IM Chattanooga - Why so popular?
OK, so IM Chattanooga sold out online in 3 minutes. We had 58 EN members get in via pre-sale. This is obviously a spot that appeals to many people. I do not know Chattanooga, what is the allure of this location? I have been to TN, but only Nashville (great town). I'm guessing this an easy travel location parts of the south (4 hours south of IMKY and 6 hours north of IMFL) but I'm sure there's more I'm not seeing.
If you signed up or tried to, or though about it, can you explain your motivation?
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And Chattanooga has a great reputation for multisport events.
As everyone else says, I don't think there is any one thing that makes this race super extra special as much as it is just a combination of a variety of factors. First and foremost, the market for IMs in the US is clearly not saturated yet. There is a big question of when that will occur, especially considering they've added 6 Ironmans in NA in the last 2 years (Mont Tremblant, Whistler, Tahoe, Boulder, Chattanooga, Los Cabos) so surely supply has to catch up with demand at some point right?? Apparently not yet.
Then of course we have location. I'm sure TN is pretty, but that alone I don't think is the huge draw. I think more importantly, TN is just road-trippable for basically the entire SE region AND a good chunk of the midwest. A huge group of people from my old tri club in Iowa were all planning to register and convoy down there, then you are within road trip (~8hrs) of Chicago, closer for Indy, Ohio, and again, centrally located to the entire SE which currently are served either by IMLOU (hot and far from SE) or IMFL (flat, crowded and late).
The timing on this one again is a sweetspot since it is straddling both the SE and the midwest. For the SE athletes, late September is doable. It's definitely still going to be hot as all hell in your training through August, but at least it will start to cool down for the race itself and in your final weeks. For the midwest athletes, this definitely towards the end of the outdoor training season but still solidly within it whereas doing a race like IMAZ or IMFL would have you indoors for good chunks of your final build.
And lastly, the course. If you've noticed a bit of the trend of the recent race race announcements that we've had, they aren't exactly beginner friendly. Los Cabos turned from a Mexican vacation to a bit of a bloodbath, both Tremblant and Whistler are at ski resorts (i.e. not flat), Boulder has elevation and heat, Tahoe has elevation and freaking mountain passes on the bike, etc.
I'm not saying Chattanooga is a beginners race, but the it's decidedly more friendly than the other recent additions. With an expected elevation gain of 3400 ft over 112 miles, and nothing too crazy on the run, there's just a lot less reason for hesitation going into a race like Chattanooga than most races.
@Trevor - one thing to keep in mind, 2 full IM events were also taken off of the calendar in the past year (IMNYC and IMSG).
A race selling out so quickly is crazy. someone on facebook was asking if their mailed in application would be considered. Yah. right.
Makes me wonder if WTC had pre loaded the race with things like the tri team early offers and other methods we don't know about to get people in early. Maybe they were worried it wouldnt' sell out.
I vote for another race East coast..
Ironman St George (now a 70.3)
Ironman Regensburg
Ironman Korea
Ironman China
Ironman Canada (replaced by Whistler which was not an addition)
Silverman Iron Distance (killed by WTC when they bought the race mgt company in order to have Vegas)
IM 70.3 Mooseman
IM 70.3 Providence RI
IM 70.3 Poconos
IM 70.3 National Harbour
IM 70.3 Branson
IM 70.3 Ireland (may come back to life)
IM 70.3 China
IM 70.3 Phuket
I concur that the market is not saturated but people rapidly forget the ones that did not make it for one reason or another. And I will not be surprised if IMLOU dies when its contract ends in 2016. If their numbers fall significantly in 2014 due to IMCHATT, WTC might even convert them to a 70.3 for their last two years. Only time will tell. Meanwhile, I hope to get into IMFL fairly easy for 2014 because I am sure a lot of the registrations just went to TN.
Supposedly the course is changing back to the Silverman course. My guess is that it won't be called Silverman 70.3 because that doesn't sound as awesome as Vegas 70.3.
2. Hotels are cheap compared to every other IM.
3. My last three IMs were IMWI (2006 when it was in the 50s and rained all day), IMLouisville (2008, 95 degrees) and IMLP this year (awesome weather). I wasn't going to do it but the preregistration allowed me to think at length about it. I think this course will allow me to apply all the things I learned this past season as well as learn from the mistakes I made at LP (quite a few mind you). Combine this with a fast course and I am hopeful that I can set a PR by a significant margin for the 2nd consecutive year.
2. Location/date should make for some decent racing conditions.
3. Reasonable driving distance for me
4. KQ for the FOLLOWING year so should I be fortunate enough again I wouldn't be double stacking IMs in a single season.
5. Down river swim - I'll take all the help I can get