Kona wasn’t the birth of IM, it moved there!

There is a war in Ukraine
Cost of living crisis across multiple countries
COVID severely impacting lives and still killing far too many people
Yet more mass killings using AK47s this month
Poverty is strife and increasing

Let’s have a bit of perspective. IM announces a race change, not really the end of the world.

Thanks for putting things into perspective :)

This would be a pretty boring forum if we were to elevate all discussion to that level though, don't you think?

Yeah, but this is like the 18th thread on the matter.

We get it. Some people don't like it.

Offering "suggestions" is a complete waste of time. The deal is done; no one is interested in any of your suggestions. We don't need another dozen threads about it.

Speak with your money...... I get that. But sometimes you feel the need to shout a bit as well.

A lot of people are engaged and have opinions about this change. Some are directly impacted financially and have family vacation plans overturned.

Yes, yes.... not the end of the world.... I know. The anger and frustration will pass. Meanwhile those who don't care will have to endure some banter.

Shout in the other threads. I get it; you’re special, my pumpkin, but get some fucking perspective also..

Why? What happened?

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

Hard no. Women need their own race to allow them a fair race.

how is going back to a the way it was going to make it any:

less expensive?
less crowded?
better course?
more welcomed by locals?
make your vacation shorter?

as a male from northern europe, a WC in nice will make it:

less expensive
less crowded
better course
more welcomed by locals
shorter vacation

what am i missing here?

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

That is really a good one LOL!
So to the point.

Jeroen

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Owner at TRIPRO, The Netherlands

As a person from the US I can tell you that...Hawaii is expensive. Please stop making it out at cheaper for us, it's barely cheaper. The big difference for us is the cost of a flight.

Any place they put it in Europe will be, just as expensive, or more expensive. Hard to get to. And crowded. Marseille or Montpellier over Nice though for me. Need to be able to catch a Top 14 match in the same weekend.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

having raced triathlons multiple times in both marseilles and nice, it's my experience that nice is hands-down better than marseilles. if you don't want crowded you don't want marseilles. if you want to make yours a joint rugby/triathlon trip i'm not your source for that.

it's possible a lot of US folks don't realize that for half of the US population nice is a closer flight than kona. from NYC it's about 8hr on a nonstop. KOA is about 13hr. chicago, that's where the time to get to one of those places is about even with the other. east of the mississippi nice is probably a shorter flight. in late sept of 2023, right now, $591 to $597 from LAX (scandinavian airlines) to nice depending on the exact days.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Biarritz or Bayonne? How about Calvi? Marseille is large, but that's probably gonna be like having the LA Tri. Not exactly fun either.

I guess my overall point of that post was to just say...Hawai'i is an exotic isle in the middle of the Pacific. It is hard to get to for everyone.

Wish my parents had money in the late 80s and bought a patch of dirt there, we'd be VRBO millionaires now! :D

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

More welcomed in Nice than Kona? lol
It's you best joke ever Dan!

quote

and, honestly, Nice is really overrated. Dirt, chaotic, kind of dangeorus in some area and (at least for me as italian) food quality really low Really can't understand how someone can consider to spend an hell of a money to race there.

Been all over the world, and there's no place quite like Hawaii. That won't ever change. Hopefully they figure out some way to keep having in Hawaii because at the very least it's one of the most fantastic spots and take a vacation in the entire world. It's also the birthplace of modern triathlon and is so much history associated with it. Whether people really want to understand it or recognize it, it'll always be unique in that aspect.

As a mid-30 something year old who's just now getting a triathlon, I have absolutely zero if not negative interest in attending any world championships held anywhere outside of Hawaii. You can call me a selfish American or whatever but that's just the way I see it.

Thanks for pointing that out Dan! And for the clever response. I liked that!!

I'm not opposed to moving the WC to Nice. Quite the contrary. I'm suggesting to move the WC out of Hawaii permanently to somewhere that can handle two days and 5000 people. Like Nice. Then return Kona to a one day event, NOT the WC, but a regular race on the Ironman circuit. This will undoubtedly be a popular race for many reasons.

The reason I sound so pissy is that WTC has put me in a situation where I have to cancel my Hawaii family vacation in 2023 for my 50th birthday. A trip that I have planned for a long time and made arrangements for. It's not the end of the world as someone has pointed out. I (we) will get over it. But after these events I have lost my appetite for returning to Hawaii. (And then many of you will think buhu, too bad for you. And that's fine.)

but what is stopping you from still going, and doing the course selft supported anyways?

I'm with you. My whole interest in Ironman distance racing has been to qualify for Hawaii Ironman (been there 3 times and qualified for 2023). These recent changes make the Hawaii Ironman a lot less interesting, and I am losing my desire to keep chasing a WC held anywhere else. The history of the course has always been my fascination. Maybe I'll get used to it and spark up again, and maybe not. Currently, my motivation is shot.

While I'm still chasing a KQ for 2023 I am bad flyer and absolutely dread the flight to Kona from the East Coast. The flight will be worse for me than the hot and humid race. Nice was relatively easy for me. Flew non-stop out of Montreal as I'm a couple hours from the airport. It was around 7 hours to Nice (always longer on the way back to the US/Canada due to the air currents). The only downside is the jet lag, nighttime flights and getting into Europe early in the morning. And I remember back in 2019 the flights were under $600 USD on Air Canada. Our accommodations were an awesome AirB&B top floor walking distance to everything including every part of the race venue. And we were a 2-minute walk to the particular food that we eat. That was a happy surprise. That all being said. I am still drawn to competing in Kona just once. I already feel like a middle-aged loser who can't get to Kona and that makes me more determined to get there, much to the dismay of my dear and patient husband :-)

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Death is easy....peaceful. Life is harder.

Too easy? Wow.. you live in a different world man. I'm sure there are about 95% of participants who will never sniff a WC event.

You've been all over the world, did you ride while out and about?

Most places I've been, the riding was a heck of a lot nicer than Kona. And the running in Kona is a 2/10 at best.
I'm curious where you went that makes you think Kona is better suited for a race.

The water. That is hard to beat. I don't think anyone would argue with that.

FYI: It is not the birthplace of Triathlon, or the birthplace of Ironman.

Who said anything about how great the riding is going to be? It's freaking Hawaii. Enough said.

One can objectively argue that many other places than Kona have better bike or run courses, and I don't disagree. The brutality and monotonous nature of the courses at Kona are well known, especially by us Americans who grew up watching the NBC coverage of the race every year. The lava fields, the terrible cross winds, the humidity, the heat. It's all part of it and what makes it special. We kinda want all of that, it's part of the challenge and what makes it unique from other Ironman events.

Hell, the Ironman race distances are a direct result of races based on Hawaiian geography. So you could take Ironman out of Hawaii, but you can't take Hawaii out of Ironman.

If the point is "brutality" then there are tougher courses/races on the IM circuit.

If the point is uniqueness, well, every race has that.

If necessary, IM could also easily find a new venue and pick a date to replicate whatever specific climate, course, conditions, etc they want.

The whole "Kona has some magical properties and there's nothing like it" story has been a successful marketing strategy for IM.... until they had to move the race. Lol

People are replying to someone who said it is too easy to qualify for Kona. I think this person is a bit full of themselves and likely a bit of an ass. Why waste your breath replying?