What do you think about the new Ironman 70.3 Series? Will you be going to one of the qualifing races next year to get a spot to the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater? If so, which race do you plan on attending to get your spot? Thanks for your comments. Z
Can we please consider instituting a rule banning use of the “70.3” title, instead continuing to refer to it as a “half”?
Please?
Pretty please?
Really, man.
I may continue to do Ralphs “Half” due to its proximity to me, but not for the qualification to the “Half” championship or the coolness of the new 70.3 name.
The 70.3 thing is silly.
I plan to do a half one day, but doubt I’ll ever do a 70.3. Too much like marketing-speak, appears to be an attempt to extend the reach of the WTC brand. I don’t care to be branded…
Will continue to race halfs, but have zero desire to compete for a spot in the “Ironman 70.3 World Championship.”.
How come no Canada qualifiers such as Oliver or GWN?
I actually wanted to post the same question. I am going back and forth between trying to qualify at the new 1/2 series or doing another IM next year. I did IM Austria last week and IM Lake Placid the year before. Right now I am leaning toward trying to qualify for the 1/2 championship because I would like to try some different training next year, and I think my body could use a break from a full IM.
I am not even close to being able to qualify for Kona at a full IM. The guys that qualify are just so good. I’m not sure how competitive the 1/2 series will be. I suspect that there will be a rolldown, because the really fast guys that qualify for Kona will do just that. Hopefully, that will give athletes like me (4:55-5:05 in a 1/2) a shot at the 1/2. A lot of people on this board have made fun of the new series, but I think it sounds good, and is a nice goal.
If I had to decide today, I would do St. Croix in the spring and either Monaco or Copenhagen in the late summer. I really like a triathlon vacation, and 1/2 are good for a vacation because they are not as stressful as a full IM. I also might do Eagleman. However, if lots of people really want to do the 1/2 championship, Eagleman will be very tough to qualify at. I did Eagleman last year in 4:57 and that only put me in 73rd in my age group (M30-34).
What races are you thinking of?
Why is saying 140.6 considered cool and 70.3 isn’t?
M~
It is the difference between “Markus Mucus” and just plain mucus. grin
what races are you thinking of doing? and why are you thinking of this series?
I could care less about the 70.3 designation and the concept of qualifying for a half Ironman. It’s a marketing ploy. The only real championships are identified by USA Triathlon. All these additional “championship” designations are starting to make cycling look like wrestling. The Half Ironmans that I like are local ones like Steelhead and big classics like Wildflower and Eagleman. WTC does a nice job of organizing their IM races, but I wish they would sort things out with USAT and stop being so predatory towards other races. I lost a lot of respect for WTC when they dropped Roth and then scheduled a new IM Germany on the same weekend as Roth the following year.
-Marc
Since I am not one to aspire to do half of anything, I welcome the change in titles.
Looking forward to a seventy point three when a compressed nerve is released allowing me to run again.
Bob W.
Why is saying 140.6 considered cool and 70.3 isn’t?
M~
Who is saying 140.6? And who says it’s “cool”. I’ve never heard it called that. I see it being called an Ironman race or an Ironman distance race (for non-Mdot races). Calling something an Ironman 70.3 sounds like marketing hype so that people who, for whatever reason, can’t do a (full distance) Ironman race, can now claim to have done an Ironman so they can impress their friends and relatives. Marketing hype.
As for the 70.3, call it what it is… a HalfIron race.
There’s a new article on the series by Greg Welch on Ironmanlive.com.
Tom,
As I’ve stated on this forum previously, I love IMNA and Graham’s Team for Ironman events. For the “all day” races (Ironman, 24-Hour Racing, etc.), I’m looking for an EVENT to celebrate the accomplishment and make it more fun for my spouse (so I can return the next year). IMNA and 24-HOA provide that. In addition, both IMNA and 24-HOA qualify for a fantastic “World Championship” located in a great destination location.
I’d argue that the 70.3 simply doesn’t provide an outlet I need/want. At this point, I don’t need a major “event” atmosphere for a “Half” (the same holds true for 12-hour MTB races). Generally, I use these races for training so I’m more focused on cost controls than hype. In addition, I’m not interested in the location of the “70.3 World Championships” nor the status itself. I don’t intend to judge anyone else here, but it just doesn’t have cachet at this point (it’s a bit like batting .500 in AA ball…Good, but not really the “Big Leagues”).
I think WTC will do a great job with these races, but I doubt I’ll race them. If I’m going to travel to a 12, I’m far more likely to race some other more memorable Halfs such as “SuperFrog” in Coronado, World’s Toughest Half, Something offroad. If limited travel preferred, I can easily drive to Victoria, Salem, Pac Crest, or Black Diamond.
Cheers,
Jonathan C. Puskas
I will probably do Ralph’s HIM since it fits into the schedule as prep for IM Brazil, but I also have zero desire to compete for a spot in the “Ironman 70.3 World Championship”, especially in Florida. Stupid name.
I’d rather do Half Vineman, World’s Toughest, Wildflower, etc.
clm
Thank you for your comments - this helps me sort out a number of things - I need to hear if athletes are interested in going to this new 70.3 World Championship.
I think that most athletes on Slowtwitch tend to be a bit more inclined to do Ironman events, so I hope to hear from some of you “Olympic Distance” triathletes - How do you feel about moving up to the 70.3.
Please do not use this thread to argue the name - 70.3 -half ironman - half triathlon, etc. - I would just like to know if you are interested in earning of spot to this World Championship race. Thanks. Z
Hi Tom,
I plan on doing two or three of the european half events next season. I have been doing Oly distance up until now and will be moving to Europe from here (US) next month. So, the primary race for me will be the Monaco event, followed by the UK and I think Copenhagen events as secondary events. I do hope to qualify for the championship event in FL if I can. Thanks for your interest
James Hayton
(ps: I couldn’t really care less what you call it, just give us a chance to race!)
“70.3” is sooo f’n stupid. (a derivation of a term that means nothing to most people, means less than nothing on its own) That said… 
I would like to earn a spot to the event next year. I have (my wfie’s) family in the Clearwater area, so it’d be convenient and fun for me to race there. My mum-in-law has been sending me newspaper clippings ever since she caught first wind of this possibly happening there. Plus, it is pancake flat there, so it would likely be a very fast course.
However, I’m not gonna go too far outta my way to find a qualifier event in which to attempt to do so.
So - as long as a (relatively “local”) Half that I would probably wanna do anyway (SBR Harriman, Tinman, Eagleman, Timberman - for examples) was a qualifier, then if I got in, great! If not, then I personally wouldn’t kill myself to go to another event just on the hopes of qualifying for whatever stupid name they want to call this particular event.
My $0.02 - hope it was helpful.
edited to add - I just checked, Eagleman and IM LP are both qualifiers, and both are events I would likely do next season. So - I’ll potentially have 2 shots at getting in, FWIW.