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Ironman & 70.3 Weymouth 2016
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Whichever way they run it could bring trouble, if as you suggest the slower full swimmers will be swum over by the competitive front end of the halves but at least will have a quiet second lap, who knows, might be fun to watch!
Wave or continuous flow starts spoil most spectacular parts of Ironman, i.e. the the mass start. Its a real shame.
Im not convinced about any safety gain either,
Looking at the race instructions to suss it out (not done a gaylord continuous start before), looks like we seed ourselves. Not sure if the 16.30 (not 17.00) cut off at Weymouth will be gun time or chip time?
Having been caught out previously, make sure youre aware of the interim cut-offs:
13:45 must have started second bike lap
15:30 126k
17:00 159k
22:45 must have started last run lap
Red Stripe, sorry to hear about your DNS? What about giving it a try and treating it as a training day, just do swim & bike (then decide whether to run)?
How was the bike recce, whats the course like, i.e. lumpy (lots of small ups and downs, junctions) or decent climbs and decents to get our teeth into?
Chip time!
Runner, swimmer, cyclist and triathlete
Devoid of a competitive streak
Who cares, I'm in it for the medal!
Not sure if I'm missing something but it seems from this that the rolling swim start may be applicable only to the 70.3? It references only the 70.3 and mentions a 1hr 10 cut off
I haven't ridden the course, but I've spent the last month driving around the area. I'd describe the area in general as "lumpy". No massive climbs but not much flat either.
rolling starts disadvantage slow swimmers as the final finish time is shorter for them .I hate rolling starts......they are boring to watch... and boring to take part in as you miss out on the adrenaline at the start...
'rolling starts disadvantage slow swimmers as the final finish time is shorter for them.'
Not getting what you mean.
I love a good mass start. Not a morning person, so need the adrenaline surge to kick start my race!!
The cut off time is set from the last swimmer..... so 1hr10 from the last swimmers to go... who are the slowest. So the faster swimmers actually get more time than the 1.10 cut off as they go earlier... even though they don't need it.
... though Vichy says each athlete gets timed individually, 1.10 regardless of start time. So it is race dependant.
I do like the mass start of an IM race, well, when they used to do them, seems most if not all are rolling starts now.
In the Ironman athlete guide it does state that Ironman Weymouth will be a rolling start along with the 70.3 with a 2:20 cut off for full
Smiffy and I will be in West Dorset on hols so might come and yell some abuse.
With regards to local support, the event is that well publicised - or wasn't under the Challenge banner - and interest in IM waned locally after IMUK moved from Shaftsbury to Bolton.
I just checked on course link on website, worked OK for me.
Link to cycle route
UC - I am sure The Ginger One would appreciate some abuse whilst he's out on the course
Due to 7 weeks lost training & fitness and increase in weight of half a stone due to recent asthmas diagnosis I've decided not to take part in Weymouth as it'd probably kill me !
For the same weekend I have decided to drop the distance and do something different - Saturday I'm doing a Canni-X race which is running with my deaf dog Jango.
- Sunday Oxford sportive 50 miles
So not all lost as I try and get my fitness back and used to inhalers and when they work for me.
2016 tri season over for me, but Lakesman & Outlaw relay to focus on for next year for me now
I've seen two different elevation amounts for this course, 2600ft and 3200ft per lap. Both from IM website. Anyone know which is correct. Also, the course is different from last years Challenge event, are the roads better, as i thought the first third of the lap was shockingly bad and found myself saying "REALLY!!" out loud several times.
3200 feet I'd say is the more realistic for one loop, I made it 1005 metres and you're right, there are/were some decidedly sketchy parts of the course, some of which were being repaired late May early June this year.
Road or TT bike do you think?
I rode it in May on my road bike but I'm racing next week on the TT.
There's no real steep stuff in the way of climbs and a decent stretch from km 55 - km 80 to really cane the TT and get average speeds back up, only concern is there is one steep descent at about 50km not technical but if it's wet will be hairy.
