Is anyone else upset that there’s not going to be a video of IMFL 2004. I sent an email to IMNA asking when they expected to have the dvd available because I wanted to purchase one. The return email said there would be no dvd because there was no tv coverage at the race. Am I the only one that thinks this is ridiculous? Why would IMNA have tv coverage at every other IMNA race but not Florida? It seems to me that they are missing out on providing great mementos to the participants and making a hefty sum off the sales.
It might have something to do with the fact that Panama City is not a triathlon hip town and the local tele crews don’t care too much about the race. It might not be IMNA decision either. From what I understand Panama City is not populated with athletes or the demographic that would watch the show. Have you ever tried to go out to a nice restaurant/healthy restaurant in PCB? It doesn’t exist.
at least you have that. i did lake placid this past summer and because of technical difficulties, they had no finishers videos from that race. i would rather have had that than a race video. it was my first one too.
oh well, we better quit bitchin’ before some “real” triathletes accuse us of doing the race just for the souvenirs and mementos
There were IMLP 2004 finisher videos. They gave them out at the post-race dinner.
I wonder the lack of an IMFL TV show is any indication of the state of overall media interest in IM shows (they weren’t exactly mainstream events where I live, you can only get Discovery Channel via a satellite, not regular TV). I imagine that they are not big money makers for the producers.
The local Panama City NBC station named IMFL as the #1 local sports moment of 2004. Gulf Coast 1/2 was something like #8 on the same list. Yeah, the PCB restaurant scene is pretty mediocre, especially compared to the huge number of choices you get 15-30 miles west of there, but there are non-Waffle House options if you know where to look, and it’s easy enough to grab a bunch of the healthy at Publix and eat back at the condo.
I’m not sure why you’d expect a local tv station to be in charge of video production, especially since you’re talking an area that’s about 150 on the Nielsen tv market size lists. The tv stations can handle their remote shots from Marianna or Blountstown, but they don’t have the resources to cover something as technically challenging as an IM broadcast.
Signed,
Panhandle area triathlete. There are probably more of us per capita here than most major metro areas.
i’m talking about the actual video of each individual crossing the finish line, not the janus race videos they give out. my wife did florida and was able to order a 30 sec. clip of herself finishing. other races are available as well.
a friend of mine also sent me this link (this is my wife finishing). not sure how he got to this page. athlete finder maybe? i’ll find out if you really want.
Sorry Jill. I didn’t mean for my post to come off that rude. Actually, I forgot that the Gulf Coast race was in PCB. So basically you have two of the countries largest events in the panhandle. I stand corrected. Could you please work on the restaurant situation?
I think a good restaurant core in PCB is still 3-5 years out. They need to hit a sort of critical mass of demand with the new condos going in, which should draw a different, more affluent demographic than the old PCB with demand for better food to match.
In the mean time, I’ve heard good things about Chef Paul’s in Carillon Beach right at the Bay County line, and once you get west of that into Walton County, there’s all kinds of goodness. (Sandor’s, the Red Bar, that good Tex-Mex place over by Seagrove Beach, Criolla’s, Cafe Tango, Basmati’s, Bud & Alley’s, D&K’s …)
