Subject: RE: Ironman California - Full? Spent a lot of time rubbing elbows at the expo and posed this question to quite a few folks with nothing definitive. (IE. No inside info)
After running the course again, it would seem "Doable" for the bike course but the swim will need a new venue. The harbor is way too small for a Mass Start. I think the run coursse will need a major reroute also as it would get pretty monotanous doing the existing course 4 times. An ocean swim seems to be the obvious choice, but March is traditionally a good month for big surf. (New Zealand South Swells) Big waves tend to cause issues with Tri Swims. (But as a Surfer and someone who regularly trains in the ocean, I say, Bring it on baby!) The Sand Road is gone permanently and so the run course is likely to get redone anyway. The folks that live in the condos are none too happy about having the race block their streets all day long. The way they did the course this year seemed like a good compromise but there were still a few angry confrontations with residents. The one thing I did hear that made sense was that if they do make this a full, it will have to move to a different part of the year. There just is not enough daylight in March to keep a lot of folks from having to ride in the dark, and almost everyone running in the dark. If it does become a full, I am certainly in for all the marbles |