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What is the easiest IM course?
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What is the easiest IM course?

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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Goodtime] [ In reply to ]
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I would say Quelle Ironman Europe Triathlon (just because the Ironman world record was set on it). Ironman Austria also has really fast times, so I would assume it's fast.
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Goodtime] [ In reply to ]
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If you're looking for something easy...don't do an IM!! I mean, there are much easier things you can do with your time. Pick a race based on time of year, location, venue, and track record...not because some fool thinks one is "easier" than another. They're all pretty hard.

tommy
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [freestyle] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
Quelle Ironman Europe Triathlon


I've done this race 5 times with times very similar to my 4 times at Canada which is supposed to be "tough." I've know a good many folks who have gone to Roth expecting an "easy" course who have been sorrily suprised. So, don't kid yourself. Probably the responder who said don't do an IM if you are looking for "easier" is correct.

BTW, Roth is my favorite race and not b/c it is easy, but b/c of the 100,000+ spectators, terrific organization, etc.

David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Tommy Nelson] [ In reply to ]
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I second Tommy,

not having done one yet, but as someone who is in training for 1/2 IM White Lake and IMF; I'd agree there's nothing easy about 'em and nothing easy about getting there.

As far as the courses, when I talk to athletes that have done 'em they each have their own challenges; IMF is flat and it makes you stay in one position on the bike; IMusa is hilly; IMH is hot etc, etc,

Just enjoy the pain, and enjoy the journey.

Henk

Alex Jonker
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Tommy Nelson] [ In reply to ]
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Agreed. Any time you go 2.4/112/26.2 it's going to be hard.

The knee jerk reaction would be to pick one of the flatter IM courses such as Florida. However, in speaking to people who have done this race, they have said that riding in the same gear, in the same position at the same RPM for 112 miles has its' own set of problems - they have come off the bike with an almost total inability to run!

My personal view on what would make a "fast" or "easy" IM course would be one that plays to your particular strengths as an athlete. The classic example of this would be IMH. The Kona course, all things considered is not that, "hard". However the heat and the winds can be brutal. Ever notice that it is the same group of athletes who do well in Kona. I often wonder what would happen if the biggest most competitive Ironman triathlon of the year was run in conditions that from a physiological perspective were more ideal ie. modest temps and winds. Would the top ten be the same?


Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Goodtime] [ In reply to ]
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Well, as you've noted from the responses, you've set yourself up for failure here. I understand what you are getting at, but, as others noted, there really is no "easiest" IM race. No matter how you stack it, pancake flat like IM Florida or crazy hilly like IM France, each race is going to present significant problems for you to overcome. If you train correctly and focus on the strengths needed for the particular race you are doing, you'll do fine. IM is a difficult day anytime you attempt it.

That said, if you live in a pancake flat area, and want to do Lake Placid or France or some such, you're going to have a difficult time unless you can spend significant amounts of time training in a hillier area. Look at the available training in your area and look for a course that is similar in profile to the majority of your training areas.
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [TriBriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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I agree! The easiest IM course is the one you are most suited to. My first Ironman was Lake Placid and I live in urban flatlands near Detroit (and was a terrible climber). I couldn't find a sustained training climb to mimic LP and I payed for it in the race. (Still loved the race, though, and will go back now that I have found some training areas better suited to this course.)
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [trimanjay] [ In reply to ]
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come on guys, don't lift your noses that hight!
English is not my first language but I think that easiest is not the same
as easy, right?

There are Ironman races out there that are easier than others!
Or are you trying to argue, that Ironman Austria is as hard as Ironman
Lanzarote?

Well if you do, you're in for a tough discussion.
Ironman Lanzarote is hot, humid, very steep hills (even for training, immagin
on race day), there are winds that make windsurfers dream about.

Sure you can say that every Ironman is hard, hey I don't argue with that.
But if you go at 160bpm heart rate at Ironman Austria and you do 11hours you will not do that at Ironman Lanzarote. Therefore, Lanzarote IS harder or Austria IS EASIER!

Now it is hard to make a list of harder and easier, because races are different from year to year but I can make a list of those I did (some of em several times) and I do that purely subjective!

hardest first easiest last (not hard and easy:-)

IMLanzarote
IMCalifornia
IMUSA
IMSwitzerland
Roth
IMFlorida
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [agret] [ In reply to ]
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Quote:
But if you go at 160bpm heart rate at Ironman Austria and you do 11hours you will not do that at Ironman Lanzarote.
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [TriBriGuy] [ In reply to ]
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a few things...indeed, no matter what, that will be hard. that said, someone said the best is the one you can get ready for...
in you live in Florida, don't try to get ready for Embrun (french alps...not official IM, but a much hillier course than anything else out there...).
if you live in Saskachewan, don't race IM Malaysia early february...

