With all the talk of M-dot being evil, having high prices, no swag, killing long time races with direct competition, safety issues, and drafting. My question is why are they all full in 24hrs or less? Why do all the other races fall by the wayside?
Are people more interested in the brand name than doing the distance? There are other options out there, but nobody signs up for them like they line up like sheep for IMNA or WTC. Are we really that in love with the Ironman brand?
I can’t speak for anyone else but for me it is about the distance with one exception, IMH. I really want to qualify for Hawaii over the course of the next 2-3 years. Other than that I am really more interested in the grass roots IM distance triathlons.
Not many races of that distance in the midwest. It is a little more equal for the stronger swimmers though.
I love the 140.6. I don’t care anymore about the MDot thing. “Been there, done that”. I’m just looking for cool IM-distances races, now, as opposed to going out and doing Hawaii or any of the others again.
T.
Is hawaii the driving force behind the M-dot craze? It may be for you, and I completely understand that goal. How many people of the 2500 entrants think they have an actual shot at Kona maybe 10%-15%. For someone who finishes in 12-14 hrs what is the difference between M-dot or say Great Floridian?
I’ve done Hawaii and the Great Floridian (5 times), and finished in the top-5 and the top-10 at the GFT a few times. To me, especially since Fred redesigned the damn bike course, it can be a tough race. Plus, it’s got the benefit of Disney and Universal and all the other cool stuff to do, once the race is over.
My vote goes to the GFT.
Tony
That’s exactly what I don’t understand. I mean you can race a cleaner race with fewer entrants, which I really like the idea of. In my case I am working diligently, with a coach, to try to get me to Hawaii. I will probably try to qualify in '06 or '07, not sure whether I will use a full or half to try. In any case the Grand Columbian, Great Floridian, Vineman Full, and Duke Blue Devil are on my to do list. Although I really like the idea of IMLP and IMCDA, very picturesque locales.
It’s harder to qualify at the half-IM distance (that’s the distance that I did my IMH qualifying in), but it’s easier to train for. On the other hand, if it’s a life-or-death, must-have to get to IMH at least once in a lifetime, it’s probably easier to get a slot at an IM-distance qualifier, but it’s much harder to train for.
I’ve heard that the roll-down at some IM qualifiers can go as low as the 10 place finisher in the AG. It rarely gets past the 3 or 4th place at a 1/2IM.
I’m sure others here hold the opposite view. What say they?
Tony
Tony–Have you done the Duke Blue Devil? Just wondering…hmmm…
That’s kind of what my coach and I had already worked out, pick two A races to try to qualify one 1/2 and one full IM when we think I am ready. Looking at the results I have to agree, I think it will be “easier” to qualify at a full.
I prefer my races in very-warm all the way up to hot and humid locales. That Duke one looks to have cooler weather than I like. There’s some that I’ve done that don’t exist anymore, too. The New England Triathlon Festival, up at Lake Sunapee, NH, definitely had some great scenery and a late-August or early-September warm temperature thing going, too.
I have no ironman expierence, but i get the feeling that a lot of the mdot participants are like my boss. The big guy is in his 50’s, multi millionaire, likes to “do things” has done a marathon, has done a 20k cross country ski race, has done a triathlon. He keeps score. He actually has done two tris, Chicago triathlon 2 years in a row. I have tried to get him to come out and do a local race, at least get a early season sprint in for pratice. He’s not interested, it isn’t the scale of things he is accustomed to. I think a lot of the mdot racers are the same way, do one or two races a year, start training exactly 13 weeks before the race, do exactly what the program or coach says. And pay no more attention to it than being able to say “oh yeah, I’m an Ironman”. He couldn’t name a pro triathlete if he tried, I asked who did his bike fit, he said “the store adjusted it” “but I fixed it when I got home”. He’s just not serious about it. He has stated that he doesn’t intend to do anything longer than an Oly ever, but I honestly don’t think he will ever doa race with less “status” than chicago either.
I agree with this “keeping score” philosophy. It seems as if some (not all) who have completed a m-dot race feel they are too good for a smaller race. They NEED to feel like the superstar and IMNA is definately good at providing that atmosphere.
Me I could care less, I wouldn’t mind taking a honest run at IMHI, and to get there you gotta do the M-dot thing. I gotta tell you the Great Columbian really looks to be an unbelievable place/destination to race. I’d like to give Great Floridian a go, and hopefully the Blue Devil can stick around because that seems great also.
Synchronicity:
Love your signature! 
M-Dot has it’s share of problems but.
IMNZ is so cool (new course and old course) and Jane Patterson does such an awesome job organizing the whole event that it’s hard to see what all you guys are complaining about at othe M-Dot races.
I’d suggest that you need to come and do IMNZ to see how good an pure it can all be, but then it would just fill up quicker so you can all piss off! 
I’ve done M-Dot and non M-DOt races and both had their advantages and disadvantages. I like both, but with the very outside chance I could get a Kona slot, M-Dot wins by a narrow margin.
For me, it’s the distance of the race that matters. I don’t really care if it’s an M-Dot or not. I just like to do as many races as I can afford. Granted, I’ve signed up for the ‘high profile’ races (Ralph’s, Wildflower, 1/2 Vineman), but these are the only long course events near enough to my locale. As long as it’s a fun race, a good course, and a competitive field, I’m up for it. Out of curiosity though, does anyone know why there aren’t more choices in southern CA for 1/2 or greater events? Aren’t there enough triathletes around to warrant some longer events?
if I ever finish one, I’m getting a 140.6 tatoo!
Looks like a good business opprotunity!! Someday someone will figure that out.
I bet for every person who does Mdot as a “status” event, as you suggest, there is one person who does a non-Mdot event on a whim. I personally know 4 people that did GFT with almost no preparation. They signed up around 4 weeks before and just “winged” it. That fact that it never fills up - hardly any non-Mdots fill up - sets itself up perfectly for this type of attitude (among a small group, I would hope). I know quite a few people that have done M-dots, I myself have done two, and everyone I know trained feverishly for it, including a couple of those geezers in the 50-year old category! I think your statements are way too generalized, especially for someone that has never done the event. Personally I prefer the Mdots as, from my experience, they are far better organized: the distances are dead on (GFT missed one year big time - super short swim and 117 mile bike), crowd and volunteer support is awesome, venues are cool and the competition is intense. Those are the reasons I have done Mdots over non-Mdots. I have no Mdot tatoo! Now all that said, this year I am leaning toward GFT as a season-ender, but notably, not as my “A” race. My “A” race is an earlier season Mdot and Alcatraz.