IM Wales 2022

Entries have just opened up for next year.

Title changed :+1:t3:

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Iā€™m surprised there any spots at all?

Tier 4 only available, Ā£524 plus Active ā€¦climbing towards Ā£600 sorry folks canā€™t justify that at present

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That is my view for Bolton, Ā£556 with the Active fee is just too much

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was going to enter then so the Ā£524 plus admin fee and thought no its getting silly and with the world still recovering from the pandemic there is still a very very small chance of distruption or restrictions along the way

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Thatā€™s crazy money.

If you were to make up a Ā£/satisfaction scale the Royal Marines Iron Challenge you did is much better value.

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Itā€™s gone up a bit. I think 2018 was something like Ā£412 all in?

When I went to the IM UK registration page it was on tier 4 at Ā£489, which was :scream:. But I figured I would suck it up but then when through to the next page it was tier 5 Ā£509 price. That just annoyed me and so will do Outlaw instead.

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Thatā€™s exactly where I am in the scheme of things Mr Hamer. All being well I will go back to Blackpool Sands the following week.

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Sold out!

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600 notes for an Ironman is an absolute piss take.

My first road bike cost less than that.

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It is getting out of hand. They give you less these days as well. I remember early IMā€™s - food at the briefing, food at the roll down/awards, decent food in the tent post race, t shirts were decent polo necks.

Even the rucksacks are getting flimsier - and they werenā€™t great to start with. I bet any of the ā€˜Covid measuresā€™ that happen to be cheaper will carry on indefinitely.

Having said that, Iā€™d still pay it for IM Wales, itā€™s a truly magical race.

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I wanted to finish the long distance stuff with Wales last year. Sold out before I even realised entries were open and Covid struck so the race was cancelled. Think there was a small window for limited entries at the beginning of this year and just missed out, but again the race was cancelled. I did Outlaw instead. Great event, and half the price. I was briefly tempted to enter Wales, but Outlaw was and will be my last full distance. The price also made it an easy choice - ha ha.

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The prices are mad, but I guess if they sell out, itā€™s simple supply and demand. Although IM are playing a risky game in using the current demand from newbies to line their pockets, and risking alienating the ā€œrepeat customersā€. Itā€™s a big jump though. Wales was Ā£506 when I originally entered for 2020 in September 2019.

Having said that, I was pretty surprised by IM Mallorca. It only cost me ā‚¬338. The 70.3 there that I did in 2018 was ā‚¬297, so no idea why it was so cheap when I registered. It does have a random phrasing of ā€œback in the raceā€ on my active receipt, so not sure if itā€™s something to do with the fact I had an IM Spain voucher, or if I just got lucky and registered in a window where they had some kind of ā€œCovid saleā€ on. It does mean I still have cā‚¬200 left on my voucher though, so will likely do a 70.3 next year or the year after too.

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It is a lot but unless youā€™ve been, it is bloody hard to describe just how good Wales is. Canā€™t say itā€™s good value but probably better than a load of the ā€˜just add waterā€™ ones.

Looks like itā€™s sold out, got a big contingent of our club going so weā€™ve booked some accommodation to go down and support everyone.

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I donā€™t disagree with the fact that it is a special race. If you are a UK athlete then it is value compared to other European events without a flight or road trip involved. Time committed is minimal ā€¦Drive In ā€¦race ā€¦Drive out and as for the atmosphere and difficulty its is on the podium. That being said I havenā€™t done loads of IMā€™s

If a place can be secured for under 500 then it makes it far more justifiable ā€¦still hefty but a little red wine would make the decision easy!

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I got in a few weeks ago. I think they seriously expanded the number of entrants which is easier to do now that rolling swim starts are the norm. I have been told that the cycle may be a bit busy

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That seems to be the way, they are really pushing the numbers. Racking for 2900 at Stafford 70.3 (think they got 2,580 entrants). They really did regulate the rate of athletes starting (they had 7:00 - 8:30 set aside to get everyone in) so bike was not too bad.

Staffs also used ā€˜race number when you check inā€™ (they printed it there and then) so like aeroplanes they can oversell assuming a % of no shows.

Wales is a superb race, by the way if you havenā€™t done it. Magnificent, youā€™ll love it.

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