How many of you have done the same Ironman more than once? Other than to beat your last time or with the exception of Kona, what’s the point?
Why not venture elsewhere and see the world for 9+ hours or in my case maybe 20 hrs…lol
Just curious…
why bother with Ironmans at all? Why not use the same amount of money you spend on one race and do a whole series of races in various locations in shorter distances…might even prolong your life.
$$$$$
Not everyone can afford the travel expense
Jodi
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How many of you have done the same Ironman more than once? Other than to beat your last time or with the exception of Kona, what’s the point?
Is “because it makes me happy” an acceptable answer?
Why not venture elsewhere and see the world for 9+ hours or in my case maybe 20 hrs…lol
The first hour+ is spent face down - if you can see, it’s looks just about the same as any other water. The next 5.5+ are spent staring 20 feet up the road, trying not to draft. So you’ve got about 3.5+ hours of world seeing. Pre-race you’re involved with all the pre-race stuff - not exactly hiking or biking around whatever beautiful place you’re in. Post-race you’re likely pretty spent and most people aren’t particularly mobile. So that’s not much of a see-the-world vacation.
If you have one reasonably local, better to do it, save the scratch and really enjoy a separate vacation. There’s a lot of world to be seen that isn’t on an IM course.
I’ve gone to IMFLorida twice, next year 3 times and have learned how to do the trip cheap there…plus my wife and i like da beach.
tfun~
Our IM group are from the UK, and having completed a UK IM distance event many times ventured over to IM Austria. We returned the following year ( with families ), then tried IM Germany ( Frankfurt ). We returned to Austria this year and are off to Roth next summer. The plan is to return to Austria in 2008.
Why Austria ? It’s a awesome event, the whole area supports the event which is in a spectacular setting. The race course is perfect - closed roads etc. and it’s a great place for a family holiday.
I actually prefer to repeat the same races rather than find new ones. Of course, I choose awesome venues like Honu…
I did IM CDA twice because I barely missed qualifying for KOna the first time and I felt my best chance of qualifying was to do CDA again. It worked out well for me since I easily qualified the second time but I would not do CDA again for the reasons that you mentioned. The only IM that I will ever do more than once again will be Kona for obvious reasons. There are so many interesting IM venues around the world that it makes no sense to me to do the same one again and again.
I’m doing IMC again in 2007 (my first was this year). My reasons for repeating are 1) I got into the race again, so I might as well!, 2) Penticton is a great race venue and I want to enjoy it again, 3) I now know the course and want to challenge myself to improve my times, 4) I will be on site to register for 2008 if I want to.
All that being said, I would have no problems with trying another venue (added IM Brazil to the 2007 race schedule) as well.
All that being said, I would have no problems with trying another venue (added IM Brazil to the 2007 race schedule) as well.
And we are going to party AFTER!!!
clm
Because the town of Penticton puts on a great race! Single loop courses, beautiful water, great friendly people in town, Hog’s Breadth Coffee, Salty’s, Bike Barn, Ray’s Sports Den, great exchange rates, and the timing gives us all summer for preparation. If New Zealand was at a better time of year for those of us from the Northern Hemisphere, I could see doing that race multiple times as well.
Woo hoo! I hear they have the best post-race party, is it true??
One reason for repeat is that it is really easy to sign up for next year vs. other IM where you run the risk of Active-problems.
Also you get uneven spacing so some years you are 16 months between events and others you are 8 months. That can create confusion and mess with your season. Also you either get withdrawal or not enough “offseason”.
Driving distance which has already been mentioned. I dread flying my bike or myself(not fear of flying just don’t like the hassle).
Your local weather. Arizona and any other early season event gets eliminated.
For me Wisconsin, Louisville, Placid, and Florida are the 4 convenient ones. The first 2 are daytrips, while the last are within 15 hours driving.
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Cost predictability/lower costs…I’ve raced CdA 3 times and will return this year. By saving $$$ on CdA, I can afford to do other events (last year IM South Africa, this year UltraMan Canada).
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Opportunity to look track personal improvements (needless to say, I was disappointed that they’ve changed the CdA course).
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Ease–I can drive to CdA in 5.5 hours…This makes the event much less stressful (therefore, FUN)
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I like CdA…It’s beautiful there.
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Opportunity to see my “racing friends” who use the event as an annual get-together.
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Timing in the season…It’s optimally timed to allow two nice paths…Train for Kona or take the summer off and eat BBQ:-)…Either way, it’s well-timed for me.
Cheers,
Jonathan C. Puskas
I’ll continue to do IMAZ as long as they have it just because it’s close I’m in SoCal.) Other than that, I don’t see myself repeating an IM race (IMWI, IMCdA last year, IMKY next year, probably LP in '08, etc.)
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My analogy: Some people like to travel somewhere new for every vacation, while some people travel around a bit before deciding to buy a vacation home in a particular location. For me, IM Canada, then IM Lake Placid, along with IM Hawaii, became my vacation homes, so to speak. I enjoyed traveling to the same location every year. Even if you go to the same race, it is different every year because of your training prep and how the race goes, the place you stay, the friends that travel with you, the weather, the people you meet at the race.
I did a lot of traveling in my short course days too, before starting to do IMs. I raced tris for more than 10 years before doing my first IM.
Woo hoo! I hear they have the best post-race party, is it true??
Well, the party at IMNZ is pretty close. When a certain Swedish pro trys to light my coach on fire, that’s a pretty good party. But the Brazil party went on until about 4AM, from what I hear. I believe there are a couple of people on this forum who could confirm.
clm
I guess I can answer for my Ironguy.
One, he doesn’t sightsee much on the course. He’s pretty focused.
Two, he wants to do races it until he gets it right. Experience on a course can bring improved results. Time is a relative thing, at 50+ he doesn’t expect many PRs. There is always that “Age Group Record” to chase, like anyone pays attention to that stuff.
Three, even on the same course, there are new challenges of new competition, conditions, etc.
Four. He wants me to be there. Since I have mobility challenges, especially the wheelchair, most foreign locations are just not doable for me. I need a wheelchair accessible room, close to the site. Even transportation of the wheelchair is a problem. It is much less complicated to go to places we know are suitable.
If it weren’t for my complicated travel needs, I think we would go to more foreign races. He has been doing one new one a year without me. He tells me it isn’t the same without me there. Maybe he’s just sucking up, but I’ll believe him.
Sure! I just meant, why not travel and do other IM’s in other locales?