Full distance, fast course, easy enough to get to

joey100

So after floating the idea at home it might be a runner. So the search starts for the right race.

I'm looking for a fast course, no lanzas or wales. Good road surface would be a plus. Somewhere fairly accessible would be nice too, even better if ship my tri bike went.

Has to be early enough in the year, before mid august and the other real challenge is I don't really want to enter until after the Norseman draw in November.

Doesn't have to be ironman or a big brand. Have done the half in outlaw and while it's a fast enough course the road surface was tough with the last 4km in deep gravel.

Any suggestions?

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

joey100 wrote: »

So after floating the idea at home it might be a runner. So the search starts for the right race.

I'm looking for a fast course, no lanzas or wales. Good road surface would be a plus. Somewhere fairly accessible would be nice too, even better if ship my tri bike went.

Has to be early enough in the year, before mid august and the other real challenge is I don't really want to enter until after the Norseman draw in November.

Doesn't have to be ironman or a big brand. Have done the half in outlaw and while it's a fast enough course the road surface was tough with the last 4km in deep gravel.

Any suggestions?

IMCPH, see you there.

mossym

Spencer Melted Penguin wrote: »

IMCPH, see you there.

was going to suggest the same until he said mid august. if he could stretch 2 weeks (which would be taper anyway ) it's the obvious choice

joey100

Yep, have a good friend getting married in Crete on the 20th august so ideally would be done by then. Think cph is normally around that weekend.

peter kern

i guess it will clash but the hardman would be the obvious choice .
most good guys think they go sub 9 in their first ironman not a single irish person has done it . 9 out of 10 people dont get even within 20 min of their capability in their first IM.
you want close no closer than kilareny
you can practise on the race course
and its by far the cheapest option with the least stress involved
its not fast but its not a slow course either
and it dosnt sell out since all the people that complain aobut entrace fees in ireland go aborad to pay in 99% twice as much as the hardman entrace fee .


the alternatives
ironcat seems to be very consiten
challenge poznan can be windy as most flat courses
lake ballerton "
vitoria gasteiz can be hot . but is the little roth triathlon and has hosted itu long distance world champs.

RacoonQueen

Is Hardman bike not fairly tough? Ring of Kerry isn't it?

mossym

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Is Hardman bike not fairly tough? Ring of Kerry isn't it?

only real climbs are molls and coomakista, they are steady climbs, you can fly up them.

not hard, but not what i'd call fast to tick joe's boxes

rodneyr1981

Hi Joey

Regards the faster IM races leaving it to Nov may mean most will be sold out id imagine.
I ended up going through nirvana for cph but flights were ~€85 and shared a room.
Cph prob a week too late for you.

You could always come to Italy or Barca in Sept with myself and gibbo😉

RacoonQueen

Italy likely to stay open also.

If you were willing to leave it to September I'd suggest Challenge Almere...can't get much flatter than Amsterdam

peter kern

yep almere is flat but also v suceptible to wind.

there is a few more i was thinknk about
moritzburg close to dresden is fast and usually not windy
and hanover ( apparantly 100 euro to enter i read lately but not confirmed )

i guess both would be on the 226 website.
and if norseman attracts I think the almost better option is embrunman. has to be the toughest bike course of an ironman i could think of .

another one thats super interesting is one at sweden that starts at midnight when they have 24 hours day light . so has to be around end of june ;-)
should be on 226 as well

rooneyjm

Cotswolds 226, this year was in June, have been on in July. Flat bike, flat run

joey100

Cheers for the replies folks, so looks like Outlaw full is going to win out. Close enough, fast enough and have been there before for the half so know the layout of the place. Takes a bit of the stress out of getting there and trying to sort somewhere close to stay. Probably not the fastest bike course out there but faster than others.

Now the next question, anyone have any plans they would recommend to follow? I haven't ruled out going the coaching route yet but just looking for some info before I decide on what I'm doing. Have had a quick look myself, seem to be more focused on people aiming to finish rather than finish fast. Again the aim is sub 10 hours, probably a bit optimistic but sure you need to push yourself!

pgibbo

Interesting read here about what model to follow

MD1983

mossym wrote: »

only real climbs are molls and coomakista, they are steady climbs, you can fly up them.

not hard, but not what i'd call fast to tick joe's boxes

did a spin around the hardman bike course a few weeks ago, you are right the climbs are grand all big ring no doubt, i think the slow factors are the wind as you are near the coast for a lot of it, its up and down constantly and the road surface is not exactly brilliant especially the descent into kenmare. it was a wet and windy day when i did it so maybe on a nice day its a bit faster. 5hrs 30 seems to be about the best time in the past few years and would be a decent time for that course

still, why does it need to be a fast course joey?

mossym

joey100 wrote: »

Again the aim is sub 10 hours, probably a bit optimistic but sure you need to push yourself!

