Im Lou...

[Running Mommy]

Ok, call me bitter, but I just watched people cross the finish line at IM Lou (Louisville KY) who were declared an Ironman, given a medal and celebrated as if they had done the course in under 17 hours- as the rules state, when they really took WELL over 17 hours.
You see they had to modify the swim course at the last minute because of the flooding up north. Apparently the river current was about 2.5 mph. So they changed the mass start to a time trial start for safety sake. BUT then that meant that the race didn't end at midnight. It ended 17 hours after the last person hit the water, which ended up being 37 minutes later.
Sooo that gave the people who started say 15 minutes before the last swimmer in an extra 15 minutes. Or in one case 18 minutes..
This came to mind as being a possibility so I started taking note of bib #'s just to see, and sure enough we had people listed as 17:18. 17:04 etc..
So I wonder in the end if they will be DQ'ed??

I know this sounds petty and stupid, and it is. But seeing as how last year if I had an extra 10 minutes I would have made it in as well. sigh... Yeah, I can be that petty I guess...

Of course I know that I'd never be able to consider myself an "Ironman finisher at IMAZ 07" because I didn't make it in the alloted time.
Some people try to sugar coat it and say " As far as I'm concerned if you do the distance you are an Ironman". But I'm not one of them. It's part of the challenge- knowing that it's do or die-get in under 17 or try again.
In 2006 I did it, in 2007 I didn't, and I'm going to try again in 08.

I know in the end, it shouldn't matter to me. But I think it just irks me at the thought that there could be people out there flaunting their medals and declaring themselves Ironmen, when really, according to the rules.. they are not...
Maybe I'm bitter because they caught a break??
I heard that everyone made it out of the swim- with nearly a half hour to spare!! Now that NEVER happens! Heck my swim time there may have actually been reasonable!!
Shoot! I should have signed up!
Sigh... Now Wahine- SHE is an IRONMAN!! An Iron STUD even!!

[crazycanuck]

Weeeellll madame RM...You'll be a finisher at IM Western Australia no matter what!!!



C

[Wahine]

I agree with you RM, it's totally not fair. I had a very good friend of mine come up and do IMC on her 50th birthday, she was over time by 10 min. They let her come in over the line and gave her a medal. She gave it back. She didn't get an official finish either. She could've finished at Lou.

[silver]

No that doesn't seem right. I'm not sure if I really understand why they did that. I guess that if they cut off the clock at 17:00 hours, there could have been someone who started last...say 15 minutes in who actually finished in 17:00 (hours) but the finish clock would have been stopped and they still had 15 minutes more time to finish.

Anyway, you all who have completed the distance are still heros to me.

It was incredible to watch the racers finish up! Many had family members cross the line with them, some crying, some strong, some stumbling. wow!!!!

Incredible! the finish was in a neat place too! We talked to a lady who had done IM Florida and another one....Wisconsin maybe? and said that this one was very well done for a first time.

[Running Mommy]

I noticed that it looked like a cool area for the finish as well. They kept showing the neon signs of the hard rock cafe and bowling alley. It seemed a lot like Tempe (IMAZ).
The finish at IMAZ is very near Mill Ave which has a ton of little shops and restaurants.

Silver do you know how the hills are on that course? I had heard that they had some pretty good hills. I might consider this race at some point in the future, but hills always scare this flatlander.

I also heard that people were coming out of the swim covered in a brownish green sludge. It wasn't wetsuit legal apparently.

I'm glad they had a good first time race. I was at IMAZ the first year, and it went pretty good as well. But hard to pull off as they had last minute course changes as well. I do remember the local law enforcement calling Huddle (the race director) and telling him they needed him to stop the race because they were having traffic control issues! This was of course after all the pro's had already gotten out on the bike course.
Uhh yeah sure. I'll just tell them to STOP until you guys get your act together.... Right.....

[KSH]

Well, I knew about the TT start for the swim and for some odd reason I thought they would make everyone come in under 17 hours. So if you started at 7:00 AM your cut off was midnight. Sounds like they didn't track who got in the water first or late. So yea, that's kind of lame that those people who took longer than 17 hours are considered offical finishers. I'm sorry but I wouldn't take the medal. I would feel like I cheated to get it.

The swim was not wetsuit legal, the water was too warm. One of the selling points for me to do it in 2008!

The hills, I have heard they are not so bad. I live in Dallas, TX and it's pretty flat here too. If you read my thread where I say I signed up for IMKY 2008, you will see the review he gave of the hills. It's just all a matter of hill training.

[silver]

Silver do you know how the hills are on that course? I had heard that they had some pretty good hills. I might consider this race at some point in the future, but hills always scare this flatlander.

I also heard that people were coming out of the swim covered in a brownish green sludge. It wasn't wetsuit legal apparently.

....

I heard consistent rolling hills. That's pretty consistent with what I know of the area.

Yeah, green sludge.....the Ohio River....yuck! I wouldn't swim in it unless I HAD to. But I come out of any open water swim around here with a green brownish sludge. Yeah, don't wear anything white if you want it stay white.

I asked this one lady (this was her third) how she liked the swim and she said that she loved it. Now that could have been simply because 2 miles of it was downstream with strong downstream currents.

[KSH]

OK, so I read reading a RR on BT today from IMKY this year... and this gal came in at 18 hours... and she GOT A MEDAL??? WTH?

Seriously. I commend her for finishing and not taking the SAG wagon. But they took her timing chip off her on the course and she came in at 1:00 AM. She said when she crossed the finish line she got her medal.