however, my vote is for IM Roth (ex im qual)...course is NOT easy (everyone think it is because of fast times on the bike which were done with motorbikes...not the case anymore and recent times are in the 4h30' area, not the 4h14' anymore)...on Larsen's page, he said it was as tough as LP on the bike.
though, the swim is in the canal, orientation never an issue, the bike is fun, the run is 70% on trails and flat but one little hill at the end (like 50yds) so not too tough on your legs. if it's hot, along the canal can be tough though.

but the top thing there are the spectators...get ready for goose bumps! (and don't get pissed if the spectators are enjoying their bavarian beers while you hurt big time!)
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Francois] [ In reply to ]
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agree!

the bike is also fast because it's short steep hills followed by less steep and long downhills. I'm not sure if the spectators make it fast or slow. On the Solar Berg it will be fast because of the thousands of people but 10min later you're alone again and probably paying for the too fast pace.

Overall Roth is one of the best experiences I've ever had on an Ironman.
I truly hope that they'll make it without the WTC.
Because the whole Ironman-label-WTC stuff stinks more and more every year.
It will be good to have big, well-organized longdistance Triathlons where you pay half of the entry fee and you get double the value.

I'm not saying Detlev Kuenel (the Roth organizer) is a saint, he did very similar ripoffs when he was still part of the WTC but Roth has the caliber to be a big player in the Ironman game, even without the money-driven organizations that now rule IM.

sorry for getting that off my stomach...you read it, didn't tell you to!
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Goodtime] [ In reply to ]
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There's an article in The Road to Kona supplement in the latest Triathlete which compares the slowest qualifying times in each IM last year. Austria's slowest was the fastest. ie. To take the last Kona slot in your age group at Austria you had to finish sooner than in any other IM. So it is probably the easiest. Florida was next.

I did Roth last year and found it hard enough. There are some steep hills (7%,10%,7%), and you do them all twice. The road surface is very smooth though. It must be similar in profile to California.

The run spends a lot of time on a canal bank but when it doesn't it rolls up and down.

I can't understand why the fastest times are set there.
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [BLACKSHEEP] [ In reply to ]
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I don't agree to that sort of reasoning!
Maybe the outcome is the same, because I do think Austria is one of the fastest Ironman races out there.

But just because you have to be faster in order to qualify, doesn't mean that the race is acctually faster.

Every Ironman qualifier that I've done in Europe was more competitive than those I've done in the US (see above message for a list).

Now, that probably opened a big can of worms! Sorry for all the US people that feel insulted by this statement. Don't be, I don't say Europeans are better athletes or US triathletes are snails, not at all.
This could have many reasons, maybe because Hawaii is a US race, they just have more slots allocated to US races than for the rest of the world, which means that a lot of fast people will show up at any qualifier in Europe. Now there is Asia, Brasil...which I've never done so I can't speak about them but I havn't done them because they are far away and that's maybe why a lot of fast people don't opt for those, since they can get their spot somewhere else..

now all this talking just to not piss people off!
let me state it again, European qualifiers are much more competitive than US Ironman. Ouch!
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Goodtime] [ In reply to ]
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fairly new at this triathlon thing last year I did two Ironman distance races both of the non-qualifying type. the first one I did was the Bigfoot in B.C. it was terrible. no mile/km markers on the run or bike course the swim venue was decided the a.m. the volunteers were awesome all 30 of them, most were there the entire time. The second one I did was near Columbus Ohio much better, more support. Looking back on it and reading about how the bigger races have people lining the course wet suit strippers all sortsof support I'll probably be in awe off(Lake Placid) I think that the small poorly supported races are closer to the original deal. therefore harder. take that as you may.

I think many of us are soft needing exact mile markers, certified courses, cold water vaseline and all the other luxuries. I volunteer 15-20 times a year at local races(running). Almost everytime there's somebody who yells at a volunteer, a lot of times a child for giving the racer water instead of gatorade or whatever.

Anyway if you want diffulcult, race a poorly supported race. if you want easy go where somebody will practically wipe the snot off your nose. that's my plan in July.

oh although easier, I was slower at the Pineman in Ohio.
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [d.j.] [ In reply to ]
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Like your spirit!!!!

I'll be in Lake Placid too.
If your statement has any value, IMLP is going to be childs play for you;-)
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Goodtime] [ In reply to ]
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There is no such thing as an easy ironman course. I've done Roth (and biked 8 minutes slower than when I did Ironman Canada) and it is not an easy course. Those hills slow you down, especially when it is pouring rain like it was in 2001 when I did it.

As for the run course, if you push hard enough on the swim and bike portions and get reduced to a shuffle on the run, it doesn't matter if you're climbing big hills or running on flats because a shuffle or walk ends up being the same speed on either venue. A flat course like Florida just means that you'll hammer early on and work really hard to keep your fast splits going. Your times might be faster but you'll put your body through some good hurting after 8 or 9 hours anyway.
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Allan] [ In reply to ]
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I'm not sure if you acctually understood what I was saying above.

