HuffNPuff wrote:
Yes, you have to re-apply each year until you are picked up. I can assure you that they verify the races you put in...and yes, every year there are people who try to game the legacy system with phony completions (just like every year there are cheaters trying to KQ). When you reapply each year, you still have to list 12 races, as well as identify two from the last two years and a registration for the coming year. So basically, you are updating your paperwork and shifting the list of races forward one year and identifying the 2018 race you have registered for.
Are there other selection criteria? Yes, the company that owns the race can allow people to cut the line for whatever reason. If you search the forum there was a thread where a doctor wrote a note to WTC because his patient's window of opportunity for completing the IM was shrinking fast due to a degenerative knee issue. WTC moved him up the list and he finished this past Oct. It was a good call.
When will you get accepted? If 2018 is your first application (it was for me) then most likely you are looking at 2020 provided you maintain your qualification and reapply for 2019 and again in 2020. There is a THIN window for some applying this year to get picked up in 2019 and there is a chance it could take until 2021. Which year depends on where you are on the list, whether WTC maintains 200 acceptances per year (they only promise 100) and whether the number of applications for 2018 increases or decreases relative to past years.
HuffNPuff, Wow, thanks so much for all of the useful information. Yes, I applied this year (just last week) for the first time. I completed number 12 in Mont-Tremblant. However, I also spoke with Mike Reilly in Mont-Tremblant, who seemed to think that the wait list wasn't very long at all and that most people who completed number 12 in 2017 would get to Kona in 2018. I realize that he's just the guy who announces the finish, but it sounds to me like he was sadly mistaken.
Honestly, all along I've been assuming that it wouldn't happen in 2018, although after my conversation at IMMT, I was left with a glimmer of hope. Nevertheless, 2019 would be fine with me and is what I've expected all along. However, the thought of waiting until 2020 is disturbing. The simple fact of the matter is that, like everyone else, I'm getting older. And I'm certainly not a gifted athlete. These Ironman events and the training leading up to one takes a lot out of me (just like everyone else). I'll remain hopeful, until I get the dreaded 2020 letter from WTC. Like you, I plan to continue to participate in these events as long as I'm physically able, but I would sure as hell love to get this Kona monkey off my back.