Well, after all the fanfare, I got a slot online at 1:05. I haven’t read all the posts on the race nor have I done much research on the venue, but I’m wondering – why such a high demand for this race? What’s the big deal? What makes this race better than Moo or CDA?
I’ve never been to Moo or CDA, but I just got home from doing my first ironman at LP and I can tell you that it’s a truly special race. The course is tough. I know all ironman races are tough, but this bike course is very, very challenging. The hills just never let up. I can see how you could be hobbled after 112 miles if you don’t ride smartly, no matter how good a cyclist you are. You also ride through incredibly beautiful country. There’s only a few miles where you’re not riding beside a gorgeous river with unbelievable scenery at every turn. Sure, you’re not really watching that while you’re riding, but it’s sure better than riding in some nameless strip-mall area.
The lake is a perfect place to swim. Usually dead calm and the easiest open water sighting around. You barely have to look up because it’s so easy to navigate.
The run is challening, but not crazy. The support through the entire race is amazing. I felt like a rockstar out there. The volunteers and fan support are really special.
Also, Lake Placid is just a fun place to be. Lots of things for the family to do, nice shops in the downtown area. We were there for a week and we want to go back because we didn’t get to do everything we wanted to do.
I can’t compare this to other IM races, but you won’t be disappointed by LP.
Good luck! Dawn
ironman canada and lake placid are in a league of there own… you have to go there to see it, they other race are great, but these 2 are something very special in small community where people really look forward to it…
in cda, most of the city 5 miles away from the race didnt know there was a ironman… in penticton, everyone 100km around the city wait anxiously for this day!
What’s the big deal? OMG - it is gorgeous here! The town is also nice - a bit touristy, but still laid back (e.g. Starbucks normally opens at 9:00 am here! Unreal.) The swim is in a calm, pristine lake with a rowing rope running the lengthwise portion of the loop that reduces the need to frequently sight the buoys and makes for record swim times. The course isn’t easy though - the hills will challenge you on both the bike & the run, but the scenery is spectacular and helps compensate. There are also great opportunities to spectate for family and friends.
And next year is the 10th anniversary. Kind of a big deal : )
It’s within driving distance of a # of major metro cities and populated states… I mainly do this one and not the others because i can drive 5 hours with the family easier then getting to any other race with airfare.
If you think the bike course at LP is beautiful and tough, you really should give SavageMan a shot. It makes the LP course seem as flat as Eagleman and as scenic as the 8 lane highway bike course at Mrs. T’s.
I do like, IMLP, though. Am doing it my 3rd time next year and would never choose a flat, ugly, boring course like IMFL over it. But, still, if beautiful and hilly is your game, SavageMan is your race.
all the reason’s DawnT mentioned plus the town’s history as a two time Winter olympics venue! I rode the bobsled yesterday (which was a blast!) and was hoping to visit the top of the ski jumps before race day but the weather wasn’t cooperating…
I have to go with TGL. This is the one IM race that most east coasters can drive to. The fact that it is a challenging course and beautiful location are almost beside the point. I like this race because I love suffering, and this course makes you earn it. I’d love to do some other IM races, but have to get past the whole ‘fly a truckload of gear someplace’ thing. Look At CA, almost all races sell out immediately because there are just so many people there.
If there were 3-4 more IM’s in the MA/NY area, they would probably all still sell out within a couple of hours.
I think a lot of has to do with the MASSIVE amount of triathletes that are within a 5-7 hour drive from Placid. That alone makes it quite desirable.
Beautiful course, lots of accommodations. It really is a perfect venue.
Can’t wait to see your post on July 21, 2008. Then you’ll get it.
We got to see the ski jumpers doing aerials on Wednesday (Wet & Wild Wednesdays they call it). It was so cool!! They do their aerials and land in a pool. Then there were jumpers going off the big jumps too. I had no idea that they did that kind of training in summer too. Definitely a must see if you are there on Wednesday before the race.
To start, over 25% of the country lives under 8 hours (an easy day drive) from the start line. That’s 75 million people. That’s not even counting anyone from Canada, which I think is also concentrated in the Toronto to Montreal swath.
Is the actual race any better? I don’t know. There’s very few knocks on it that can’t be said about IM in general. I’m sure you could think of an equal positive about the other races to balance everything nice about LP. So it all comes back to the proximity of the potential entrant pool.
I have done Lake Placid 4 times, Florida once and Coeur d’Alene once and I have visited Madison. Have not yet done Canada but will.
