I’ve done Ironman and Half Ironman races multiple times in Europe and now I am looking for a race in the United States. I participated in such beautiful races as Ironman hosted in Nice, Lanzarote, Norway, Denmark, Wales and Switzerland. Almost each race I participated in has scenic views, freshwater swim, bike routes with stunning views of ocean, mountains or forests and gorgeous landscape to run or bike through, thousands of spectators to cheer you on.
Is it me or you can’t find such scenic course in USA, especially the west coast? Except for Ironman World Championship, but this is not an option for me since I am regular mid-age athlete and can’t win a slot.
I don’t mean to be rude, but I think most of the USA Ironman races could be hosted in a better places. There are so many locations across the USA with super stunning views of ocean or canyons. I think the best place to host an Ironman is Lake Powell in Utah with finish carpet in Page, AZ. There is everything to make the best experience for you in there. The course could be so beautiful, challenging and rewarding. This place is also good to host many people since this place is one of the most visited in the US.
I do agree with this. I’ve done Lake Placid in the US because it is a 2.5 hr drive. It’s a pretty area but I don’t find it that exciting. My other two Ironmans were IMMT in Canada which is fantastic and IM Copenhagen which was also a great venue. My bucket list IMs are Wales, Lanzorate and a few others not in the US. Nothing really stands out as an exciting place to travel within the US for a full Ironman. I’m signed up for IM Canada in Whistler this July and that will be beautiful and a new place for us.
IM Boulder probably has some nice scenery but for us we don’t live or train at elevation so we’d be at a disadvantage. IM Tahoe was canceled and that is a very scenic area. Santa Rosa might be nice too but it’s very early season for people in a harsh cold climate…Louisville, MD, FL, TX, AZ don’t really inspire me as a destination…even if they are great races. But who knows, maybe we’ll do one of those someday since it’s a lot harder traveling to Europe with longer flights, layovers and a tough time change/jet lag. It’s a trade-off.
Ironman Santa Rosa is actually a pretty cool venue. Wine Vineyard after wine vineyard and overall a pretty nice landscape to look at on the bike. Also fairly close to San Francisco, which is a city some people like to see for touristy reasons. Tons of stuff to see in Nor/Central Cal if you were coming from way out of town and were staying for a few weeks. Yosemite, Redwoods, Monterey just to name a few.
You probably would have liked Couer D’Alene, but, alas, it is now just a half. Gorgeous crystal clear lake, alpine like views into the rolling hills some elevation.
IM Whistler is definitely the most scenic IM I have done to date. The view of Whistler/Blackcomb and the surrounding mountains is really amazing from the lake and bike course. I think you do lose a little of the view now that you don’t ride toward Pemberton but you may have views going more toward Squamish now, I don’t really remember. I’ve done Maryland, Florida and Tremblant as well and while they each have their own uniqueness, Whistler definitely takes the cake when it comes to views. I was supposed to do Tahoe but I was there the year it was cancelled. That race might have topped Whistler for scenic views but it didn’t happen.
Money. Someone has to come up with A LOT of it to “host” an M dot branded race in their city/region. If you think about very scenic places in the US that already have a lot of visitors coming in, they may not be willing to pony up more money to close roads, pay police, pay Ironman licensing fee, pull permits, inconvenience residents and tourists that are already coming. In some cases, the dollars just don’t add up, and either the event doesn’t happen in that location, or it goes away after a few years of net losses.
Hi everyone!
I’ve done Ironman and Half Ironman races multiple times in Europe and now I am looking for a race in the United States. I participated in such beautiful races as Ironman hosted in Nice, Lanzarote, Norway, Denmark, Wales and Switzerland. Almost each race I participated in has scenic views, freshwater swim, bike routes with stunning views of ocean, mountains or forests and gorgeous landscape to run or bike through, thousands of spectators to cheer you on.
Is it me or you can’t find such scenic course in USA, especially the west coast? Except for Ironman World Championship, but this is not an option for me since I am regular mid-age athlete and can’t win a slot.
I don’t mean to be rude, but I think most of the USA Ironman races could be hosted in a better places. There are so many locations across the USA with super stunning views of ocean or canyons. I think the best place to host an Ironman is Lake Powell in Utah with finish carpet in Page, AZ. There is everything to make the best experience for you in there. The course could be so beautiful, challenging and rewarding. This place is also good to host many people since this place is one of the most visited in the US.
I’m positive this will be (or already has been) echoed by others, but some answers are:
Beautiful = hard, if not due to mountains, then due to winds or unpredictable swims.
The bulk of US participants shy away from hard courses.
IM will only hold events in areas where they can sell >2000 entries, which is against odds with point 2.
I think the common ST poster would like the US courses you seek, alas we are not the demographic to which that race provider caters.
Have you seen the 4 finalists for the new race next year?
