Quick report from Frankfurt (race is actually now called the IM European Championship):
Perfect weather, unlike the conditions last year (so hot they made it a non-wetsuit swim). New swim course seemed a little tighter at the start and there were more than a few scrum matches – my wife got hit in the face but then slugged the guy and escaped under a buoy line – you go girl! I had a rough start but kept repeating the DOUG STERN mantras like “Fuck you, keep moving!” which finally got me going after the first turn. Bike course was very nice, totally closed to traffic, roads were in excellent shape, and the German spectators make every town visit a big celebration. Going through downtown Frankfurt on the bike is a trip. The German police reported a new record crowd of 450,000 spectators. Saw lots of aero helmets at the start and really liked passing a lot of them on my Jurgen Zack Memorial Softride TT7 with clear duct-tape converted aero helmet…also enjoyed the watered down Red Bull on the bike course (and run course). I can’t believe Softride isn’t making bikes anymore – with a disc wheel, that bike absolutely left anyone around me in a cloud of German dust.
Run course is OK, but there are some cobblestone stretches which really aren’t a whole lot of fun on the feet. Saw a lot of guys with calf-length athletic tube socks made by CEP (?) which evidently is gaining some favor here. They do look pretty dorky. My race went well, I managed to put in a decent run of 3:47 to get a PR, finally breaking 11 hours so can now officially retire from Ironman-length races until I turn 55 to go in the next age group (of course the German guy who won my age group in 9:30 something will probably be doing 8:45s then). And after the race it is very easy to get an IV, nice long massage, lots of German beer and food, and a hot tub area with lots of nekid people lounging around. The only bad thing about this well-organinzed race was the loooonnnngggg line to pick up your bike – only two checkout people for over 2000 athletes… the wait was punctuated by an older lady fainting in line. But I did meet a Swedish guy with a P3C with about 10 in of aerobar-seat vertical drop – turned out to be one of Bjorn’s training buddies. Also a very good triathlete who broke 5 hours on the bike split a week after completing Ironman France…
After the awards banquet, I took a picture of Faris al-Sultan with my wife which made her whole race; he’s a very nice guy, he stood around for 10 minutes signing autographs and getting pictures taken. Didn’t have a good race but the crowd really gave him a big hand for finishing (despite the other World Champion at the race who dropped out with back problems…) The woman’s race was epic and the crowd gave both women (Nicole Leder and Andrea Brede) a great ovation for their battle over most of the run.
Thanks for the RR. How did you find the logistics of getting to and from T1 for bike pick up and drop off brfore and after? I would love to do this race however having two transition areas and retreving grear after the race seems like a bit of a post race challenge. I guess my concern is just getting around the city during the event.
No problem with logistics – you gotta’ remember this is a German race and they pride themselves on a well-organized race. There are shuttle busses with bike trailers on Saturday to drop your bike off. There are lots of shuttle busses on race morning from downtown Frankfurt and a couple of other sites. After the race there is no need to go back to T1 as your bike and all other bags are at T2, which is downtown and close to the excellent subway/train system (you also get a multi-day subway/train pass with your race bag!). If you go to the race website and download the athlete’s guide it should be all there. Don’t wait too long to register for this race because it has been selling out earlier every year…
Hope you get clearance from the FM to come over – you will not regret it!
Marty
P.S. We have stayed in the Fleming’s Hotel for the past couple of years – doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the rooms are very very nice, ultra modern, and the weekend rate is pretty cheap compared to the race hotel. It’s right next to the main Railroad station too. They had a brochure in the race packet this year so you might see if they have a special rate for triathletes next year…
Marty,
I have a friend who did the race and I’m interested to see if she got a slot. Do you know where the rolldown/hawaii info is posted in the internet?
Thanks and congrats on the race.
No, it’s not on the race website, Ironman.de. But I was at the rolldown (because of the beer, not to get a slot), and I can tell you there were not very many rolldowns for the women at all…
She had a disappointing race so I didn’t exactly know how to word the e-mail. So, finally I just wrote the email and congratulated her for her strong effort etc. I asked (tenderly)in the e-mail about a slot/rolldown. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
Thanks again,
Tom
It was a great event. I did a 12.24 here so took a good 2hrs plus off my IMCH PB.
Organisation was fantastic - so slick its untrue. Had no problems collecting my bike from T2 - I got changed, had a lager and bun, and then went round to Starbucks for a coffee (what other IM has a starbucks 5m from the finish line?) and then went into the stands to cheer for two hours. Personally I think that was the highlight.
Congratulations. I thought that was your fast time. A group of us from Boca ( including Raul and Hina) are in Austria this week for IM. I hope the weather changes for us.
Is this the Reinke monster? Yeah, I heard that Raul was in Austria for 3 weeks and guessed that it might be for the Iroman. Concur on the need for the weather to get better – I bet you guys are freezing!!! But be careful what you wish for – I did that race in 2001 (?) and it was baking hot – lots and lots of death marches on the run. Though it’s a beautiful course and you should be able to hammer that bike ride. The Euro clothing optional beach park on the run is always nice too. Have a great race and say hi to Raul and the Boca gang for me! See you in Kona?