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IM Wisconsin or Chattanooga?

jpmarchewkajpmarchewka
in Races & Places 🏁⛺

Looking forward to 2016, I thinking about racing IM Wisconsin or Chattanooga as they are within a decent driving distance for me.  Don't these races sell out extremely fast?  Do you have any opinions or reviews on these races?  Thanks in advance for any info.  

Comments

  • GMAN 19030GMAN 19030
    Chatt sold out fast. Wisc took a few weeks if I'm not mistaken.
  • Scott GiljumScott Giljum
    IM Choo went fast this year and IM Moo did take a few weeks to sell out, though in years past it went fast as well. I would suggest looking at some of the race reports from the two to get a feel for what folks thought of the courses. I have done Wisconsin twice now and basically would say the swim is a normal swim (I read IM Choo is a VERY fast swim), the bike is pretty technical (climbs, turns, etc) and the run is a basic run with one spot with a couple hills that you get to do twice. I am a smaller guy so I like Wisconsin because the climbs tend to hurt the mooses more than me. I love the course though others feel just the opposite.
  • drjohnson08drjohnson08
    I second what Scott said...I love the Wisconsin course. It was my first IM so that's probably part of it. The swim is a mass start and there is a lot of room. It was wetsuit legal the year I did it (and probably a lot of years). Like Scott said the bike course is technical but if you follow EN race execution protocol you won't have a problem. The run is plain awesome. Spectators and volunteers on every single part of the run course taking you through downtown Madison. The bike course also has a couple sections with a lot of crowd support. There is a climb that kind of resembles what you see at the Tour de France with spectators crowding you on both side of the road cheering you on.

    I'm not as familiar with the CHOO course, however I did volunteer there last year. Fast river swim that uses a time trial start. It was not wetsuit legal last year and good chances that it won't be at least most of the time. From what I heard the swim wasn't too crowded. I did get a chance to ride part of the bike course and drove the entire thing. It's 116 miles long so you get a little more for your money! I don't think it's quite as technical as Wisconsin and it's a little faster. The course was open to traffic both ways. I'm not sure about crowd support on the bike course on race day. I'm not familiar with the run course. There was a challenging hill coming out of transition, probably similar to the hill Scott references at Wisconsin, however, I think you only run it once at CHOO. The parts of the run course I did witness had good crowd support.

    Something to consider may be the potential weather. CHOO being in the South has a much better chance of being hot and humid. However, there have been several years where Wisconsin got pretty warm as well!

    Another thing to consider is whether or not either race will be an EN "key race" in 2016. You would have a lot of support from team members at a key race which can be a huge lift when you're suffering out on the run.

    I think both races are great and you probably can't go wrong with either choice.
  • jpmarchewkajpmarchewka

    Thanks for the info.  Has there been any announcements of 2016 EN key races?  It would be nice to be able to attend a camp before the race.  

  • Mark RobertsMark Roberts
    Both races are great. However if you are a good swimmer., do Wisconsin. The swim is a non factor in Chattanooga. That being said he chattanooga run course is tough.
  • Coach RichCoach Rich

    Posted By Jordan Marchewka on 13 Feb 2015 04:02 PM

    Thanks for the info.  Has there been any announcements of 2016 EN key races?  It would be nice to be able to attend a camp before the race.  

    No, not yet.

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