Most scenic IM or 70.3 course

Mar 16, 22 12:51

Post #1 of 75 (5131 views)

if KQ was not an issue, nor travel time or expense, nor any other issue except course difficulty (if it's really scenic but you wouldn't do it because it's ridiculously hard or slow or hot or cold, you can count those as negatives); if the only considerations were scenic and interesting course; scenic, culturally cool host area; what race would you choose to do of all the IM races, half or full? for example...

istria (croatia)
nice
swansea (wales)
cork (ireland)
mallorca
sardinia
maceo (brazil)
cartagena

and so on. so... which is it?

LATE ADD: what i'm looking for is not the most scenic race you've done. it's the most scenic race you haven't done. that you'd like to do.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Last edited by: Slowman: Mar 16, 22 15:13

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 12:56

Post #2 of 75 (5126 views)

Well, I've been told my somebody whose spent a good deal of time in country that the new IM Rwanda 70.3 course is going to be breathtakingly beautiful. I've also been told by that same person that they would never, ever swim in Lake Kivu. So, I'm not sure if that answers your question.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 13:03

Post #3 of 75 (5116 views)

Of those, I have only been to Nice for WC. I want to go back someday. It was stunning. The swim in the Mediterranean was the best I have ever done. The bike felt like a TdF stage in the Alps. And the run along the Mediterranean was beautiful. The only negative of the entire course was the run turnaround at the airport.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [proftri] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 13:34

Post #4 of 75 (5062 views)

proftri wrote:

Well, I've been told my somebody whose spent a good deal of time in country that the new IM Rwanda 70.3 course is going to be breathtakingly beautiful. I've also been told by that same person that they would never, ever swim in Lake Kivu. So, I'm not sure if that answers your question.

well, yes and no. it's a race that you would go to if KQ slots, cost, travel time, etc. were not factors. it sounds like you would not go to that race (for understandable reasons). beyond that, no, you didn't yet answer the question, because i don't yet know what race you would go to.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 13:41

Post #5 of 75 (5045 views)

I think that Puerto Rico 70.3 is one of the most scenic and interesting courses. A great mix of scenery on all 3 legs (especially with the run through the old city). It's similar in experience to Cartegena. However, having done both, the Cartegena swim in the port is AWFUL. As opposed to the PR swim which is absolutely one of the best 70.3 swim courses IMO.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [swimswam1003] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 13:49

Post #6 of 75 (5027 views)

Ironman Wales.
Swim in the iconic bay overlooked by cliffs, pastel coloured houses.
Bike though South Wales countryside: beaches, bays, hills, a castle. Oh and wind and rain….
Top it off with a run around the historic walled town through narrow streets. And a slog up a long hill x 4.
All done with the most epic and fanatical support on the circuit, and a town that genuinely loves the race and the athletes. The experience is genuinely epic and magical.

13 IM’s, and a similar No of 70.3’s and nothing else is close.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 18:17

Post #7 of 75 (4868 views)

Of the 20 IM courses I’ve completed, my vote is for IM Austria.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 18:32

Post #8 of 75 (4849 views)

Mallorca for me. The race would be the cherry on the cake as I like to travel and have fun before and after the race.

http://www.TriScottsdale.org

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Iron Dukie] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 18:33

Post #9 of 75 (4848 views)

Iron Dukie wrote:

Of the 20 IM courses I’ve completed, my vote is for IM Austria.

of the courses you haven't completed, what would you vote for?

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 19:09

Post #10 of 75 (4823 views)

Utah.

Once, I was fast. But I got over it.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 19:14

Post #11 of 75 (4815 views)

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 19:22

Post #12 of 75 (4803 views)

Pucon 70.3

Pink? Maybe. Maybe not. You decide.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [japarker24] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 21:29

Post #13 of 75 (4749 views)

japarker24 wrote:

Pucon 70.3

Alaska
Nice (it's just brilliant)
Rapperswil
Croatia
Cairns

I LOVE everything about Cork and I am from Ireland but I would not say that the course is amongst the most scenic. It will definitely have a Top 3 crowd though. Yes, crowd.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [mkq] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 21:42

Post #14 of 75 (4736 views)

IM Cairns or the new 70.3 Tasmania

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 22:13

Post #15 of 75 (4722 views)

Slowman wrote:

Iron Dukie wrote:

Of the 20 IM courses I’ve completed, my vote is for IM Austria.

of the courses you haven't completed, what would you vote for?

Are we supposed to base that on instagram photos? Pretty much any place with water, sand, some palm trees, and a mountain can looks nice in professionally edited photos.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [BigBoyND] [ In reply to ]

Mar 16, 22 23:17

Post #16 of 75 (4703 views)

BigBoyND wrote:

Are we supposed to base that on instagram photos? Pretty much any place with water, sand, some palm trees, and a mountain can looks nice in professionally edited photos.

