Help picking my 1st full ironman location

FL and Chatt wil likely sell out fast - Chatt was about 5 minute this past year and same with FL I think; TX and Louisville tend to stay open longer

I have never done any of these races so what I am writing is only what I know based on my own research and what others have said so please take this advice with a grain of salt....

Florida- Ocean swim, flat bike and flat run. Sometimes windy and sometimes chilly race day starting temps. Usually gets into the 70's but gets dark early since the race is in November. Lots of lodging options and things to do in PCB. Very popular race for 1st timers and always an instant sell out. If you plan on doing it in 2015, you need to be by your computer the next day when registration goes online or you will probably not get in.

WI- Challenging Bike course but a great run course through a college town with lots of support and an awesome finishers area. Do not know much else about it but likely registration will be open for a few days.

Louisville- HOT HOT HOT, TT swim start that is not wet-suit legal, Rolling hills bike course which is challenging but beautiful. Flat run that I have hear good and bad things about but takes you past some cool and not so cool parts of Louisville. Amazing finish on 4th Street Live with plenty of housing and food options. Lots to do for family. Registration will be open for a while since the race does not sell out until closer to race day. Did I say HOT??

TX- Usually not wetsuit legal, flat and windy bike and flat run. Run is 3 loops around a lake or something with good support and the ability for your family to see you more often. Some bad sections of the bike (chip seal roads). I dont know much else but its Texas so probably some good eats around.

Chatt- No clue

Ultimately, you should make your decision by evaluating a few things:

1.) Travel time- How far away from your house do you want to be? can you drive, are you willing to fly? etc. Calculate costs because it can get expensive

2.) Lodging- Free lodging for me would be a HUGE factor in doing a race. If you do not have to incur that expense, that is a good thing

3.) Your type of Race- Do you want to swim in an ocean, river, lake,? do you need or want a wetuit legal race? flat or hilly bike? hot or mile temps? Play to your strengths and maybe pick a race that is close to climate and terrain as where you currently live so its better for training simulation.

4.) Family- If you have a family that is planning on supporting you and coming with you to the race, where would they like to go? It will be a long week and long day for them too. Make sure there are things to do for them while you are out on the course and things for them to do during Race week

5.) Time of Year- Which one fits into your work/family schedule better? which one allows you for more training? A race like TX is in May so if you live in the NE like me, you will basically be training indoors the whole time where a race like FL allows me to train all spring/summer/fall and get alot of outdoors training in.

Good luck with whatever you choose and your trianing.

I've done IMFL, IMKY, and IMTX

For a first race, IMTX is a perfect course. Yes, it can get hot, winds are not usually an issue, GREAT crowd support, and an overall nice area. Probably one of my favorite courses. Yes, there are some chip seal issues... But it's not that bad.

Hi there

I am from Texas I have not participated in the IMTX race but I have ridden the hilly part of the course IMTX is NOT FLAT! It's rolling hills some significant than others about 1600 FT of climbing I volunteered this year and it's wetsuit legal, other years it's wetsuit optional you start 10 mins later than the non wetsuit but still get the full 2:20 Time alloted for the swim. The tempt this year is better 85 to 90F, but there are years it's 95 to 100F. IMTX 14.Registration closed Dec'13 even so I signed up for IMTX'15....

2017 IMTX will be on April a good chance to be wetsuit legal and favorable conditions on ride and run.... Goodluck!!!


Edited by strykergt 2014-05-27 9:33 AM

1600ft of climbing or 1600FT gain over the course...because if its over the entire course that is not too bad...I hit 3300ft yesterday in 86 miles and nothing more than rollers

I did IMFL as my first. I really liked the IMFL course, with the one exception of the salt water. But overall, it was a great time. The bike course is fairly flat, ok, a few false flats and some decent headwinds, but it's generally flat. The swim is beautiful (that is if you like salt water), though in 2012 there was some chop and that caused me some issues. Without the chop, the swim would have been much better. The run course is really good, well supported and fairly flat. There's so many folks out, the run is lots of fun.

