Male from northern Europe
Qualified for 2023
Competed in IM WC one time before (2016)
Used to think I would go to Hawaii every 5’ish years
Now I am losing interest because:
It is too expensive
It requires too much vacation
It is too crowded
It is too easy to qualify
The course is not that great
We are not welcomed by the locals
It is off my bucketlist
Separate male and female WC locations
I am personally offended by the 2023 move
I feel that WTC’s growth mania is ruining something good
My suggestion is to go back to a one day event for Kona and try to preserve the allure of the race. If it is a must to have 5000 participants and separate days for male and female at the IM WC, then rotate between locations that can handle it and move the WC away from Kona permanently. Keep Kona as “the birth of Ironman” bucket list race that it has been in the past.
There is a war in Ukraine
Cost of living crisis across multiple countries
COVID severely impacting lives and still killing far too many people
Yet more mass killings using AK47s this month
Poverty is strife and increasing
Let’s have a bit of perspective. IM announces a race change, not really the end of the world.
Yeah, but this is like the 18th thread on the matter.
We get it. Some people don’t like it.
Offering “suggestions” is a complete waste of time. The deal is done; no one is interested in any of your suggestions. We don’t need another dozen threads about it.
Male from northern Europe
Qualified for 2023
Competed in IM WC one time before (2016)
Used to think I would go to Hawaii every 5’ish years
Now I am losing interest because:
It is too expensive
It requires too much vacation
It is too crowded
It is too easy to qualify
The course is not that great
We are not welcomed by the locals
It is off my bucketlist
Separate male and female WC locations
I am personally offended by the 2023 move
I feel that WTC’s growth mania is ruining something good
My suggestion is to go back to a one day event for Kona and try to preserve the allure of the race. If it is a must to have 5000 participants and separate days for male and female at the IM WC, then rotate between locations that can handle it and move the WC away from Kona permanently. Keep Kona as “the birth of Ironman” bucket list race that it has been in the past.
Hard no. Women need their own race to allow them a fair race.
Male from northern Europe
Qualified for 2023
Competed in IM WC one time before (2016)
Used to think I would go to Hawaii every 5’ish years
Now I am losing interest because:
It is too expensive
It requires too much vacation
It is too crowded
It is too easy to qualify
The course is not that great
We are not welcomed by the locals
It is off my bucketlist
Separate male and female WC locations
I am personally offended by the 2023 move
I feel that WTC’s growth mania is ruining something good
My suggestion is to go back to a one day event for Kona and try to preserve the allure of the race. If it is a must to have 5000 participants and separate days for male and female at the IM WC, then rotate between locations that can handle it and move the WC away from Kona permanently. Keep Kona as “the birth of Ironman” bucket list race that it has been in the past.
how is going back to a the way it was going to make it any:
less expensive?
less crowded?
better course?
more welcomed by locals?
make your vacation shorter?
as a male from northern europe, a WC in nice will make it:
less expensive
less crowded
better course
more welcomed by locals
shorter vacation
Male from northern Europe
Qualified for 2023
Competed in IM WC one time before (2016)
Used to think I would go to Hawaii every 5’ish years
Now I am losing interest because:
It is too expensive
It requires too much vacation
It is too crowded
It is too easy to qualify
The course is not that great
We are not welcomed by the locals
It is off my bucketlist
Separate male and female WC locations
I am personally offended by the 2023 move
I feel that WTC’s growth mania is ruining something good
My suggestion is to go back to a one day event for Kona and try to preserve the allure of the race. If it is a must to have 5000 participants and separate days for male and female at the IM WC, then rotate between locations that can handle it and move the WC away from Kona permanently. Keep Kona as “the birth of Ironman” bucket list race that it has been in the past.
how is going back to a the way it was going to make it any:
less expensive?
less crowded?
better course?
more welcomed by locals?
make your vacation shorter?
as a male from northern europe, a WC in nice will make it:
less expensive
less crowded
better course
more welcomed by locals
shorter vacation
Male from northern Europe
Qualified for 2023
Competed in IM WC one time before (2016)
Used to think I would go to Hawaii every 5’ish years
Now I am losing interest because:
It is too expensive
It requires too much vacation
It is too crowded
It is too easy to qualify
The course is not that great
We are not welcomed by the locals
It is off my bucketlist
Separate male and female WC locations
I am personally offended by the 2023 move
I feel that WTC’s growth mania is ruining something good
My suggestion is to go back to a one day event for Kona and try to preserve the allure of the race. If it is a must to have 5000 participants and separate days for male and female at the IM WC, then rotate between locations that can handle it and move the WC away from Kona permanently. Keep Kona as “the birth of Ironman” bucket list race that it has been in the past.
