[Chris the Wheeler]

I'm planning on doing a HIM in 09. (assuming that I'll kick ass in the 2 sprints and the Oly I do this year).<br><br>
Since I'm not a sponsored athlete, it will be coming out of my pocket. I want my first HIM to be fun and affordable. I used to work at a Camp on Lake Winnipesaukee so I'm pretty sure I can crash out on the island. I'll have to coordinate boats for transport. What is start time for the Timberman? Think they'd let me arrive at the start by boat? Is it worth doing or should I set my sights on Clearwater? Opinions?<br><br>
I know 09 is over a year away, but you don't leave logistics to the last few days.

 

[em73]

the husband and I are thinking of moving up to the HIM distance next year, pending the outcome of our training/racing this year, so I'm also interested in feedback on this race too. I hear that it is hilly (although I've decided not to be askeered of hills anymore)

 

[Chris the Wheeler]

Like I said, I worked up there. There are some huge hills... But some great area pubs for the post race celebrations. <img alt="banana.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/banana.gif">

 

[wipaddler]

TJOCF, Snooze and I are all doing it this year so we can report back to you when it's done other wise Thor, LRR, Julie have all done it

 

[LeftRightRepeat]

Timberman is a big, well-organized race. I did it as my first HIM last year having done the "Sprint" event there the year before. It's a whole weekend of activity.<br><br>
There's some pretty good hills on the bike course. (I'm talking out my a$$ here because I don't really have any experience but...) They may be on the limits of handcycle navigability. There's at least one that's a long grind in the lowest gear on a bike - and a 40+ mph descent on the way back.<br><br>
MOST of the run course is probably doable by wheelchair. There's one steeper climb - but it's not too long. Lots of gradual hills. What I'd think you'd need to work out a plan for is the part of the course right in the state park at the start/finish. It's a grass and dirt/gravel road surface. There's a short but steep climb/descent from the asphalt up/down onto the grass surface that might be problematic as well.<br><br>
The RD for the race has been very helpful in the past. You might consider emailing him or posting on the EndorFun <a href="http://timbermantri.com/forum/" target="_blank">race forums</a> to see what you could learn.

 

[Chris the Wheeler]

Yikes! Suddenly Clearwater is looking better...<br><br>
Thanks. I'll look up the RD.

 

[juliemboyle]

Chris: I love this event! It was wonderful, but LRR is right, there is a hill towards the beginning that is one of the steepest I have ever seen and it goes on for a LONG time.....I was in granny gear afraid I would fall off the bike I was going so slow....I would expect it would be very, very difficult to do on your bike.

 

[Snooze]

Geez, now you guys are scaring me! Ive gotta take on these hills in 5 months!

 

[Thor]

Chris... can't answer your posted questions, but if you have others, fire away... I certainly could help with course and logistics help, and even course comps.<br><br>
Clearwater... by the way, and you probably know this, but you have to qualify in order to race Clearwater... that is, if you're talking about the Ironman 70.3 World Championship, which by the way is an amazing course in both scenery, race planning, support (at least in and around Transition), and in it being very fast.

 

[Chris the Wheeler]

So, how would I qualify?<br><br>
Isn't Clearwater a qualifier for Kona? So I need to qualify for a qualifer?<br><br>
I'm so confused!!!

 

[Thor]

Clearwater is another name for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship. It is to the 70.3 distance what Kona is to Ironman. You need to qualify for Clearwater at a previous Ironman-branded 70.3. You could do that at Timberman, as Timberman is now affiliated with IM, and you can do that at a host of other events.<br><br>
Clearwater, I believe, is NOT a qualifier for Kona. The top three *might* qualify, but I'm not so sure.<br><br>
But instead of talking about what races are or are not, it's probably better to save us all a lot of time if you start from where your goals are. If your ultimate goal is to qualify for Kona, you'd take a very different race schedule path if it were just to do a good half Iron distance event.<br><br>
I did Clearwater last year and, honestly, had an absolute blast. Athletes were litterally from all over the world. That is no exaggeration. I felt as if it were my Olympics, for the flair and energy of the entire village gave off that impression. Many of the top Pros in the sport and even those not to that level but who are very popular were there. The city gets behind the race. And everything is very professional. It is a level up from Timberman or any of the other qualifiers. It was very much akin to doing an Ironman event, from an athlete perspective, but even a few notches up. Qualify if you can, and if you do, go... you will have an absolute blast and you will race among the world's best. I qualified at Timberman last year and went to Clearwater and had a total break out race by smashing my PR by 20 minutes, which is astonishing in its own simply because I've done a number of half Iron's to the point where I was hitting a plateau, to finish in 4:43. And I only came in something like 540th place overall. It's a very fast crowd. But it rocks! But you need to qualify to get there.

 

[Chris the Wheeler]

Thanks for the info Thor. Makes a little more sense now.<br><br>
I'm not really sure what my goals are yet. I'm playing with Tri's. Like other sports I've done, it might be a passing interest. Like skiing, sailing and scuba diving, etc, etc..... Right now i'm just setting my sites on just finishing a HIM next year. I'm not terribly concerned with the time at the moment.

 

[Thor]

GREAT attitude. If you do your homework AND have fun, you will be around this sport for a long time. Or at least you'll get motivated to knock down a few goals.