MD1983 wrote: »

still, why does it need to be a fast course joey?

MD1983

if he could do a 1hr swim and 5.30 bike in killarney his running is prob good enough to go under 10 there

joey100

I was waiting for someone to say that mossy!

@md, fast course for no other reason than I want a fast time. I might only do one, it might be a while before I get to do another one (if at all) and I just want to go fast (or what ever sub10 is considered!) I like the idea of a hard one like wales or lanza but not for my first.

I have no real expectation of ever going to kona so my placing in the field means little. I just really want to say I went sub 10. And that's more for myself than showing off to others or anything like that. I know the course selection will play a big part and I'm under no illusions that a sub 11 in lanza is probably a bigger achievement but that's for further down the line.

joey100

Seen that alright P and then made me realise I have no real idea what he's talking about so prob best getting the advice of someone who does!

rooneyjm

Will u get a tattoo of Robin Hood on your calf after?

joey100

Full back piece, Robin hood and all the merry men, all either in wetsuits, on bikes, or running. Always wanted a tattoo like that, race is just an excuse to get it!

peter kern

rooneyjm wrote: »

Will u get a tattoo of Robin Hood on your calf after?

i think if he goes sub 10 he should get the sheriff of notingham tattoo ...

PWEI

Based on the following ratings;

https://www.trirating.com/course-ratings/

Challenge Venice seems to be one of the fastest courses in Europe and its on in June.

peter kern

PWEI wrote: »

Based on the following ratings;

https://www.trirating.com/course-ratings/

Challenge Venice seems to be one of the fastest courses in Europe and its on in June.

that was 2016 ( short bike course ) this year approx 30 min slower ...
windy hot and 180k

and of course its still a fast course ( slow swim asits 4 k from venice to the mainland ) in terms of reachability it has to be the 2nd easiest in europe after the hardman.

mossym

peter kern wrote: »

in terms of reachability it has to be the 2nd easiest in europe after the hardman.

i'm struggling to think of a location outside italy and the immediate surrounding location for that race where that statement might be accurate

how would venice be easier than wales/bolton for an irish person? load up the car, quick ferry, done. no messing about with bags/flights.

and if you have to use plane anyway there are numerous other races that are shorter flights and located close to the airports


you're going to have to explain your thinking behind that statement peter

peter kern

i a not aware that there is a race closer to the airport than venice something like 3 k and the bus to transiton directly from the airport in something like 7 minutes . its also the only race you can fly to directly from shannon and belfast so overall it haa to be the fastest race from Ireland to get to and i just checked direct flights from cork too

catweazle

peter kern wrote: »

i a not aware that there is a race closer to the airport than venice something like 3 k and the bus to transiton directly from the airport in something like 7 minutes . its also the only race you can fly to directly from shannon and belfast so overall it haa to be the fastest race from Ireland to get to and i just checked direct flights from cork too

Nice is another one - I remember well enough running beside the airport 4 times during the run.

While I think that course would suit you Joey with the climbs it doesn't tally with your need to bag a sub 10 on whatever course you do

mossym

Nice was one i was thinking of. zurich is pretty close too i'm sure.Copenhagen. 2 stops on the metro. lanzarote, you can see the airport from the start. all direct flights.

seriously though, fair play peter, at least you consider airports outside of dublin. the same can't be said for all those living inside the capital

you could actually discount Lanza as the flight is long. very close to airport, but it is a 4 hours flight.

BTH

Flights from Shannon?? I'm in.....

mossym

BTH wrote: »

Flights from Shannon?? I'm in.....

a quick google shows any flights from shannon to venice as having one stop. i'm not seeing any direct flights

i know rynair fly to rome direct from shannon, only italian stop. aer lingus don't have any direct italy flgihts i'm aware of.

so who flys to venice from shannon peter?

RacoonQueen

I've heard the swim in Venice isn't the most pleasant experience.

docker.io

sorry for the late input, but have you looked into IM Copenhagen? looking at doing this myself in 2020. gives 3years to train up to. plus i can't afford it till then with all the weddings coming up next year and the following year.

I have seen on my FB feed, a guy that I know that goes OW swimming with the same group I goes with done the Celtic man, only a few weeks back. doesn't look that hard all flat plus the run looks to be only 35k not the full 42k

here's a link

http://celticwarrior.ie/

cjt156

The Celtic Warrior run is a series of 3.19 mile laps, so it is the full distance.

I did the half that weekend. I'd say 8 laps could be a bit monotonous, but there were plenty doing it.