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Race Reports for Ironman U.S. Championship

[1]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Despite the fast swim this was a tough course, particularly the run. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to finish at least holding steady but glad that I managed to push through the tough times. I didn't experience any of the mental challenges in my previous IM races so this was definitely new and I fought the desire to walk (or just sit down and take a nap) several times on the run course heading down the Hudson Greenway. Lesson learned - no matter how tough things get just remember that everyone else could be suffering just as much if not more and it comes down to a battle of wills to just keep moving forward. Jordon Rapp has posted some comments about this course that makes me feel a little better about my run and the tough day overall: "Hardest run course I've done by a long shot." and "The wind running South on the river path was brutal after crossing the GWB" Now he admits he only has IMAZ, IMTX, and IMC to compare but still the bike course was "harder than he expected"
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[2]
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Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?No
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Too hard

  • Comments: The PA system shut down at 10 pm which sucked but they tried their hardest to keep the energy level at the finish line. I made the mistake of not getting on the first ferry to the swim which resulted in me not getting to the finish line by 10. I loved every second of it and can't wait for my next one.
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[3]
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Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Too hard

  • Comments: This race has come under a lot of criticism, some of it justified, some not so much. For me, I found it well organized (the ferries all left on time and everything was where it was supposed to be) and I applaud the organizers for even managing to hold this event. All the more so that it was in and around New York City with, from what I could tell, just about zero community or city support (no interest by NYC residents or officials). That said, there were issues with this race that could have been disclosed better beforehand (the logistics of taking multiple ferries and an insanely early start to a long day) and that just come with a race in NYC (sewage leaks). I'm glad I did the race but I would not do it again.
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[4]
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Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Too hard

  • Comments: Logistically not a great place for a race. Would have liked to have had my kids there but with my wife having to drag them around all day going on ferries back and forth would have been crazy.
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[5]
Reported by:
Race rating (3)
User photo
  • Organised?No
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: I LOVED the race but would not do it again unless they changed some of the logistics. It was a very expensive race for me, and I knew this going into it. NYC is expensive. But i thought it would be more in NYC and that we would be running down parts of the street in NYC and that was a big no... I think my overall experience this weekend was fantastic... and very pleased i got to do it.. but would look towards other races for the price point in the future.
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[6]
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Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: There are obviously several unique elements to this race. A few thoughts for those considering doing it in the future, in the event it does happen again in a similar form: For participant logistics, I think they did as well as possible given how spread out the course has to be across a major metropolitan area. The ferries worked well, but did chew up significant amounts of time. Plan on dedicating a few extra hours of time to this race in the days immediately before than the typical IM. Stay at Sheraton Lincoln Harbor if the ferry routes are the same in the future. The race hotel in the city is more hassle and, according to reports, not that much about the race. For spectator logistics, I got ferry wristbands for my family, some all-day, some half-day, depending on who was willing to wake up early. These were borderline worthwhile, particularly because you can't see much of the bike, and for some reason they severely limited movement inside the park to watch the run. My group
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[7]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?No

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: The logistics of this race were totally crazy, but I thought they did a fantastic job with it. I won't be signing again for next year, but I would recommend this race to people. Kona baby! :)
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[8]
Reported by:
User photo
  • Organised?
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?

  • Post race activities?
  • Overall course based on my ability:

  • Comments: I had a great time at the event and I know logistically it was a nightmare, there are a few things that can be done a lot better but given the circumstances and all the stuff going on it went off well. This course is definitely not a for spectators, I told my family a long time ago I’m not paying for ferry tickets, go see a show on Broadway instead and I’ll meet you at the finish line. The bike course was nicely closed off for the cyclist but hard for spectators to get to, other than the finish line the best crowd was just off the GW bridge, and after that not many people around, even at the park we went through had a bunch of families from the local communities having parties etc.. and had no idea what was going on, someone asked me if we were running for charity. While other people would just walk right in front of you trying to get to the other side of the park. Host hotel was OK but I expected more, like banners or something showcasing the Ironman event so people knew, but no such
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[9]
Reported by:
Race rating (4)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: hard not to be happy about a PR. Plus, finishing in NY and near hotel-walk to hotel and then good food. I was beat at the end, and am sore as heck today. Not sure I would do it next year, but I wouldn't mind volunteering maybe. Considering the location, I thought this was a well run, well put together race. Certainly a challenging course and I feel like I "earned" the title Ironman at this one.
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[10]
Reported by:
Race rating (2)
User photo
  • Organised?No
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?No
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Below average
  • Overall course based on my ability: Too hard

  • Comments: Not worth $900 + dollars ($50 for spectator to go the banquet dinner which seemed essential since the logistics were a nightmare, $50 to get my bike back from transition unless of course I wanted to pick it up after the race, yeah right that would have added another 2 hours to my already ridiculously long day, $900 for the host hotel who knew very little about the race) and an incredibly boring, brutal course make this race a thumbs down. Sorry.
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[11]
Reported by:
Race rating (5)
User photo
  • Organised?Yes
  • Events on time?Yes

  • Lots of volunteers to help?Yes
  • Plenty of drink stations?Yes

  • Post race activities? Good
  • Overall course based on my ability: Just right

  • Comments: Upon crossing the finish line, a team of volunteers and medical staff either catch or collect you (think like they do with a boxer after he gets knocked down). After checking me over, they declared me in good condition and I was released to go find my family. After stumbling around a bit, I finally found them and gave them some pretty gnarly hugs, and my daughter Katie quickly claimed my medal. After a couple of slices of pizza, I returned to the finish area for my post-race message and stopped by the medical tent to finally have my ankle cleaned-up and attended to. I'm convinced that the doctor thought I was crazy, but, she let me go anyway. Back at the hotel and after a long shower, burger and beer, I was able to reflect on the race and the years of racing that I had to do to ultimately cross that epic finish line. I lay awake for most of that night as my wife and kids slept from the exhaustion that was their day of chasing and supporting me around Lake Placid and the Adirondack
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