Many have asked for my take on the race in New York City, so I thought I would elaborate here a bit on my thoughts on the event in general. In short, I thought Ironman New York City was all of the hassle (and more) that I expected to come with racing in this location, and little of the benefit.
Hassles:
- difficulty of spectating: this was not a spectator-friendly course—particularly the bike portion. Essentially there was one spot on the whole course where people were allowed to stand and cheer. Yep: out and back on an unremarkable highway and no one out there.
- having to find a cab to take me and my bike when it needed fixing, to go to check in, etc…
- having to take a cab to a ferry to check my bike in the afternoon before the race, then insert ferry wait times and repeat to get back to my hotel to finally be able to put my feet up (which for me wasn’t ‘til 7PM)
- 3:20 AM pre-race wake-up to take a cab back to the ferry terminal to get to the race start
Yeah, yeah I could “just deal” with all of this, but if I wanted to do an ironman before an ironman, I’d just run 100 miles. If I wanted to do a taxing 24-hour event, I would enter one; before an ironman, I’d rather not be dealing with logistical stresses.
Benefits:
- Point-to-point swim: like single-loop ironman bike course, a point-to-point swim is also a novelty in our sport. This also meant a sort of not-a-real-swim, though, as it was current-assisted and thus short, at least time-wise.
- A tough and interesting run course! YES! This was definitely a highlight, especially the first 16-17 miles on the New Jersey side of the race course. There was essentially nothing flat over there, and when you add heat to the mix, you have a hard run. The NYC side was interesting (see below) and tough also—the stairs didn’t end getting on and off the GW Bridge– but could have been a bit better laid out.
- Specifically, running over the George Washington Bridge. Although I was in no state to appreciate it at the time, I see how this could have been really cool. At least after the fact, it was indeed neat to look back across the Hudson and know that we came from way over there by foot at the end of a long day.
That said, it was not a bad event. It was completely fine. The race ran as smoothly as it could have given the setting and that it was a first-year event; the organization was pretty darn good. This wasn’t the problem. It’s just that given how many ironman races there are to choose from nowadays, with a huge percentage of them being in the US, I am going to chose a great event, like Ironman Wisconsin, Ironman Lake Placid, or Ironman Coeur d’Alene.
I personally prefer races that draw big crowds and lots of spectator support; that interaction for me is one of the most fun things about racing (and an interesting bike course doesn’t hurt either). And although the first 130+miles of this course were guaranteed to be pretty quiet because of the logistical difficulties with spectator access, I think we all anticipated the benefit of racing in this big city to be lots of people carrying us through those last 8+ miles once we were actually there (the city, that is).
Not so much. We looped back and forth on ourselves in a pretty small park area (i.e. we did not even come close to actually covering 8 miles, point to point), and indeed there were people in the park, but they certainly weren’t there to cheer for crazy endurance athletes, if you know what I mean. At one point, on a narrow pathway, I had a woman in a bra and jean shorts on rollerblades run head-on into me; I literally had to physically move her out of the way to get by.
I think I also expected the NYC finish-line to be epic; after all, this race was hyped up to be bigger and better . . . And granted, I was hardly seeing straight by the time I hit it, but I just remember being not far from the thing and it being quite inconspicuous—just an ironman sign atop a clock in a nondescript park area.
It was weird. I will say, however, that if this is in fact a one-and-done race, I am glad that I got to experience it for myself.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
When they announced this race I did comment to a friend that this was too urban for a race. Yes i did gather the logistics would be challenging and I also agree with you that that’s the last thing we want whe we’re about to do an Ironman…..otherwise we would sign up for Badwater
(on my list one day, but will have to crew for someone first).
But you did it and the race is ticked and done. Your next one will have none of hassle and you’re familair with the course which is always a bonus.
Happy training
Boods! Great post. So interesting to see this from the athlete’s point of view. I love the line about doing an ironman before an ironman. SO psyched to see you race in Mads-town.
Yuk. I am not a fan of NYC other than to watch the US Open. I get in and out of there as fast as I can.
Signed,
the country bumpkin
Unfortunately, NYC is a bit too “big” for the Ironman. In a city where there are so many things going on, most people around just didn’t seem to care. I volunteered at the race and countless people in the park came up to me and asked “what’s going on?”
I feel bad for the athletes because they deserved a better experience. I did Ironman Lake Placid which was amazing. The whole city was gripped with Ironman fever all week and they really come out to support the athletes. Sometimes, its just better to do it in a small town. Besides, there was a bit of false advertising here. This was billed as Ironman “NYC” but the NYC part consisted of a dirty river, an average bridge and a small park that they made the athletes run back and forth in like mice. They should have had most of the run course in NYC and go past some real landmarks like The Empire State Building, Central Park, Times Square or even The Brooklyn Bridge. Bottom line, the athletes were cheated. Ironman should give them all half off an entry to another Ironman of their choice.
doug! YES i totally agree–the small towns know how to do it up! i had the same experience at placid. the community is wonderful. i know there is just so much going on in new york city that we are just a blip on the radar. i guess having experienced the new york city marathon i just envisioned something so much bigger and better; the crowds there are incredible for the whole 26.2 miles! but then again, that is a much bigger event.
too funny about the folks coming up and asking you what was going on; that was exactly what i felt from the response (or lack thereof) when we ran through those parks. we may as well have been space aliens!:)
THANK YOU for volunteering! i have to say the volunteers at the event were a highlight start to finish.
