I’m getting Facebook updates from people on the sidelines at IMLou Twittering the people they see running by with obvious pacers. Too funny. Of all the rule violations out there, this one is my pet peeve. There’s alot on the line at the front end of the field, Kona slots, etc.
Having a pacer is a huge advantage, not to mention annoying. At IM CdA I had a guy riding next to me for a half hour yelling at his buddy to “C’mon!”. After a while I got sick of it and yelled at him. Couldn’t he do that quietly?
people always make comments about a course being short here and there but a few swim times from friends are certainly fast. I know nothing about this course but is it current assisted. That would explain their faster than usual times. Please understand I am not saying it is short. I don’t know that. I am not at the race.
The swim was horrible. There was a spot where you could stand up and people were standing and kicking up muck. I was dodging and weaving the whole time in the water. On the bike, the 2nd lap got congested and you were forced to either be a dick or get hit by oncoming vehicular traffic.
When I did this course 2 years back the swim seemed long. In fact the swim markers seemed out of alignment - it felt like I was zig zagging on the downstream leg. The good thing is that the majority of the swim is downstream. With all the rain this summer I would imagine if you got out in the channel a bit you could really move. Also remember no wetsuits…
As for cheating, earlier this year I saw a motorcycle pull up to a rider during the bike portion of an ironman and hand him 2 water bottles. His own personal support vehicle. Where is an official when you need one.
There’s alot on the line at the front end of the field, Kona slots, etc.
Yeah, those Kona slots, they sure are important.
Having a pacer is a huge advantage
Because with a pacer, you don’t even have to run the whole course, you can have your pacer run the other half for you. Right?
Why do people sign up for races that have three thousand people and then are surprised that they cannot be adequately marshalled? I love weekends with big IMs because we are assured of at least a dozen threads complaining about some form of cheating during the race.
I’m talking about slow times, not fast ones. why did you assume I meant John Flannigan?
Look at the top 10 from any age group. there’s a larger disparity than usual from the front of the pack guys. Names that I know who swim much better normally.
I saw a number of people receiving assistance on the bike for changing tires etc. and the helpers didn’t appear to be race officials.
On the first loop of the run I was catching a group of 3 guys running and all of a sudden one guy peels off and tells the other 2 that he’ll jump back in and run with them some more later.
As for the swim. I must totally suck as a river swimming since my swim was my slowest ever in an IM by 6+ minutes. Of course, I’ve never had so many obstacles to try and get around for most of the swim and my Boston training this past winter definitely shortchanged my swimming training this year.
“…Why do people sign up for races that have three thousand people and then are surprised that they cannot be adequately marshalled? I love weekends with big IMs because we are assured of at least a dozen threads complaining about some form of cheating during the race.”
I agree 100%. Talk with your dollar and not sign up for races that you deem dangerous, crowded, or anything else that displeases you.
I think that when you started made a big difference. The number of people to go around caused some slow swimming and I found the final section quite choppy as the wind picked up. I’m not sure calm the water was for those who got to start earlier since I was still in line to get in the water when some of the pros were almost done the swim
The swim was horrible. I was dodging and weaving the whole time in the water.
I had the same experience. The channel between Towhead Is. and the shore was much more congested than two years ago as was the swim exit. while I think I’m stroinger this year and certainly swam harder, my swim time was 6 minutes slower than two years ago. With a TT start, it would be nice to have some kind of seeding, although not sure how you would do that.
Pacing someone on the run at IM is definitely cheating - - IM is supposed to be a solo effort. If you’ve done the training, the actual running of the marathon is only a portion of the battle. Mental fortitude is the other portion of that battle. Anyone paced on the run who later gets a Kona slot should definitely be DQd (and in the past individuals who were busted for receiving pacing assistance on the run have in fact been DQd).
