Hello all, I am posting to get some opinions. I am doing my fourth Ironman and was looking at either Ironman Lake Placid or Wisconsin. I was wondering if anyone had done either races (or both) and had any tips. Which has a better venue? easier to find hotels or lodging of any sort?! If anyone has any tips whatsoever, please post!
From what I’ve heard, the crowd support, Atmosphere and camaraderie of IMWI is unrivaled among IM’s worldwide. There’s even a 3000+ member Facebook group dedicated to training and racing for the event. Plenty fo Hotels within a short drive of the shuttle parking or downtown. I stayed just south of Monona Terrace and it was a 10’ or less walk to the shuttle lot.
Another athlete I know did Lake Placid, and its’ a prettier course, but lodging I hear is pricey, and not the same crowd support.
Honestly, Madison in my opinion is right up there with Boulder as the triathlon “capital of the world”.
Madison 11 times and LP once.
I prefer Madison but I’m not sure I can tell you why. It may just be that I have become attached to the race in Madison because I’ve done it so many time, or just that I had a really bad race in LP.
Crowd support is great in Madison but I would also say the race is better run.
I can only speak to my experience with Madison and I have to say it is top notch for both athletes, and family and friends. I have done the event twice and it is one of my favorite events out of the six IMs that I have done. The crowd support in Madison is second to none. You have swarms of people along all stretches of the course including the unique transition area at Monona Terrace, the climbs throughout the challenging bike course, and at every turn on the run.
Lodging is plentiful and reasonable. You can run into some challenges with lodging if the Badgers are in town, but that can also provide an awesome distraction the Saturday before the race.
Madison 2x and Placid 1x—agree with the other posters about the crowds at Madison…only the finish line at Louisville is better…
if important to you I also found the prices of the hotels are much cheaper at Madison and without many of the required extended stays.
On the positive side for Lake Placid—man is it pretty—and the swim is great—but god the 2nd lap of the bike about killed a flatlander like myself!
IMMOO 5x IMUSA 3x.
Both are great races and venues.
If cost wasn’t an issue I would probably choose Lake Placid. If you’re on a budget Madison wins hands down.
I would have to believe that Madison has the best T1 and T2 in the world. A/C, chairs to sit on, carpeted. Flush toilets. Your bags will never get wet. Hard to beat.
One of the last mass starts swims in Monona. Better water qualify in Mirror lake. Bike course are probably equally as difficult in their own ways. LP is more scenic. Runs are about the same, albeit, Madison will have more people throughout the course. My opinion is Madison has the best crowd support and finish line. LP is a better vacation destination.
You need to do them both but if you have to pick one; IMMOO.
**IMWI **<— haven’t raced but have volunteered at an aid station
**pro: **
- amazing crowd support
- spotted cow beer !!! It’s the best beer in the world and they only sell it in Wisconsin. You can even go tour the brewery after, and all their other beers are freaking awesome: http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/ the brewery is about 45 min south of Madison. If you go and it’s in season I also highly recommend the Belgian red, it’s made with door county cherries. But try them all. this place simply doesn’t make a bad brew!
- cheese curds
- frozen custard
- it’s in a “real” city so if you want legitimate night life afterwards or other metropolitan stuff
- there is this cool bar there with a TREE INSIDE of it!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/pauls-club-madison - if you’re into farmer’s markets, the one in Madison is really a superlative experience… I think it’s the biggest in the entire world. Umm, don’t miss the cheese curds they are supposed to be squeaky when you eat them which means they are fresh!
**cons: **
- course seemed very technical and curvy imo
- rained when I volunteered there and some racers were cold and wet
- not really near a major airport
- not as many things for family to do before/after race- if you want to go somewhere nearby to do touristy stuff after consider taking everyone to the Wisconsin Dells
**IMLP: ** <— raced and volunteered at 2x
**pro: **
- really good crowd but not as amazing as IMWI
- the bike course has this amazing descent, if you like descending you will hit top speed!
- cool stuff to do in nearby area, go see all the Olympic stuff, go up to the top of the ski jump, take a bobsled ride
- fun town the vibe is really neat downtown during the race
- prettier scenery than IMWI
- feels “historic” in the town because of the Olympics etc… you can watch Miracle beforehand and get all psyched up
con:
- not really near a major airport
- less crowds cheering than at IMWI
- some people complain about the bike hills, I didn’t think they were that bad but if you don’t like climbing consider…
- town can feel kinda chintzy and hokey with overpriced tourist rip off stores on the strip… but easily avoided.
Ultimately, if you had to choose just one… if you’re going to bring family to watch I’d probably pick IMLP but if you’re going by yourself I’d pick IMWI. I think whichever one you chose you will have a blast! Neither is a bad choice! Have fun
Couple more IMWI notes:
During the bike leg, my wife took my daughter to a children museum in downtown Madison. On the run course, with a little jogging, a spectator could see an athlete I think 8-10 times. I saw my friends and family at least 4 or 5 times.
