Event/Race Experience - Ironman 70.3 Canada vs Challenge Montreal vs Demi Esprit

Triathlon Forum
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I did IM 70.3 Canada three weeks ago and Challenge Montreal which was the former Demi Esprit Half IM a week ago.

Below are some of my thoughts

IMC 70.3

  • I have not been back ot Penticton since 2008. Before that I did full in 91,92,94,95, 97, 08. I did IMC Whistler 2014 and 2015
  • In a way a lot of the old vibe is still there from even before Graham Fraser took it over in 1997
  • As I was not racing the full IM, I was out riding every day for 2-3.5 hours on a mini camp aside from the day before the race. The pavement in the area is just fabulous
  • New 70.3 course is glorious…ride down to Oliver via Skaha Lake and McClean creek and then after Oliver 25 km of stairstep climbing on pristine roads used for Grand Fondo Okanagan. On that back half of the course I was totally solo for an hour other than being passed by 5 people on the final 15km of downhills into town after we merged with the IM course
  • The first 10km run out and back on the KVR trail on the east side of OK lake was just fabulous
  • Second 8 km of run up and down mainstream is the same stripmall zone I used to hate years ago (it does not help that I run half IM slower than i used to do full)
  • Final 3 km out and back along Lakeshore to the far end of the lake were fantastic. Bonus was Lionel Sanders who started 2 hrs before me in the full caught me with around 1.5 km to go…briefly shared the tarmac with him but he was running 4 min per km and I was shuffling at 6 min pace. Lionel was done sub 7 and I was just over 5
  • Bummer that the swim got cancelled, but that water was insane with the Lake turning over due to a two day south north wind blowing the hotter top layer towards Kelowna and and pulling up 10C water from the bottom of the lake
  • I really liked watching and cheering the IM racers after I was done
  • It really felt a bit like coming “home” as this was where my journey of Ironman racing started
  • Volunteers were awesome
  • Ended up in 5:02, 8th in my age group 10 min out of a slot to worlds…I just needed to run the same pace as last year for that, but I missed a month of run training due to a small procedure for my lumbar disc injury (its a 13 year long thing)

Onto Demi Esprit, (Challenge Montreal) 2 weeks later. The race is on year 40 a testament to the work of former race director Danny McCann who has handed it to Challenge. Danny saw me in the swim corrall and was literally giving the old timers some hugs.

When I went to Penticton the goal was to enjoy the mini camp and train for a possible sub 5 in Montreal. Montreal is my hometown, and I have raced on that Formula 1 circuit 1986, 1988, 1989, 2005, 06, 07,08, 09, 10, 19, 21, 22 and now this year.

  • My PB on that course was 4:14 back in 2006, but that course was 1 loop shorter (current course is closer to 92 km, old course 88 km). 2019 and 2021 I was sub 5, but had relatively good wind days. The bike course is 21 km
  • This year the wind was not favourable.
  • On the swim tailwind on the sheltered section by the stands, headwind coming home
  • We got barely any tailwind as that was on the sheltered section and the headwind was in the open section of the track
  • On the run same deal sheltered during tailwind, and massive windtunnel during headwind
  • The island is in the middle of the St Lawrence river so if you get the pure south wind or south east wind each lap can be 30 seconds faster versus slower.
  • I figured I needed a 32 min swim, 2:22 bike, 1:55 run and 7 min of transitions to break 5
  • I ended up at 33, 2:33 and the run was like death…barely 2:05 and was 20 min off the 4:59 target but that is racing. Ended up 6th as the “oldest guy” in the 55-59 (2nd in swim, 4th bike, 8th run)
  • In terms of Challenge vs Independent, I liked that I could show up morning of, pick up my kit, stroll into Tzone, rack my bike and go to swim start
  • Due to the Challenge branding there were more barricades and detours to get around race site. No differnce than Mdot, but a pain in the ass compared to when it was independent
  • On the race course zero difference between when it was independent and Challenge other than better aid station (good)
  • There was ten slots for Roth. I did not stick around for that as I had to drive home to Ottawa and bridges were having construction and I did not want to get stuck leaving Montreal which has perpetual endless traffic
  • I can’t say the Challenge “upgrade” was an better than the independent race, but I think it brought a deeper field which is good.
  • I got to hang out briefly with Dominique Piche founder of IM Tremblant, Founder of Challenge Quebec and now part of this. Thanks Dom for you guys taking this up from Danny McCann

Did I like the Challenge version better than Independent? I don’t know, but I will take it. Did I enjoy IMC 70.3 more than Challenge Montreal. I don’t know either. I am highly biased to both races as they have been part of my tri journey thru life.

