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Iron Man UK Races
I'm planning on doing my first and probably only Iron distance race next year in England or Wales.
Firstly I was surprised at the cost, but I'll suck that up. But I can't actually find that many races. Bolton, Tenby, The Bastion, Outlaw... Any I'm missing?
I want to do one of the easiest courses as it's my first one, and one with the longest cut off time, or are they all the same?
Thanks
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What's wrong with Scotland ?
17 hours, that's the magic number
if it was easy, it would called football
Ha ha. I love Scotland but its a bit too far as I live in LDN.
Cotswold 113, have a look at that
http://113events.com/cotswold-113/
List of events from 2015 here
If it must be the uK then I would man up and do Tenby if it is your only one. It is a hard course but a great event (or do Austria or Roth as Iron distance events in European are a different scale to the UK)
http://www.tritalk.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=93464
You want to do an IM, but getting from London to Scotland is too hard ?
I'm thinking either Bolton, Tenby or maybe the Ultimate Tri... Which is the easiest? I guess if i'm gonna do one it should be an official IM right?
Wasdale ?
I don't think there is such a thing as 'easiest'... I did Wales for the 2nd time last weekend. The course is brutal, constantly up and down. But... compared to a flat course it means you use slightly different muscle groups, you get recovery time on the downhill and the support in Wales is 2nd to none.
If you're comfortable holding an aero position and 'on the power' for 6+ hours you might find something flatter e.g. Outlaw (sold out I think) or Cotswold 226 'easier', but many prefer something where there is some rolling (just generally not as rolling as Wales!).
Whilst the IMW marathon is essentially 4 loops of 2.5 miles up a hill, 2.5 miles down a hill then a bit around town because you can break it up into those chunks and as the support is so fantastic it suddenly becomes a much shorter course than one where its a long lonely run.
If you were to only do one I'd probably go M-dot. That was my thinking a few years ago when I was only going to do one... (I chose Wales then too). If you're comfortable with the sea swim and the cut off's and the aim is to 'become an Ironman' I doubt you'd have a better experience than in Wales albeit perhaps a slower time than somewhere else.
Ironman Wales is on TV tomorrow 6:30PM (I think) on S4C (the Welsh channel 4) Its on C4 the week after. Take a look at that and see what you think. Sky menu will usually bring up showings of others too Outlaw and UK (maybe).
Easiest?
Easiest?
None are effing easy. That's the point. If you are looking for easy, you'll end up with a bit of adversity on the day and nothing spare in the tank. In money terms that means £432 for a mile and a quarter swim. It happens.
Ironman branded is much more expensive than the alternative organising operators. But you get great support and pizzaz, and the opportunity to buy IM goods at IM prices.
IM Wales, Bolton, Weymouth. Wales is a party, the others are races.
Outlaw at Nottingham is lower cost, and the Pirate support phenomenal.
Challenge events are almost like a feeder to IM. They have tested and proven an event then sold it to IM. The streets won't be lined with spectators, but you do get a rucksack. (This is my view of the UK scene anyway, overseas may be different).
Cotswold 226 is a quiet alternative. Fast, flat, value for money. In fact I'm pretty sure that it's subsidised by the 113 events.
Then you can have Slateman - which promises to be a big Pirate outing in 2017. And there appears to be a plethora of other ***man events by independents.
You're in LDN, so Northern France is probably easier than Cumbria.
Gravelines Dunkirk
Wimbleball
Midnight Dartford
You have to dig into your soul and ask questions. What do I really want, and how badly do I want it?
That might surprise a few who've signed up for Lakesman
I find it hard to identify the desire to do an Ironman yet want to do the easiest. What about an iconic and epic event.
If you want an easy ride to Ironman I dont think you have your mind in the right place, how are you going to fare if the conditions are against you on race day? Some of the apparently easier courses can be tough/brutal on the day i.e. flat UK courses can be cold, windy and raining.
You could just get the tattoo and pretend....
Sgt Fat boy and Martin W3 have been trying to do the easiest for ages and not finished yet
Come now Dave, i may have been trying & typing for ages but never asked for easy.
finished 1 half, and crashed on bolton. a broken neck is no small penalty for trying.
and I'm not done yet. just resting until cleared by medics then starting over. Still have the itch. lots to undue and do again.
( Woody, lots of good advice and qualified expertise here ( not from me ) take heed of it )
( no such thing as easy long distance, no tattoo until a true finisher )
When I say easy, I mean I don't want to be doing the hardest race in the UK for my first one, it's a lot of money and as Blisters points out I don't want to pay $$$ for a 1.5 km swim. My issue is the cut off points, I'm afraid of being thrown out the back.
