medical information and print my name on the bib......we're good. I can't think of a legitimate reason why this shouldn't occur. It would lead to some bib scalping in the most popular races.......but that's a risky endeavor for the greedy.

But..........doing it behind their back is not cool.

On a side note......why doesn't the WTC open up slots as people announce, early, that they will not be participating? The answer, I'm sure, is............see my first sentence.

Should be allowed - yes there should be some sort of official transfer mechanism for people where they pay a small fee and the transfer gets done properly.

What you describe is not cool at all though.

Should be allowed in the spirit of allowable transfer up until a week or two before race. Not resell but transfer. As someone who gets injured a lot signing up for long course is a crap shoot. Yea I know there's insurance but that's a PITA.

What OP described here is not the way to go about. Isn't that considered another form of
bandating a race ?

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"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "