Did it really have <400 competitors?
554 starters and 300 ish finishers
Its got to be on the chopping block
.
Looks like 381 finishers but the slot allocation lists 556 starters. It was like 95 degrees there so apparently a 1/3 DNF rate.
Nevertheless, this race needs to be put out of its misery. It basically only exists due to COVID related issues surrounding IMTX from 2020. They moved IMTX to Waco in 2020 because IM couldn’t get permits from Harris Co. Of course the Waco version got canceled anyway.
They had two IMs in TX last year to give Waco a go at it. Attendance was abysmal at IM Waco last year as well.
No way it comes back.
Did the race yesterday.
- Swim was really nice. Straight, nice water temp, cool to swim under the bridges.
- Bike was tough. Fairly flat route but it was >90F (high of 94), steady 15mph wind (helped with the heat a little but got blown all over the road), and the road surface was awful.
- Run was a nice route along the river and around Baylor stadium. Still roasting in the sun for a lot of it.
Folks dropping like flies on the run, having overbiked given the heat or not hydrating enough. At awards this morning they said it was 29% DNF.
Volunteers were awesome, tons of cute kids competing with each other to see who you’d grab water from.
Got 3rd M35-39, 12th OA with a 10:54, enough for my first KQ, so I’m super stoked. If you could handle the heat, the Kona slots/finishers ratio was very favorable.
By chance do you know how far M 30-34 rolled down? I was 6th (5 slots) but didn’t stay for awards.
My friend got 5th in 45-49 and is going to Kona. It was a war of attrition out there from what he told me. He was over an hour slower than in Tremblant a few years ago!!!
I raced there as well as a do-over for IMWI when my etap died. It was horribly hot for my cheese blood from WI. Threw up and dry heaved the entire run but kept going anyway. Ended up 3rd in my AG and a KQ! Definitely thought about dropping out 3 miles into the run. A friend of mine is staying another night in the hospital there due to heat exhaustion from the race. With that small of a turnout it seems destined to be cancelled. The course was well laid out and the volunteers were great. I enjoyed the Texas hospitality.
Congrats to you and latkin on the KQs!
Sorry not sure about M30-34, that was announced after mine so I was busy at the table filling out the Kona paperwork. In general there were very few rolldowns, only saw 1 slot in a couple AGs.
You mean this year’s IM WI? What awful luck with the conditions of both these races.
I definitely hit the jackpot for rough Ironman conditions. When I signed up for Waco the average temp was 65 on the site and that sounded so nice. 😀 I need to figured out my dry heaving issues in the heat before Kona, that is for sure. Overall it was a great experience though.
554 starters and 300 ish finishers
Its got to be on the chopping block
They also hold a 70.3 the next day. Looks like a total of ~1,300 athletes with a Pro field this year that contained a few popular names. I’m sure that may help the economics look better but even last year the 140.6 didn’t have huge numbers. IM Texas was also around the same time, which I’m sure pulled some numbers away from Waco.
It is a fantastic, well-organized race at a gorgeous venue. I hope it remains and that more people attend.
I can’t figure out why this isn’t a full and half that run on the same day. Those duplicate road closures, traffic cops, aid station teams, etc etc etc add up.
I saw that temp as well. Except the last 2 years have been avg in the mid 80’s with high’s in the mid to low 90’s. And windy! So next year it will be in the 50’s?!
I can’t figure out why this isn’t a full and half that run on the same day. Those duplicate road closures, traffic cops, aid station teams, etc etc etc add up.
I’m curious how that would work logistically. The races share the same bike and run course, but the 140.6 swim has athletes swimming upstream and turning around to eventually join the 70.3 athletes. Also, consider that the city might want it as a two-day race? Volunteers seem plentiful (and very helpful in my experience) and it’s another day/night for people to stay in Waco and spend money on food/lodging.
I was at Cervia a couple of weeks ago doing the 70.3 with a full on Saturday. But with a bad storm coming in Saturday they postponed the full until Sunday to start at 7:30. the 70.3 that was supposed to start at noon moved to 10:30 and the 5130 got cancelled. With the swimmers from the full gone by the time we started there wasn’t a problem in transition. There was a overlap on the bike course and I saw a lot of drafting and we all ran the same course for the run. It went off really smooth, maybe a little crowed on the run, they did four laps to our two but overall it was great.
Looks like they did. No 140.6 next year, just the 70.3.