Obviously if I train right I shouldn't have too much of a problem, but life gets in the way of training a lot of the time. I've only done 1x marathon before and finished sub 4 hrs, just. I've done a lot of halves, and cycling and don't mind the swim.
Basically I know I can succeed, but want to make sure I help my chances in any way I can. Some good advice from Phil and the hills, hadn't through of it like that.
My idea is to start training Jan, and train up to a Marathon by March / April, with some swimming and cycling when I can, and then go hard on the swim, but keeping up marathon fitness and then the cycle...
When you do pick an event and start training for it, don't train to the cut-offs, give yourself at least 30 minutes inside to cover for any issues along the way on raceday, bike mechanicals for example can add a while even something simple like a puncture could kill your race if you go for the sneak under cut-off option.
Thanks for the advice all, I'm thinking Tenby could be the one for me from what you've said. Few more questions.
I have a trek road bike - do I really need tri bars?
If I get injured do IM allow you to postpone your entry to the next year, or pass onto a friend?
Will the event sell out soon?
Thanks all, much appreciated!
I don't understand people always looking to scrape through the cut offs? Train to succeed, not to nearly fail. A 15 hr first ironman should be within most peoples first ironman, if you have trained properly. By that, I mean actually training, outside on the bike, outside running, in all weathers and conditions. Putting in the hours, week in week out. There is no short cut to becoming an ironman, or full distance triathlete. Don't look at 16.45 hrs as success. IMO that doesn't make you an ironman. It makes you a pedestrian. Aim for sub 13 hrs, you should hit 14 hrs at worst. Good luck, train hard. And often.
I will give you 11 out of 10 in attempts to kill yourself Sgt.. You certainly haven't taken the easy way
Tenby is up there (with Lanza) as one of the toughest, and certain falls into the iconic and epic of races. Thats not to say its one you shouldnt target as a first but you should know what you are facing, i.e. sea swim, hilly/technical bike and hilly run. That said what makes it hard also makes it one of the best, and thats not to mention the amazing atmosphere and support. It trumps the likes of Outlaw or other smaller races by miles.
Youve done a lot of cycling and swimming so you should have a good base. Likewise youre a half decent marathon runner, with that in mind I see no reason not to have a go at Tenby.
One thing I would advise is to start your serious cycling prep as no1 priority (from now, or Jan at the latest), its no good being marathon run fit if youve blown your legs on the bike.
Tenby (IM Wales) wont sell out quickly (if at all), youve probably until spring to make a decision.
IM do allow transfers with certain conditions and timelimits, best to check the T&Cs on the IM Wales website.
Trek road bike will be ideal for Wales, for a beginner, the course is more suited to a road than a TT bike. No you dont really need tri bars but if you use then and have an effective aero position it could save you time on the bike, 10,-15 mins? if aero most of the ride (apart from climbing)
Well I've just entered the IM Wales 2017... See you on the beach!
FWIW, IMO, nobody embodies the spirit of the Pirates more than Barlos. He offered to throw his Outlaw finish and stay with me when I went down 15 miles into the mara. Because "don't worry about it, I did Florida last week".
No, he's not 4 stone 3lbs and he likes a pie and a pint, but his experience at this distance is not to be ignored.
Yeah, train for your age, weight, size, strength etc, but also, learn from the ones who have done it time and again.
Good luck Woody, watch out for the Taffs, if you are English and slow, they will try to set fire to you. ;O)
Yup, I'll see you there.
Your Trek will be fine, you'll need to ride it A LOT. In preparation I did a couple of century rides (more would have been better), the last one ending with a bitch hill a mile long with peak at 1:5. That sorts the sheep from the goats. I learned on that.
I estimated my bike leg to need 6:30 and it took 7:46. The resulting marathon 5:32.
On a good day my solo marathon was 3:35 that year.
I'm just adding a bit of flesh to the bones of the challenge. It's tough, but not impossible.
Winter bike riding? Not a problem. Thermal bib longs. Waterproof bootees. BaaBaa Merino base layer. A choice from 6 pairs of gloves.
If it snows, or is icy, or thick fog, then do 3 hours on the turbo trainer.
Aha, someone else who has more gloves than Burberry! I have fingerless leather, fingerless fabric, fingerless spare fabric, fingered winter, fingered winter waterproof hi viz, semi fingered unless you fold them back neoprene, neoprene, undergloves, heated motorcycle gloves (we need heated gloves for pushbikes), heated undergloves, I think I am getting boring.....