IM 70.3 National Harbor August 5 (Page 2)

starrlinda - 2012-05-06 5:25 PM I have not received the email about the race getting canceled.  Did everyone who was registered receive the email this weekend?  I was hoping the cancellation was a bad rumor. 

I don't think it's a rumor, as they have turned off registration.  They may be collecting themselves and figuring out what to say before changing the website.  What a mess.  Inaugural races are risky to sign up for.

The http://ironmannationalharbor.com page has been taken down and redirected to the WTC site with the same cancellation (non)message I posted in the email above.

Plus they took down the Facebook page for the event (unsurprisingly it was filled with jilted triathletes asking for an explanation).  Really a shameful performance by WSEM to pull the plug on this without so much as a reason.

I wonder if this means this is it for the race or if somebody will try again next year.

I had no plans for this race, but had also noticed that the FB page was pulled.  Pretty lame if you ask me.  If you're going to cancel a race, the least you can do is let people comment. 

DC Rainmaker has some interesting comments on his blog. It almost seems as if WSEM is shutting up shop and leaving town. Very strange. Too bad.

(I hope this means that the Rev3 folks will get even more love for their 70.0 in Oct in Columbia -- cooler weather, shorter swim, hillier bike course: what's not to love! Next year they could even try to not hold it on the oh so sacred Seagull Century weekend.)

Come join us folks!  We would love to have you at Half Full in October!  I can assure you that we are not going anywhere, even if we have low numbers

Charlie

www.rev3tri.com

Not surprising.  I think they would get exactly zero repeat customers after last year's debacle.

If you go to their main site, they don't even list DC as a race venue. http://www.hotchocolate15k.com/

It was similar to the Hot Chocolate 15k mess in Chicago, they got too many registrations without being able to handle the crowd.  Traffic was a nightmare, people missed the race, late start, etc.  Lots of unhappy people.  A lot of people say that National Harbor just can't support big races, or races that venture outside of that area.  So maybe the SetupEvents one will be ok.

I was wondering if the Color Run DC was still on.  I just checked and it appears so.

Running race that was held at the same spot last year.  Didn't go well.

Here is summary if you want more details

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/12/dc-hot-chocolate-15k-2011-race-report.html

Should I be concerned if I haven't gotten an email yet?  Already doing Half Full 40...maybe I could upgrade to 70?  

An explanation/apology email from WESM, sort of.  It is a bit of pass-the-buck to WTC (who incidentally says they were "shocked" to learn of the cancellation, so somebody doesn't have their story straight).

Plus I sort of think lower-than-expected registration is a crappy reason to cancel a race.

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Dear Athlete,

The Ironman 70.3National Harbor Triathlon was cancelled because not enough athletes were registered for the event.

Initially we kept quiet because Ironman asked us to stay silent, not post anything on social media and not send out any press releases so that the damage to Ironman’s brand would be minimized. We were fools to agree and that was a big mistake on our part.

We should have communicated immediately and told you the reason from the start. We have nothing to hide from the truth and were just initially intimidated by Ironman's request.

We apologize.