Exactly. Triathletes are a very selfish lot

Cue the “I’m done with Ironman!” indignation

Exactly. Triathletes are a very selfish lot

Cue the “I’m done with Ironman!” indignation

i think it's important to remember that in a situation like this, the question for the race director isn't, "gee, i wonder if that triathlete is hardcore enough to race today?"

evidently there are plenty of hardcore athletes here and i have no doubt that they are smart, fit, and experienced enough to get through bad weather. but that ranks way down low on the list of concerns the RD has.

the questions are more like:
-can i reasonably expect volunteers to stay out in these conditions for 18+ hours?
-how many will bail out?
-what's the minimum number of volunteers i need to safely deliver the race?
-what's the minimum number i need to deliver a fun, memorable event?
-how much am i willing to downgrade the race experience before i think it damages the brand?
-being in the service-delivery business, when do i think it's better to cancel than to deliver an inferior service?
-what kind of extra medical am i going to need on the day?
-given that there's a pandemic and a big storm coming, can i justify drawing more EMS/police services away from the city/region?
-what's my exposure to liability here - for personal injury, or even just people just disappointed with my downgraded experience, etc?
-how much of my own equipment will get damaged/lost in a big storm, and what's that going to cost me?
-for the two questions above, what would the implications be for my insurance in the future?

etc etc etc.

i've put on a few tiny little races in the past, but running a thousand-person ironman is more like putting on a rock concert. it's a massive undertaking. yes, the race is "for" the athletes and the mission is to deliver them a great experience. but it has a lot of moving parts and requires a lot of good will and effort from many quarters. ironman is difficult by definition, and the RDs are not sitting around second-guessing the toughness of the athletes. they're thinking about the above.

post #115 "Such BS. Definitely my last IM..."

But…. It’s also his/her first, so… can you really say that? And given the posts on social media “this isn’t an Ironman” guess it’s not his first or last anything

Fantastic news

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I can't wait to read the inevitable complaints about the lousy coverage of the race on Facebook Now,during a major weather event, Why are there no choppers in the air? Why don't they have drones following? Why does the feed drop out all the time and of course the usual.why aren't you showing the Female Pro's (during a Male Pro only event)
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Mike has shared a list of considerations the RD has to take into account. Worth remembering that this will/should be based on the mandatory risk assessment completed long ago, which will include adverse weather conditions as a risk/hazard and mitigating measures. The RD who then ignores that RA does so with considerable jeopardy to them and the race organisation/company; not to mention the competitors (wide spectrum of speeds mean the reduced distance will allow the slowest to be off their bikes before 2pm) and the volunteers around the route, especially in exposed sites.
The MPRO field can be relied on to ride the 180km in less than 5 hours so they will all be running by 1pm which means reducing their distance is a mitigation not needed.