Iron Distance Coming to Colorado!

There was the 5430 Iron Distance in 2001.  The bike went from the Boulder Res to just north of Masonville on Stove Prairie and back (via Fruit Loops in Lyons).  With the altitude, heat and wind it was the hardest one of done (Canada, Hawaii, Lake Placid, CDA, Arizona and Vineman being the others).  The only place I know of to swim is either Horsetooth or Boyd Lake in Loveland.  Other lakes in Fort Fun don't have big swim areas and parking lots...if any at all.

I could see a bike course that incorporates Horsetooth loops out towards Timnath or even use Stove Prairie Road.  We shall see.  I'm not signing up until I see the price and the course.

FYI- if you do the 3 for 2 entry Vineman is only $217.00 each..and it is the most beautiful course I've been on.

Looks like Horsetooth

from the website

If you like to climb, this is the course for you. If you like stunning beauty, this is the course for you. If you like charming villages, this is the course for you. Join us at Horsetooth Reservoir, one of the largest bodies of water in the state, for the return of the full distance race to the great state of Colorado. Just 90 miles north of Boulder, the Mecca of Triathlon and home of Dave Scott, Fort Collins is nestled against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and alongside the banks of the Cache La Poudre River. Voted one of the Top 15 Best Places for triathletes to live and train by Triathlete Magazine in August of 2011, Fort Collins will surely be one of our best events in 2012!

Sounds interesting! I'll have to keep my eye on it for more details since I'm not sold on it yet

Thanks for sharing!

For $250 for the HIM I think I will do Boulder instead.  Same price and I know how well that is run.

Since I will never do an IM brand race, this is really interesting. I'll wait until the course info is up, and until they've done the first few events they have planned to see the reviews. A great thing about a race like this is not having to register a year in advance. I may wait until next March.

The bike course could be hilly and difficult, but this is Colorado and those of us who ride should be used to stuff like this. Can you say Triple Bypass? It's the run that could be the biggest challenge, as going back up to Horsetooth at the end could be brutal. Of course they could make this a race with different transition areas.

Heat could also be a big factor that time of year, as can late afternoon thunderstorms with lightning and hail.

On a different  thread (talking about HIM's within 3 hours of Chicago) people were giving good reviews to the race this organization was doing in Galena Il.  The Ft Collins race is replacing that one on the calendar.

Yea Don's right.  These were some of the same immediate thoughts I had when I looked at the race.

PROS:  local race, cheaper registration than Mdot (but not much); of course you save a ton in travel costs.

CONS:  could be really friggin hot; monsoon season; tough bike and run

What kind of turnout are they getting for their iron distance events?  There something to be said for a little camraderie late in a race like this...

Not sure if this is old news, but I just noticed the maps were posted

http://www.hitstriathlonseries.com/fort-collins-co/fort-collins-2012-maps

That run doesn't look fun.  Basically the worst part of the Horsetooth Half Marathon ...forwards and back.

I think they've made a pretty bad choice here.  You're not going to attract large crowds with a course this difficult.  They would have been better off having separate T1/T2 area and having the run in Fort Collins proper.

I tend to agree that they will have trouble drawing athletes for the Iron Distance event and to a lesser extent, the 70.3.  The venue is beautiful and I think Ft. Collins is a great location but the course is very difficult.  Now throw in the elevation and the difficulty of completing the iron distance...

Looking at their calendar, I was excited to see them hosting an iron distance race in Traverse City, MI (near where I grew up).  But they are having it in early October in Northern Michigan!  We planned Halloween costumes that could fit winter coats under them!  This year's water temperature for the day of the proposed race next year was 52 degrees.  I'm not sure that HITS is really putting enough thought and consideration into all of their venues...

So anymore thoughts on this? I am thinking about doing the full. I was planning on doing Triple Bypass and Deer Creek and Boulder 70.3. I thought about continuing on and doing a full in 2014... but 14 is going to be very hard for me to commit to a year in advance because work is going to be very busy (in 13) and not sure I can train as I will need to.

So this gets me to a local 140.3 sooner than I thought... my swim is fine... was going to be doing hard centuries... that just leaves the run. I'm only doing HM right now and 40 mpw. But I do think I can train hard this year.... just don't know.

I was going to be registering for Triple Bypass in a couple weeks, if I do this full... then that is out... so I really need to decide in a couple weeks.