Kona. Kona is Kona. WC stuff I don’t care about that much (except for the pros). I’ve had the privilege of doing 3 IMWC, 2 IM70.3 WC, 2 ITU LC WC, and 1 ITU Duathlon WC. I’d much rather do Kona.

But admittedly, I’m not really competitive at the WC level…

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Randy Christofferson(http://www.rcmioga.blogspot.com

Insert Doubt. Erase Hope. Crush Dreams.

Depends where and when the IMWC is of course.

If we assume it's a similar time frame as far as training, getting time off, etc. etc. then location, whether the course suited me, would play a potential role.

Personally I'd probably lean to a WC slot than purely a kona slot, especially if I could end up getting a cheaper trip out of it.

Kona, no question.

Beyond the tradition and history; for most of the population Kona is THE Ironman (not an Ironman). It's the one they heard about and the one on network TV. If I tell someone I do Ironmans there is a good chance they'll ask if I've done Hawaii. If I tell them I do 70.3s (assuming they even they even know what that is), no one asks if I've ever done a WC.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

If I was given the choice of an all expenses paid trip to any Iron distance triathlon in the world it would be something Patagonman,Celtman,Israman,The North Africa Tri,IMLanzarote or IMJuneau so I could incorporate a bikepacking trip with it.
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If I was to go to Kona, it would be to watch Ironman so I could do the whole social thing and stay and train for Ultraman six weeks later.
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Are the pros racing this so called Kona Classic? They are part of the Kona experience / atmosphere are they not?

For the 140.6 WC, how will that differ from the long course WC that no one knows the names of the athletes racing?

Kona is my choice either way. It is and will always be the IM (140.6, Long course, Iron distance...) WC in many athletes minds and hearts. Hawaii is where it started and where it should stay (if they will allow us).

I’ve got Celtman and possibly the North African tri next year.

For 2022 I’d be avoiding Kona and maybe longer depending how this Covid thing and associated restrictions plays out, so a WC would be my choice then.

Started off thinking World Champs all day long.

But……
What if the Kona Classic was qualification only for AGers, so a WC strength AG field to test yourself against
Ditto Pros, WC strength field
Finally by ‘classic’ they capped the field at, say, 1400 to create more room on the bike and brought back the ‘classic’ mass start.

Then it’s probably Kona…..

Not sure yes, but what I am sure of, living in Europe, is that if Kona is not the IMWC, many of us here in the old Europe will never go (back, for some of us) to the Island... It is non sense.

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STRAVA INSTAGRAM

I'd take the Kona slot once as I've been chasing Kona the past few years. I just want to go once. Then if I got lucky again and got another option, I'd choose the 140.6 option as I love going to fun race destinations such as Nice, France for the 2019 WC. European races have the most appeal to me as an American. But that is just me. I'd love to go to South America, South Africa, OZ, NZ as well....anywhere that sounds exciting :-)

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

Yes, in my question Kona classic is by qualification only as is the 140.6WC. Which one do you take? OK fine, cap the Kona Classic at 1500 and go mass start too.

easy...Kona

The purpose of the Legacy Slot program was to reward long time customers with the ability to compete on the Sports largest yearly stage as a reward for their loyalty, and the vast majority of these people are not slow and aren't taking away from the WC experience. If anything they buttress it.

I'd posit that you'd tank your legacy program and people would limit some of their exposure to Ironman racing. I haven't done an Ironman yet, IMAZ this year will be my first. But for as much as the Kona mythology exists in the sport and the WC is synonymous with the location. The cost of going to Hawai'i is as such that I'd probably go somewhere else on the island and not race and just do the vacation part of the race-cation that I have done with the last two M-Dot races I've done.

I think, but I don't know, that there would be limited interest in a lottery for a standalone Kona race. You might sell out the race in general, but I'd bet you a few Timmy Ho's raised glazed that you wouldn't fill half of T1 Pricing slots and you'd have to open it up.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

The implicit question is whether Kona is the world championship by competitor selection or because the Ironman corp says it is.