I agree with all of these points. It was a great race, but logistically horrible. For me, I really didn’t like having to ferry over AFTER the race to pick up bike/gear.
Being a local, I would recommend you race the NYC TRI (Olympic) as the course is all in NYC and the crowds are pretty epic. (it is also a point-to-point swim)
oooh YES the ferry post-race would have been way up there on my list of issues–probably right at the top!! however at the last minute i heard about the TriBikeTransport Bike Valet program which meant that they did this for you and you get the stuff at Pier 94 Sunday morning. Another expense ($60) but well worth it given the predicament we were in!
First, I saw you when I was walking to find a spot to find my friend for spectating, but I didn’t realize it was you to after, so if you heard a “go Hilary” from behind when you were on one of the switch overs at the park it was me, but it was probably too late!
This was very difficult as a spectator, I tried to find a spot to find my friend and felt so guilty that I only was able to see her on the NYC side 3 times (although I am sure she needed it at that point).
The most disappointing thing here was the noise ordinance at 10pm that meant Mike Reiley could not announce all of those becoming an Ironman between 10-12am – which is terrible, I heard it was crickets. AND to top this off they are making this race $1200 to sign up for next year!!!
heather! thank you so much for your cheers! i did hear about the noise ordinance and thought, surely this just means no music–mike reilly must still be announcing the finishers. WOW. i am really sad to hear this as i can imagine a lot of the 10-12PM folks were first timers who had dreamed about that moment.
kudos to you for even attempting to spectate at this one! i am sure the cheers on the NYC side were MUCH-needed so your efforts were worth it!
I am certain that IM Canada ticks all those boxes you mentioned for great races above AND more! One loop swim and bike, both very spectator friendly. The bike course is a beauty and when you think you are alone out there you aren’t because there are nutty spectators even in the most remote spots. The run is awesome too, spectators lining the whole way, some flat parts along the lakes and some hilly areas too. A local announcer by the name of Steve King ALWAYS does IM Canada and we love him! Not that Mike Reilly isn’t great, but when the organizers gave the gig to Mike for one year because Steve was doing the race for the 25th anniversary people groaned. Then, when they gave it to Mike the next year for whatever reason, there was an uproar, people signed petitions and Steve was brought in – that’s how much people love and support this race. Plus, you could go head to head with MBK, the new queen of Ironman Canada
I have done a few half distances, two Ironmans and supported people through many more events and the IM in Penticton is one of the most well run, well supported and fun events you will ever see – man, you’d think I was getting paid to advertise!
You will certainly have a great race in Wisconson, looking forward to the epic race report
heather! i actually did penticton in 2005 and i agree–AWESOME, small-town event! i had a terrible race BUT thought the place and the event were lovely. my memories are a bit vague now as it has been 40+ironmans since then, so i must get back there to refresh my memory. the problem is that it alwyas falls 2 wks before IMWI and that timeframe is terrible for me. i wish there were a way around that!:)
thank you for sharing–love the story about how passionate folks were about your announcer!
2005 was a while ago, time to take another crack at it! I see your swim was zippy as usual and your bike was awesome – that is a tough bike course, my favourite part is reaching Yellow Lake and seeing all the dummies who hammered too early and flew past me now lying in the ditches – don’t worry, they are usually still alive, just sweet karma paying off. The Tour de France style spectators at the top of Yellow Lake are awesome too. That run nearly killed me my first IM. Watching Mary Beth Ellis hammer the crap out of that course last year to break the 19 year old record was phenomenal and in 40 degrees Celcius! And MBK is always a favourite there. A friend just did Badwater (freakin’ nuts!!), then IM Mt. Tremblant yesterday and is doing IMCanada this weekend – she is crazy, in a good way of course
Hope the logistics work out for you one day. Now go hammer the crap out of IMWI! 
Hillary, Sorry we didn’t get to meet while you were in NYC. My offer was in anticipation of of all the logistical issues. While I love seeing endurance events come to the city, if you do the math it was 95%NJ/5%NYC IM. The morning of the event I couldn’t find the finish line and I live within a block or two and run in the park all the time. No Mike Reilly? I was even disappointed as a spectator. I’m used to LP. I don’t even race IM but wouldn’t miss an LP IM bash. BTW, I’ve got an apt. on the bike course near bottom of Cascade Pass in Keene. Let me know next year!
bill! you are the best!!! THANK YOU! and we LOVE LOVE LOVE lake placid so i hope we will meet up there next year, finally! thank you for being so thoughtful!!