Muncie or Steelhead

Hey Jayne, didn't you say you were going to do one or the other of these races last year?  Time to put up or shut lady!!

I heard some good stuff about Steelhead from this year.  I heard the swim was almost glassy but I also know as I was checking into doing my first HIM (which I did last weekend BTW) that I looked at both of these races.

My feeling is that both of them can be much HOT on any given day because of the time of year they are held.  (Obviously you can't predict the weather.)  I think it may come down to whether you would like to do a wetsuit swim or not.  Prairie Creek in Muncie is much less likely to e a wetsuit swim because it is a smaller body of water and likely to be warmer, while Lake Michigan should be cooler.  Once you get done with the swim you will likely suffer in the heat of either course.

The other thing at Muncie is that I have done an Oly on the same course as the run for the HIM and it is a fairly rolling course.  I'm not sure of the elevation changes but I remember as my very first triathlon and Oly that I suffered on the run.  If you chose to do Muncie you could do a couple of WU races there earlier in the year over the same courses because Muncie Multisport has a lot of races beginning in mid-May. and they carry them throughout the year. (They have one this weekend if you're feeling froggy. $55 for a sprint and $60 for the Oly.)

So there are your options.  Now quit talking about doing a HIM and put your money where your mouth is!

I am considering Muncie next year if that makes your decision any easier and I have probably steered you to Steelhead since I have harassed you so much.

Muck Funcie.

Never again. Shortening a race was a slap in the face. 

Just to be clear, only IM 70.3 was shortened - which is totally separate from the Muncie Multisport events (all 8 or 10 or 12 of them).  Including the Collegiate Championships this weekend.

FYI, Steelhead has been shortened a few times the past couple of years as well.

The thing that sells me on Steelhead over Muncie is the water temperature.  88 degrees this year at Prairie Creek on race day.  It was absolutely disgusting, and lets be honest, even on its best day, its a dirty lake.  Lake Michigan is great to swim in that time of year.  You'll get mid 70's temp and the water is much much cleaner.

I like the rest of the Muncie races and have done the May race two years in a row and plan on racing again in May 2013.  But as far as Muncie 70.3, I'm done with that.  I'll chance the cancelled swim of Steelhead.

If you are not hung up on the IRONMAN brand - take a look at REV3 Cedar Point.  Excellent race.  I did Muncie this year (most expensive OLY EVER) and was completely underwhelmed at the experience.  I used it as my 70.3 for IM KY and it was NOTHING special.  I live in MI and I know that every year the swim is a crapshoot because of Lake MI.  

Good Luck!

I have never done Steelhead, but I have done Muncie twice, and, yes, one of those times was this year when it was shortened.  It's going to be HOT no matter what, and the run course is pretty tough, lots of rolling hills.  The bike course is great though- pancake flat and generally no wind. Keep in mind that the swim at Steelhead has been cancelled more than once due to riptide warnings.  There is no guarantee that any race is going to be perfect.

Another note on Muncie- I was disappointed about the race being shortened this year, but I think they made the right call.  There were WAY too many people there that were not nearly in the right condition to deal with the heat.  Someone probably would have died.