I'm thinking WAY into the future here, but what is a good ironman as a first race of that distance? I'd be looking for something with lots of run support (multiple laps of the course), and a course that's not too difficult (mainly in terms of the run). Ideally, would prefer east coast. Thoughts anyone? Thanks!
I was just going through this trying to pick my first IM. I decided on Cour d'Alene in Idaho because of timing and course. Lake Placid and Florida are the only official Ironman® North America races in the east, and Lake Placid is probably the toughest course of any. Florida is the flattest course. You can check out the run course comparison here: http://www.ironmannorthamerica.com/comparerun.html
Then there are the many unofficial IM length races. In Ohio we have a pretty nice one: DeerCreek Pineman
Yeah - I don't expect any ironman to be easy. I'm also curious if anyone knows about local, iron-distance races that aren't officially "Ironman", that meet the above criteria (run support (multiple laps of course) with a not too difficult run course, preferably east coast). THanks all!!