My Least and Most Favorite Ironman Races

 

Over the years I've completed 15 Ironman races.  Some of the courses I completed multiple times so I will be listing 11 courses and I'll start with my least favorite.

11 - Ironman Utah was a miserable day with extremely cold weather along with a very difficult course.  Living close to St. George Utah I was able to go up and train on the course so I knew what I was getting into.  The day of the race the weather was horrible.  The air temperature was in the 40's to start and the water temperature was high 50's.  Along with cold conditions it was very windy and racing on a difficult course with  bad weather made for a long day.  Over the years they have modified the course  trying to get larger attendance but its not a race that a lot of people want to do  because of the difficulty.  I had to get help out of the water because of hypothermia but I warmed up and was able to finish. 

St. George Utah 

10 - Ironman Chattanooga has a very fast swim and that is a draw for a lot of people who may not be great swimmers.  I am a good swimmer so that was not the reason I decided to do it. I've done a lot of inaugural races so when I saw this one pop up on the Ironman circuit I convinced my friend to do it with me.  I didn't love the bike course, and the run was pretty boring.  There was really nothing exciting about this race.  

9 - Ironman Indiana was a race I chose because it was supposed to be a flat course.  Once again I talked my racing partner into doing it with me.  It was in Muncie Indiana which was a super lame city (sorry Muncie).  There was nothing exciting about this race or the town.  It rained the entire bike and it smelled like cow manure.  They only had this Ironman one year. 

8 - Ironman Des Moines was kind of like Ironman Indiana but a little better:)  Des Moines was definitely more exciting than Muncie and the run had more people cheering us on.  This was also a one a done Ironman. 

7 - Ironman Arizona was an ok course. The swim is in a really gross lake but it was one big loop so it was pretty easy even with a mass start.  When I did this race (a long time ago) it was a mass start and it was in April.  Over the years they changed it to November and now I don't even think they have it anymore.  I was at the start line for this race twice but only finished once.  It was my only Ironman DNF and it was because it was way too hot that year.  I stopped at mile 9 on the run when the temperature was over 100 degrees.  The bike course wasn't too difficult and the run was good with lots of people encouraging you. 

6 - Ironman Louisville had a really beautiful bike course that was not too challenging with lots of rolling hills through beautiful horse ranches.  I did this one the second year they had it and it was really hot and humid so that made for a challenging run. 

Mass Start Ironman 

5 - Ironman Couer d Alene was one of the prettiest courses I've done.  It was a very challenging course because both the run and bike were hilly.  The water was pretty cold and the first year I did it they still had mass starts.  The swim was very hard with the mass beach start.  

4 - Ironman Cozumel would have been my favorite race if there wasn't so much wind on the bike.  There is a stretch along the beach about 10 miles that you have to complete several times and the headwind in that particular part of the course was the worst headwind I have ever experienced in my life.  I was going so slow and working so hard.  It was mentally demoralizing so when it came to the run it was hard.  I did really love the swim, it was so beautiful.  

3 - Ironman Texas was hot a humid but both years I did it I had a great race.  I typically don't love one loop bike courses but I didn't mind this one and the run was great with a lot of people cheering you on.  I personally love the warmer weather so this was a good race for me.

Maryland Top 5

2 - Ironman Maryland was one of my fastest times in an Ironman race.  The first year they had it the weather was perfect and the race was great!  I went back two more times  and both times the weather was horrible and one year the swim was canceled.  The bike is totally flat and the run has lots of people cheering you on.  It's not an easy swim because the water is usually choppy.  

1 - Ironman South Africa was such a great race.  The swim was an ocean swim so for some people that might be a little challenging.  The year I did it we had really great weather.  The bike course was beautiful and part of it was along the ocean.  The road was pretty rough for a lot of the bike but otherwise the bike course was nice.  The run was a 3 loop course and that made it really great for spectators.  

South Africa