The only major downside to IMFL is the difficulty of getting a spot online. If you volunteer, then you're set. And I generally hate salt water - but IMFL worked best with my calendar, so that's the one I choose.

But overall, I really liked IMFL. It would be a good first race for anyone.

All the races are good, and all of the courses have the pluses and minuses. All of the courses you've mentioned are well suited for first time IM participants.

From my standpoint, a large part of this decision should be driven by the time of year you want to be preparing for the race. The most difficult thing for a lot of first time IM participants to adjust to is scheduling in all of the training time. Will this be easier for you in one season over another? What about heat or cold? The race is only one day, but you'll be spending a lot of hours outside on training rides & runs in the months before the race. Will anything else be competing for your spare time in 2015 that needs to be scheduled around?

For me, I know I need to dedicate weekend time to training for about 3-months before the race, and I have trouble doing that in the summers due to other family committments. Seems like we make a lot of weekend trips in the summer that can interefere with training. I have the easiest time in the winter and early spring. Second best is fall.

x2

I just completed IMTX as my first IM. While I was considering picking a race as you are know, I ended up picking the race that fit my schedule better. At the end all races are tough (140.6 miles no matter what), but being able to get to the start line healthy and properly trained can make a huge difference.

Did I read in here someone just said 1600 feet over a full ironman course was hilly dear lord thats a cake walk. I am from Saint George our half ironman course is 4052 feet and when they had the full it was 8000 feet, 1600 over 112 miles is just a little over 14 feet per mile thats not hilly I don't even know if I'd considered that rolling. STG half is over 72 feet of elevation change per every mile. Heck Boise HiM which considered one of the easiest HiM is 1300.

I've heard good things about texas except for the heat, heard its almost always hot. I've considered Texas its just such a long drive for me 21 hours that I'd have to fly so I am thinking CDA for me.

This, I live in the desert so training during the winter is optimal for me. That makes something like Texas a good race for me that allows me to train during the winter where as a race like Florida would require me to train during the summer when temps can be 110. But if you were to live somewhere cold summer training might be more optimal.

someone pointed out that 1600ft wasn't pancake flat...but its about as close to flat as I could see on a course map

Its probably about as close to flat as your going to ever get for a full 112 mile bike ride. No ironman is easy some just have different difficulty levels.

In relation to this, when do these races open up on line for 2015 registration? I am also looking for a 1st time IM, in late year for max training time. So FL, Louisville, WI would all work. But it looks like you have to be quick on the draw. Do they announce this stuff right after the current year's race or what? Searching the ironman website doesn't bring up anything after May 2015.

Edited by NewDiz 2014-06-07 1:51 PM

Registration for the next year's race usually opens at 12 noon (local time of race) the day after the race.IMFL will sell out in a couple of minutes. Same with IMAZ which is two weeks later. IMWI will take a couple of hours.IMLou will take about 10-11 months to sell out.

Thanks man, that's the key issue here, IMHO, getting a slot before anything else!

At least from my perspective, this isn't something you just roll out one day and decide to do. This is my third year training as a triathlete, and I feel I just barely scratched the surface, as far as getting ready for an iron distance race. I'm sure there are all sorts of opinions here, but for me, this is a four year program to really prepare properly for. It's taken me this long to get barely competent at swimming, not to mention getting a good cycling base to add to my running background.

So not to 'jack this thread, but I wish you could schedule these races a little further in advance, just to secure your slot, and allow you to train with confidence in making your goal race. But I suppose that's just me, as a first-timer, with a much longer training schedule/plan than the veterans.

But back to the OP, from the sign-up process, it looks like IMFL would be the first race choice, but the hardest to get into. IMLouisville seems the easiest to get into, but I've heard it's a tough (1st time) course. (In fact, you can still get into the 2014 race.) So there's a tough choice. Go for a pretty much guaranteed slot, or roll the dice, to one degree or another.