Bummer IMC Penticton is done. I may go back next year for the Skaha Lake Ultra swim and do my own “personal” 70.3 too in Penticton. The region is just fabulous for a vacation.

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I did the full in Penticton for the first, and sadly, the last time this year, after getting a deferral from last year. I wrote about it elsewhere but my impressions match yours:

  • Absolutely gorgeous bike course, the most beautiful one I’ve done so far. Great weather, great pavement, beautiful scenery, very courteous and patient local drivers, just a very enjoyable bike ride.
  • The run wasn’t my favorite I’ve done; that middle segment in Main Street is pretty empty and boring after leaving the downtown area, but that lovely first segment on the KVR trail and the vibes on segment on Lakeshore made up for it.
  • I was so gutted about the swim, it seemed like it would have been a wonderful one just a couple days before. I couldn’t believe the temperature could drop so much, so fast. (I’m extra annoyed because Coeur d’Alene had a shortened swim last June, so I’ve only done one complete race this year.)

It’s a shame it’s gone, I would have loved to do this race again.

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I was really bummed about the swim before from mid July to mid august my run was very minimal and I had to do very light biking (nothing hard, nothing steep, nothing long) and I was maintaining my aerobic fitness off 20-30km per week of swimming while I got “good enough” for the other sports.

After doing that 70.3 course which is one of the nicest I have done in many corners of the world, bummed out that it won’t be on next year.

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Hey Dev, thought you might do a RR on the new Challenge Esprit Montreal. Sorry I missed you there. I had a few thoughts.

For 25 years I have been doing the Danny McCann version, in total 6 IM distances, 3 HIM and 2 Olympic. I also did (just the once) the Mont Tremblant IM. They were massively different races in that in Tremblant the whole town seemed to get involved, and there was great support for the race and the racers. Sadly, I was never going back, my IM days were over after Kona. Because the race was not contained in one small space like the Esprit, it was a vastly different experience to the Esprit.

The Esprit is a superb family friendly spectator event in the middle of a great destination city, with the entire race visible, especially the swim and run. The bike gives a view of the racer, as each 7-8 minute lap and constant twists and turns, plus one tricky hairpin, made it spectator friendly and infinitely less boring for the rider than the usual there and back one quick look and cheer, swim, bike and run.

Having said that, this year’s Esprit was a sad example of change for change’s sake. A massively cocked up transition zone, two pedestrian bridges you had to drag a bike and gear over before and after the race (after was hard work), plus a controlled pedestrian crossing of the bike course for everyone trying to access the site both coming and going. Don’t get me started on registration. And where TF was the post race food? It’s almost as though Danny McCann hadn’t spent 40 years figuring it all out. Add to that they had the Army showcase there for some strange reason, what on earth do the Challenge people think we are? Americans with a funny accent !!!

I have promoted the Esprit for twenty years to anyone who would listen, if this is where their heads are?, I can’t think why I would do so again.

ps I did Barrelman this weekend, they could give Challenge people a few pointers in getting it right!
PPS did IMC in 2011. Graham Fraser knew his stuff.

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Will reply in detail, but can you do a Barrelman article? Sorry we missed each other at Esprit, and I do agree about the mystery on the post race food, so I just backed my bags, ate an energy bar in my bags and biked the 20 min back to my hotel in downtown Montreal (I had a 1:30 pm late checkout and was done at 12:20, so barely made it back to hotel room, and used shower and was out by 1:30 pm…totally starving, but had an apple and banana in my car which got me halfway back to Ottawa to Hawkesbury where I stopped at a McDonalds while I charged my car at a charger…good excuse for some fries and fake burger, but at least it was something

Congrats on your race win. I can’t believe you raced back to back weekends in the 75-59 age group

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After the cockup that was the Esprit (both their’s and mine) I thought I couldn’t finish the year like that and Barrelman was the only and last race on the calendar.