As a person from the US I can tell you that…Hawaii is expensive. Please stop making it out at cheaper for us, it’s barely cheaper. The big difference for us is the cost of a flight.
Any place they put it in Europe will be, just as expensive, or more expensive. Hard to get to. And crowded. Marseille or Montpellier over Nice though for me. Need to be able to catch a Top 14 match in the same weekend.
Male from northern Europe
Qualified for 2023
Competed in IM WC one time before (2016)
Used to think I would go to Hawaii every 5’ish years
Now I am losing interest because:
It is too expensive
It requires too much vacation
It is too crowded
It is too easy to qualify
The course is not that great
We are not welcomed by the locals
It is off my bucketlist
Separate male and female WC locations
I am personally offended by the 2023 move
I feel that WTC’s growth mania is ruining something good
My suggestion is to go back to a one day event for Kona and try to preserve the allure of the race. If it is a must to have 5000 participants and separate days for male and female at the IM WC, then rotate between locations that can handle it and move the WC away from Kona permanently. Keep Kona as “the birth of Ironman” bucket list race that it has been in the past.
As a person from the US I can tell you that…Hawaii is expensive. Please stop making it out at cheaper for us, it’s barely cheaper. The big difference for us is the cost of a flight.
Any place they put it in Europe will be, just as expensive, or more expensive. Hard to get to. And crowded. Marseille or Montpellier over Nice though for me. Need to be able to catch a Top 14 match in the same weekend.
having raced triathlons multiple times in both marseilles and nice, it’s my experience that nice is hands-down better than marseilles. if you don’t want crowded you don’t want marseilles. if you want to make yours a joint rugby/triathlon trip i’m not your source for that.
it’s possible a lot of US folks don’t realize that for half of the US population nice is a closer flight than kona. from NYC it’s about 8hr on a nonstop. KOA is about 13hr. chicago, that’s where the time to get to one of those places is about even with the other. east of the mississippi nice is probably a shorter flight. in late sept of 2023, right now, $591 to $597 from LAX (scandinavian airlines) to nice depending on the exact days.
More welcomed in Nice than Kona? lol
It’s you best joke ever Dan!
quote
and, honestly, Nice is really overrated. Dirt, chaotic, kind of dangeorus in some area and (at least for me as italian) food quality really low Really can’t understand how someone can consider to spend an hell of a money to race there.
Been all over the world, and there’s no place quite like Hawaii. That won’t ever change. Hopefully they figure out some way to keep having in Hawaii because at the very least it’s one of the most fantastic spots and take a vacation in the entire world. It’s also the birthplace of modern triathlon and is so much history associated with it. Whether people really want to understand it or recognize it, it’ll always be unique in that aspect.
As a mid-30 something year old who’s just now getting a triathlon, I have absolutely zero if not negative interest in attending any world championships held anywhere outside of Hawaii. You can call me a selfish American or whatever but that’s just the way I see it.
as a male from northern europe, a WC in nice will make it:
less expensive
less crowded
better course
more welcomed by locals
shorter vacation
what am i missing here?
Thanks for pointing that out Dan! And for the clever response. I liked that!!
I’m not opposed to moving the WC to Nice. Quite the contrary. I’m suggesting to move the WC out of Hawaii permanently to somewhere that can handle two days and 5000 people. Like Nice. Then return Kona to a one day event, NOT the WC, but a regular race on the Ironman circuit. This will undoubtedly be a popular race for many reasons.
