I am kicking around the idea of doing this half iron dot event in 2008. I could not find any posts for this past year. Has any one out there done this event and would you recommend it? How hard would it be for a English only speaking person to get around in Pucon (like ordering food in restaurants, and talking to cabbies)? Thanks, Tim
haven’t done the race. but i’ve been to Santiago quite a bit over a number of years. some locals do speak english, mostly educated people and those that deal with travel, hotels, tourists, etc. surprisingly, i also met quite a few kids (at the local 50m pool) that were passably fluent. they seemed to find enormous amusement at my mangling of my 25 words of Spanish.
anyway, i’m not sure how well my observations would apply to Pucon. but from my impression of the country, if you learned at least a few words, made an effort to use those words, and carried a dictionary, with all the foreigners coming in to the city for the race, my guess is that you’d be perfectly fine. from a lot i travel, i’ve also found this thing below to be very handly if you’re not a natural artist and don’t carry a sketch pad:
Thanks, I think thats a great idea. Tim
I haven't done this event but have travelled in Sth America.You should go down and do it for the experience.There are enough English speaking triathletes doing that race to help you out not to mention the huge amount of backpackers down there as well.Hell for a few bucks and a hot meal you could probrably hire a starving, cheap-ass backpacker to be you guide for a few days.You have enough time to learn some basic Spanish which would get you around well enough.
Been there many times, done race 2x, 1 x DNF before race was a half iron. Lived in Chile in the 90’s and the south of Chile is a different world when compared to the hustle and bustle of Santiago. The average Chilean, rich or poor, speaks very good english and Pucon is full of ex-pats from the Commonwealth countries so don’t worry. Also, down there when you show up in town and you see people on the side of the road offering “cabins” for rent. These are usually their homes that they rent out for the summer months to make some cash. Rented these places several times with groups of triathletes and it was a blast, at considerable savings. Luxuries like hotels and rental cars are pretty expensive in Chile. Chile has a 5 star inter provincial bus system, way better then the Greyhound in USA and Canada. You can travel by bus overnight to Pucon on anything from the econo bus to “salon cama” (bed coach) which is like flying 1st class on an airplane. Pucon is also the summer destination for SA’s rich and famous, kinda like an Aspen or Banff kind of town. PM me if you need more info.
Thank you for your reply. If my planning moves forward on this I might have more questions for you. Tim
There was a front page article in the Sunday New York Times travel section a month or so ago about Pucon. The article said Pucon was soon to be very very popular so you should go now before it is overdeveloped. I have not done the race but I want to eventually.
Ken Glah’s triathlon travel business, www.endurancesportstravel.com, goes to Pucon, and is a very good, easy way to help you get around through race week. I raced in Pucon several years ago (adventure/expedition race) - absolutley beautiful, kind of a higher end resort area - a bit pricey, but small enough to enjoy and get around easily. I’ve only heard great things about the tri. Do it!
I did the race this past year (Jan 2007). It was a last minute decision, and the best supported race I have done ever!!! They put on a 1st class event down there. The town of Pucon is beautiful; right on the lake of northern Patagonia. People are friendly, warm, and the food is incredible. I wouldnt worry too much about the language thing either. It is a small adventure town with many people from all over the world running the local businesses. There are plenty of people who speak English, and if not, you can get away with a few words of Spanish.
One of the greatest thing about the race is that it is a 9am start time. This means the town is just about waking up (think 4am bed times) when you are just starting the run. Thousands (and i do mean thousands) line the street all cheering you on. Your name is on your bib # so with the 3-lap course they are all saying your name by the end. Its really a great site to experience.
You should know though the the competition is fierce down there too. At US$100+, you dont have many Chileans signing up just to see how they do. The race has been around forever under the same race directors. So even though its the first year as a 70.3 branded race, you shouldnt have any first year snafu’s most races experience. I would expect the same just with a few more people now that its on the ‘map’ of ironman.com.
My best suggestion is to contact Ken Glah and do his trip down there. It takes so much of the pressure off of international races. This was my first race abroad, went solo, and was great to have instant companionship. Ken will do a couple of pre-race rides on the course, organize dinners, and then take care of all the post race activities (volcano climbing, trips to the hot springs, river rafting, canyoning…etc.). A
I had a bit of time after the race so headed down deeper into Patagonia, hiked Tierra del Fuego, then headed to Argentina for Xterra Argentina. Definately one of my better trips.
If you have any specific questions drop me a line… be happy to answer them.