Lots of turn arounds so you can see where your competition is.
Mass start. Good if your a strong swimmer. Good if your trying to KQ so you can see the competition and know your placing and where everyone is at. Bad if you a weaker swimmer and T1 is probably a little more crowded.
IMMOO 5x IMUSA 3x.
Both are great races and venues.
If cost wasn’t an issue I would probably choose Lake Placid. If you’re on a budget Madison wins hands down.
I would have to believe that Madison has the best T1 and T2 in the world. A/C, chairs to sit on, carpeted. Flush toilets. Your bags will never get wet. Hard to beat.
One of the last mass starts swims in Monona. Better water qualify in Mirror lake. Bike course are probably equally as difficult in their own ways. LP is more scenic. Runs are about the same, albeit, Madison will have more people throughout the course. My opinion is Madison has the best crowd support and finish line. LP is a better vacation destination.
You need to do them both but if you have to pick one; IMMOO.
This is a great summary. I will note (again) that it is one of the last mass swim starts. No substitute for this and the way it is meant to be. I have done MOO 2x and LP 3x
How quickly does IMWI sell out online?
Did LP twice and WI once, had spectated and volunteered at both as well. Both are great races from a variety of standpoints:
Crowd support - running up the helix through a gauntlet of noise after the swim was awesome, LP has a long run from Mirror Lake to T1 and through a thick crowd coming down the hill alongside the Mobil station, but the helix was more fun. Swim at both is very spectator-friendly (a bit moreso at WI if you get a spot on the helix). Madison also gets the advantage for crowd support on the run where it is pretty steady, especially along State St with the bars. Crowd support on the run at LP is pretty much limited to the sections in town where the rest of the course is just participants and volunteers.Challenging bike courses - LP has the more scenic course where WI is more technical, some tough climbs on both that seem even harder on the second loop. Cool crowd support on the radio tower hill in WI and along Papa Bear in LP where just like in the TdF, people are yelling, waving cowbells etc to help get you up the hill. Bonus points to LP for the descent into Keene.Lodging - Plenty of stories here over the years about price gouging in LP if you stay anywhere near the race venue. One year we rented a condo for the week with a group of friends and it turned out to be a better deal. Lodging in WI is done through the Madison visitors bureau - I’ve stayed both within walking distance of the finish and miles away where we were able to book on our own with less hassle/expense.Local scene - Madison is a fun college town (a visit to the Great Dane is a must), LP has the small-town vibe combined with the Olympic history. I’ve also been to LP several times outside of IM week either for training weekends or camping trips with my family and it’s just as much fun. Good food/bar options in both.Race venues - I enjoyed the swim in Mirror Lake much more than Lake Monona in Madison, much better visibility and I like the course layout better. Also easier to get in out where the entry point to Lake Monona was very narrow and congested, and you had to tread water for quite a bit prior to the start. Mirror Lake has space further behind the start line to stand until you are ready to get into position to start (note - this is going from a mass start format during the years when I did it). Both bike courses are challenging for different reasons (LP is more scenic), LP run course more challenging with the two hills later in each loop (Madison has the better crowd support though). Finish - can’t beat the Olympic oval.
All in all, I enjoyed both races very much; you can’t go wrong with either one. I lean towards LP where it’s only a 5-hour drive from where I live but I’d highly recommend either race to anyone who was considering them. Good luck!
lp in 2011, wi in 2013.
swim: placid wins if you want calm, smooth waters. imwi still has the mass start. you gotta do it at least once in your life.
bike: placid is more scenic, but the imwi is no slouch either. i enjoyed all the folks cheering on the hill, felt tdf “like”. lp might have more elevation gain, but imwi has more turns which suck your energy. overall, i think the lp bike was “easier” if you are well trained.
run: imwi hands down. placid is good for the city, otherwise the rest of the run pretty much sucks.
venue: madison doesn’t have too much to offer, but there is decent food and fun cities nearby. placid has more to offer in terms of food, olympic village etc… but be ready to pay 3x as much for lodging (if not 4x as much).
I’m interested to know how quick it’s estimated to sell out this year - two years ago when I registered it was open for several hours after it opened, though they were occasionally closing new registration to avoid crashing.
IMWI = 4 times, IMLP = 2 times.
LP has the best scenery and atmosphere, WI has the best farmer’s market and finishing chute. WI has the best restaurants for after the race, LP has the best water you’ll ever swim in. It’s a toss-up, but the nod goes to LP.
How quickly does IMWI sell out online?
It was open online for about two weeks this year.