I was once again impressed with the enthusiasm of the thousands spectators at IMLP this year, which may even rival Kona.
I’ve heard the crowds in Europe (Switzerland in particular) are absolutely crazy.
What has been your experience at other IMs?
Can’t say enough of Madison (IM-WI) Spectators were there almost every mile of the course. The only bare spots were out on the leg from Madison to Verona and there were scattered. The run had spectators along the entire route. So much fun I am doing it again next year!
I raced IMLP in 2006 and the crowds were great but were pretty much centralized to the town of Lake Placid itself. I just raced Roth a couple of weeks ago and they have the same support but at 8-10 locations on both bike and run courses. The biggest difference I found in Roth was the support for the enthusiastic spectators by both the race organizers and the community. Beer gardens on the course, spectators on the road, handing out noise makers etc. It is a part of the race the organizer pays attention to and sepnds a lot of money on. I found spectating in IMLP this year a little stodgy with the police and security volunteers making sure that the road was not obstructed in anyway. It would be cool if they allowed the funnel up SolarBerg to happen in Lake Placid on each loop of the bike at either the post office or up Papa Bear. I was surprised with the lack of spectators on Papa Bear this year and we positioned ourselves at the corner on top of the run hill and our little group of 10 were louder than the other 500 trying to get the athletes to start running again.
I will ditto ttx’s comments. Wisconsin is pretty good. Plenty of folks scattered around the bike course: the hill into Mt Horeb, Radio Tower Hill, in Verona proper. The run course is pretty easy to move around on, you can see “your” athlete 6-8 times on the run course without too much hassle, and it is all in the city so there are non-IMers hanging out watching the spectacle…
I don’t remember there being large crowd support out on the course at LP.
I will ditto ttx’s comments. Wisconsin is pretty good. Plenty of folks scattered around the bike course: the hill into Mt Horeb, Radio Tower Hill, in Verona proper. The run course is pretty easy to move around on, you can see “your” athlete 6-8 times on the run course without too much hassle, and it is all in the city so there are non-IMers hanging out watching the spectacle…
I don’t remember there being large crowd support out on the course at LP.
Another vote for IMOO. Raced it twice. Spectated at IMLOU last year and watched/volunteered at IMLP this year.
IMLP had a nice crowd on the bike at the ‘hot corner’ through town, and the run was packed coming up the street and for a good portion of the out and back before the boathouse, but it was largely centralized.
IMOO the last two years has been incredible. Going through Verona on the bike there’s a long (1/4 mile or more) section of town where the road is barricaded off and the crowds are incredible and the road is covered in chalk/writing. The actually bus people out to there from town. Then the two big climbs are a blast with the crowds lining the road and parting as you approach, almost like in Le Tour. The run is awesome too, with a couple of trips up and down State St at the start and then about halfway through each loop. Tons of people cheering/screaming etc… for blocks. Also good crowds around campus etc…My friend that was with me at IMLP this year has done every IM race in North America and he says IMOO is hands down the best for crowd support.
Good thread. The empty whore-like attention I so crave may very well be met at IMOO. Raced and vol’d at IMLP the last two years running …the sogfest 2008 IMLP was a bit of a downer from an athlete’s perspective as the spectators were getting killed from the weather…very few papa bear climb spectators. (I think the 2007 IMLP DVD shows the papa bear climb with TDF type crowds funnelling the bikers up to the turn…that would be cool to ride thru). Surprised to read 2009 IMLP had light spectator population on the papa bear area as weather was fine…I need to get some peeps out there for 2010.
I have other IM experience to point to but thx for the thread.
As a professional spectator of 55 IM around the world, I will say Roth is the best spectator supported. Nothing compares to Solaberg Hill. I have not been to Austria or IM Germany though.
First in NA would be Wisconsin. I have been to every WTC IM race in NA plus a couple of Indies. Kona ranks up there, but it is lonely out on the Queen K.
Going through town in LP is awesome, something to look forward to after long quiet stretches on the course. WI was incredible with the people out in Verona as well as on the one big climb (will always remember a guy running alongside me yelling "C’mon man!!!Dig!!!Dig!!!Dig!!! - made me feel like I was in the TdF). CdA was similar where it seemed there were people spread out pretty well along the bike course, and coming back through town during the run was awesome.
Can’t say enough of Madison (IM-WI) Spectators were there almost every mile of the course. The only bare spots were out on the leg from Madison to Verona and there were scattered. The run had spectators along the entire route. So much fun I am doing it again next year!
Back in the game, IMWI 2010!
I have heard that about Madison. I am looking forward to racing there next year as well.
the two big climbs are a blast
I don’t like those climbs at all, but that may be caused by the suffering I am going through as I ride up them. 
Agreed. German races are incredible. I’ve never seen anything close.
30,000 spectators on Solarberg/Roth alone.
There is a youtube clip showing a wideangle from above of Solarberg crowd this year here :
http://triathlonshots.com/ChallengeRoth.html
A figure I heard in annecy on ‘Le tour de France’ this year was 400,000 but it didn’t seem that many.
However I think the crowd on Champs Elysees in paris was the biggest for a sports event. 10 deep of people all jammed together for the 7km perimeter, plus many more back from that.
G.
IM WI is great. I remember swimming and every time I took a breath I saw all those people on the Terrace. Obviously State Street is great too.
I also liked IM KY a lot. Tons of people on the bike route and the run Fourth Street Live is a fantastic finish.
the cops were complete jerks on papa bear this year. one of my friends had his foot about 2 inches beyond the white line on the side of the road and a cop came over and yelled at him to move back. i don’t see what the problem is in letting people converge TdF style towards the center of the road. it did, however, seem like the race officials were excessively using 1 lane for their vehicles. at one point during the first loop of the bike, about 3 boats that must have been used on mirror lake pulled up behind pick-ups and then proceeded to go down the bears. i didn’t understand why they didn’t wait for most of the bike leg to be done before sending the boats back to wherever they came from.
Did Switzerland years ago & the size of the crowds on the climbs & their proximity to the competitors was exciting. As close as a TdF experience as I’ll ever have.
As a professional spectator of 55 IM around the world, I will say Roth is the best spectator supported. Nothing compares to Solaberg Hill.
- 4, from a sample of 8 IM in Europe
IMOO rocks
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Roth :
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