Thread title summarizes it. WTC might not be perfect, but it seems North American athletes are voting with our feet and following the logo rather than the venue. I think the Penticton logo + Mdot logo makes for something that us athletes have enjoyed and the community has benefited from. Some relationships are good but the participants think there is something better until they move on and realize that maybe they had something good being together rather than apart. Maybe this is like the kids reminding the parents that they are blowing it trying to find something better when the family is doing just fine with its pluses and minuses.
Seems like on Canada Day, it would be fitting to just get back with our American friends from whom we have benefited. Even the guys in Quebec at Mont Tremblant figured that out and are benefiting in a huge way :-).
While I never raced Penticton, my brother did 6 times. We are both racing Whistler and very happy with the venue. Significantly more housing and more accessible venue. Penticton dropped the ball and lost something very good for their community. This is a prime example of getting too greedy when you don’t have anything that can’t be duplicated elsewhere.
Not bloody likely. Hoping Challenge survives the next few years. Debating about going long next year and Whistler is off the table with its July date coming during summer swim season. I have the cuts to swim Westerns in Edmonton next February and may want to swim masters nats so maybe not?!?
The old IMC was the whole reason I got in to triathlon. As a teenager in Victoria in the late 90’s there was a decent amount of exposure for Lori Bowden and Peter Reid. I was completely in awe of the course, the late summer conditions and the athletes who took on that beast of a race.
However, in my late 20’s when I actually wanted to do the ironman, I was pretty disgusted with the price gouging that happens around iron week in Penticton. 5 night minimums, ridiculous fees for someone’s basement bachelor suite and so on just made the race unaffordable for me. My brother lived in Penticton for 2 years and it was nearly impossible for him to find long term rentals because everyone wanted their suite vacant come August.
When IMC moved to Whistler, I finally pulled the trigger. Now I can arrive on Friday, pay $120 a night for a place with a kitchen, and leave on Monday. No $300 a night bullshit for 5 nights. I would love to do the Penticton race but I don’t appreciate being held hostage at those prices.
I understand that, and my gripe isn’t with WTC (as I’m registered for Whistler this year), it’s with the town of Penticton. I feel as though Whistler has far more accommodation options at reasonable prices. Even if IMC sells out, there wont be a shortage of places to stay in Whistler as it’s just not that big an event. Even with the paltry reservation numbers for Challenge Penticton, if you try to book a vacation rental in Penticton or Naramata around the time of the race you STILL see things like “Full week rentals only during Challenge week” and so forth.
My point was, as much as I would have loved to do the Penticton race, I would much rather pay slightly more for entry to Whistler and not get completely gouged by the accommodation prices by the town putting on the event. I for one am happy there are two options for summer IM distance races in the area and do not wish for IMC to return to Penticton (as much as I love the history of the race and all that sentimental crap).
I gotta say, this is one of the most disappointing race-related things I’ve watched unfold in the last few years. IMC was definitely on my bucket list of races and I was genuinely excited about going up there every time I considered adding it to a given year’s calendar. Whistler I’m sure is fantastic (been there, love the areas), but as a race venue for some reason it just doesn’t have the same allure for me personally as “the original” did.
Yeah, that killed me about IMLP too. $300/night at a Best Western and they wanted 7 nights. I managed to get them down to 5 nights but damn that was an expensive hotel charge.
Dev- I do think economically in would be the best move, I think it goes beyond money- as you have discussed earlier it’s never going back to 1998, Penticton will never be the center of North American ironman racing- even if it went back to WTC it’s another race on a really crowded schedule.
The history- that’s important to many people who raced there in the 1990(like me) . I don’t have any numbers, but from what I see at races most triathletes have only heard about it and very little connection to a full distance race in Penticton- honestly I think the glory days are not coming back whatever is done
Have raced both, IMC in 2010 and Challenge, last year.
Couple of quick notes: great course, great volunteers, both races. Hard to not like the Richter’s climb, and the descent. Would recommend to any racers, great, hard course. And as to the volunteers? Great local support - hard to believe how many support the race.
From a racing perspective, I didn’t see the same packs of drafters on the bike course last year (likely as it was harder to hide, with fewer racers.) In 2010, you’d have thought that it was a draft legal race. Like the mass start with WTC as opposed to the wave start in Challenge. Was in the 40 y/o mens, and was caught by the fast 18-25 swimmers, which I felt was harder than a mass start. In the mass start, I could put myself in a good position, but the wave start, ended up with a slower swim.
Challenge was less expensive, both to race and stay (stayed in the same room for both races, go Valley Star!) Ironman has the M-dot logo, which is cool for a tattoo ( insert smiley face here )
I think Kevin Cutjar and Mike Brown deserve a chance at saving the race. if it dosnt work in 2015, it might be a good idea to considerate sitting at the table with WTC to look into making a new partnership.
There is no question, the repecution of not having ironman are big in penticton. The lost are important and not what the city had expected in anyway. But i m hoping Kevin and Mike have something in there sleeve to produce a world class event with a big field of individual athlete that will come all summer long to train and enjoy the Okanagan.
I did the last penticton and the first whistler. …whistler wins hands down in my mind.
Location,
Accommodation
Course…for athlete and for spectators
In my mind…no contest.
With IM 70.3 in Victoria and IMC whistler…and ironman operating the western triathlon series…( I wouldn’t be surprised if we see 70.3 Vancouver and 70.3 Saskatoon next year)…Penticton really has nothing to offer.
I think Kevin Cutjar and Mike Brown deserve a chance at saving the race. if it dosnt work in 2015, it might be a good idea to considerate sitting at the table with WTC to look into making a new partnership.
There is no question, the repecution of not having ironman are big in penticton. The lost are important and not what the city had expected in anyway. But i m hoping Kevin and Mike have something in there sleeve to produce a world class event with a big field of individual athlete that will come all summer long to train and enjoy the Okanagan.
Jonnyo, I agree that Kevin and Mike should give it a shot. As I have done Penticton 6 times including my first IM, what I care about is that the community that brought IM racing to the entire continent keeps benefiting from long course racing be it under Challenge or WTC…WTC is just an easy path because it is the recognized brand. Without Penticton, we don’t have races in LP, or Tahoe, or Woodlands or Tremblant or Panama City. Now Penticton, to some degree, is on the outside unless Kevin and Mike can grow it back (assuming this is what the community wants, which I assume they do…I don’t live there though).
BLep, did not realize I had that many posts at this point. Oh well. It’s been fun discussing all things tri.
This is kind of like telling two people who just finalized their divorce to go to therapy and give it another shot for the sake of the children. It’s even more tough when one of the partners have found a new sweet thang to keep them company
This is kind of like telling two people who just finalized their divorce to go to therapy and give it another shot for the sake of the children. It’s even more tough when one of the partners have found a new sweet thang to keep them company
I’m one of the ppl who signed up for Whistler before even knowing about Penticton. After I learned about Penticton and all of its history, I planned to do the Challenge race. After seeing how easy the accommodations and travel are to Whistler, let alone the activity in the village, I don’t see myself ever doing Penticton. I actually plan to do Whistler again in the next couple years.
