As an AG or a Pro which label do you prefer?
I have to say that I’m pretty impressed with Challenge. I don’t see any difference with IM and “super bonus” it’s a bit cheaper and you can register till the last 2 weeks or so. 70.3 IM branded are full ages before race week and it’s sometimes disappointing when your plans changed.
Challenge locations and prices seem far better. I’m only signed up for Challenge and the other races I’m eyeing now are also Challenge.
What particular race are your impressions based on?
I’ve raced Samorin and (Challenge race of the year 2021) GdaÅ„sk, and in both cases was very happy with the organization, the venues, the “benefits” provided and the spirit of the race. It felt like a big event, but a little less pretentious than Ironman.
That’s exactly my feeling, less pretentious than IM and a nice and warm atmosphere where the athletes seemd to be more considered. I’m seems to be more money attracted.
Would you advised to race "the championship " in samorin?
So far I’ve race Roth, challenge salou, 70.3 aix, cascais&lanzarote, IM Nice and in the future I would rather go for challenge family.
Such a shame they haven’t any races in the US
I know that there aren’t any “Challenge” brand races but Clash started out as Challenge North America so they have a similar feel. I’m racing Clash Watkins Glen and PTO US Open this year and am looking forward to the less pretentious more athlete focused events of Clash.
When it was still Challenge NA, I had a FANTASTIC experience at Challenge Daytona. While the expo wasn’t massive, it actually had stuff of use. When I did Ironman 70.3 Atlantic City it was basically an Ironman brand shop with a maybe a handful of vendors.
That right there gave me the impression that IM was all about taking my money while Challenge was about the athlete experience. The fact that challenge was basically $100 cheaper was also very nice.
When Ironman pulled out of Penticton about a decade ago, it was replaced with Challenge Penticton. The numbers were never as good. Lots of reasons for that, I suspect. As far as race experience impressions go, both were very very positive, although way less people to draft off of for both the run and the bike. As a headwind on the 7 rollers battered me, I got to thinking, “this is what Jurgen must be feeling.”
Samorin is a bit of a glamorous venue (built in the middle of nowhere), dull bike course, very interesting run course, overall I’d recommend it if you don’t have to travel too far. It had a great PRO field (Sanders, Kienle, Lucy Charles) back in the day, but not last year when it was the day after the Collins Cup (though Sara Perez Sala is not a nobody by any means, nor is Lucy Hall, Ditlev or Angert), or this year when it’s 2 weeks after St. George.