The impending doom of IM Florida is a big problem. With the speed of IM Canada closing (less than 18 hours) and a general lack of late summer/fall IM races the loss of Florida is a big problem.
With WTC adding races like Tempe (a spring race) it makes no sense to me that Florida is going away.
If you live in the Northeast and Midwest, preparing for an Ironman over the winter is pretty grim. I did it last year for IM New Zealand. It would be so nice to have a fall event other than Hawaii in October.
Anyone know the fate of IM Florida? If it goes away what are the alternatives?
I agree with you Tom. I did IMFL last year and have done IMC and Roth (I found this one too early) in the past. Living in southern Ontario it can be difficult to prepare for races in June and July let alone April (although it was tough doing 6 hour rides in 6 degree C/rainy days last October for FL but at least I had good weather through July-Sept to get a lot of riding in). I’d like to see a fall race that was on the east coast in mid-October or late September (although the WTC would not like to schedule a conflict with Kona). I guess more people will do the Floridian and Duke Blue Devil races which may not be a bad thing either as long as you don’t care about trying for a Kona spot which was the only reason that I did Florida last year.
Ironman Florida will take place next year too (november 5th), but I don`t know what will happen after 2005.
If you are looking for an alternative why don`t you consider Ironman Western Australia (end of november) in Busselton near Perth ? You could compete in Laguna Phuket one week before and then it is just a bunny hop to Australia
That actually sounds very, very good. I am planning to go back to Phuket this year and am trying to convince my girlfriend to do the event. The shark attack scene in the movie “The Beach” filmed near there freaked her out a bit. She’s never raced in the ocean, only fresh water.
However, Western Australia is an excellent alternative for me. Also, I am not a big fan of doing an Ironman around here. Who wants to train a year to visit exotic Wisconsin?
I live near Panama City Beach, and the word around here is that they are MOVING the race. They are not going to terminate the November Ironman, but simply move it to another venue. The rumors that are going around here are Disney World, and possibly Virginia Beach.
Personally, I don’t think you could have a better timed IM race. If you qualify for Kona, you have 11 months to recover and train for it.
I heard about the Disney plan. Based on what I heard about the half IM there earlier this year that doesn’t sound too good. A lot of our customers voiced disappointment over that venue.
The drought was more self-imposed bitterness. I briefly dated a nice girl and we decided we were really good friends and stopped dating but are still buddies (she lives a block from here).
Then I met the girl I am seiing now, who is an absolute gem. I just dropped her off at the airport a few moments ago. She is going out to, among other things, climb Mt. Rainier. She’s really nice. Here we are- so cute it will make you barf:
Disney has a lot of option when it comes to putting on an IM. They just need to find a better transition area, get the swim distance right, fix the sandy uphill parts of the run, and improve their signage. It could be a very nice race, but I was decidedly underwhelmed by the half they put on.
The venue would be almost perfect for an Ironman though. Great for the families with kids.
if you’re looking for an east coast iron distance race in october you might wanna check out chesepeakeman. its put on by the same people that do eagleman… this year will be the first year.
You are talking about the “impending doom of IMFL”. I knwo that they have not re-upped for next year, and I know there is talk about moving to Disney, but have you specific information you can give a link to, or fill us in with?
Cut the dicing of Wisconsin. Us hillbilly’s have to come from someplace.We think it is exotic !!! We got wal-mart . Harley Davidson and cheep beer all come to you from my paw’s home state.
Wisconsin where we are all family ! really
I am hurt ! Dirt