Brian
If you have the chance to go there, you should definitely go. I did an ITU race in the neighboring town in January. It is an amazing place. Pucon is fairly tourist-y, so there are plenty of people to help you out if you have any trouble with Spanish. Plus, a lot of the menus have pictures.
BTW, you can get a 16oz filet mignon for about 10 dollars at the nice restaurants in Pucon.
Thanks for your input. I am waiting for Ken to announce details of the 2008 trip. I will likely go. Tim
I am also seriously thinking about doing the race this coming January and had a few additional questions:
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What is the weather like in January? My concern is that living in the northeast it would be tough to train for high heat/humidity at that time of year
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How far in advance of the race would you advise flying down (coming from NYC)? I have limited vacation days next year (cuz of all the other races I wanna do:) and would like to stay a couple days after the race to climb the volcanos, etc. but also would want to get down there in time to get rid of jet lag, check out course, etc.
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Anyone know if they will still offer IMNA slots (IMFL in particular) in addition to 70.3 Worlds slots this year?
Hi…
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I had great weather there for 2007. Days were nice and warm (Mid 70’s - 80’s; think shorts and t-shirt) and the nights comfortable (think jeans and t-shirt, or light sweater). You are in the mountains, so when the sun is out, its super strong. Sunscreen an must, but as far as high heat, not really a problem. Also, the air from what I remember was dry. Not humid at all. This was especially nice since there is no humidity here on the west coast.
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I got there on Tuesday, but that is only because I flew on miles so was limited to what the airlines had available. The race is on Sunday from what I remember. I think a Thursday arrival is good. It is possible to arrive, put your bike together, and pre-ride one loop of the course on the same day. Then you can scope out the run course (do 1-easy loop) the next day (highly suggested bc of the hills). A few of the people from Ken’s group arrived on Thursday, but most arrived on Friday am, then rode the course in the late afternoon. You will not want to ride he course mid-day in the direct sun; no need to give your body the additional sun exposure. Also, you can ride late bc the sun goes down around 9:30 or so that time of year. Jet lag from the east coast should not be a problem. I think its only a + hour time change. I came from Los Angeles, so had 5 hours to deal with which was not even that bad.
The run is very hilly. Definitely practice hill repeats or hit the trails. The bike is a false flat with a slight uphill the first half of each loop. Wind can be a factor, but was not the day we raced. On race day, we also had a nice partial cloud cover for the bike which kept us cool.
For after the race, there is plenty to do. Ken organises everything and its a blast. We attempted to hike the Volcano both Monday and Tuesday, but it was ‘clouded’ in and they go up if its not good weaher. The volcano apparently is always a wait and see… We went river rafting and zip-lining instead those days. Also went to the hot-tubs from 10pm to 4am… a total blast!!!
- Not sure about 2008, but for 2007 they offered slots for 4 IM races: Canada, Lake Placid, Florida, and i think Wisconsin but not sure about that one. A few people took spots to each race, but all races had left-over spots to be had. Basically if you finish the course, you can get into any available race. Florida was the most popular among the Chileans - i think because it is the closest destination, it is a spring race for them, and Florida is a very popular destination spot for them.
Thanks alot for the info, just what I needed. I went to IM Brazil with Ken’s company a couple years back and they run a great service. My only decision now is Chile HIM or do a winter marathon (thinking Tamp or Austin) to ty to qualify for Boston 09 (or both - marathon would be 2-3 weeks after Chile)?
Check out the news though, their biggest hotel and casino at the lake burned down to the ground yesterday. Apparently the city receives almost half of its income from the casino operations, plus the lost of lodging facilities is apparently very big for the area.
Peace
I just did a Google search and could not find any thing. Where can I find news about Pucon and also Chile in general? Tim
Here you go.
Most of the news I read are in spanish but there should be some english speaking outfits with a translation.
http://www.terra.com/...o/html/act968602.htm
http://www.frontera.info/...17092007/263379.aspx
For info on chile try wikitravel.
peace
Thanks, but the two news sites are in Spanish. I don’t speak Spanish, and so thats why I will likely go with a travel group if I do. I wonder how much this fire will effect tourism and specificity if it will result in the cancellation of the 70.3 event in January. Thanks for the relevant information. Tim
Tim,
Thats why i started by saying that the sites I found with detailed news were in spanish. I posted the link in case you spoke spanish (you never know 
or if you wanted to put the link into one of those online translators. Anyways… it seems this tragedy is fairly close to race day and I think the most impact in determining cancellation will be if there is enough lodging available to support the race since this is a very remote area, not close to major cities (I think santiago is like 500 miles from pucon). My understanding is that this specific hotel accounted for a good portion of the rooms available.
Peace