Trying to find out the possibility of my son doing a Half Ironman. My son is 17 years old but the Ironman he wants to do is 11 days before his 18th birthday. All I can find is sites that show 18 on day of the event. Is there any way around this? He’s done a couple sprint and Olympic distances but really wants to try a Half. St. George is the one he would like to do since this is our Hometown. Is it possible and if so how?
Doesn’t it work on the age of the participant as of the 31st December that yr?
It’s likely to be a condition of the insurance for the event and be non negotiable. The age at 31st Dec is only for allocation to an AG.
Should he is the better question. Lots of good advice in many threads would suggest he spend several years trying to get fast as possible at shorter distances. If you are going to ignore that then you will.probably need to find a small independent race willing to make an exception.
While i don’t recommend it, I know a 17 year old that did Rev3 Cedar Point with parental permission.
jaretj
Edit: He did the full at Rev3 Cedar Point in 2014 not the half
Must be 18 on race day for WTC/Ironman races. There is no exception.
Did my first half ironman at 16 along with a full marathon the same year, but that was back when the rules were not really followed.
Like others, even if it were allowed its maybe not a great idea. A kid in my squad who is 19 skipped breakfast and beat Meredith Kessler’s time at 70.3 Taupo last month. He also then spent over an hour in the medical tent. Take from that what you will.
St. George is the one he would like to do since this is our Hometown. Is it possible and if so how?
A non-WTC half Iron is going to be your only option I think.
St. George is the one he would like to do since this is our Hometown. Is it possible and if so how?
A non-WTC half Iron is going to be your only option I think.
Ironman is super, super strict on this policy. Not 18 on race day means you can’t even register let alone race. I had a nephew that wanted to do a 70.3 a couple of years ago when he was 17 and there was no way. His mom contacted WTC and they said 18 with no exceptions. A friend’s son wanted to do the swim part of a relay at Texas 70.3 when he was 15 or 16 and WTC said no way. I think the parents of the Welsch sisters here in Houston have lobbied WTC to let their daughters race at Galveston as well but WTC won’t allow it.
I tried hard to get multiple different WTC 70.3’s to let me race (US and Canada) before 18, but it’s not the RD’s choice. It is all based on their insurance policy. I did do a half when I was 16 and then again when I was 17 but it was a local event and not WTC branded.
My daughter did a 70.3 at age 16 and a 140.6 at age 17. The 140.6 was not IM brand event. She had fun and now at 20, her goal in life to help others achieve goals. I think we had to sign the waiver and she just paced herself, not really racing either event.
Why not contact the race organization directly? On the other hand the St. George 70.3 registration page is pretty clear:
Athletes who wish to compete in this event must be 18 years as of race day.
Originally from: http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/st.-george/register.aspx#ixzz3wPxAxhPE