Saw a comment in another thread mentioning that Ironman Los Cabos was soon to be gone…
Which races do you think won’t be here in 3-5 years, and why?
Reason for the question is that there are certain races that are on my bucket list, and if they are going away, I might sign up for sooner rather than later to make sure I don’t miss the opportunity. Los Cabos is one of those.
My only guess is the obvious, Maryland. Although I am not sure how the west coast will play out Boulder & Santa Rosa being so close to each-other from 2018 on.
Saw a comment in another thread mentioning that Ironman Los Cabos was soon to be gone…
Which races do you think won’t be here in 3-5 years, and why?
Reason for the question is that there are certain races that are on my bucket list, and if they are going away, I might sign up for sooner rather than later to make sure I don’t miss the opportunity. Los Cabos is one of those.
For Ironman races I think as contracts expire we may see a significant decrease in IM races in North America while Asia continues to grow.
Boulders registration declines every year
Maryland has less than 1000 signed up for this year
Whistler…
Boulder…
I was privy to the P&L from CDA one year, if the standards then are still in place any race under 2k is on the chopping block.
I think you are right. And this is an interesting topic/question. If we are indeed past that point of “peak triathlon,” as judged by participation numbers I think that may be a phenomenon of the developed world, as opposed to the developing markets of Asia and South America. There seems to be a lot of untapped demand in those areas. And to your other point, wouldn’t it just be amazing if the Boulder race couldn’t survive, being in the de facto capital of American triathlon?
-Doug
wonldnt argue with any of the above comments…
however having just been at IMC - with the full and half being run at the same time - this seems like a model going forward. I did the full and found having the half people out there was enjoyable - it brought total participation numbers up and gave what was becomming a smaller full only field a much larger vibe. I wold also think there are great economies of scale in doing full and half together in a number of ways. May be a way for the smaller fulls to survive
Whistler just renewed for 3 years. Having the full and the half on the same day, this year it felt like there was upwards of 2600-2700 people participating. I don’t know why they can’t adopt this model for CDA and keep both races there.
wonldnt argue with any of the above comments…
however having just been at IMC - with the full and half being run at the same time - this seems like a model going forward. I did the full and found having the half people out there was enjoyable - it brought total participation numbers up and gave what was becomming a smaller full only field a much larger vibe. I wold also think there are great economies of scale in doing full and half together in a number of ways. May be a way for the smaller fulls to survive
Totally agree. I did the full this year also and it felt like a packed course. It was nice that we got to start on our own, then by the second loop of the run (at least for me) the halfers were mostly finishing up. The announcer said there were about 1300 in the full, so probably at least that many in the half.
Correct me if I’m wrong but the vast majority of those were in the half?
Also, I don’t believe the contracts stipulate the event has to be a full vs half.
Agree on CDA.
I think it was a majority in the half, but it was not a vast majority.
They are about to have to change the bike course for the full so we’ll see if whatever route they come up with has an impact on the numbers.
While it may be the defacto training capital, for a race (given the current “needs/demands” of the customer base) it’s a hard spot. Elevation, hot, dry, very intense UV. As it is they make the course as flat and boring as possible. An exciting course would use the foothills and mountains, but then you’d get 150 people to sign up.
No more pemberton meadows?
For IMC & IMC70.3 … start numbers were almost 50/50 (approx 1250) … for 2500 total starters
No more pemberton meadows?
Based on local news reports, Pemberton already definitively voted no on whether to allow the race to return. And after riding through there, I can see why. They are getting nothing out of this and it shuts down a main artery through their town. I don’t really blame them.
Ironman Cozumel if Mexico can’t get the crime under control. Los Cabos is under a State Dept travel warning now. If State ever extends it to Quintana Roo then this race could easily be gone in 5 years.
hat tip
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the crest isn’t a lot of real estate to get 112 in… does this speed up the full’s departure?
Can’t imagine them running it down toward squamish?
Whistler…
Boulder…
I was privy to the P&L from CDA one year, if the standards then are still in place any race under 2k is on the chopping block.
After having done some race directing, I can understand how 2k is the minimum.
Until you reach a certain number of participants, the profit is zero… or even a loss.
Basic costs to run an mdot IM must be massive.
I imagine costs to run a race in the USA are a fair bit higher than Canada though.
Running concurrent IM/70.3 seems the best model to ensure a profit and keep the IM feasible. Although the shorter distances always eat away registrations from the longer distance.
Ironman, like any other business, is looking for the best bang-for-the-buck situation and that is the 70.3. I think you will continue to see 140.6 races disappear and new 70.3 show up. My list of endangered North American races is:
Maryland - Crazy weather and horrible swim keeping numbers low
Cozumel - Mexico is nuts right now
Boulder - For some strange reason less than 2K signing up. Who knows why… Maybe the threat of a non-wetsuit swim?
I actually think Santa Rosa has a good chance of making it. The weather in May practically makes it the race with the most predictable weather conditions in the US. The May date also guarantees a wetsuit swim. The competition with Texas during that time frame may create problems for numbers but being the only full IM in California tells me that the hurt of that move will most likely be to Texas in favor of Santa Rosa. I may also be biased since I did both Vineman and IM Vineman races and I have a soft spot in my heart for that area.
I think it was a majority in the half, but it was not a vast majority.
They are about to have to change the bike course for the full so we’ll see if whatever route they come up with has an impact on the numbers.
Most of the Pacific Northwest locals know what that course is about and I doubt a change will affect numbers much.
It’s more likely that Whistler will gain attendance in the full next year, since they won’t be splitting registrations with Coeur d’Alene anymore.