Well that's it then, the last weekend before the main event on Sunday, took the TT out for a spin, 2 hours at a decent pace and a 15 minute warm down followed by a very quick jog. Hope you're all ready for next Sunday.
39 miles on the TT at race pace, into 3.25 mile run. Hope an easy week does me good and the weather gods are kind to us.
Did anyone a gps showing elevation gain, for the bike leg. Mine is a basic Mio gps and difficult to extract the data. Those hills just kept on coming.
1 loop measured 932 metres.
So what did people think of IM Weymouth & IM 70.3 Weymouth?
Personally I really enjoyed it. The weather was unbelievable, perfect conditions. The swim was brilliant albeit standing on those pebbles was a pain in the foot waiting for the rolling start to get going but once it did it seemed to be biff free. The slog to T1 wasn't quite Wales but it was long enough.
The bike course needs work, not by Ironman, the local authority, still far too many dangerous sketchy sections of road out there. Feed station 1 needed to be signposted better, caught a few people out who didn't see it and were expecting it to be at the turn point, loads of bottles all over both sides of the road. It was a good test though, lulled you in on the first 1/4 and then had a bit of a sting in the tail toward the end. Disappointing support or lack of on the course but then again there weren't really that many inhabited areas we passed through! A few cars on the course as well, could have been legitimate but also saw and heard drivers having angry words with marshals out there as well.
Run was what it was, relatively flat, into the wind for half of it but well supported. One old dear on a motor scooter absolutely refused to move off the course as she trundled along the front muttering about young people, the war and where was Woolworths?
Athlete recovery area was pretty basic but Dominos pizza was good and white bag collection was a doddle, just the long drag back to T1 for bikes and blue & red bags.
Thanks Weymouth & thanks all you IM volunteers.
My sister lives in Weymouth and she said that there had been some diversion and road closed signs that had been maliciously to be moved so possibly the cars and bad temper were because of that. She enjoyed it though, they were sat outside one of the cafes cheering you on!
I had a quick Whatsapp chat with Flyaway this morning who said that the 70.3 at the same time as a full was a pain (as discussed in earlier posts). There was some congestion on the swim course as slower 70.3 swimmers were caught by faster full distance swimmers. (Apparently also lengthy delays getting into the water for those who self seeded further back in the full.) Issues also on bike course as full distance cyclists were overtaking 70.3 distance cyclists and issues of long lines of cyclists which needed to be overtaken to avoid issues of drafting.
Local people not happy.
http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/14736104._A_complete_shambles___Ironman_organisers_say_sorry_after__tampered__road_signs_cause__chaos_/?ref=mr&lp=1
It's not like it was a new event.
and people are still talking about IMW leaving Tenby.....on the first year there were a few people moaning and these were quickly out numbered by people contacting the papers saying what an amazing experience it was.and it has grown in support every year....
when every place they try and set these things up so many people are objecting you would think they would never consider leaving a place where they are welcomed with open arms...
Don't get me wrong I enjoyed Weymouth, it's not Tenby though. Pubs, bars, restaurants & the hotel we stayed in (Best Western) were all very welcoming, in fact a Turkish shop owner last night was wishing us well and saying he was looking forward to next year, hoping we had enjoyed Weymouth and saying what a great thing it was to have in Weymouth.
However, on Saturday afternoon, some cafe's along the esplanade closed at 4pm just before the athletes left The Pavilion following the athlete brief and poured out onto the streets. On Sunday pubs in Old Harbour didn't start serving food until 7pm, some were closed altogether. There must be some rich owners in Weymouth, either that or they haven't sussed out the pot of gold that IM brings to their town. Maybe it's the demographics of the town, it struck me it's full of old codgers, a retirement town like Bournemouth used to be, maybe they all moved along the coast and maybe it will never take off like Wales?