Question about what constitues Ironman

IRONMAN is a brand name, if that's important to you then do one put on by the official organization. To me, the accomplishment of the distance is just as frigging nuts great with or without the branding.

To be an ironman you have to do 140.6 miles, that certainly doesn't have to be part of a IMNA race.  There are good iron distance races out there.  You need to question of you want to do a large race, IMNA ~ 2000 people, or smaller.  Personally I am drawn towards doing the IMNA events because I don't know if I could deal with that much solitude if there were only a handful of competitors, I don't know what kind of trafic control a handful of competitors can buy, and I know I want the proper medical staff available if needed.  I believe the back of "Be IronFit" talks about some of the iron distance races out there and their pros and cons.  One example of a good iron distance, non IMNA is Vineman.

Just depends on what you want your experience to be.

I thought the True Texan was an Ironman distance + that weird Mad Max event that I read about. You know, Texans always have to do things in a big way.

I can't believe someone would would choose a race based on finishers' gear. Lame. I guess it's not worth doing if you can't brag about it.

After giving this issue extensive thought and as my race approaches, my answer as to what constitutes an Ironman is as follows: Tony Stark and his armor

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Although I am just getting into the sport, I definitely have Ironman somwhere on the radar.  I feel it is not so much about the logo as it is about ensuring a certain level of support, experience in running these types of events, and plenty of fellow psychos to race with. 

The M-dot logo has certainly been etched in many of our minds as the ultimate symbol of IM achievement and I feel it's a nice touch, but the support along the race is the key for me...IF I were to ever sign up for an IM, that is

As far as the cost of the WTC events is concerned... "you get what you pay for" is pretty accurate.  But we also can't forget that every time one of those cool corporate M-dot logos is printed somewhere, SOMEONE is paying for it!

I say decide what you want out of the race experience, (i.e. flexibility in signing up late, cost of the event, # of participants, distance from home, finishing gear, race course profile, etc...), do your homework (I am sure there are non-WTC Iron-distance races that have the support and numbers of the big races) , and be honest with yourself so that you don't finish the 140.6 miles and think "that was great, but I wish I had..." (unless of course you are thinking of doing several IM's...then you can do all types of races).