Everyone knows how hard it is to put on a successful Ironman race, it is that much tougher if it is a debut race. I've done 4 inaugural races and there have certainly been challenges in each. These can range from communities that really don't understand why the roads are being closed for bike riders in Speedos to mis-marked swim courses and nails sticking up where swimmers are getting into the water. As someone who started an Ironman with 3 deep cuts from rusty nails because no one had thought to look at what swimmers would be stepping on as they got in the water, I can tell you debut races can be a real drag. But they can also be exciting--and they can be easier to get into because you aren't competing against people who finished the previous year's race for entries.
But China is another thing all together.
It's one thing to do an inaugural race in your home country, it's another to do it in a country like China. Make no mistake, there are going to be some hiccups along the way. While it's cliche to say "expect the unexpected", it is no less true.
The good news is that the race is being organized by the
same people who do Ironman Korea so they have experience both at that distance as well as dealing with WTC. They also put on the tri in Phuket. They appear to have a local partner whose website I couldn't get to work (not necessarily a good sign). Another potentially ominous sign is that this race was originally scheduled for April 2006 and then delayed at least once to 2008. Does this mean that they've had the time to work out the kinks or is it a sign of how tough it is to pull off a major event in China?
This will be the first time that this community has seen an Ironman. I do not know how popular triathlon is in Hainan but will bet it is relatively unknown.
Unless you speak Chinese or one of the local dialects, language will be an issue. This means shouting to a volunteer if you need something (like where is your 'special needs' bad) might be met with a shrug.
As noted in a previous post, food will be an issue both before and possibly during the race.
Will the police manning the road blocks be good judges of bike
speeds and what gap in necessarily before allowing a car to cross the
road? Will drivers even obey road closures?
Chinese bureaucracy is notorious. Something as simple and insuring that none of the cities, towns, villages, along the way is ripping up the roads that day could easily be missed. I missed a flight in Egypt one time because they closed the airport due to the President coming through. For security purposes they don't announce his travel in advance, they just close the airport and all of the roads that lead up to it for a few hours. If you were planning to fly in or out that's your problem and it's consider a part of Egyptian life. I can promise you if we were in an Ironman race at that point, the president's security personnel would win any war of words with a bike course marshal--you should have seen their guns! That was Egypt but you can imagine that similar things happen in China.
Ironman China might not be the best race to go for a PR (see our post on the expected weather) but it might be the perfect place for having the race of a lifetime. I hope you consider
signing up and joining me on race day.