what’s the deal with the mandatory meeting for IM races? i’ve raced before, but don’t really recall (must have been super important). thinking about skipping tonight’s in wisconsin.
is there a sign in? any real reason to go, except to see the “what not to do before ironman” video?
thanks,
any real reason to go
Because it’s mandatory?
i guess the question boils down to:
is it mandatory, or is it ‘mandatory’
.
They don’t take roll, nobody is going to care if you aren’t there. I go out of respect for the rules and because I can’t pass up a “free” meal.
Thom
** **and because I can’t pass up a “free” meal.
Sometimes free is too expensive. 
I’d rather have a better meal that I pay for than the “free one”.
I did manage to amuse myself with the idea that I paid $500 for the meal and
they let you race for free.
-Jot
what’s the deal with the mandatory meeting for IM races? i’ve raced before, but don’t really recall (must have been super important). thinking about skipping tonight’s in wisconsin.
is there a sign in? any real reason to go, except to see the “what not to do before ironman” video?
thanks,
I go to them because you never know what changes might be made last minute.
Im lou was nice because they warned us about the railroad tracks couple miles in the ride and the arrows showing you where to cross bridge bump and the tracks.
And told us about the lip in the curb after we turn off to head to t2 on the bike which is still a ways from dismount.
So just some safety points and rule reminders as well. Sometimes they note rough spots or narrow spots on the bike more accurate info on aid station locations and so on.
you don’t have to do the meal just show up at the time they say for the meeting.
You never know they could change something on you before race day.
IMlou was good to explain more about the dual swim start.
So I say why not go.
** **and because I can’t pass up a “free” meal.
Sometimes free is too expensive.
I’d rather have a better meal that I pay for than the “free one”.
I did manage to amuse myself with the idea that I paid $500 for the meal and
they let you race for free.
-Jot
Does the free one really suck or something?
I’m thinking about going, cause I did pay 500 for it, and I’m hoping it will be better than eating Cap’n Crunch for dinner again.
It doesn’t suck, but it’s going to be sort of standard convention food. Chicken. Pasta. Salad.
etc…
-Jot
Meeting is mandatory.
Just go. Listen, learn, and maybe you won’t ruin someone’s IM by crashing into them because you didn’t know about the hot corner.
Besides, you might meet some interesting people at your table.
Good luck and have fun!
At IMC Roch Frey informed us that there would be no Gatorade Endurance, just Gatorade on the bike course. This was significant b/c of the heat we had to deal with and the fact that I had trained all summer with Endurance accounting for my sodium. He also laid out the hot corners on the course.
They can be boring but at times you can pick up on important pieces of info.
I know at the last two meetings I went to, they mentioned some key information that I would not have know otherwise. Probably a good reason to go, but they wont slap your wrist if you dont go
At a 70.3 meeting earlier this year, heard the official say “two things to remember: if you’re shown a yellow or red card, remember what color it is. And if you’re shown a card, whether you agree with the call or not, make sure you stop at a penalty tent; they’re at … If you don’t stop, it’s a DQ”
After the race, while waiting for awards, saw the same official explaining to an athlete “you got disqualified because you were given a yellow card penalty and didn’t stop at a penalty tent…”
If you skip the meeting, find out where those penalty tents are, just in case.
Better yet at IMC was the local pipe band (they be bagpipes!) marching in and the rendition of ‘Oh, Canada’
…alone not worth $550, but well worth my time to go just as part of the overall event vibe.
As I recall, you’re a really nice guy and an all-around good dude, so how about you quit trying to pass yourself off as some sort of elitist prick.
Good luck at IMW…hope all’s well,
Mike
I ca tell you the free meal isn’t that good, or maybe I have been eating a bit too much at the Terrace lately.
I thought the food at IMC was terrible. No meat and the pasta was all the creamy variety. Creamy pasta, baked potatoes and gatorade, yum!
That and my wife couldn’t get a ticket, sold out at 4pm. I saw lots of athletes leaving with their families because there were no tickets. I thought what a waste. Here all these athletes are leaving and someone else could have bought their seat…
What was up with that Gatorade? I tried to account for the plain gatorade and the 1/3 the sodium, but I didn’t get the mixture right and ended up sick to my stomach anyway on the run, couldn’t get anything down.
I actually skipped the dinner, my home cooked pasta and steak was much better than whatever they were serving. My wife and I just showed up at 7:30 and waited for the dinner to end.
I was a little pissed about the Gatorade, just b/c I thought it was a little lame to drop that info 2 days before race day when everyone knows IM athletes take all summer to dial in their nutrition. For a sprint, yeah who cares, but to switch up course hydration at an IM right before race day was a little weak I thought. I’m sure they knew well in advance that they wouldn’t have Endurance. Maybe I was just being an overly OCD first time IM’er, but I wasn’t happy. I ended up using the Margarita flavored Shot Blocks that had extra sodium in them and I started the bike with plenty of Gatorade Endurance to get me through the first half of the bike course. Sorry to hear about your stomach issues.
IMC has never had Gatorade Endurance. I acutally think it’s not “legal” in Canada.
IMC has never had Gatorade Endurance. I acutally think it’s not “legal” in Canada.
Yep, too much sodium.
I skipped the dinner too, showed up later and caught all the important stuff.
Copied from Ironman.ca:
Bike Aid Station
Gatorade Endurance
Water
PowerBar Gel
PowerBar
Bananas
Run Aid Stations
Gatorade Endurance
Water
Cola
PowerBar Gel
Pretzels
Chicken Soup Broth (Fulls only, after dark)
Oranges
Bananas
PowerBar
If somehow sodium is illegal then they need to state that on their website. In the end it wasn’t a big deal for me but for some it seems it was.