Ironman M-Dot Races (United States vs. Everyone Else)

Triathlon Forum
1

I am considering an overseas race next year…like Ironman Germany vs. staying in the United States.

I was curious if anyone had any feedback on Ironman Qualifiers put on in the States vs. areas like Germany, Austria, New Zealand, Brazil, France, etc, etc.
Things like venue quality, race production, location, dining locations and just overall atmosphere are things that are important.
Just curious… I can always do another NAS M-Dot event if I decide to stay local…

Thx

2

Perhaps not qualified to answer but no-one else has so I will. Not done NA IM yet (snuck into FL, just, and had to use the ‘international athlete’ route for my girlfriend), but I can comment on Germany, Austria and New Zealand. Top pick would be NZ, why else would I train through northern european winter to race there? A small town that embraces the race, how often can you say you’ve swum in a volcano crater? Bike is rolling on ‘heavy’ roads, I’ve witnessed little drafting on the 2 laps, and the run is gently undulating :wink: and i don’t blame the organisers for crappy weather. Due to the size of the town everything is pretty close together
Germany - loads of spectators, i did it the 1st year in Frankfurt and logistics were a bit of an arse, apparently way better now though.
Austria - good organisation, and real heavy drafting (40+ guys on my wheel at one point ie within 1.5m), again i did it on the older 3 lap bike, but mathematically you couldn’t get all the athletes on the course at the same time and not have them drafting. Nice site, close to Italy and slovenia if you are going to have a look around.
As you are asking about qualifiers, check out times from those races - Austria/germany are faaaast, in Austria 2005 9:16 got you 7th in 35-39. NZ has many spots, and lower entry numbers (by almost 1000)

Spread your wings, and check out the rest of the world.

3

I’ve raced 9 NA Sports (IMNA) races and done one Triangle Sports race (IM South Africa 2006)…Triangle (producers of Nice, Austria, and S.A.) do a GREAT job. Here’s what I’d expect from Triangle:

  1. Fewer racers
  2. More time to consider your entry (the races don’t fill up the day after the race)
  3. Beautiful venues
  4. Outstanding production quality
  5. Fewer volunteers/spectators, but NOT few
  6. Harder to qualify (either fewer slots or a very competitive Euro contingent)…I think the data will prove this out, but I haven’t run the numbers

I’m thinking hard about Austria or Nice for next year (depends upon my job)…If not, I’m happy to return to CdA.

In short, I wouldn’t worry about any of the Euro IMs…My friends loved Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

Cheers,
Puskas

4

Do a search on IM NZ or IM Brazil/Brasil (spelled both ways) and there is a lot of information on both races. I’ve done NAS Oceanside (and have been to IM AZ and IM CdA), but will not do the huge IM races here when I can go have a much better experience (IMO) elsewhere.

Brasil is my favorite, but NZ isn’t far behind. The venues are great and the people in both places even greater. The IMB race director is a super guy, looking out for the athletes.

clm

5

Lake Placid was great, but I thought the atmosphere at IM Austria was better and the scenery was better. Screaming fans with views of the Alps in the distance was really cool.