Hello - does anyone know if WTC canceled the St Croix 70.3 race for good? I was hoping to do this one in the near future. Maybe even in 2018.
Hello - does anyone know if WTC canceled the St Croix 70.3 race for good? I was hoping to do this one in the near future. Maybe even in 2018.
Yes it was cancelled permanently. There is talk that another group is trying to bring it back, but things may be contentious with the group that previously managed the race. Time will tell. Something similar happened with IM 70.3 Phuket, though in that case Challenge was in the mix.
Aw, that is too bad. I remember it only had around 200 participants in 2016. I know it’s a super hard course. But I would think more people would want to go do it as an adventure and then enjoy a nice vacation in the Virgin Islands afterward.
…things may be contentious with the group that previously managed the race…
I don’t think this is the case at all. Tom G. did his very best to keep the race alive in the face of lost Kona slots, increased costs, and declining participation (principally because of the lost of Kona slots).
There is a move afoot to bring the 70.3 race back, but it seems uphill. The move has been away from independent races and STX doesn’t have the infrastructure (mainly hotel rooms) to accommodate a 2000+ participant race. I suspect there will be a half-distance triathlon on island in the future, but wouldn’t expect it to be IM branded.
Happy to say I did the race before it went away. I’ve also done Puerto Rico 70.3 twice and believe that it is one of the principal reasons that St Croix 70.3 died. To go to St Croix you were going to fly to Puerto Rico first anyway, then had to make sure you were on a jet going on so your bike would make it. St Croix had a kick-ass bike course, but San Juan’s run is harder, and both races are freakin’ hot. With Puerto Rico logistically simpler and cheaper to get to, there wasn’t much reason to go on to St Croix after it lost its Kona slots. The history of the race simply wasn’t enough of an allure for the average triathlete.
Happy to say I did the race before it went away. I’ve also done Puerto Rico 70.3 twice and believe that it is one of the principal reasons that St Croix 70.3 died. To go to St Croix you were going to fly to Puerto Rico first anyway, then had to make sure you were on a jet going on so your bike would make it. St Croix had a kick-ass bike course, but San Juan’s run is harder, and both races are freakin’ hot. With Puerto Rico logistically simpler and cheaper to get to, there wasn’t much reason to go on to St Croix after it lost its Kona slots. The history of the race simply wasn’t enough of an allure for the average triathlete.
We just did PR 70.3 this past March and loved it! What a great race! Loved the hilly hot run course. With or w/o Kona slots I’d make the trip to St Croix. Oh well…
…things may be contentious with the group that previously managed the race…
I don’t think this is the case at all. Tom G. did his very best to keep the race alive in the face of lost Kona slots, increased costs, and declining participation (principally because of the lost of Kona slots).
This wasn’t a reference to losing the race. I had heard the effort to restart a HIM event at this venue was being challenged by the previous event organizer.
PR 70.3 was great, but twice is enough for me. But I’m making one final trip to Puerto Rico in Jan 2018 to ride La Vuelta – around the entire island in 3 days (vueltapr.com). Meanwhile, you need to go to St Croix just to get a hook bracelet from Sonya’s.
Unfortunately, as of right now, this IM 70.3 is cancelled. I was fortunate enough to do this race this year (final year). It was an amazing race. I would happily go back to race here again if brought back. We flew from DFW to Miami to St. Croix. Not a difficult flight/connection series at all. The locals were amazing! They were out there on the course all day (even way out on the bike course) supporting every last racer out there. By far, the best local support that I’ve ever seen! The island was gorgeous, the locals were happy to have us there (which is becoming more rare these days unfortunately), and it made for a great race-cation. Even my non-racing hubby enjoyed the week we spent there!