dont know whether this has come up before…
Can I get input as to what STers view as the best (and/or worst) non-IMNA IM events in North America, with perhaps a little explanatory info? I think I will need to cut my teeth on a few of these lower profile races before gunning for Kona!
Thanks!
“The voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tacks.”
dont know whether this has come up before…
It has. If you want to see numerous comments on it, try a quick search. If I remembered the titles of the threads, I would provide them for you. There are quite a few posts about these races.
The big 2 as I remember them are:
UltraMax (Kansas City) … I’m doing that one
The Great Floridian (Cleremont I think) … I can’t remember what state it’s in =)
The Blue Devil, near Raleigh, NC.
It’s tough. It’s hilly. It has more volunteers than participants. It has unparalleled support, especially on the run. When you’re done, you’ll know you’ve been through a genuinely hard Iron Distance race (no cut corners in distances/difficulty), so you’ll know how you can do in a tough qualifier. Money goes to charity. You can do the race for essentially FREE if you raise enough money to cover at least your entry fee…and, they’ve already written a sample e-mail that you can send out to raise money! Maylene volunteers at one of the run stations! I can’t think of any reason this race shouldn’t be on this list.