"IRONMAN, a Wanda Sports Holdings company, announced Thursday that Des Moines, Fayetteville, AR, Memphis, TN and Tulsa, OK have been named finalists as potential hosts for a new IRONMAN® triathlon in 2020.
Officials said the new event, expected to take place in late-Spring/early-Summer of 2020, will be the first brand-new full-distance IRONMAN triathlon introduced in the United States since 2014, expanding the series in the Central United States. "
Hopefully I don’t insult anyone but those four locations are not destination races. My husband used to travel to Des Moines once in a while for work. It’s a nice city but flat and not a place we’d ever want to visit for a vacation. Plus he remembers a tornado warning while visiting one of the corporate offices there.
Although with a new Ironman being in a non-exciting location, maybe it will be easier to get to Kona (pink)
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Fayeteville does have Bentonville nearby, which is a surprisingly nice place and has world class mountain bike trails, among other outdoorsy type stuff. I don’t think it compares to IM France in terms of scenery, but it’s at least nice rural scenery.
I don’t think your post is insulting, but short sighted. Des Moines is flat and that appeals to the masses. As well, just because your husband was there and there was a tornado watch doesn’t mean squat. I live in Kentucky and we have them constantly. Every thunderstorm warning is associated with a possibility of tornados. It seems like every race I’ve done has been impacted by inclement weather. It’s part of it. In terms of Des Moines not being a tourist destination, have you ever been to Muncie, Indiana? Des Moines is a midsize city that might prove to want a race versus biggger cities that see it as an inconvenience. It’s supposed to be growing too. I thought it was a good candidate in a part of the country that doesn’t have many IM races.
Have you seen the 4 finalists for the new race next year?
"IRONMAN, a Wanda Sports Holdings company, announced Thursday that Des Moines, Fayetteville, AR, Memphis, TN and Tulsa, OK have been named finalists as potential hosts for a new IRONMAN® triathlon in 2020.
Officials said the new event, expected to take place in late-Spring/early-Summer of 2020, will be the first brand-new full-distance IRONMAN triathlon introduced in the United States since 2014, expanding the series in the Central United States. "
Hopefully I don’t insult anyone but those four locations are not destination races. My husband used to travel to Des Moines once in a while for work. It’s a nice city but flat and not a place we’d ever want to visit for a vacation. Plus he remembers a tornado warning while visiting one of the corporate offices there.
Although with a new Ironman being in a non-exciting location, maybe it will be easier to get to Kona (pink)
******
I’ve done Ironman and Half Ironman races multiple times in Europe and now I am looking for a race in the United States. I participated in such beautiful races as Ironman hosted in Nice, Lanzarote, Norway, Denmark, Wales and Switzerland. Almost each race I participated in has scenic views, freshwater swim, bike routes with stunning views of ocean, mountains or forests and gorgeous landscape to run or bike through, thousands of spectators to cheer you on.
Is it me or you can’t find such scenic course in USA, especially the west coast? Except for Ironman World Championship, but this is not an option for me since I am regular mid-age athlete and can’t win a slot.
I don’t mean to be rude, but I think most of the USA Ironman races could be hosted in a better places. There are so many locations across the USA with super stunning views of ocean or canyons. I think the best place to host an Ironman is Lake Powell in Utah with finish carpet in Page, AZ. There is everything to make the best experience for you in there. The course could be so beautiful, challenging and rewarding. This place is also good to host many people since this place is one of the most visited in the US.
Boulder?
Santa Rosa?
Seems like a lot of races that got cut to 70.3 were in more scenic areas. Tahoe, oceanside, etc
I like the Idea of Powell. I also think the Eastern Sierra is ripe for a full. Oregon has some great scenery.
It would be scenic and challenging. The bike elevation would surely be 2,500+. I think that would keep a lot of folks from signing up. Most want an easy fast race. Also, they used to have Branson 70.3 nearby that failed. Tulsa would have strong winds and early spring heat. Memphis would have early
season heat, but a flat bike. I think Des Moines might be the best option for long term support and sustainability.
Fayeteville does have Bentonville nearby, which is a surprisingly nice place and has world class mountain bike trails, among other outdoorsy type stuff. I don’t think it compares to IM France in terms of scenery, but it’s at least nice rural scenery.
Yes, tornado warnings are common in Iowa. My husband said his co-workers didn’t even flinch and are used to them. We had a tornado warning in Texas the day before we did IMTX 70.3.
I think an Ironman in any those locations would be an easy and economical flight if you live in the US. And the accommodation costs would be less too compared to a resort area. I’m sure an IM in one of those areas will attract many people, especially locals or athletes in neighboring states where they can easily drive. But in regards to the original comment, they are not exciting destination races at least in my opinion. I would not go to any of the new venues listed (again no offense). Life is short and I want to combine my racing and traveling adventures