The Barrelman experience was different in many ways. They were super helpful in getting me registered after the cutoff date, and they don’t know me from Adam. And super patient about my lack of abilities with anything more complicated than pen and paper. Shout out to Emma, Carolyn and Chilyn.

It’s an unusual race in that T1 is in Welland and T2 is in Niagra falls. You drop off the bike in Welland, where the swim takes place in a rowing/kayak/canoe race venue (the day before). On race day you park in Niagra and they bus you (and your bags) to Welland, takes twenty minutes. They take bags (like IM events) to T2 in Niagra as well as a street clothes bag you drop off in Welland. Your bag is placed at the racks with your race number in T2. Worked a treat. They pick up you wetsuit etc from Welland (again a numbered bag) from your bike rack and that goes to Niagra.

The race swim was easy, because the lake is super smooth. If I actually practiced swimming I could do well there. But three or four 20 x 50 on 1:05 practices don’t make for fast swimming. No complaints.

The bike course is a 50k out and back, then the remainder takes you to Niagra with the last 10k or so on a road beside the Niagra River. There were bottle exchange’s along the course. Usual stuff, drinks, gels etc. Pretty flat bike course, one hill that didn’t challenge even me.

There were a few hiccups along the way, a bit of road works and the lane wasn’t closed to local traffic. But fortunately it wasn’t too busy. Although, as with anytime a car sees a bike, there’s always some arse who wants to show you who’s boss.

One thing to note, Steve Fleck was the announcer in Welland for the start of the race (thanks for the shout out Steve) and lo and behold there he was in Niagra when I got there as the winner arrived just when I was leaving T2.

All runs for me are purgatory and in 32c it was hard work. The run course was a mixture of Open and closed roads and paths with some gentle hills and a ton of aid stations with a good variety of goodies from performance drinks to flat’ish Pepsi, tea, water, ice and gels, which all lasted almost as long as I did. I have to say a cupful of ice into your jammers sure helps in that heat.

The finish chute was long enough for them to fish the names out and announce and we were all greeted with a handshake by John Salt the original partner in the Multisport Canada series.

The awards area had a band and some goodies for athletes.

This event had pros and the mens division was won by Nicolas Gilbert from Quebec and Miranda Tomenson for the women, a well known name around here. The cheques (5 deep) were big enough to make it worth the travel.

I got me a bottle of Red wine from the sponsor, Vieni Estates, for winning my AG. A word of note there was another finisher in the AG above me. So maybe I’m not done yet, although the guy who came in second in my AG had a long day.

Steve went back after the awards and kept on announcing the finishers. Nice touch.

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Hey I think this worthy of a new thread about Barrelman not embedded in an Esprit/Penticton thread. Congrats on your race win and doing half IM’s on back to back weekends. Agreed on not closing up the year on the shit show (at least weather wise) at Esprit. I am heading to 70.3 Morocco at end of Oct which happens to be on the day of my birthday. It turns out that I can do that as cheaply as any of the US 70.3’s remaining this year that involve a flight.

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Good luck and stay away from the snake charmers.

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There must be a race director out there in BC that will pick up a race in Penticton in late August, even if it’s a half distance or T100. There is a course and triathletes still willing to race there.

I’m curious as to how the short term rental ban is affecting tourism and affordability though. I stay in hotels only up to 3 nights and everything over that I prefer a STR.

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That’s a good point. It seemed from the comments from Penticton’s mayor that the decision not to renew was Ironman’s, not Penticton’s, so there’s probably still appetite from the city itself to host a race.

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I’m wondering if Dynamic Race Events has already made inquires.
But one of bigger series might make a bid. I know Challenge failed the first time, but I don’t think they would see the same resistance now, given their new events in QC and NJ and souring of the Ironman brand.

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I would think that Challenge could come in for a round two. If they run a full IM and half IM they can get a 2000 person day easily. We had a full sellout at Challenge Montreal and from what I heard Challenge Quebec went off really well. I am not sure the road to Kona/Nice has the same pull as 12 years ago when Challenge came to town in Penticton.

Maybe we reach out to Dominique Piche, former IM Trembant founder and race director and current Challenge Quebec “founder/race director” to have a talk with the people over in Penticton to investigate the half/full IM weekend.

I could reach out to Dominique and ask if Challenge may have interest if nothing else to put ideas into the heads of players.