I had heard rumblings, just announced.
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Lionelās coach doesnāt even know why.
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My friend at IM said it wasnāt their decision so definitely Tempe. Also said they are looking at ānearbyā alternatives, not Tucson as thereās no place to swim
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Per the email that just went out:
As the region continues to grow and evolve, the increased construction and development along key portions of the bike course have made it a challenge to find a viable area to host the course. After thoughtful discussions with local partners and stakeholders, weāve made the heartfelt decision to celebrate the incredible legacy of IRONMAN in Arizona with one final race in Tempe. While the sun may be setting on Paradox IRONMAN Arizona, its legacy will shine brightly in the hearts of all who have raced, volunteered, or cheered along the course.
Iām going to take a wild ass guess and say they are going to try and comeback in Henderson/Lake Las Vegas and do a full using parts of the old Silverman and or 70.3 Worlds course using Lake Meade recreation area. I now T100 got the boot but I think that was because their coarse was too intrusive to the local neighborhood. And conflicts with golf events. Alternatively Flagstaff but it would have to be in the summer.
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Iāve been wondering if this was the case. Glad Iām signed up. I might also be the death knell for races ā¦
Signed up for St George when I was a little tired of it, and it gets cancelled. Signed up for Nice World Champs and they cancel it. Signed up for Ironman AZ again after I told myself it was just a little too boring of a courseā¦ And canceled.
Anyone else got a race nearby they want canned?
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I have no idea if it would work as I havenāt even seen the development, but I wonder if a community like arrowhead lakes would find it interesting to rent out their ālakeā. HOA might persuade the residents the revenue collected could prevent future assessments.
Unless you are going to a football game, no one wants to go to Glendale.
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Wow! Wasnāt expecting that news today.
That would fit with what Justin Riele said on TTH about hearing rumors of a āmarathonā or long course event happening in Lake Las Vegas in 2026. They thought it might be a T200, but IM would be even better partner for the area. Could help replace some of St George if they put it in the spring vs fall as well
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The local Triathlon scene in the Phoenix area has been completely gutted in the last number of years.
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Roosevelt Lake and Globe AZ baby!
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Patagonia Lake would probably be too small/remote of an area. Several other areas would be at altitude, which does limit the amount of people willing to do it. Lake Havasu might be an option. Thereās an olympic distance event there already. It would be a big hurdle to try and get that big of a bike course there.
Lake havasu used to have a HITS 140.6
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Maybe this is stating the obvious but Ironman is no longer compatible with large metro areas so this news is not surprising.
I think weāre going to continue to see more races in rural-ish college towns. Ironman could probably look at every Big10 or SEC school not in a big metro with a nearby body of water as a potential host. Theyāll have the hotel capacity that Ironman needs already built-in.
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Learning a bit more, it seems this is less about Tempe and more about access to the Pima Indian Reservationā¦
They have signs all over arrowhead lakes āprivate property/private roadsā etc no way in hell. I even feel unwelcomed just riding my bike through there lol
This sucks so much, Iām pissed Iāve been fat for the last two years because I would have loved to do it again. I guess the tri-scene is truly dead now.