Lake Placid NOW has a history with Ironman and add to that the Olympic mystique, the finish on the ice oval and the scenery and it makes for a great destination. I enjoyed CDA alot and had a great time in the week we were there. I definitely will go back for that race.
Florida is quirky because of the tourist town and not alot of race excitement from the locals.
Also, as someone points out, you have quite a bit of regional triathletes that want to support a big race in their region. So you get the big tri clubs from Boston, NYC, DC and Baltimore and it almost feels like a race in your backyard.
When I think of my 4 races there I almost always recall the great out and back part of the run course with a stream next to the road and alot of pretty trees lining the road.
See you at the starting line. I hope you enjoy it as alot of others have.
For all the reason’s people said earlier…beautiful course and within a day’s drive of 25% of the population of North America. Like Dawn said, this is where you also get treated like a Rockstar for a day. The race is better than Kona and everyone from the 8 hour to 17 hour finisher can experience it.
I am signed up for my 9th in 10 years of IMLP. It is also 2:45 min drive from home. One of these years I will ride there, ride the course, and ride home as a three day training weekend!
Dev
But here’s the problem, Savageman is in Wetern Maryland, home of…of…Deep Dreek Lake and Frostburg University. In fact, it’s not even Wesern Md, it’s far Western Maryland or West Virginia Lite…Lake PLacid is, well, Lake PLacid, enough said.
I live in Baltimore and without being paid or lots of free goodies, would chose Lake Placid over Savageman every single day of the week.
We shall see, maybe I will “get it”. At that point I will have Wildflower, Alcatraz, Muncie, Racine, Steelhead, Chicago Tri, and IM Moo to compare it against. So far, nobody seems to have a compelling enough reason to put it above IM Moo or CDA. Only 1 other poster has done CDA to offer a fair comparison. I think all of the IM races are challenging in their own way, great venues, great support (I think it is pretty tough to top Wisconsin for volunteer/community support), etc…
It sounds to me like the demand for IMLP is primarly driven by the huge population in the Northeast. Another reason I thought of is timing – IMLP is right in the middle of summer which is perfect timing. I am surprised by all the posts and how little variety there is in the IM races people have done. I know it’s expensive but you only live once and if you are going to invest all the time and money to train for an IM why not do it in a different locale to spice it up?
Based on these posts it seems that people stick to their area of the country and race the same IM over and over. I’ve done IM Moo once and I am signed up for it again this year, but that’s it for me for this race for a while. Sure, it is convenient and easy for me to drive to from Chicago and a beautiful course/venue, but I want to do some different races, why go back to the same races every year? Sure you save airfare and don’t have to lug a bunch of gear across the country, but how boring…
That’s not even counting anyone from Canada, which I think is also concentrated in the Toronto to Montreal swath.
That’s right - we don’t count 
Add in another 8 million Canadian in the Toronto to Montreal corridor.
It’s one of the reasons the race was put here. It’s a beautiful, semi-remote area, but is still a relativly short drive from the largest population concentration in North America.
I’m wondering why you think there is a higher demand for IMLP than IMWI, IMFL or IMC? Seems every year these races sell out in nano secs, bring down active.com and instigate several “I didn’t get in…” threads.
~Matt
I’m basing it on the fact that they had to delay online registration for 2 hours yesterday, the many posts about the thousands of people camped out to sign up in person and the post from IM Voice (Mike Rielly) about the huge demand.
I just did LP for the 2nd time. I’ve also done IMW 3x, Muncie 2x, Steelhead and Racine (among others) and I’ve spectated/volunteered at IMF and IMAZ.
There is something special about IMLP. The combination of the natural beauty of the area, the olympic history and idyllic small-town atmosphere make it a unique event. Plus there is the fact that it is the first USA mainland IM, so there is some history there. And the way the entire town supports the race is pretty special. The IM is THE event that week. The town is literally overrun with the IM athletes and spectators. It is almost like having an entire village that exists only for the IM. That just adds to the hype and excitement of the race. It really builds to a crescendo by the time race day arrives. I imagine this is what IMC is like as well.
Although IMW is more convenient for me, both in the timing and location of the race, I still signed up for IMLP next year. There is just something very special that I love about Lake Placid. Maybe because it is such a beautiful, sleepy place that comes alive with the IM that week – Madison and Tempe don’t really seem all that different to me with or without the IM in town, but Lake Placid is transformed on race week and everyone who lives there seems to throw their weight behind the athletes and the race. Madison and Tempe are both college towns and Panama City Beach is a dumpy spring-break place and they all seem to “put up” with the race rather than completely embrace it the way Lake Placid does.