.
.
They have this place on the internet called YouTube where they magically put a bunch of photos together to make moving pictures.I tell you,it really seems like you are almost there. It is amazing!

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 17, 22 2:27

Post #17 of 75 (4656 views)

After seeing Eric Lagerstrom's drone video, it has got to be 70.3 St. George.

If it didn't have to be an IM-branded race - I know the rest of my post is illegal and I will be banned - then Ocean Lava Montenegro.

"FTP is a bit 2015, don't you think?" - Gustav Iden

Last edited by: kajet: Mar 17, 22 2:29

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [kajet] [ In reply to ]

Mar 17, 22 3:53

Post #18 of 75 (4614 views)

For 70.3 it would have to be Finland, New Zealand or Sardinia.

For the 140.6 it would have to be New Zealand, Cairns, Austria or possibly South Africa. Maybe Langkawi.

To be fair when you’re stuck home with 5 kids training in the dark most days then anything looks good 😂

Usually I do xtri so pretty much all the races are stunning.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [ianmo80] [ In reply to ]

Mar 17, 22 4:50

Post #19 of 75 (4583 views)

Ironman Langkawi is one of my favorites (been there 4 times). I love the island as it is still pretty basic and unspoiled,a bit like Phuket 10 or so years ago.If the Thai government can't figure out what the hell to do with itself after Covid and it isn't viable for me to start up again I think I may even move to Langkawi. I have ridden from Singapore up the east coast of Malaysia four times and just love the people and the simple life there so if anyone needs a bike guide to ride from Singapore to Phuket just let me know.
Racing in SE Asia is the best.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 17, 22 5:38

Post #20 of 75 (4541 views)

of the courses you haven't completed, what would you vote for?
---
I've been thinking about this question and I keep coming back to , 'How would you know if you haven't done it before?" You asked such an odd question, especially to a guy who'd done a significant amount of racing in a bunch of different venues.

Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Tri-Banter] [ In reply to ]

Mar 17, 22 8:19

Post #21 of 75 (4455 views)

Tri-Banter wrote:

of the courses you haven't completed, what would you vote for?
---
I've been thinking about this question and I keep coming back to , 'How would you know if you haven't done it before?" You asked such an odd question, especially to a guy who'd done a significant amount of racing in a bunch of different venues.

let me ask you this: as you've done a significant amount of racing in different venues, did that ever include going to a race in an area that you'd never been to on the assumption that it would be scenic and/or culturally interesting? if so, how did you make that decision, since you hadn't been there before?

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 17, 22 8:58

Post #22 of 75 (4418 views)

Most scenic one I haven't done that I would like to do is Nice. Actually signed up for the race and booked a hotel and paid for plane tickets and a bike rental way way early and then Covid hit the globe a couple weeks later.

This is a hard question though because there are like 15-20 that look pretty scenic and interesting and look to be in a cool area I would like to visit.

One of the best parts of the sport of triathlon is that it is an excuse to go a a great location you would maybe not otherwise go to and then you spend a long time dreaming of it, reading about the area, watching movies that take place in the area, maybe learning the language a bit, and prepping for the race.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 17, 22 10:01

Post #23 of 75 (4383 views)

My initial response was going to be Ironman Switzerland, mainly because I had heard it was beautiful, had fantastic crowd support, and I was actually signed up for it a few years back but couldn't go.

But I can't wait to see the answers so I can get ideas!

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Slowman] [ In reply to ]

Mar 17, 22 10:07

Post #24 of 75 (4373 views)

1. Vitoria-Gasteiz. I'm not sure how scenic it is, but it sure looks nice in pictures. The Basque country is amazing and the opportunity to travel to France and Spain would be great.

2. Nice. Everything is beautiful in that part of the world.

3. Cork. It looks beautiful and there would be no challenges with language.

Re: Most scenic IM or 70.3 course [Jon] [ In reply to ]

Mar 17, 22 10:13

Post #25 of 75 (3351 views)

Jon wrote:

Most scenic one I haven't done that I would like to do is Nice. Actually signed up for the race and booked a hotel and paid for plane tickets and a bike rental way way early and then Covid hit the globe a couple weeks later.

This is a hard question though because there are like 15-20 that look pretty scenic and interesting and look to be in a cool area I would like to visit.

One of the best parts of the sport of triathlon is that it is an excuse to go a a great location you would maybe not otherwise go to and then you spend a long time dreaming of it, reading about the area, watching movies that take place in the area, maybe learning the language a bit, and prepping for the race.

I did Nice as the WC, and last year spent a week in the Alps. Would LOVE to do Nice again. During the WC I went alone and my first time out of the US. It was stressful for me at the time but looking back I really did not appreciate what Nice was when I was there. OMG, the promenade is so beautiful. The little towns up on the mountains. Everything is amazing.

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