Ironman Louisville in General

now don't exaggerate, it was only 94. It did however feel like 130. Even so it's a fantastic race and I highly recommend it.

Swim - some people don't like the time trial start.
Bike - its tough, but very scenic (tough is relative, but I'm a flatlander and I found it tough)
run - nothing real special, but flat, decent crowd support, hot, hot, hot in 08', finish line was very cool.

Overall, I can't imagine how anyone could complain, I thougth it was great, well organized. But some people would complain about anything, so I'm sure you will hear some.

FishHog

go ahead!  sign up!  let's do this!!

1)  Everything fills up eventually. . .last year it sold out the first of December. 
2)  Because it can be very hot and humid. . and the turn around for Kona is about 6 weeks. 
3)  Swim is flat, Bike is rollers, Run is flat flat flat. . .

I had a buddy sign up yesterday, when he contacted them (IM) they said IMLou was 95% full, so if you want in you better make it snappy.

I raced there, and really enjoyed the city and the race.  It was my first IM experience, so perhaps that makes it memorable.  I stayed downtown near the finish (refer to my post in your thread about accommodations), which was cool. I was close to the expo, there were lots of places to eat downtown, and I really got the "vibe" of the race. 

The swim is a time trial - some folks will complain about it.  I actually liked it a lot.  The water was essentially wide open.  No full contact swimming.  The water is murky, though, so don't expect to see much.  No wetsuit swim; the water was close to 80 degrees in 2009.

Like another poster, I'm a flatlander, and the rolling hills on the bike killed me.  In fact, I told someone after the race that whoever described some of the hills as rolling must be from Nepal.  That said, it's all a matter of perspective.  If you're used to riding on hills, you'll be ok.  I wasn't, and it cooked me.

The run course is pancake flat and moderately shaded.  There are a few sketchy parts of town that the route goes through, but nothing too bad.  Support was pretty good, especially near the rest stops. 

The finish line is AMAZING!  I would have loved to run down the chute and finish there. 

I'd probably consider doing this race again sometime, so I'd recommend that you give it a try.