That I don't agree with.

[Running Mommy]

Thank YOU! That is what I'm saying... It just seems like IM is getting "watered down" so to speak. Yes I'm slow. I'm a full value athlete. BUT I never go into a race with a cut off that I'm not sure I could make.
There are certain marathons that I don't run because they have a 6 hour time cut off, and I know I'd be pushing it.
Just like I would never run the Boston marathon on a charity slot. I respect that race too much. I know I'll NEVER be fast enough to qualify, so I respect those who do even more. That race is about qualifying to get in, and the work that runners put into qualifying- or BQing in marathon speak.
And as with what happened in April, I pulled myself off the course because I knew I wouldn't make it in time.
I guess the popularity of IM has made it so that it's on a lot of peoples "to do once before I die list" and the rules are just silly details. "heck, I did the distance, so I'm an Ironman. No matter that I took an hour longer than I was suppose to, they still gave me a medal"...
NO, sorry, you are NOT.
And I blame the race organization for this. THEY should not be giving out medals like that. It smacks those of us who go out there and bust our butts to make it in under 17 in the face. I'm not saying that this person didn't give it their all. But EIGHTEEN hours??!! I'll have to read their RR.

Ok let me edit this to say I just went and read that RR. The lady had a MRSA infection in her hoo haa region (or so it sounded) and raced anyway?? That IMO is just plain DUMB! MRSA can kill you. To go out and do an IM and compromise your system even more?? Yeah I guess you could say she was determined, but I would have pulled the plug. Sometimes Shat happens and you have to DNS. Sucks, but it's life...
And I guess I say kudos for having the moxie to finish, but I stand by my contention that she should not have been given a medal.
I feel for her, really I do. But I know FULL WELL what it feels like to walk past the finishline, hearing Mike Reilly call the kids in, seeing the finishers milling around with their medals, and have to hand in your chip and walk away after 15 hours of fighting the wind, and illness, etc... Yes, sometimes life just SUCKS. But that is what makes us who we are. How we handle our disappointments as well as our triumphs.

[KSH]

Thank YOU! That is what I'm saying... It just seems like IM is getting "watered down" so to speak. Yes I'm slow. I'm a full value athlete. BUT I never go into a race with a cut off that I'm not sure I could make.
There are certain marathons that I don't run because they have a 6 hour time cut off, and I know I'd be pushing it.
Just like I would never run the Boston marathon on a charity slot. I respect that race too much. I know I'll NEVER be fast enough to qualify, so I respect those who do even more. That race is about qualifying to get in, and the work that runners put into qualifying- or BQing in marathon speak.
And as with what happened in April, I pulled myself off the course because I knew I wouldn't make it in time.
I guess the popularity of IM has made it so that it's on a lot of peoples "to do once before I die list" and the rules are just silly details. "heck, I did the distance, so I'm an Ironman. No matter that I took an hour longer than I was suppose to, they still gave me a medal"...
NO, sorry, you are NOT.
And I blame the race organization for this. THEY should not be giving out medals like that. It smacks those of us who go out there and bust our butts to make it in under 17 in the face. I'm not saying that this person didn't give it their all. But EIGHTEEN hours??!! I'll have to read their RR.

Well, this lady did give it her all. But she came in past the cut off (the generous one at that because of the TT start)... and got a medal. That's BS in my book.

If you didn't make it 17 hours, you don't get the medal or the finishers T-Shirt.

BTW- is it normal for you have to buy your finishers T-shirt? They had to buy it for Ketucky.

[Starfish]

I have never done a triathlon. I have little dreams about someday, somehow, doing an IM. I suppose I might be one of those people for whom it is a maybe-once-before-I-die kind of thing rather than a love of triathlons, since I have never done one yet!

But, I think the organizers should respect their own stated time limits for the integrity of the event.

I know that if I am EVER to pull off an IM finish someday, I will have to substantially improve my athleticism and speed, not just my endurance. I am stubborn enough to believe (although you Ironpeople out there might shake your heads at my silliness) that given enough sheer TIME and training hours, I could somehow FINISH the distance if there was no time limit.

But, given that my whole Shasta ride took longer than Wahine's entire IM, I know that as I am now, I am NO WHERE NEAR the fast athlete I would have to be to do the 17 hour limit.

So, to me, the time limit represents something much more amazing than just finishing (although I don't mean to downplay finishing the distance...inasmuch as I have never done it, maybe I am naive to think I could do the distance no matter how long I had).

[Running Mommy]

K- Yeah you usually get a finishers t shirt in one of those drawstring bags, along with the coveted hat that says "Finsher 2007" Or 08,09...
BUT the next morning is when they roll out all the finishers swag at the banquet. IM knows that we like to part with our $$ when it comes to IM branded gear, so they have seized the opportunity. But Lou is a WTC race, not a NA sports race- so who knows?? I did like the horseshoe medal tho. That was cool. I'll admit, I'm a medal ***** I do races JUST because they have cool finishers medals (disney world mary for instance)... Yeah, I can be shallow like that...

Star- the only thing that would stop you from doing an IM with little training, but as many hours as it takes you to complete it IMO would be the swim. You really have to be conditioned to do 2.4 miles in the water.
But as long as you can do a century, you could walk the 26.2 miles afterward. Esp. with the open buffet every mile.
BUT to do it in under 17 hours DOES require training, and lots of it.
And yeah, it would HURT.
I think of all the races I've done over the years the IM is the one race that you can't fake. You either put in the training and finish, or you don't. It's that simple.