I went to Netherland imagining that it would be a good event, it start late almost by 30 min and the water ran out on the run.
Not to mention that there was no sign in English. Same in all Netherland. Terrible.
No offense to the Dutch people but I didn’t feel welcome at all.
I went to Netherland imagining that it would be a good event, it start late almost by 30 min and the water ran out on the run.
Not to mention that there was no sign in English. Same in all Netherland. Terrible.
No offense to the Dutch people but I didn’t feel welcome at all.
Oh wow, what a bummer. I was eying this race for 2024. Having done IM Copenhagen and the Worlds 70.3 in Nice France (2018 and 2019) I never had a problem with speaking only English. Everyone in Copenhagen spoke excellent English that we encountered. I can’t recall the aid stations that clearly but never had trouble getting water or anything.
Did you fly into Amsterdam from the US Or Canada? Two big Ironman events were canceled in another part of the Netherlands recently so that is the only race left that is an IM branded event in the Netherlands if I understand correctly. I had asked in the FB group if there would be a 70.3 Westfriesland in 2024 and they didn’t know yet. It may be canceled for the future but hopefully not.
Did you like the course? It looked really fun and scenic. Running out of water is really bad though. I don’t think I’ve ever done an IM branded event that ran out of water at aid stations and I’ve done quite a few now (4 fulls and 11 halves). But it does happen.
Can you give more details on the race? Where did you stay? Were accommodations easy to find?
Bumping this thread as I’d love to hear from others who did this race over the weekend
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I love Copenhagen, totally different from Netherland. And yes, they speak English, but only some metro machines and some Parking have partially in English, everything is so complicated. Maybe is me jeje.
I fly from Dominican Republic to NY, then Amsterdam. ☠ï¸
I really like the bike course and run, both very fast. The swim had about 8 turns.
I stayed in Europarq (don’t, jeje), better at same city, Hoorn.
My opinion is based in 22 half and 3 fulls IM, this event wasn’t good.
I love Copenhagen, totally different from Netherland. And yes, they speak English, but only some metro machines and some Parking have partially in English, everything is so complicated. Maybe is me jeje.
I fly from Dominican Republic to NY, then Amsterdam. ☠ï¸
I really like the bike course and run, both very fast. The swim had about 8 turns.
Thanks, I heard good things about the run and bike course. 8 turns in the swim! Wow!
Here’s an article that describe the event
It was very hot, and I confirm that the fuel stations in the run went low on supplies after a while (i.e., no iso, Red Bull, and sometimes even water). The worst part for me was the 30’ delay of the swim start. Luckily I was waiting in the shades, but others waited under the sun with their wetsuits on in a pretty hot morning. I also found the finish line to be a bit disappointing, with just a bottle of water given, no true place to stay and relax in the shades, and quite some ci fusion between athletes and supporters).
That said, the course was very good compared to other IM experiences I had. The last part of the swim was a bit chaotic with a passage under a quite narrow bridge, but overall was fine. The bike was great, with smooth roads and overall safe sections. And the run was also good, with old town sections full of supporters.
If there’s a 2024 edition, I’ll most probably pick it again.
For the hotel, I stayed in Heerhugowaard which is a 20’ drive from the race location. No issues with driving there and finding nearby parking.
I was reading on the facebook page that the swim start delay was due to an ambulance not being in the right place. So I’m not sure if it was the race organization to blame or not. Still a bummer to stand out in the sun for that long before starting a race in a wetsuit.