What are peoples thoughts and experiences with Ironman races vs. some of the indepedents (i.e.ChesapeakeMan Ultra Distance Triathlon,17th Annual Great Floridian Triathlon,The Grand Columbian Triathlon)
I have been doing marathons and Oly. distance tri’s for about 10 years, and 70.3 for two. Ready to take on a full. With my calendar, it is tough to commit a full year out to the IM races, particularly when they fill so fast.
Wondering about some of these other races, which appear to allow for more flexibility in entry and you don’t have to decide to do them a full year out.
I have done one indie (Silverman) and one IMNA (Lake Placid). The differences were:
If you need/want lots of people cheering for you, do a IMNA race
If you want less congested, safer races, do an indie (less people on the swim, less on the road).
If you want more of an event/festival feeling do an IMNA.
If you want better swag (like at Silverman) do an Indie (no idea about other indie races though).
If you want to support the little guy and like the home grown feeling of races do an indie.
I have not done any of the races you mention specifically, but here are some general comments.
With IM branded events, you get a very consistent quality of event. I dont’ worry about an aid station missing, or being out of fluids. I don’t worry about much, as they take care of the race and racers very well. The fields are large, so there are always people around. This may be good (maybe it helps you push harder), and it may be bad (sometimes leads to drafting). The fields are also very competitive. So if you want to race against the best around, go to an IM event.
At non-IM events, I do ask people who have been there before what their experience was like. But, I generally count on being flexible. Carry an extra bottle on the bike in the event an aid station didn’t get setup. Carry some extra food as well. Check the course to see if there are bad sections of road that may not be marked, also learn the course in the event there is not a volunteer to direct you. (Remember the race may be small, so just because you are not the leader does not mean you will be able to see anyone else.) I would likely carry the course maps, just in case. There may not be much competition; at a recent new ultra distance event I noticed about 300 people raced, the race was won in about 9:3x, second place at 10:3x, third at like 10:5x. Again, may be bad if you are trying to get the fastest time possible and don’t have others to key off of. But it may be good if you don’t want to deal with anyone but yourself.
In short - at an IM branded event I don’t worry about anything going wrong with the race. At an independent event, I am more self sufficient and prepared for minor issues.
I’ve done two IM distance races… '05 Great Floridian and '06 IMLP.
In my opinion IMLP gave me nothing more then GFT did. (Other then a few water bottles from the open water swims) Granted I’m a MOP’r w/ 12:19 and 11:47 finish times. Quite honestly if I thought I was going to be out there for greater then 14 or so hours I would recommend a true IM (there is more company out on the course at that time of night)
Also, late finishers at '05 GFT didn’t have the volunteer support at the aid stations and food and liquids were thin to none later in the race (Hurricane Wilma was quickly approacing and people wanted to get home to prepare.)
IM races
pros - more pageantry, more crowd support
cons - huge fields (a big con if a wave start and you’re not a good swimmer), cost, advance planning due to having to sign up so far in advance
GFT (and probably similar for other indies)
pros - smaller fields, lower cost, less advance planning needed…more of a community feel.
cons - less crowd support, less well-organized
I think that the well established indie’s (Vineman, GFT) have less of a delta to IMNA races…meaning that the organization of the whole event is very close to on-par with the IMNA events.
In short - at an IM branded event I don’t worry about anything going wrong with the race. At an independent event, I am more self sufficient and prepared for minor issues.
Pau
lol…sorry but this really made me laugh. Have you ever been on an IM course late into the night and tried to get some coke or any of the other tidbits that were available earlier in the race? I am not saying it happens all the time, however, if you read the race reports you will know it happens a lot. Silverman was a virtual buffet at each station. Although I didn’t get to use the run aid stations I did see them. The IM brand is a pretty good quality race/organization with some significant portions they could improve on. But overall you will have a great experience with both.
That would be politically correct … nor would you be told that you’re an ironman as you cross the finish line. Oh … the inhumanity of that after possibly completing the same distance, but its a fact!.. especially on ST
Dave
You used the all-important F word… Flexibility. I own a small company and things come up from time to time that “intrude” on my training. The ability to register within a few weeks (or a few days) for those independent events is a critical attribute. But then, I buy the generic raisin bran at the grocery store…
I enjoyed my two trips at chesapeakeman more than my race at ironman florida.
Like others have said, the aid stations at ironman florida were missing lots of stuff once it got cold and dark. No such problems at chesapeakeman, either time.
Do the distance because you want the challenge & be less concerned about the branding. My first ultra-triathlon was the Great Floridian back in '94. Clermont is close to the Mouse House so it’s good for people with families.You get an extra hour of racing compared to Ironman events. One is still a marathoner if s/he does the Long Beach marathon rather than Boston. You’ve still done the distance if you do one the so-called independents. If an Ironman branded race works into your schedule then do one, but they are not THE end all for events (Utah '02, NZ '06).
I am in the same boat and decided to do race fairly local, Redman in OK city. I think the key is to ask around as far as the certain race in concerned. I bet there are good and bad.
Piling on to the prior comments… Big advantage of IM is that it is an IM and you get the whole IM show; big production, exihibits, excitement, jumbo-tron, etc. On my first, I thought about doing a non-branded event and was glad I got talked into LP as the spectacle was worth it.
BUT… you’ve done plenty of marys and a couple of halves; this doesn’t appear to be a life-altering experience (i.e. not to the same degree as some of the IM stories). So, you want a good race with some flexibility (less than a year’s notice) - I think you might well be better off with a non-IM event.
If you want less congested, safer races, do an indie (less people on the swim, less on the road).
the two indie im’s i have done the bike portion was on open roads and i had a ffew near misses at intersections late in the ride, when i wasn’t really thinking…
