IM Canada
Anyone done this one before? Doing the full distance in August 2008. Especially keen to hear how tough the 2 peaks are on the bike ride (is there anywhere comparable in south england good to train?) and what the profile on the run was like- plus any other info on the event etc... ie crowds, support etc...
Cheers!
Cheers!
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Sorry can't help about the course but I do have a question for you. How the **** did you manage to get onto this race. IM canada was my first choice of race this year but the website says that you have to attend the 2008 race in order to register for the 2009 race and there was no on line entry. it seemed a bit daft to me and certainly beyond my budget to go half way around the world twice to get one race?
Hope it goes well for you it looks the business - enjoy
A mate and me did a bit of research last summer and picked out Canada as the one we wanted to do. We contacted them in advance and asked about overseas entry. All we needed to do was email back the contact at the office the day after the race and apply for an overseas entry. She then sent us the form by email and we faxed it back and about 2 days later we were in!!!
If we hadnt have emailed I wouldnt have known about the overseas entry process.... So as long as you get your email in on time you should be ok for next year!!!
The race starts with 2000+ single wave lake swim, a wet-suit is highly recomended, there will "only" be about 5,000 watching the start !....the swim is a single loop, the lake is normally somewhat calm, but whitecap waves can happen (its a heck of a big lake), be ready for a full contact swim, it really loooks like a washing machine !
The bike starts off thru town, and along the Skaha lakeshore (also the run course), the bike course turns off the run course onto McLean Creek road at about 14km, you then have the first climb (not too bad) of about 1km, you then have about 35km of a somewhat flat ride (its not flat, but its not hilly) to Osoyoos, then......you make a right turn and the Richter pass starts........10km of climb, you can spin up this hill, but you really do need to practise "long" climbs, its a beast, but more is to come, after the Richter, you have what is called the "Rollers" fast 70k+ descents, and then straight into the resulting climbs....you then have the "out and back" section at Keremeos..this is where you will face significant headwinds, and the road surface is sealed stone chip, and at 130k you really don't need it, but this is where the special need bags are.......at the end of the out and back, you turn right towards Penticton, and face the "twin lakes" aka "Yellow lake" climb, not as steep as Richter, but again long enough at about 15k (it hurts)...then after the summit, its a super fast descent down into Penticton (I've hit 85k, and was being passed !)
The run is nice, flatish following the bike course lakeside, until about 14 k, where it becomes quite hilly (walk) until the turn around at Christie Beach in Okanagan Falls, its quite normal for a lot of people to walk the middle section of this marathon.
You will have lots of spectators to cheer you on...me included, and about 4000 volunteers (called either the"iron army" or the "iron crew", and a whole town waiting for you to finish, the fireworks at midnite are something else.
Weather at this time of the year, tends to be on the warm side (you are racing in a desert), with 30+ centrigrade temps being the norm, there is always some wind, sometimes a lot of wind, the evenings can get quite cool...but nothing that a cold Canadian beer cannot fix.
Hope you have secured some lodgings, Penticton, and the surrounding area is normally sold right out, July thru August, I could give some suggestions if needed.
I will be in the race area the week leading up to the race, maybe we can catch a coffee together (or something a lttle stronger)...I'm a transplanted Brit from South London, who's been over here for 18 years...there's a quite a few x-pats doing the race, so don't be suprised if you here some "london slang" while racing, especially if you wear the "jack"