Which race do the pros decide to take their slot for?

For the Pros? They will go wherever the Prize Purse is the largest. They're pros because they want to earn a living via Swim-Bike-Run rather than manage spreadsheets or sink fence post holes for a living.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

The WC, if it's in NA or maybe Europe, otherwise Kona.

I haven't done Kona though my reason being that it would be hard to lug 2 kids on what is probably 3 flights. At least with a WC somewhat nearby there might be a chance that the family can come.

Kona.

I'll admit that's because of the mystique, reputation, history, or whatever. But I'd want to do it just to do it. I don't care about the competitive aspect of a WC.

WC.
So many places are more enjoyable courses than Kona.

WC, no question

I think that a rotating WC, which is disconnected to Kona, is in the best interest of our sport.

I would get into the Kona classic pool as my first chance. Then I would wait for my call up to Kona. In parallel I would focus on 70.3WC to get the WC experience. I would try to qual for 140.6WC on top of this if the 140.6WC was somewhere I want to go. But if not I would not care and just get the WC experience at 70.3WC

It would depend where I am in my triathlon career.

If I was young and figured I had up to a decade more racing I would choose Kona, but if I were near the end I would choose the WC.

It takes a lot of continued training to maintain IM fitness.

For me 5 IMs over 6 years was all the "want" I had. I continue to run marathons/ultras, but no longer am I interested in spending my entire summer on a bike. Decent IM training for me was around dozen bike hours per week. Usually this involved another 6-8 hours a week during the winter.

To run just marathons/ultras I can run 5-6 hours a week and be well-trained.

Note: Kona is IM to me, but I don't think I could risk a 5 year wait for a slot.

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Swim - Bike - Run the rest is just clothing changes.

Challenge Roth.

But given the extremely limited choice you present, it's the 140.6 WC (unless it's in East Asia, Australia or NZ, then neither - sorry East Asians, Aussies and Kiwis, I love ya).

I would not want to go to Kona at all.

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

Easy choice: WC.

"World" championships are meant to be for everyone; so let's replicate the 70.3 model and make it easier for Europeans, Australians, etc. (and also for whoever doesn't feel like spending 10k on a race trip!). Maybe places where local communities are actually happy to welcome athletes, and with more interesting courses, more hotel rooms, etc.

And of course, Kona remains, as just another Ironman, so those of us who only care about the Hawaiian vibes can go race there and stay happy.

Prob WC.

I would really like to see the WC's stay in Kona, even though I may never make it.

But otherwise, I don't want to spend the money to make the trip to Kona if its not the 'big show'.

And I would prob only go to WC -if- it were in a location I really wanted to go to.

Kona.

When you tell someone you have done an IRONMAN, they automatically assume Kona because that is what the public sees. When you mention Texas or Lake Placid, the same people are like oh, when will do the one in Hawaii.

I am a legacy athlete, waiting for my slot (10/23 as of now). I 100% would not have done 13 of these things if the destination was not Kona. I actually have personally stayed away from even visiting HI because I want my first time to be for the IMWC.

But yes, Kona only holds is 'prestige' if it is the WC. In a world with constant change and traditions falling at the side, why can't we keep the tradition that this sport was built on? Yes, for some, HI may not be that prestigious for whatever reason but for many AG triathletes it is the reason we do the sport. How many tri stories do you hear that start with "I watched Kona on NBC when I was a kid." Now you can't even see it on NBC because for some reason IM though FB Live was a good platform (that person should be fired) and they couldn't sell their commercial inventory.

In short, keep the tradition alive. If IM did move the event from HI I whole heartily believe that IM will see a significant decline in revenue and repeat athletes.

At the very least, they do need to exhaust their Legacy list that they have already assigned a race date to.

And what does Messick care? He has like 3 golden parachutes from the numerous sales he spearheaded and is so disconnected from the brand/ company he moved to CA.