The reason I sound so pissy is that WTC has put me in a situation where I have to cancel my Hawaii family vacation in 2023 for my 50th birthday. A trip that I have planned for a long time and made arrangements for. It’s not the end of the world as someone has pointed out. I (we) will get over it. But after these events I have lost my appetite for returning to Hawaii. (And then many of you will think buhu, too bad for you. And that’s fine.)
as a male from northern europe, a WC in nice will make it:
less expensive
less crowded
better course
more welcomed by locals
shorter vacation
what am i missing here?
Thanks for pointing that out Dan! And for the clever response. I liked that!!
I’m not opposed to moving the WC to Nice. Quite the contrary. I’m suggesting to move the WC out of Hawaii permanently to somewhere that can handle two days and 5000 people. Like Nice. Then return Kona to a one day event, NOT the WC, but a regular race on the Ironman circuit. This will undoubtedly be a popular race for many reasons.
The reason I sound so pissy is that WTC has put me in a situation where I have to cancel my Hawaii family vacation in 2023 for my 50th birthday. A trip that I have planned for a long time and made arrangements for. It’s not the end of the world as someone has pointed out. I (we) will get over it. But after these events I have lost my appetite for returning to Hawaii. (And then many of you will think buhu, too bad for you. And that’s fine.)
but what is stopping you from still going, and doing the course selft supported anyways?
I’m with you. My whole interest in Ironman distance racing has been to qualify for Hawaii Ironman (been there 3 times and qualified for 2023). These recent changes make the Hawaii Ironman a lot less interesting, and I am losing my desire to keep chasing a WC held anywhere else. The history of the course has always been my fascination. Maybe I’ll get used to it and spark up again, and maybe not. Currently, my motivation is shot.
Male from northern Europe
Qualified for 2023
Competed in IM WC one time before (2016)
Used to think I would go to Hawaii every 5’ish years
Now I am losing interest because:
It is too expensive
It requires too much vacation
It is too crowded
It is too easy to qualify
The course is not that great
We are not welcomed by the locals
It is off my bucketlist
Separate male and female WC locations
I am personally offended by the 2023 move
I feel that WTC’s growth mania is ruining something good
My suggestion is to go back to a one day event for Kona and try to preserve the allure of the race. If it is a must to have 5000 participants and separate days for male and female at the IM WC, then rotate between locations that can handle it and move the WC away from Kona permanently. Keep Kona as “the birth of Ironman” bucket list race that it has been in the past.
As a person from the US I can tell you that…Hawaii is expensive. Please stop making it out at cheaper for us, it’s barely cheaper. The big difference for us is the cost of a flight.
Any place they put it in Europe will be, just as expensive, or more expensive. Hard to get to. And crowded. Marseille or Montpellier over Nice though for me. Need to be able to catch a Top 14 match in the same weekend.
having raced triathlons multiple times in both marseilles and nice, it’s my experience that nice is hands-down better than marseilles. if you don’t want crowded you don’t want marseilles. if you want to make yours a joint rugby/triathlon trip i’m not your source for that.
it’s possible a lot of US folks don’t realize that for half of the US population nice is a closer flight than kona. from NYC it’s about 8hr on a nonstop. KOA is about 13hr. chicago, that’s where the time to get to one of those places is about even with the other. east of the mississippi nice is probably a shorter flight. in late sept of 2023, right now, $591 to $597 from LAX (scandinavian airlines) to nice depending on the exact days.
While I’m still chasing a KQ for 2023 I am bad flyer and absolutely dread the flight to Kona from the East Coast. The flight will be worse for me than the hot and humid race. Nice was relatively easy for me. Flew non-stop out of Montreal as I’m a couple hours from the airport. It was around 7 hours to Nice (always longer on the way back to the US/Canada due to the air currents). The only downside is the jet lag, nighttime flights and getting into Europe early in the morning. And I remember back in 2019 the flights were under $600 USD on Air Canada. Our accommodations were an awesome AirB&B top floor walking distance to everything including every part of the race venue. And we were a 2-minute walk to the particular food that we eat. That was a happy surprise. That all being said. I am still drawn to competing in Kona just once. I already feel like a middle-aged loser who can’t get to Kona and that makes me more determined to get there, much to the dismay of my dear and patient husband
