I had an athlete racing Challenge Roth last sunday and yesterday he was telling me the great race it is, with crowds ressembling the Tour de France.
On this hill here he told me he almost cried going up, such was the support from the crowds. Truly amazing.
Back in '96 when I saw Lothar Leder break 8 hours for the first time, I knew I wanted to do this race. It looks fantastic.
Since I’ve been racing Ironmans, I’ve always wondered how fast I could go and wanted to peak for a nice fast course (as well as doing some more challenging ones along the way). So, I’ve made a plan for a 3-4 year build to a PR.
The one question with that is - since this course is rumored short on the run, lots of drafting on the bike, would that take away from my PR? I’ve thought about Austria in a few years as well, but it has reported drafting on the bike (although, I think the course is accurate) I would like to know how fast I can go - but I want to do the entire distance. Are there other races I should be looking at? Or is Roth accurate (I have a hard time with that, especially with last years run splits)
This is the Solarer Berg! The noise is unreal, the spectators just flatten the climb…you go over it and don’t even notice there is a climb…get goosebumps there and all you want is to turn back at the top and do it again right away
ironman WA looks pretty fast, Jason shortis who won it went 8:14(or was it 8:16??) compared to 8:25 at ironman austria
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I’ve been looking seriously at that one as well. The cost of travel to that part of the world from Texas is on the bad side of completely insane, but I’m working on a few suggestions from ST’ers.
if you buy your ticket early enough you can get round trips for about $750 in july (best to take off late june and you get cheaper flights). Fly to munich/nuremberg or any major city.
and try to get a homestay. wouldn’t be a lot more than racing an IMNA race
Solarberg is one of the most amazing thing you can experience in triathlon. If you go to Europe for only one race then do QC Roth. I did it last year and it was a great experience. The crowd is amazing.
Felix
what is this all about breaking PRs in a triathlon? I’d say: no course, ironman or olympic is hundert percent correct or comparable to other courses. Only think about the different transition areas.
Concerning the run in last years QCR: The woman with the second fastest running split in 2004 said, she thinks it was about 1-2k short. Don’t know about this year.
Roth is really worth a trip if you don’t want to qualify for IMH.
“what is this all about breaking PRs in a triathlon?”
Curious more than anything. That said, I also would like to do (and have done) some more challenging courses like Lanzarote. I’ve been eyeing the silverman course for this year, but I’m hesistant about a first time race.
As a guy who just got back from Austria, I can say that there was definitely some, but not much, drafting on the bike. The course layout makes some of it unavoidable, but I did not really see any pack ridin - the sole exception was when i caught my good friend with 20K left on the bike, said hello, then dropped way back until the end of the course. I watched 3 guys absolutely sit on his wheel for the last 10K, with no qualms about doing it. The hills will bunch some people up, but most seemed to make an effort to stay off a wheel or move left or right to avoid blatant drafting. Marshalls were fair, I thought. They would hang around long enough to make a call, if necessary, and (again) I thought, used good discretion. I saw them issue numerous “warnings” in situations that could have been characterized as drafting - blowing a whistle to get someone’s attention and motioning for them to move left, right or back, as appropriate.
As for support, amazing does not describe the crowds. Smiling, yelling, cheering, and apparently over 150K strong. If there is a better supported race, I would find it, and race the hell out of it. It cannot be overstated how much the crowd support meant to me.
I did the race on Sunday for the first time, the picture just doesn’t do it justice, the scene was amazing, I had heard that it was a fantastic race so entered, even though it was six weeks after Lanzarote.
The swim is in waves of about 300, set of at 5 minute intervals, both banks lined with crowds as are the two bridges under which you swim, the bike course is undulating with a couple of 10% inclines for about a mile each, but the support is truly truly awesome.
The run is deceptively difficult but the finish was the best ever, if you get the chance DO this race, I am already looking at next year.,
I did Austria this year, and it is an awesome race. I did not think drafting was a problem - there were a ton of marshalls. Because the course was somewhat congested and people did not ride to the right, I found I could not go as fast on the bike or on the swim as I wanted to (which was probably better). Though the times in this year’s race were fast - there were 800 people under 11:30, I did not think the course was easier than Lake Placid (though I went faster in Austria). I think there was a better field of athletes in Austria. Maybe it has something to do with a shorter work week, more vacation time, and everyone being in tri-clubs.
When does registration for Roth normally open?
"The one question with that is - since this course is rumored short on the run, lots of drafting on the bike, would that take away from my PR? "
Fire,
I have done Roth 5 times…it is FABULOUS!! However, I have not found it short, and I have seen less drafting than M dot races due to wave starts.
I sure hope to go again!
A very good friend of mine did that race a few years ago and made the same comments; in fact I was telling my girlfriend about it just yesterday as we were watching the TDF’s foray into Germany.
One of these years I will do this race. Roth, not the TDF of course…
When does registration for Roth normally open?
Pre-Registation after the race. Online registration open some weeks after the race:
http://www.challenge-roth.com/en/anmeldung/informationen.php?navId=16
This year Roth was full early in the year (Jan/Feb). It is cheaper before Jan 1.
Felix
"The one question with that is - since this course is rumored short on the run, lots of drafting on the bike, would that take away from my PR?
according to my polar 625, the running course was 43.? k (without calibrating the polar). and thecycling course was 178k. It’s a great race. There were some small drafting groups, but not much. And if you don’t want to draft ,just don’t. Thanks to the wave starts at the swimming, there’s enough room to ride alone.
As for support, amazing does not describe the crowds. Smiling, yelling, cheering, and apparently over 150K strong. If there is a better supported race, I would find it, and race the hell out of it. It cannot be overstated how much the crowd support meant to me.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I did IM Germany in Frankfurt in 2003 and the crowds were phenomenal. Local reports were in excess of 400,000 spectators and the “Heartbreak Hill” was supported every bit as well as at Roth. Just make sure you get a hire car to get around in as the Pasta Party (china and flatware!) and registration are in different locales to the swim and finish.
It’s really amazing how da’ germans face sports. You can get photos like that not only from Challenge Roth but also from every major event in german such as the recent Tour’s stages and Ironman Germany.
I also saw some pics from the german nationals (btw, Macca won it also LOL) and that’s really something else…