I agree that there is no easy IM, but some are easier than others.

If you where 8min slower in Roth, that's because the final split on a given day depends on many factors, if not we wouldn't race, we would just take performance tests at some lab and the best guy wins all the races for that year.

But your 8min slower time in Roth is definitly no reason to argue that roth might be the harder bike-course than Canada. If you still believe that is true, I can' t help you.

Maybe you also think that Colorado is more humid than Florida since it rained there the last time you where in Denver?
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [agret] [ In reply to ]
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..... so by easiest you mean flattest? best weather conditions? fastest times? best aid stations? best pavement on the roads?

Obviously there are so many factors involved in doing a race and the weather (and courses sometimes) change from year to year. Roth and Austria seem to be the races with the fastest times (one the reasons for this in Roth is the field is always very stacked and the roads, while not flat, are very good quality) while Lanzorotte is usually pretty slow (relatively of course).
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Goodtime] [ In reply to ]
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The one your buddy just got back from.

Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Goodtime] [ In reply to ]
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I would suggest The Esprit Ironman in Montreal. I know it's not part of the Ironman Championship but it's still an Ironman. The swim is in the Bassin Olympique, the bike on the circuit Gilles Villeneuve (Formula 1), so completely flat without too much wind and the run is aroud the bassin. Great course for the spectator since they can watch your progress without moving much. Since the bike is 41 laps, you can have access at you bag often.

There might not be an easy IM but on paper, this one sure looks easier than others like IM Canada! I haven't tryed it yet but I will in september...

By the way, unfortunatly no slot for Kona.

Here's the link of the event : http://www.esprittriathlon.com/en/guide.htm


Richard

"You're only young once, but you can be immature forever" - Larry Andersen
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [Allan] [ In reply to ]
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Allen,

no I'm not saying that the fastest IM should be the easiest.

But it seems strange that people sometimes have a hard time to make simple, obvious statments about subject we all know but are rather subjective.

An Ironman is a open-field experiment and the outcome is therefore not easy to predict.

But there are some statments you can make anyhow.
For example if a bikecourse of a particular Ironman is more probable to be harder than the other.

If you go for a long two hour run and one week later you so another two hour run. You can tell for you weather the first or second was harder, right?

yeah yeah..it depends on wind, fittness...bla bla...but in general you can.

It's hard to tell if Austria or Roth is harder but it's easy to say that Lanzarote is much much much harder! If you disagree, you havn't been there or something else is wrong.

Let me give you a last example and then I'll stop for good on this question:

Lets asume you find a 180km loop where you climb up for a total elevation change of 800m over the first 20km. That's a hill, not too steep not too long. Over the resting 160km it goes down with a constant 0.5 Degree incline, no wind smooth road....man that's got to be the easiest Bike course you can think of right?

Much easier than 0 incline over the whole 180km!!!

The first one is very similar to the Roth course (lots of steep ups and long downs).

The second one is Florida and is very very hard if you try to go fast!

amen
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [agret] [ In reply to ]
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child's play?? I don't know about that

but it's not the race that is tough
it's training for it that is.
that's not an original thought by any means but rings true almost everytime I hang out with my inactive freinds.

we're old DIII college wrestlers some of us continued working out..... most went into coaching
Last edited by: d.j.: Apr 23, 03 16:57
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [agret] [ In reply to ]
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Agret

If all goes well at Muskoka this June and I snag a spot, I'll be better able to give an opinion on racing a really flat course like Florida. Since I find climbing any hills much nastier (I'm too fat to climb like a billy goat) than riding flats and know many that have smoked the bike leg at Florida, I'm hoping that I'll find it better. My point with the "easier" with respect to ironman is that when the course gets "easier" you tend to push harder and race faster so in the end, even though your times could be way off on two different courses, your effort probably isn't much different (provided other factors such as your conditioning and weather don't change much).
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Re: What is the easiest IM course? [agret] [ In reply to ]
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Agret, I'm beginning to wonder what you mean by the 'easiest' IM. To answer the question, there has to be a common definition of the word 'easiest'. I would suggest that it is the IM one particular person can do fastest given equal external influences(weather, fitness etc). That would be dependent on that persons course preferrence, to some extent.

Your example of the short steep hill followed by a long downhill being faster than a flat course is however wrong. A flat course will be the faster of the two. You can never regain on the flat what you lose on the hill. This is physics. This is why the 1 hour record is on a flat course.

One minor reason for faster times at Roth has just occurred to me, apart from the smooth road surface and very competetive field, the finish of the bike is about 300 feet lower than the start.
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