Bolton 70.3

Events
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Changed the thread title from Staffs Full IM 2023"

A chinese whisper on IMUK Journey on FB is that Bolton 2022 will be last full distance IM, and will be a 70.3 thereafter, and Staffs will become a full instead.
Or is that b0ll0cks?

(i.e. Return of The Longest Day IM in some respects for us old-timers, well ok the sw1m venue at least)

So this autumn’s ‘one-off’ 70.3 at Bolton is a dry run. (Or another v. wet one :roll_eyes: )

Makes sense in many ways to have a flat UK MDot IM, tho personally I LOVE the hilly Bolton bike course, and now love the area full stop.

If so, I dunno if Staffs will also remain as a 70.3 as well, probably??

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Didn’t the locals make the full distance hard to put on before?

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your maybe thinking of IMUK at Sherborne 2005-08? but yes they weren’t too keen.
Then Lord Ponsonby got sick of the triathletes p1ssing all over his lawns and it being a mud fest (unlucky with the weather latterly after a glorious sunny first edition in 05) and pulled the event venue plug from Sherborne Castle.
Step in Bolton!

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I heard the rumour but kind of assumed it’s a case of seeing that Bolton is running a 70.3 in Sept and making a wild leap from that……

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Would a full at Staffs be flat?

Current 70.3 course has around 900 metres of climbing.

So a touch under 2000 metres isn’t the flattest of rides. No monster for sure. Also the current course is a point to point

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“We don’t mind the piss!”

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Where are the rumours surfacing from?

I doubt it - the narrative supporting it seems rational to me, but of course “one off” just means they’re testing the waters of demand and they’ll run it again if they’re swamped.

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They will be swamped, 2,200 athletes have found out today that IM Wales is cancelled……

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OK so I was probably obvs wrong and this one off 70.3 in Bolton probably IS a none off, and the reason for its existence will be because MDot will have been getting the danger signals for a while from the local authorities etc that IM Wales will be a no go in Sept, hence MDot lined this up as effectively an alternative.?

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Yeah you’re probably right.

Pembrokeshire CC were obviously waiting for the Welsh assembly to not lift restrictions. That didn’t happen and it looks like the CC bottled it having a large crowd linked to covid spreading.

Bolton date doesn’t work for me. The Weymouth race does but alas no space

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11

TRO out of the water in 33:59, looks like a long T1 but I think it’s a long way from the water to mount line.

Anyone else racing we know?

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How did TRO swim compared to his other times, was the swim long? I’ve got a friend competing & although not the greatest swimmer his time looks slow.

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Won’t drop any names as I’ll get a reputation…

The ones I know are slower than expected, same as the full.

A guy from down south was stuck in one gear, he was asking could the bike be done in a single gear, a local guy borrowed him a bike at the very last min.

Stories like that are more important than actual times, Foggy was motoring through the field last I heard…?

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A clubmate is racing today., Kent Langridge (brother of Fanella)

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Iirc TRO swam around 34 at Staffs so seems on form.

I’d forgotten about this. I’m sat in Windsor great park while my other half runs the half mara. Perfect for watching now!

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He’s tenth AG at the minute

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He was 8th out of the water in M50, although he ages up next year.

Elliot Gowland is local to me and has always been good (my AG!), looking like a strong M50 field.

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18

2.20 for Fogarty. That’s absolutely savage

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On that course….

320W+ average ?

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Man’s an animal. Ran just under 1:24. Beat second place by nearly 15 minutes

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